Page 39 of Guild Boss

He took one end of the coffee table. She took the other. They lifted it and moved it to one side of the room. Together they pulled out the bed. It was very cozy and intimate, she thought. A frisson of sensual awareness whispered through her. After all the dreams and nightmares, it was a veryodd thing to realize he was going to be sleeping in her apartment tonight. Probably a classic case ofBe careful what you wish for.

“I’ll get the sheets and a blanket,” she said.

She started down the hall.

“Lucy?”

She turned around, aware that she was suddenly, and for no apparent reason, holding her breath. “Yes?”

“I enjoyed dancing with you tonight,” Gabriel said.

She smiled a little. “All in all, I’d say the evening went well right up until Otis destroyed the engagement cake and those men tried to grab you. But who’s quibbling? It was my first date in two months.”

“It’s been a while for me, too.”

“I’ll get the bedding stuff.”

Chapter Ten

Disaster. Again.

Dillon Westover poured himself another glass of good whiskey to calm his rage and frustration. He walked across the vast expanse of the living room, opened the glass doors, and went outside onto the deck. Gripping the railing with one hand, he took a healthy slug of the booze.

He contemplated the glittering Amber Zone spread out before him and the glowing ruins beyond. He had been a fool to rush the job. But the client was really leaning on him. He was in too deep. He had a feeling that if he didn’t salvage the project, he might not survive.

The hastily organized effort tonight had ended in failure, just as his intuition had warned him and just as Tuck had predicted. Taking out a Guild boss was always an extremely high-risk endeavor. The men at the top of the Guilds got to their positions of power because they were strong, dangerous, and ruthless. They had survived just about everything theUnderworld could throw at them and managed to navigate the treacherous waters of Guild politics. They were never easy targets.

Arranging for the disappearance of a Guild boss required extensive planning, and above all, it meant making certain there was no evidence left at the scene.

The only sensible strategy was to handle the entire process in the Underworld, where murder could easily be explained as death by natural paranormal causes.

The attempt at a quick grab-and-go on the surface had been a serious mistake, but thankfully, he had been smart enough to outsource the job. There was no connection to his private security team. That meant no link to him.

Next time he would arrange things so that the murder of a Guild boss and the kidnapping of his lover happened in the Underworld. No more relying on out-of-town talent. He would use Blue Amber.

Chapter Eleven

Gabriel was pouring a second cup of coffee for Lucy and thinking that it was very pleasant to have breakfast with her when the heavy black SUV pulled up in front of the apartment house. Lucy went to the window.

“Another Guild car,” she reported. “Can’t miss one. Has management ever considered a color other than black for its fleet?”

“No,” Gabriel said. He set the pot down. “Tradition.”

A short time later the entry buzzer went off.

“That’ll be Joe,” Gabriel said. “I’ll get it.”

He rezzed the button.

“It’s me, Boss,” Joe announced.

“Here you go.” Gabriel hit the enter button. “When you’re inside the lobby, take the stairs to the second floor. Number five.”

“Got it,” Joe said.

Otis was on top of the refrigerator, enthusiastically working his waythrough a bowl of scrambled eggs. He abandoned his breakfast, grabbed his toy dust bunny, and bounced down to the counter. He landed next to the toaster and gave Gabriel an expectant look.

“Sure, you can come with me,” Gabriel said.

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