Nick’s platinum brows shot up. “Cool.”
“Not so cool, according to Jones,” Judson said. “Apparently, there are some major side effects, the kind that make ’roid rage look like a common cold. Also some serious withdrawal issues. Skip even a few doses and a user will sink rapidly into insanity. Suicide is the usual result. Jones and Jones has an antidote, but no one ever calls for it. Nightshade would prefer not to leave any trail.”
“Damn,” Nick said. “Why does there always have to be a downside? Guess we now know what happened to the two guys you took down here on the island before you went on that last dive.”
“Yes, I think so,” Judson said.
“They ended up in the local hospital,” Gwen said. “Their boss was dead. You were swimming for your life, and there was no one around to give them a dose of the drug or call this J-and-J outfit.” She sighed. “How sad.”
“Except for the part where they murdered one guy and tried to kill me,” Judson said.
“Except for that part,” she agreed.
“I got the strong impression from Fallon Jones that Nightshade has a company-wide policy of abandoning its agents who are unlucky enough to get caught,” Judson said.
Elias whistled softly. “Tough outfit.”
They watched the sunset in silence for a while. The men drank their beers. Gwen sipped her umbrella drink. After a while, she looked at Judson.
“Sounds like your former client, Spalding, and his two men sold their souls to this devil called Nightshade,” she said.
“According to Fallon Jones, his chief client, an organization called Arcane, has been trying to control rogue talents, including Nightshade, since the Victorian era,” Judson said. “We stumbled into the middle of a turf war that has been going on in the shadows for more than a century.”
Elias snorted. “More like they stumbled into us.”
“Regardless of your point of view, contact has been made,” Judson said. “And early indications are that the Coppersmiths and this J-and-J agency are on the same side.”
“Or maybe just temporary allies,” Elias said. “There’s a hell of a lot we still don’t know about this Arcane bunch.”
Judson’s smile was cold. “And a hell of a lot they don’t know about us.”
“And it’s going to stay that way,” Elias said. His voice was flat and hard.
“Right,” Judson agreed.
“Hey, everyone’s got secrets,” Nick observed. “Doesn’t mean you can’t do business together.”
“No,” Judson said. He drank a little more beer and lowered the bottle. “It doesn’t mean that at all.”
Gwen sensed the energy in the atmosphere and smiled. She was feeling it, too, she thought.
“I get the impression that this Fallon Jones person may have suggested a business arrangement of some sort?” she said.
Judson watched the hot sunset streak the sky. “Jones mentioned that his agents work on a contract basis. He brought up the fact that he could use the expertise and the vast resources of an experienced security consulting firm that had global connections and a very solid cover.”
Elias paused his beer in midair. “Vast resources?”
“He recognized the Coppersmith name,” Judson said.
“Huh.” Elias thought about that. “Well, he’s right about one thing. Coppersmith, Inc., would make a hell of a cover. Our business interests give us an excuse to go just about anywhere in the world at any time. Hell, we’ve got our own jets, our own helicopters, our own ships.”
“It occurs to me,” Gwen continued, “that Coppersmith Consulting is in need of a new client to replace the one that recently went out of business.”
“That occurred to me, as well,” Judson said.
“If you’re taking on a new client, you’re going to need to hire some new talent,” Gwen said. “Someone who can talk to ghosts at crime scenes, for example.”
“And maybe a guy who can get through locked doors,” Nick said. “One who can hack into just about any computer. Someone with connections in places where those ritzy Coppersmiths generally don’t hang out.”
His tone was as cool and cynical as ever, but Gwen recognized the hope and longing just beneath the surface. Like her, Nick was looking for a place he could call home, a place where he belonged. He was searching for a family of his own.
Judson smiled at Gwen and Nick. “Coppersmith Consulting is hiring, and the firm could use your talents.”
Nick nodded once, satisfied. “Just so you know, since I’ve been assisting your father, I’ve developed a taste for first class when it comes to travel and accommodations. That corporate-jet thing sure is convenient.”
“I’ve created a monster,” Elias said. “But his B-and-E skills make him worth it.”
Forty-seven
That night, Judson made love to her beneath a brilliant Caribbean moon that splashed the sea with silver light. Gwen abandoned herself to his touch, savoring the tenderness and the power that he brought to the bed they shared. But it was the sense of intimacy that flared between them that she would treasure all the days of her life.
When it was over, Judson rolled onto his back and pulled her down across his damp, heated body.
“I love you, Dream Eyes,” he said. “I have since that night in Seattle.”
She laughed. “You were looking for some hot sex that night because you thought it would take your mind off the dreams.”
“That’s what I told myself at the time, but when I didn’t get the hot sex, I realized I was wrong.”
“And just how did you figure that out?”
He smiled and twined a strand of her hair around his finger. “Because it dawned on me that if I couldn’t have hot sex with you, I didn’t want to have it with anyone else, even if it meant that I wouldn’t get a break from the dreams. How long is it going to take for you to figure out that you love me?”
“Oh, I fell in love with you that night, too,” she said.
“Is that right?” He looked pleased.
“I knew from the start that you were the one I’d been waiting for. But I screwed up our first date when I offered to fix your dreams, didn’t I? You got pissed off and disappeared to Eclipse Bay.”
“You felt sorry for me because of the dreams. Pity was the last thing I wanted from you.”
“I knew you were having a few dream issues and I was sympathetic, sure. I also knew I could probably fix your dreams. But that had nothing to do with falling in love with you.”