Dark Light

by Randy Wayne White

  Her mouth opened, shut, and opened again.

  “What are you talking about?” she finally managed. “I’m not like you or anyone else in my family. I’m a walking definition of the word underachiever. Just ask anyone.”

  “I don’t have to ask around.” He rested both elbows on the railing. “You’re the living, breathing definition of achiever. The only difference between you and the rest of us is your goals.” He held up one hand to silence her. “And before you start arguing with me, remember that I’m where I am today because I’m damn good at figuring out what people want.”

  She folded her arms and bristled. There was no other word for it.

  “What do you think I want?” she asked.

  “To make the world a better place. Justice for those who can’t get it for themselves. Help for people like Jake Tanner and the other hunters who disappeared. In short, you’re a classic do-gooder.”

  “And you think do-gooders are naive, gullible, unrealistic, and downright pesky.”

  “I didn’t say that.” He paused, the glass halfway to his mouth. “Although, now that you mention it—”

  “If you feel that way about me, I’m surprised you didn’t file for immediate termination of our marriage this afternoon when you came out of Patterson’s office. In fact, why are you even here in my apartment tonight?”

  “I haven’t made any move to terminate our MC because I like being married to you.”

  She blinked. “You do?”

  “I’m hoping that the reason you didn’t rush out to file for divorce yourself today is because you aren’t one hundred percent opposed to the idea of being married to me.”

  “No.” She swallowed. “No, I’m not opposed to the idea.”

  “Okay, that settles that. We’re staying married for a while.”

  “In spite of the fact that I may not be able to resist urging you to try to rescue Burns & Co.?”

  “In spite of that.”

  “Gee, Fontana, I don’t know what to say. This is all so romantic. You’re really sweeping me off my feet here.”

  “No rule says a Guild boss can’t be romantic.”

  “My comment was intended to be taken as thinly veiled sarcasm.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “I’ll give you a little tip.”

  “Yes?”

  “When you use sarcasm with a Guild chief, you have to unveil it.”

  She smiled. “I’ll remember that next time.”

  He kissed her before she could say another word. Her mouth was soft and warm and inviting under his. After a moment he picked her up and carried her indoors and down the hall to the shadowy bedroom.

  It wasn’t a full and complete victory, he thought, more like a strategic move in a delicately balanced game of chess. But it would do for now.

  Chapter 36

  SHE CAME AWAKE TO THE REALIZATION THAT SHE WAS alone in the bed. When she opened her eyes, she saw Fontana silhouetted against the window. He wore his briefs but nothing else. Elvis was perched beside him on the sill. They were both looking out into the solid wall of luminous fog. A couple of hunters bonding in the night.

  She pushed back the covers and sat up on the side of the bed. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” Fontana looked at her over his shoulder. “I’m just doing a little thinking.”

  She got to her feet and walked across the room to join him. “What about?”

  “My big plan. The one I intended to talk to you about tonight.”

  She stilled. “I thought the plan was for us to stay married for a while.”

  “It was actually a little more complicated than that.” Her intuition hummed. Whatever this was about, it was important to him. She tried and failed to squelch the little spark of hope that leaped to life within her. Maybe he was beginning to understand that what they had was very, very special.

  “More complicated than an MC?” she asked.

  He thought about that briefly and then shook his head. “I doubt if there’s anything more complicated than an MC.”

  “What was the rest of your plan?”

  He draped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m going to offer you a job.”

  “Doing what, for heaven’s sake?”

  “Managing the Guild’s charitable foundation.”

  So much for her intuition.

  “Are you kidding?” She waved her arms. “The Foundation is a joke. Jenner used it as a private slush fund for bribing politicians and shady CEOs. Hardly any money trickled down to legitimate charities.”

  “I’m aware of that. The Foundation needs to be cleaned up. Who better to do it than someone who really cares about doing good with the Guild’s money?”

  “Huh.”

  “You’re a natural for that job.”

  “Huh.”

  “I should warn you that it’s going to be a full-time position. You would have to give up journalism.”

  “Huh.”

  “Any questions?” he asked.

  “I don’t know where to start. The thought of working for the Guild is, well, it’s mind-boggling.”

  “More mind-boggling than being married to the boss?”

  She contemplated the matter closely for a moment. “Guess not.”

  “If it doesn’t work out, I’m sure you could always go back to the Curtain.”

  “Huh,” she repeated. “I’ll have to think about it.”

  “You do that.” He dropped a kiss into her hair. His hand closed gently around her breast. Heat and longing rose inside her. Energy flared. So did suspicion.

  “Fontana?”

  “Hmm?” he nuzzled her ear.

  “This isn’t some sneaky scheme to stop me from pursuing my investigative reporting on the Guild, is it?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “You’re sure? Because when I see things going on that I don’t approve of, I won’t keep silent just because I’m married to you and working for the Guild.”

  “You have my word of honor that giving you the job has nothing whatsoever to do with trying to keep you quiet.” He kissed her throat. “I’ve got something else in mind to achieve that objective.”

  A shivery thrill swept through her. “Is that so?”

  His hands slid down to close around her buttocks. He lifted her up against him so that she was left in no doubt about his state of arousal.

