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“Davis is a friend of mine,” she said quickly. “We’re just here for my sister’s wedding. We’re going back to Cadence tonight.”

  “Looks like a real close friend, all right,” Landry said, amused. “He know about us, honey?”

  “I know all about you and Celinda,” Davis assured him in that same frighteningly soft tone. “Don’t worry; one of these days I’ll get back to you on that. But like I said, this isn’t the time or place.”

  Landry was momentarily nonplussed. Celinda knew that he was not accustomed to defiance of any kind. It took him a few seconds to process Davis’s words.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” he finally got out. “Are you threatening me, Oakes?”

  “No,” Davis said, “I don’t do threats. That was more like an IOU. I always make good on those.”

  Celinda could hardly breathe now. There was going to be a fight. She could see it coming like a freight train bearing down on her. There would be a dreadful scene. Hotel security would be summoned. Her family would be embarrassed. Rachel would be upset on her wedding day. There was no telling how the Santanas would react, but having one of the wedding guests engage in a fight with a leading member of the local Guild was not going to go down well, that was for sure. No one here in Frequency wanted to be on the wrong side of a Guild Council member.

  “Stop it,” she gasped. “Both of you. There’s no need for this.”

  Predictably, Landry paid no attention. “My information says you’re a cheap PI who was hired to keep an eye on Celinda because she’s got something that belongs to the Cadence Guild.”

  “Your information is wrong on one significant point,” Davis said.

  “Yeah? What’s that?”

  “I’m not cheap.”

  Landry snorted. “Not a very good PI, either, by the looks of it. Not if you had to resort to screwing Celinda to get the location of the relic out of her. Boring work, isn’t it? One night was more than enough for me.”

  Something very dangerous appeared in Davis’s eyes. Lethal psi energy pulsed.

  Celinda slipped closer to outright panic. She had to distract both men.

  “You know about the relic?” she said to Landry.

  “Word travels fast in my circles.” He shrugged. “Imagine my surprise, though, when I heard you were the one who has it. Small world, huh?”

  “But I don’t know where it is,” she said. “That’s the truth. Believe me, if I had it, I’d turn it over to the Cadence Guild.”

  “Honey, you’re in Frequency now. That means you’ll turn it over to me.”

  “I just told you, I don’t have it,” she said.

  “You heard her,” Davis said.

  Landry narrowed his snake eyes. “Whoever hired you sure as hell thinks that she knows where it is. That’s good enough for me.”

  “Mercer Wyatt hired me,” Davis said. “And he’s going to be pissed if you get in my way.”

  “Screw Wyatt. He’s an old man. He may still be giving the orders in Cadence, but he doesn’t give them here. This is my town. That means I give the orders.”

  “I’ll have Wyatt confirm that with Harold Taylor,” Davis said. He took hold of Celinda’s elbow, pulled her back, and started to close the door. “Meanwhile, we’ve got a wedding to celebrate. Get lost, Landry.”

  Celinda sensed the change in the vibrations of the tangled spiderweb that was Benson Landry’s whacked-out psi energy pattern. She knew at once that somewhere in his mind a trip wire had just been triggered. A monstrous spider was crawling up from the abyss.

  “Watch out,” she said, edging back instinctively.

  But the danger came from behind. Acid green light flared in the room. She whirled around, shocked, and saw a nasty energy ghost coalesce. The core of the fiery ball was fierce and unstable, just like the man who had summoned it.

  “I’m going to teach you a lesson, Oakes,” Landry said. “You’re not going to a wedding today; you’re going to a hospital.”

  Frustration and rage flashed through Celinda. The urge to leap at Landry and go for his eyes with her fingernails was almost overwhelming. How dare he threaten the people she loved?

  The people she loved? She had just included Davis on that list.

  But there was no time to ponder the implications of that impulsive thought. The rumble in her ear was getting louder. There was another, echoing growl from Max.

