Fired Up (Dreamlight Trilogy #1)(50)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“One of the rocks in the lamp stayed dark. Figure that’s the one Nicholas called the Midnight Crystal. Chloe thinks it’s just a chunk of glass. She couldn’t sense any energy in it, and I sure as hell couldn’t fire it up.”

“Good news for the Jones family tree,” Fallon said. “What’s got me worried now is that it looks like Nightshade wants the lamp, and I can’t figure out why.”

“What makes you so sure that Nightshade is involved with what happened at the motel yesterday?”

“My talent,” Fallon said flatly.

“Hard to argue with that. But what would they want with the lamp?”

“When I find out, you’ll be the first to know. I’ve got a feeling that as long as you and Chloe have the lamp in your possession, though, you’re both in danger.”

“Why Chloe?” he asked, gut tightening.

“Because she can work the lamp,” Fallon said. “If they want the lamp, they may want her, too.”

“Shit.”

“Harper’s doing a good job. Anyone trying to follow you probably believes that you’re in L.A., so I think we’ve got some breathing room. But we need to get the lamp into safekeeping in one of the museum vaults as quickly as possible.”

“You have a plan?”

“I had a plan,” Fallon said. “I’ve always got a plan. But you screwed things up when you decided to stay in Vegas. I had a couple people waiting in L.A., the kind of talents who can handle this type of work.”

“Hunters?”

“Cleared hunters. When it comes to dealing with Nightshade, I’m not using anyone who hasn’t been vetted by me, personally, unless there’s no other option.”

“You think Arcane has been infiltrated?”

“It’s a given now that we know that the bastard who founded the organization was sitting right there on the Governing Council for decades, listening to every single one of the Society’s secrets.”

“Not that Arcane was ever particularly good at keeping secrets,” Jack pointed out.

“The Society wasn’t set up to be an intelligence agency,” Fallon shot back. “We’re supposed to be a group of serious academics and researchers devoted to the study of the paranormal. We publish scholarly papers, damn it. We collect artifacts for our museums. And J&J is just a small-time private investigation agency, not the CIA.”

“Take it easy, Fallon. You sound a little tense.”

“So sue me. I’ve got about a dozen irons in the fire at the moment, and they’re all red-hot. Do you have any idea of how much data we collected when we took down those Nightshade labs a couple months back?”

“No.”

“Neither do I because it’s all locked in computers. Hard-core encryption. I don’t have nearly enough crypto-talents to get the job done.”

“Must be tough,” Jack said, trying for soothing.

But Fallon was on a roll. “I’ve had to put a lot of routine cases on the back burner because I just don’t have the time or the people to handle them. That means that an unknown number of sociopathic sensitives are out there right now using their talents to con little old ladies out of their life savings, picking pockets, stealing jewelry or running gangs. In some cases they’re getting away with murder. Literally.”

“J&J was never intended to be a police force, either,” Jack reminded him.

“Who the hell is going to catch those kinds of bad guys if we don’t? Regular law enforcement agencies don’t even acknowledge that there is such a thing as the paranormal, let alone that some of the people they’re chasing have psychic talents.”

There was movement in the bedroom doorway. Jack glanced back and saw Chloe coming toward him. She looked fresh and vibrant, still a little flushed and rosy from their lovemaking and the shower.

“You need an assistant, Fallon,” he said into the phone. “You should learn to delegate.”

“Yeah, people keep telling me that. But I don’t have time to find someone who could handle the job. And then there’s the other issue.”

“What other issue?”

Fallon was quiet for a couple of beats. “I’ve been told that I’m not the easiest person to work with.”

“Hard to believe.”

“I know, go figure. Thing is, even if I did find someone suitable, what are the odds that he or she would want to pull up stakes and move here to Scargill Cove?”

“What’s wrong with Scargill Cove? Thought it was one of those picturesque little coastal towns like Mendocino.”

“Small towns are small towns. Doesn’t matter what the scenery looks like. The only movie theater here closed four years ago. The one bookstore stocks books on vegan cooking and meditation. Most of the locals can best be described as interesting characters, and the only restaurant clean enough to take a date to is the Sunshine Café, which closes at five thirty. They roll up the streets at night around here.”

Jack took the phone away from his ear and looked at it. He put the phone back to his ear.

“You’re thinking of inviting a woman out on a date?” he asked cautiously.

“I’m a man,” Fallon muttered. “I have needs.”

“Then maybe you’d better move to another town. Someplace where you have a shot at getting those needs fulfilled.”

“That won’t work.” Fallon exhaled heavily. “I require peace and quiet. Lots of peace and quiet. Scargill Cove works for me.”

“I hesitate to state the obvious, but have you considered registering with arcanematch?”

“What’s the point? Everyone knows that the Society’s database isn’t much good at finding matches for guys like us. Look what happened when you went shopping for a wife there. You were divorced two years later.”

“Just because my marriage didn’t work out doesn’t mean that arcanematch wouldn’t work for you.”

“Hell, I’m not looking for a wife. I don’t have time to deal with a wife. Wives require a lot of attention.”

“Maybe what you need is a wife who shares your interest in running J&J,” Jack said. He wondered when he had become an expert on marriage. Fallon was right, his own had not been what anyone would call a resounding success.

“What the hell are we doing talking about my private life?” Fallon demanded. “I’ve got work to do. I’ll get the team of hunters out to you later today. They’ll be driving from L.A. Don’t want to risk taking the lamp through airline security. They should reach you in about four hours, assuming I can get hold of them right away.”