  “Probably won’t work,” he said. “But I figure it’s worth a try. A lot of tries, in fact.”

  “Does this strategy involve sex?”

  “How did you guess?”

  He carried her back to the bed, settled her down on the tumbled sheets, and lowered himself slowly on top of her. She wrapped one leg around his bare thigh, thrilling to the weight of his body on hers.

  He cradled her face between his hands and kissed her long and hungrily. By the time he raised his head, she was breathless and tingling. He had come free of his briefs. She could feel him hard and rigid against her leg. She reached down and stroked him, savoring the broad length of him. The knowledge that he wanted her so fiercely sent a rush of pleasure through all of her senses.

  They twisted and coiled in the shadows for a time, growing hot and damp together. Abruptly Fontana pulled free and started to work his way down her body. He left searing kisses on her breasts and belly. By the time he reached his destination, she was shivering with need; so tightly rezzed she thought she would shatter. He eased two big fingers inside her, probing gently.

  “I love your scent,” he said, his voice low and rough. “I can’t get enough of you.”

  And then his mouth was on her in the most intimate of kisses. The sensation was so overwhelming she cried out and clenched her hands in his hair.

  “Yes,” she gasped. “Yes, please, there. There.”

  The sweet tension that had built inside her came undone in a series of pulsing waves.

  She gasped and cried out, amazed and astonished all over again that he could do this to her.

  When the climax was
nearly finished, he moved back up her body and thrust heavily into her. She was exquisitely sensitized. The sensual invasion was the most erotic feeling she had ever experienced. The pressure took her to the delicate point of balance that separated extreme pleasure from pain. Before she could decide which it was that she felt, Fontana’s own climax struck. The muscles of his back hardened into sculpted stone beneath her hands.

  She heard his harsh, muffled exclamation: satisfaction, triumph, and surrender inextricably entwined.

  Together they fell into the sea of night.

  Chapter 37

  “HELL OF A FIRE,” NICK SAID. “BURNED RIGHT DOWN TO the foundation.”

  “Arson,” Fontana said.

  “Heard that.” Nick’s serious expression did not alter by so much as the flicker of an eyelash. “Caused by aliens, according to your wife’s paper.”

  “Never underestimate the investigative reporting in the Curtain.”

  They both looked at the charred ruins of the mansion. The only thing still standing was the massive stone fireplace. It projected upward into the fog, defying the destructive force of the fire to the end. Everything else had collapsed into the basement.

  The good news, Fontana decided, was that the pile of blackened rubble hid the old staircase that led down into the catacombs.

  “Planning to rebuild?” Nick asked, studying the scene.

  “Sure. You know what they say about the three rules of real estate.”

  “Location, location, location.”

  “There’s no better location in Crystal, as far as I’m concerned.”

  Nick pushed the edges of his jacket out of the way and planted his hands on his hips. “Okay. I’m here. Mind telling me why you called and said you wanted to see me?”

  “You told Sierra that I could save Burns.”

  “I told her you were the company’s only chance. Didn’t say it would work.”

  “May be a lost cause already.”

  “Josh thinks he can turn things around if he gets the cash he needs,” Nick said. “But he doesn’t want to risk going the usual venture capital route. That would start rumors, he says. The suppliers and creditors and customers would panic. He says things have got to be handled quietly.”

  “He’s right. Even if he did convince a venture capitalist group to invest, he’d have to turn over a controlling interest in the company to the investors.”

  “He doesn’t want to do that for obvious reasons.”

  Fontana said nothing.

  Nick was silent for a moment. “Did you ask me to meet you here so that you could tell me to go home and instruct the rest of the family to get screwed?”

  “No. You can tell Josh that I’ll have the money transferred to his account tomorrow morning.”

  Nick exhaled slowly, stunned. “Thanks.”

  “There’s one condition.”

  “Just one?”

  “I want a seat on the board.”

  Nick winced. “Josh isn’t going to be thrilled with that.”

  “It’s the only way I can keep an eye on my money.”

  “Sounds fair to me,” Nick said. “But then, I didn’t get the flair for business that you and Josh got from Dad.”

  “Until recently I didn’t think I got anything at all from him.”

  Nick studied the remains of the mansion for a while.

  “Probably doesn’t mean much to you,” he said finally, “but as far I’m concerned, none of us got a lot from Dad. He was a lousy father and an even lousier husband. All he cared about was Burns & Co.”

  “I noticed that.”

  “You still haven’t told me why you’re going to help Josh save Burns.”

  Fontana studied the ruins of the mansion. “My wife thinks I should do it. Says it will be good psychic karma.”

  Disbelief flashed across Nick’s face. “Uh, you believe in psychic karma?”

  “No.”

  “So, in other words, you’re doing this to please your wife?”

  Fontana nodded, “That’s pretty much what it comes down to, yes. I’m trying to think of it as a wedding present.”

  Nick whistled. “It’ll be a damned expensive wedding present if you lose your investment.”

  “What the hell, I can afford to take the loss.”

  Nick gave him a quizzical look. “Thought your marriage was just an MC.”