  With a jolt Celinda realized that both dust bunnies were now at full alert. Their normally fluffy fur was sleeked flat against their small bodies, revealing all six legs and a lot of very sharp teeth. Even more disconcerting was the appearance of their second sets of eyes. The amber ones they used for hunting were wide open, glowing with a predatory light.

  It dawned on her that if they attacked Landry, there was no telling what he might do to retaliate. Max and Araminta could certainly inflict some painful wounds, but they were too small to do anything more than draw blood. That would only inflame Landry all the more.

  She clutched at Araminta.

  “No,” she whispered. “Please don’t.”

  “Hold on to her,” Davis said quietly. He took Max down from his shoulder and gripped him in one hand. “We don’t want them getting singed.”

  Celinda tucked Araminta safely into the crook of her arm. Araminta resisted, straining to get free.

  The green ghost was moving now, closing in on Davis as Landry used his psi energy to manipulate it.

  There was no question but that Landry was a powerful para-rez talent. Celinda knew that even a light brush with the flaring radiation at the outer edges of the ball of alien energy would be sufficient to knock a human being unconscious for hours. Sustained contact for more than a few seconds would leave a severe psychic burn.

  “This is what happens to cheap PIs who don’t know enough to back off when they should,” Landry said, vicious eyes alight with an unwholesome excitement. “Time you understood that I’m the boss here in Frequency.”

  A distraction was needed, Celinda thought. And the only one at hand was Araminta. She started to lower the dust bunny to the floor. Araminta was wriggling eagerly, anxious to be set free. Celinda was sure that she would head straight for Landry’s ankle.

  Davis studied the ghost as though it were a particularly bad piece of post–Era of Discord art. “You know, Landry, I really don’t have time for this today. I keep telling you, I’ve got a wedding to attend.”

  All Celinda saw was a faint silvery shimmer in the air. It was as if she were suddenly viewing Landry’s energy ghost through an antique mirror.

  The UDEM flared once more, wildly, and then winked out of existence.

  Hurriedly she tightened her grip on Araminta, securing her again.

  “Some other time,” Celinda whispered soothingly.

  She looked at where the ghost had been. There was no sign of it. She had witnessed Davis’s unusual talent the night before last when he had de-rezzed the twin ghosts. Nevertheless, she was a little awed by what he had just done. No one de-rezzed a Benson Landry ghost.

  Her reaction was nothing compared to Landry’s. It was clear from his expression that he was stunned. He was also furious.

  The dark spiderweb of psi emanating from him quivered dangerously, but the spider had paused. In that instant of crystalline tension she realized that the only thing preventing Landry from attacking Davis physically was fear. It was the one force strong enough to stop a true para-sociopath from doing whatever he pleased. Landry had enough control left to realize that he might not survive the outcome of a showdown.

  It was her brother, Walker, who shattered the unnatural silence. He came up behind Landry in the hall, anger blazing across his face.

  “What the hell is going on here?” he demanded. “What are you doing in my sister’s room, Landry?”

  “He is not in my room,” Celinda said quietly. “If you will notice he is standing in the hall.”

  Landry swung around, features set in savage, frustrated fury. Without a word he strode swif
tly away, heading for the elevators.

  Walker looked from Celinda to Davis and back again. “What was that bastard doing here?”

  Celinda pulled herself together. “Nothing. He heard I was in town, that’s all. Came by to say hello.”

  “The hell he did,” Davis interrupted mildly. “He came here to threaten your sister.”

  “Davis.” Celinda glared, appalled. “Please shut up. This is none of your business.”

  “It is now,” he said.

  “I trusted you,” she wailed.

  “I know.” His expression softened a little. “And you’re going to have to trust me again.”

  Walker frowned. “Someone want to tell me what’s going on?”

  “Sure,” Davis said. “Come on in.”

  Walker stepped warily through the doorway, still uncertain.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Celinda said to Davis. “He’s my brother. It’s my family that’s at risk here. You have no right to interfere.”

  “You’ve done your best,” Davis said. He closed the door behind Walker. “But the bottom line is that you can’t protect your family from the likes of Benson Landry. The only way to stop a guy like that is to kill him.”

