Sizzle and Burn (The Arcane Society #3)(27)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

Zack had taken the summons to dinner with surprising equanimity. “They want to get a look at me. That’s what families do.”

Raine had experienced a little rush of pride and satisfaction when he said that. She had a family, just like he did. True, hers consisted of only two people, neither of whom shared any of her DNA, but that didn’t matter. The three of them were linked together with other kinds of bonds. Tonight her clan was circling the wagons, gathering protectively around her, sending a not-so-subtle message to Zack. Andrew and Gordon were making sure he knew that she was not alone, not vulnerable.

The saffron-scented aroma of the paella wafted out of the open oven. Raine sniffed appreciatively.

“Smells great,” she said.

“It’s coming along nicely.” Andrew closed the oven door. “The rice is almost done. Another ten minutes and I’ll toss in the shrimp and clams.”

In his late fifties, with a receding hairline, he was a neatly made man, trim and distinguished.

“I can’t believe that after all these years, J&J is suddenly interested in you,” he said.

“It’s not me they’re interested in,” she said. “All they care about is their missing researcher. They’re trying to track him down.”

“The way they tracked down your father?” Andrew said, his face grim.

“Yes.” She opened a drawer and took out a whisk. “They gave me a file to read. I have to admit that it does look like Dad was involved in some potentially dangerous research.”

“Doesn’t matter, Raine. J&J isn’t the FBI. It’s nothing more than a private investigation firm. It doesn’t have the legal authority to invade a man’s private property and destroy it.”

“I know.”

“I just can’t see any way Vella’s death could be connected to that missing researcher. Not after all these years.”

“You have to admit it’s a little weird that he was here in town on that day.”

Andrew’s eyes tightened with disapproval and concern. “I don’t like any of this, Raine. Jones makes me very uneasy.”

“You don’t like him?” she asked, paying close attention because, although Andrew claimed no psychic gifts, he was an excellent judge of people.

“To be honest, I’m not sure what to make of him.” Andrew picked up the wineglass on the counter and took a sip of the expensive cabernet. He lowered the glass. “He’s not anything like Bradley, though, is he?”

“No.”

“I could tell that much just meeting him tonight. With Bradley, everything is on the surface. But Zack is a thousand miles deep. You only see what he wants you to see.” Andrew looked at her. “He’s a lot like you in that regard.”

Raine focused on whisking the rich balsamic vinegar into the pricey olive oil that Andrew insisted on using for everything from cooking to salad dressings.

“If I was a bad guy,” she said, thinking about it, “I wouldn’t want either one of them on my trail.”

“But of the two of them, which one would you worry about the most?”

Raine stopped whisking. “Okay, now that’s a strange question.”

“Got an answer?”

She shrugged. “I’d worry more about Zack.”

“Why?”

She tapped the whisk lightly against the bowl. “Probably because I know he wouldn’t quit, even if the trail went cold on him. Bradley would be more pragmatic. He’d cut his losses and go look for some other bad guy.”

“I got the same impression.” Andrew exhaled slowly. “I’ll tell you something, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Even though I’m suspicious of Zack’s reasons for contacting you, I must admit I think we all owe him.”

Raine widened her eyes, amazed. “Good heavens, why?”

“Gordon and I have been concerned about you lately.”

“You knew I was feeling a little low.”

“You weren’t just a little down,” Andrew said meaningfully. “We were starting to wonder if you were flirting with full-on depression.”

“Hey, I wasn’t that bad off.” She stopped, thinking about it. “Was I?”

Andrew smiled. “It wasn’t as if you didn’t have some legitimate reasons. In recent weeks you’ve lost your only known blood relative, the woman who was the closest thing you had to a parent. Then Mitchell dumped you. On top of that, you had to deal with Vella’s estate. Last but not least, you stumbled into another crime scene yesterday.”

“At least that last situation had a more or less happy ending. Could have been a lot worse.”

“True. But yesterday evening when we talked on the phone, I could tell that even though you found that young woman alive, you were bracing for the usual nightmares. I could hear it in your voice.”

She shrugged. “The nightmares are part of it.”

“You always say that. Tonight, though, when you walked through the front door with Zack Jones, you looked different.”

“I did?”

“It was as though you had bounced back and were ready to take on the world again.”

Raine tossed the whisk into the sink. “Zack told me that Aunt Vella’s depressive episodes were not related to her psychic talents.”

Andrew took a moment to absorb that information. Then understanding lit his face.

“I’ll be damned,” he said softly. “So that’s why you’re feeling so much better. Jones reassured you that your little eccentricities aren’t going to land you in an institution.”

“He seemed very certain. He said that psychological problems related to psychic talents manifest themselves much earlier in life. Late teens or early twenties. Evidently the Arcane Society studies that sort of thing.” She hesitated. “He also said that if Aunt Vella had contacted the Society, their experts might have been able to help her.”

“You know, I once suggested to Vella that she do just that,” Andrew said.

“Really? What did she say?”

He swirled the wine in his glass, looking troubled. “She just cried and said that wasn’t possible. Something about it being too late. She feared the Society and J&J. Didn’t trust anyone connected to either organization. She’d have been horrified if she knew about Zack Jones.”

“I know.”

He exhaled deeply. “I think there’s something you should know. When you told me that a man from J&J had contacted you, Gordon and I both went cold to the bone. We were afraid that history was about to repeat itself.”