The bastards had taken Jake.
Chapter 11
FONTANA SAT ALONE IN THE DARKENED BEDROOM, A glass of brandy in one hand, and contemplated his wedding night. Sierra was asleep two doors down the hall. This was the first time since he had bought the mansion that anyone other than himself had slept here.
It felt good to know that she was in his house. He would have preferred that she slept in this room; nevertheless, she was under his roof, and that was enough for now.
The stunt with dark light at the party had been a dumb-ass move. Why the hell had he done it?
Because he had been unable to resist the hunters' traditional wedding night challenge, that's why. Damn it, for a while there tonight he'd actually let himself believe that he really was a newly married man.
Growing up a bastard, his mother dead in a car accident when he was fifteen, he'd had very little in the way of traditions. When he joined the Guild, it was as if he had finally found a family. He had embraced the organization and everything about it, including all the old traditions, with the fervor of a new convert.
Tonight Sierra had become his wife—a Guild wife—and he had been overcome with a fierce desire to prove himself to her in the traditional Guild way.
He should have known better than to expect an outsider to be impressed with such an archaic tradition, especially a woman like Sierra, who had been born into an upper-class family.
The social status of the Guilds had always been an uneasy one, at least as far as mainstream society was concerned. Sure, high-ranking Guild members and their wives got invited to celebrity parties and elegant charity fund-raisers. A lot of people found raw power of any kind fascinating. They enjoyed rubbing shoulders with members of their local Guild Councils in certain social circles. Politicians and CEOs courted the top people in any Guild because the organizations possessed the kind of cash that could bankroll a campaign or invest in a hedge fund.
But if you were a part of the elite of mainstream society, you didn't want your daughter to marry a Guild man, not even if the marriage was a short-term MC with no lasting status. A Covenant Marriage between a high-ranking member of a Guild and a woman with Sierra's social background was so rare as to be the stuff of legend. Such marriages did occur from time to time, but they were usually the result of financial considerations. A once-wealthy mainstream family seeking to recoup its fortunes might contemplate such an alliance, but only as a last resort.
He wondered what Sierra's classy parents would say when they discovered that she was in a Marriage of Convenience with a Guild boss who was also a bastard. One thing was certain: they would not be happy about the situation.
He drank some of the brandy and wondered how long his marriage would last.
Chapter 12
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT," SIERRA SAID. "YOU ACTUALLY SUBSCRIBE to the Curtain?"
They were in the breakfast room. She had made an old family favorite, Earth toast. There was also orange juice and coffee. Elvis was perched on the windowsill, nibbling on the small slice of toast that she had given him. A cup of coffee sat beside him.
"Well, sure," Fontana said. He slapped the day's edition down onto the breakfast table. "Figured it was in my own best interest to know how a certain investigative journalist was going to come at the Guild next. I was a Hunter Scout. Be prepared is my motto."
"I thought Never leave a man behind for ghost bait was your motto."
"That one came later." He looked at the plates in her hands with interest. "Is that real Earth toast?"
"My mom's recipe." She set one of the plates in front of him. "Hope you like it."
"Oh, yeah." He surveyed the egg-battered toast as though it were one of the priceless pieces of dreamstone in his collection. "Haven't had it in years." He reached for the butter.
His enthusiasm warmed her for some reason. She sat down across from him and picked up her glass of orange juice.
"Let me see the headline," she said.
"Brace yourself."
"How bad is it?"
He swiveled the paper around so that she could read it. "Got to give Runtley high marks for creativity."
Sierra looked at the screaming headline.
GUILD BOSS WEDS MYSTERY BRIDE
IN SECRET HUNTER CEREMONY
Beneath that was a second banner line in a slightly smaller font.
COUPLE GOES THROUGH
SECRET HUNTER WEDDING-NIGHT RITUAL
IN ALIEN TEMPLE OF LOVE
Two photos accompanied the short piece. The larger shot was a tight close-up of Fontana and herself coming out of the registrar's office. There was no mistaking the big Guild seal ring on her finger. She appeared somewhat the worse for wear, but it was the cool satisfaction on Fontana's austere face that gave her a chill.
"I think we lucked out," she said, going for a positive spin. "There's nothing in the piece about vampires."
"Don't miss the description of the secret wedding-night ritual. It's on the next page. Your friend Kay has a vivid imagination."
Sierra turned the page reluctantly.
"… The mysterious rites associated with the consummation of a high-ranking Guild marriage are conducted in an alien temple of love that is concealed deep within the catacombs. The alien temple is said to resonate with a form of strange psi that greatly enhances the satisfaction of both bride and groom…"
Sierra cleared her throat. "I'm afraid Kay went a little over the top."
"You think so?" Fontana's mouth kicked up in a wicked grin. "Don't know about you, but speaking personally, I'm sorry we missed that secret alien temple of love. Sounds interesting."
Aware that she was blushing, Sierra hastily closed the paper.
"Normally the mainstream media doesn't pay a lot of attention to what we print at the Curtain" she said. "But it won't be able to ignore a Guild boss wedding. That kind of thing is always news. And the Curtain got the scoop. Runtley is probably rubbing his hands together with glee as we speak."
Fontana checked his watch. "The other newsrooms will have hit the phones as soon as the day's edition of the Curtain hit the street. Guild headquarters will have confirmed the story by now. It's probably gone out on the major wire services. I'll bet we're on the morning news in the other city-states."
"Good grief." Sierra gripped her fork very tightly. "Do you really think the news of our marriage will get beyond Crystal City?"
Fontana raised his brows. "Don't tell me you've been laboring under the illusion that our wedding would be nothing more than a local story."
She swallowed. "It's just an MC, not exactly earth-shaking news."
"Trust me, when a high-ranking Guild man from any of the big cities gets married, its news. You're a journalist. You should know that."
"I think I've been in denial."
"I can see that."
As if on cue, Sierra's personal phone rang. She jumped a couple of inches. Annoyed with herself, she reached into her pocket, took out the small device, and glanced at the incoming number. She groaned and answered.
"Hi, Mom."
"What in the world is going on, Sierra?" Marilyn McIntyre demanded.
Her voice was crisp, authoritative, and deeply concerned. Sierra was also pretty sure she detected an underlying edge of panic.
"I can explain, Mom."
"Your father just called. He said that his executive assistant heard a news report about a woman with your name marrying the CEO of the Crystal City Ghost Hunter's Guild. I assume its some sort of mix-up."