  “I was getting around to that, damn it,” she shouted. “Now, you’ve gone and ruined everything.”

  Chapter 21

  DAVIS WATCHED THE EXPRESSION ON HER FACE AS SHE REalized what she had just said. Suddenly he understood. A mix of soaring admiration for her reckless daring collided with a mind-bending fear of what could have been the outcome.

  “Should have figured as much,” he said. “That explains a few things.”

  “Celinda?” Walker was bewildered. “Are you saying that you were going to try to kill Benson Landry? Holy shit. Have you gone crazy over there in Cadence?”

  “Damn, damn, damn.” She walked to the bed and sank down on it.

  Araminta, fully fluffed again, muttered in a concerned way. Celinda set her free. The dust bunny drifted up onto her shoulder.

  “I had a plan.” Celinda stared at the closed door, her hands small fists in her lap. “I know his weakness, you see. I was going to try to use it against him.”

  “Will one of you please tell me what the hell is going on here?” Walker demanded.

  “I will,” Davis said. He walked to the window and stood looking out over the Quarter. He was still trying to get his pulse rate back down to somewhere near normal. She had planned to murder Landry. “Four months ago Benson Landry drugged your sister and set her up for the tabloids in order to destroy her business after she refused to take him on as a client.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Walker said tightly.

  Davis turned around. “But that wasn’t enough for him. He also threatened to ruin her whole family if she went to the police. Celinda tried to protect all of you by keeping silent and by moving away from Frequency.”

  “I knew it.” Walker rounded on Celinda. “I knew you couldn’t possibly have fallen for that bastard. We all knew it. Why did he show up here this morning? To threaten you again?”

  “It’s complicated,” Celinda said. Her jaw was rigid.

  Davis crossed his arms and leaned one shoulder against the wall. “Your sister happened to purchase an alien relic that had been stolen from the Cadence Guild vault. I tracked her down and offered to buy it back. But Araminta ran off with it and hid it before we could make the exchange. Someone else back in Cadence is also looking for the artifact. Somehow Benson Landry found out about it, too. That’s why he came here this morning.”

  “What a mess.” Walker shoved his fingers through his hair. He peered more closely at Davis. “You’re not really Celinda’s date for the wedding, then, are you?”

  “No, he isn’t,” Celinda said wearily. “He’s my bodyguard.”

  Davis looked at Walker. “She’s half right. I’m also her date for the wedding. It’s called multitasking.”

  “Mom told me this morning that she and Dad thought things looked serious between you two,” Walker said.

  Celinda’s head came up at that. “Good grief, what made her come to that conclusion?”

  Walker spread his hands. “Something about the conversation that took place last night when they invited the two of you to have a drink with them, I think.”

  Celinda blinked. “But we argued in front of them. It was embarrassing.”

  Walker nodded. “Right. Mom said there weren’t many people who could have dragged you into an embarrassing quarrel in a public place. She said that meant that whatever you and Davis had going must be serious.”

  “I don’t believe this.” Celinda was clearly flummoxed. “We had a stupid quarrel in a bar, and they assumed our relationship was serious? That’s ridiculous.”

  “What’s ridiculous,” Walker said evenly, “is that you’re evidently planning to get rid of Benson Landry all by yourself.”

  Celinda reached up to touch Araminta. “Davis is right. There’s no other way to stop a man like that. Landry’s not right inside. The proper parapsych term is para-sociopath, I think. No conscience. He sees everyone else as a form of prey. He enjoys controlling and manipulating others with fear. He feeds on it, in a way.”

  Walker shuddered. “No wonder you didn’t want him for a client. In hindsight, we’re probably damn lucky he didn’t hurt you physically or even kill you in retaliation.” He stopped, fresh alarm making him tense. “He didn’t do anything to you when he drugged you, did he? I swear, if he did, I’ll kill him myself, now. This morning.”

  “No,” Celinda said quickly. “He didn’t touch me, not in the way you mean.”

