Chapter Nine
It was four o’clock in the morning and the Shadow Zone was locked in fog.
The mist in the street below the second floor of the Honeymoon Hideaway Motel (A Wedding Night You Will Never Forget.
Special Discounts for Repeat Customers.) was so thick, Alice could barely make out the silhouette of the shabby nightclub across the street.
The vapor was infused with the garish lights of the casino next door and the flashing sign above the club.
Even if the establishments had not been illuminated, the zone would have been enveloped in green shadows because of the energy that radiated from the nearby Great Wall surrounding the Dead City. That was true of all eight of the zones.
Two hundred years ago, the First Generation colonists had built their communities close to the massive quartz barriers, which had offered protection from storms as well as free street lighting.
In Illusion Town, each zone had developed into a unique neighborhood.
The workers who kept the casinos, clubs, bars, and shops running day and night tended to congregate in the Dark Zone.
Most of the glittering high-rise hotel-casinos and the estates of the powerful people who owned them were found in the “gem zones”—Amber, Amethyst, Sapphire, and Emerald.
Two of the eight zones, the Fire Zone and the Storm Zone, were considered uninhabitable due to intense paranormal activity.
The lowest of the low-rent gambling joints, the shadiest of shady nightclubs, and the sleaziest of sleazy motels were located in the Shadow Zone. So were the majority of the city’s quickie wedding chapels.
“Hard to believe we’re so close to home and yet unable to walk through the front door of our house and order a pizza from Ollie’s,” she whispered to Sebastian.
He was perched on the windowsill, gazing out into the fog-bound night. He chortled sympathetically. She couldn’t tell if he was commiserating with her or opining that the pizza they had picked up after the fifteen-minute MC ceremony at One-Stop Weddings had been inferior to Ollie’s.
The bottle of red wine Owen had insisted on buying was half-empty. Why he thought it was a great idea to toast their temporary marriage was beyond her, but she had to admit, the wine had proved therapeutic.
She told herself that he was right. Until they had a better grasp of the nature of the threat from Kelbrook, it would be extremely risky to return to her little cottage in the Dark Zone.
And since when had 121 Fireview Lane become home, anyway? She hadn’t had one since the Ballantine Academy had closed. At the rate things were going, she might never have a real home again. Not unless she and Owen could make Dunstan Kelbrook leave her alone.
She ought to take a more positive approach to the problem, she decided.
The rescue operation that Owen had orchestrated tonight had been impressive.
Almost too late, but yes, impressive. The man had some serious skills.
True, he had his own agenda, but there was nothing wrong with that.
It helped balance the situation. They were equal partners in the endeavor.
If they managed to find a way to render Kelbrook harmless, maybe—just maybe—she would be able to build a normal life.
Whatever that looked like here in Illusion Town.
“We can do it,” Owen said behind her.
She turned quickly. He was seated at the small table, working on the handle of the mirror camera. Everything about him was intent. Focused. The energy of his aura charged the atmosphere, sending little frissons of excitement across her senses.
The most compelling man she had ever met, and she was married to him. For now.
“Do what?” she asked warily.
“Figure out how to deal with Kelbrook.”
“How did you know I was thinking about that?”
“Mostly because you had gone so quiet. That told me you were second-guessing your decision to team up with me.”
“I wasn’t wondering if I had made a mistake,” she said. “I’m okay with my decision. I’m just worried that we won’t be able to accomplish our goal. Dunstan Kelbrook is very powerful.”
Owen looked up from the mirror, his eyes heating. “So are we.”
She smiled. “I do admire positive thinking in the face of objectively negative reality.”
“It’s not positive thinking. It’s acceptance of the fact that there is no other option.
Neither of us has a choice now. We are going on offense because Kelbrook won’t stop looking for you.
For some reason, he wants you back in that asylum, and I doubt it’s for your own good or for the good of the Kelbrook family name. ”
“Sooner or later, he’ll realize you’re the one who rescued me tonight. When he does, he’ll go after you.”
“I may have trouble collecting the other half of my fee,” Owen admitted.
“How much do you charge for tracking down people like me?”
“I’ve never worked a case like yours, but Twitchell signed the standard private client contract—twenty thousand as a retainer. A thousand an hour thereafter. That rate jumps by a lot if people start shooting at me. All expenses to be reimbursed, of course.”
She swallowed hard. “That’s a lot of money.”
“Like I said, you are a valuable commodity to the Kelbrooks. That’s one of the things that made this case so interesting.”
She went cold. But he was not paying any attention.
“Here we go.” He snapped off the cover of the camera, revealing the small control panel inside the handle. “Well now, isn’t this interesting.”
The mirror suddenly blinked on and became a video screen.
A thrill of anticipation sparked across Alice’s nerves. She put aside Owen’s disturbing comment about why he had found her case so interesting and hurried across the room to the table.
“You unlocked it,” she said. “Nice work.”
“It wasn’t complicated. Looks like there’s only one video. Ready to watch?”
“Yes.” She grabbed the other chair and sat down beside him.
Sebastian vaulted off the windowsill, fluttered across the room, and hopped up onto the table. He watched with keen attention as Owen rezzed the video.
The image of a familiar-looking hotel room appeared.
“I think that’s Room 205,” she whispered.
“It’s a hotel,” Owen said. He did not take his eyes off the screen. “Most of the rooms probably look alike.”
The audio was on but the only sound was the faint hiss of the jets that were filling the space with a yellow, fog-like vapor.
The mist seethed, blurring the scene, but it was possible to make out the fully clothed figure of a woman on the bed.
She was on top of the quilt, curled on her side, her back to the camera.
Her face was turned away and mostly obscured by a heavy veil of long brown hair.
Her arm was flung out to the side, the fingers clenched into the quilt in what appeared to be a desperate attempt to push herself up off the bed.
A gold wedding ring gleamed on one finger.
The jolt of horror and disbelief was so fierce that for a moment Alice could not breathe. She could not move. She stared at the screen, trying to process what she was seeing.
Sensing her stunned reaction, Sebastian bustled closer and jumped down onto her lap. She hugged him, seeking comfort.
Owen studied the screen and looked at Alice, ice in his eyes. “That’s you, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”