She edged a little closer to him. He looked so sexy and so devastatingly masculine out here in the shadows, she thought. There was the distilled essence of the relentless avenger, the protector and the warrior in the energy that enveloped him. He was the kind of man you could always depend on, she thought. His word was his bond. Honor mattered to Fallon Jones.
He moved one hand, slightly revealing the face of his black watch and one of the old-fashioned gold-and-onyx cuff links that secured the cuff of his crisp white shirt.
"Did someone give you those cuff links?" she asked.
He glanced down at his left wrist. "Family heirlooms. Once upon a time they belonged to Caleb Jones. They've been passed down the line to me."
"That's nice," she said. "Things like that help keep you in touch with the past. They remind you of who you are and where you came from and what you need to be."
"Yes," he said.
"Someday you can pass them down to your own son. Or daughter. No reason a woman couldn't wear cuff links."
Fallon frowned, as though the prospect of having offspring was a new concept.
"Hadn't thought about that," he said.
"Must be nice to have a big family like yours," she said wistfully.
"It's a pain in the ass most of the time."
"But you know they're there for you if you need them to be there."
"Yes," he said.
"Did you hear what those people were saying at the buffet table?" she asked after a while.
"About severing the connection between Arcane and J&J? Zack warned me there was talk."
"If whoever is behind the talk succeeded in getting Arcane to dump the agency, it wouldn't stop there, would it?"
"No," he said. "If the coup is successful, it would result in the Joneses' losing control of Arcane. In one sense it wouldn't matter."
She smiled. "Because the Joneses would take their secrets and fire up another version of Arcane?"
"We wouldn't have any choice. Someone has to do what Arcane has been doing since the Victorian era."
"Keep a lid on the damage done by the bad guys who happen to be psychic and hunt down the folks who try to re-create the formula."
"The problem," Fallon said, "is that it would take time to rebuild a new Arcane, and time is the one thing we don't have a lot of right now. Meanwhile Nightshade would almost certainly use the lull to reposition itself within the heart of Arcane."
"So that's what we're dealing with. A conspiracy to oust the Joneses from Arcane and take over the Society."
"It depends on your definition of conspiracy," Fallon said. "Zack thinks of it as hostile a takeover."
"Nope, I know conspiracies when I see them, and this is the real deal."
His mouth twitched. "What did I ever do without you to help me see things clearly, Isabella Valdez?"
She wrinkled her nose. "You're laughing at me, aren't you?"
"No," he said. "I'm laughing at myself." He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her close. "I didn't do that a whole lot before I met you, at least not in a very long time."
"I'm not sure how to take that."
"I was slipping into the darkness before you came along, Isabella."
"No," she said quickly. "I think you were just physically and psychically exhausted and maybe a little depressed because the job was overwhelming you."
"All I know is that with you I feel centered again."
It wasn't exactly a declaration of love, she thought, but at least Fallon was aware of the bond between them. That would do for now.
She reached up and touched his hard jaw. "When I'm with you, I feel as if I've found something I've been looking for a very long time."
His eyes burned. He lowered his head and kissed her, slowly at first, letting the hunger grow between them. The heady psi of the Sedona night closed around them, enhancing sensation across the spectrum. Isabella opened her senses to savor the invisible fire.
"Excuse me if I'm interrupting anything."
The voice, iced with rage and pain, came out of the darkness behind Isabella. Jolted, she gasped, took a step back out of Fallon's arms and turned quickly, nearly toppling in her stiletto-heeled shoes. Fallon caught her easily, steadying her.
They both looked at Jenny Austin, who stood in the shadows. Searing fog flared around her.
"Hello, Jenny," Fallon said quietly.
Jenny walked closer. Her hands were clenched in small fists at her sides. Dressed in black and bathed in moonlight she looked like the doomed heroine of an opera that was destined to end in tragedy. She seemed oblivious to Isabella's presence.
"I can't believe you had the gall to show up here tonight, Fallon," Jenny said. Her voice was tight as though she was struggling to breathe or to restrain tears. "How could you do this to my family?"
"I'm sorry," Fallon said. "But we both know it was inevitable that sooner or later we would come face-to-face at some Arcane event. The Society is a small world at the top."
"And your family controls that world," Jenny said bitterly.
Fallon did not react.
Jenny abruptly turned to Isabella.
"You must be the new office manager everyone is talking about. The one who thinks Fallon is some kind of modern Sherlock Holmes."
"Well, as a matter of fact, in addition to managing the office, I'm an investigator in the firm," Isabella said.
"The way I hear it, you're providing some additional services on the side," Jenny said coldly.
At that, Fallon stirred. Ominous energy shivered in the atmosphere. "That's enough, Jenny. Isabella has nothing to do with you and me."
"Does she know why we broke up?" Jenny whispered. "Does she know that you killed my brother?"
Isabella studied the fog that threatened to consume Jenny. "I know what really happened the night your brother died," she said gently. "I can also see that the secrets you are keeping are slowly but surely destroying you. You know the old saying, the truth will set you free."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Jenny said. "Fallon Jones killed my brother."
"You were the one who exposed Fallon to the magic-lantern lights that night, weren't you?" Isabella said gently. "Tucker didn't use his talent to slip into your condo to set up the lantern. You did it so that Fallon would be disoriented when your brother came to murder him."
Fallon was suddenly very still. But his reaction was nothing compared with Jenny's. She looked stricken.