  Walker relaxed fractionally. “You’ve spent the past four months trying to figure out how to get rid of him? Without ever discussing the problem with your family?”

  “She was trying to protect you,” Davis said. “She wanted to do the job by herself in case things didn’t go right. She didn’t want the rest of you accused of murdering a high-ranking Guild official.”

  “Things are dicey enough as it is,” Celinda explained.

  “What was this big plan of yours?” Davis asked.

  She exhaled deeply. “It was based on the assumption that a man like Landry must have made some enemies in his climb to the top. I figured I had a pretty good built-in alibi. After all this time, I didn’t think that the Frequency police or the Frequency Guild Council would look twice at a matchmaker who’d had a brief affair with Landry and then moved to Cadence City.”

  “Go on,” he said, morbidly fascinated.

  “Two months ago I managed to purchase a mag-rez gun.”

  “Which explains the one I found under your bed.”

  Her eyes widened. “You know about my gun?”

  He didn’t have to answer because Walker was staring at her with the kind of shock only an older brother could comprehend.

  “Damn, Celinda,” Walker said. “Everyone knows it’s illegal for everyone except cops to carry mag-rezes.”

  She made a vague gesture with one hand. “Turns out it’s not that difficult to buy one on the streets in Cadence. It took me a while to figure out how it’s done, but in the end all I needed was a lot of cash. The little man who sold it to me showed me how to fire it and included a couple of spare clips in the bargain.”

  “I don’t believe this,” Walker said. “My sweet, naive little matchmaker sister bought a hot mag-rez.”

  “In my spare time I’ve been driving out into the countryside to practice,” Celinda said. “I’m getting quite good.”

  “Oh, jeez.” Walker massaged the back of his neck as though he might be getting a headache. “You were just going to walk up to Benson Landry and shoot him?”

  “Not exactly.” Celinda looked affronted. “I planned to make it look like he’d been hit by one of his many enemies. I’ve been studying him for the past four months, charting his movements. I decided it would be impossible to get onto the grounds of his estate. Too much security.”

  Davis raised his eyes to the ceil
ing. “Praise be, some common sense, at last.”

  “The same was true of his office in the Guild compound,” she continued, ignoring him. “But he’s involved with a lot of civic and political stuff. He attends receptions and fund-raisers every week, and he spends a lot of time at his club. He doesn’t surround himself with security when he goes to places like that. It’s bad for his image.”

  “You mean he doesn’t use any obvious security,” Davis said.

  She looked at him, frowning. “You saw him a few minutes ago. He didn’t have any bodyguards with him.”

  “Got a hunch they were waiting for him down in the lobby.” Davis gave that some more thought. “My guess is he didn’t bring any up here because he believed that he was going to be talking to you alone about the relic. Evidently he didn’t want anyone, not even his security people, to hear that conversation. Interesting.”

  Walker began to pace the small space. “This is a hell of a situation. One thing’s for sure, we can’t tell Mom and Dad about it today. They’d be frantic. And Rachel’s day would be ruined if she found out what was going on.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Celinda got to her feet and straightened her shoulders. “That is precisely why you will both keep quiet about this whole thing. Understood? If either one of you upsets anyone else in the family, I will never forgive you.”

  “Okay,” Walker said, raising a hand, palm out. “I agree that keeping quiet about this is for the best. At least for today.”

  Celinda switched her steely gaze to Davis. “Will you give me your word you won’t say anything more about this today?”

  He contemplated the possibilities and then inclined his head. “Assuming no other factors in the equation are altered, I’ll keep quiet. I think we’ve got a better chance of handling this from Cadence, anyway.”

  Celinda regarded him with deep suspicion. “Factors?”

  “What do you mean about dealing with this from Cadence?” Walker asked, watching him closely.

  “Benson Landry thinks Mercer Wyatt is an old man who’s lost his edge,” Davis said. “He’s wrong.” He thought about how Wyatt would react when he learned that Landry was trying to steal the missing relic. “Probably dead wrong.”