  “For now.”

  Nick raised his brows. “It’s serious?”

  “Serious.”

  They studied the charred remains for a while longer.

  “Rebuilding this place is going to be a major project,” Nick said eventually.

  “I know.”

  “Got an architect lined up?”

  “No,” Fontana said. “Haven’t had time to think about it.”

  “I could fit you into my schedule.”

  Fontana looked at him. “You?”

  “I’m an architect.”

  “I know.”

  “I’ve handled large residential projects like this one.”

  “I know,” Fontana said. “Saw one of them profiled in an architectural magazine last year.”

  “You read architectural magazines?”

  “Not usually, no. Saw your name on the cover. I was curious.”

  “I’ll give you the family rate.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Fontana said.

  Chapter 38

  “ALWAYS KNEW I COULD COUNT ON ELVIS,” JAKE TANNER said.

  They were gathered in the Green Gate Tavern. Simon was behind the bar. Mitch, Jeff, and Andy lounged on their stools. Bottles of beer sat in front of them. Jake was drinking coffee.

  Sierra stood at one end of the bar, her arms folded on the polished surface. Elvis, attired in his sparkling white cape, the new pair of tiny sunglasses that Jake had made perched on his head, sat beside her on the counter. There was a cup of coffee and a bowl of pretzels in front of him. He had already drained half the coffee.

  “What made you put the coordinates behind the mirror in the miniature dressing room?” Sierra asked.

  “Dunno.” Jake shrugged. “Just came to me in a juice dream.”

  Mitch scowled. “You got the idea in a dream? How the hell does that work?”

  Jake exhaled heavily. “The juice is weird crap. It takes you into another dimension. You feel so damn brilliant, like you’re a god or a wizard or something. Everything seems so clear in the dreams. You think differently. It’s like you’re having visions.”

  “What happens when you wake up?” Sierra asked.

  He shook his head. “That’s the big downside. When you come out of a juice dream, reality and the visions get all mixed up in your head. But one day after you and Elvis visited me and brought me some cookies, I drank some juice and had this really clear vision. I saw myself getting kidnapped by aliens, just like the others who had gone missing. Somehow I knew that if that happened, it would have something to do with the ruins we had found in the jungle.”

  “It was probably your subconscious mind putting together some of the facts about the recent kidnappings combined with your own knowledge of the situation,” Sierra said.

  “No,” Jake said. “After I got into the juice big-time, my subconscious brain wasn’t working any better than my conscious brain. It was something you said that day, I think.”

  Mitch looked at him. “What did she say?”

  “We had talked about the disappearances and how no one was looking for the guys who’d gone missing. She wanted to know if I had any idea why someone would want to kidnap a bunch of washed-up hunters. Then we talked about how all the juicers seemed to be ex-hunters. I guess I sort of knew all along that there had to be a connection and that they might come for me. I just hadn’t wanted to think about it.”

  “So you wrote out the coordinates of the fountains on a piece of paper and tucked it behind the dressing room mirror,” Sierra concluded. “Just in case you, yourself, went missing.”

  “Right,” Jake said. “Knew you�
��d look for me.”

  Simon shook his head. “Great idea, but why the hell didn’t you simply give Sierra those coordinates?”

  Jake sighed. “Part of me didn’t feel right about that. In fact, at the last minute, I almost changed my mind about putting the coordinates behind the mirror.”

  “For heaven’s sake, why would you have had second thoughts?” Sierra demanded.

  They all looked at her, saying nothing.

  She raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Right. Guild secrets. I should have known.”

  “Patterson told me that the fountains were a classified Guild matter,” Jake explained apologetically. “Hell, the man was a member of the Council. What was I supposed to do? I liked you a lot, and I trusted you, but, well, you weren’t one of us at the time.”

  “One of you?” she repeated, going blank.

  Simon grinned. “He means you weren’t Guild. Now you are.”

  “So it’s okay to tell me secrets?” She waved her hands. “What kind of crazy logic is that?”

  “Guild logic,” Jeff explained helpfully.

  Mitch regarded Jake with a thoughtful expression. “You seem to be okay off the juice.”

  Jake grimaced. “Luckily the withdrawal doesn’t last long. It’s more mental than physical. You miss the dream-world for a while, and you get the shakes for about a day, but then things return to normal.”

  Simon looked at him. “Think you’d go back on the stuff if you had a chance?”

  “Not like that’s going to happen now that Fontana and the government authorities have control of the source,” Jeff said dryly.

  “I wouldn’t go back on it,” Jake said. He frowned, very serious now. “I’m done with the juice.”

  “How do you know?” Andy asked.

  “Had time to do a lot of thinking while I was filling up those bottles for the Riders,” Jake said. “Something Sierra told me started to make a lot of sense.”

  “What was that?” Simon asked.

  Jake looked at Sierra, intent and determined. “You told me I was an artist. Don’t know if that’s true, but I do know I get something out of making those miniatures. It’s satisfying somehow.”

  “I understand,” Sierra said.

  Jeff grew thoughtful. “I’ll bet Mitch and I could sell your miniatures for you in our shop. What do you say, Mitch?”