Ghost Hunter

can be disastrous psychic trauma to both of the people involved, especially if one of them loses control.'

Lydia shuddered. 'So I've heard.'

'In addition, being the subject of a duel made me the talk of the campus. I knew the tabloids were going to have a field day. I was afraid I might lose my job at the college before it was all over.'

'Serious stuff. You did, indeed, have every right to be mad as green hell.'

'I was. Still, I kept telling myself that the incident offered some indication that our personal relationship was not doomed. I confronted Cooper in his office and demanded to know why he had fought the duel.'

'And?'

Elly heaved a deep sigh. 'He made it clear that he hadn't fought the duel for reasons of passion or love or my feminine honor.'

Lydia frowned. 'Why did he fight it?'

'Are you ready for this? To protect the balance of power on the Aurora Springs Guild Council.'

Lydia's mouth opened in horror. 'Oh, no.'

'It's true. He told me so, himself. He was afraid Palmer Frazier might lure me into marriage and that, in turn, would lead to a family alliance between Frazier and my father, which would affect the Council.'

Lydia groaned. 'He fought the duel because of Guild politics?'

'Yes.'

'Not because of you?'

Elly shook her head sadly. 'You see now why I had to give him back his ring?'

'Of course I do.' Impulsively, Lydia put her arms around Elly and gave her a quick hug. 'Under the circumstances, it was the only thing you could do. Coming on top of all your other concerns about the relationship, you had no choice.'

Before Elly could thank her for her understanding, she noticed movement in the doorway. Two dark shadows loomed in the opening. Cooper and Emmett stood silhouetted against the light behind them, their faces unreadable in the darkness.

'I believe I may have mentioned earlier that I stepped into some serious quicksand a while back,' Cooper said neutrally.

'Yes, you did,' Emmett said. 'Hell of a sucking sound.'

Chapter 16

'JUST SO I HAVE THIS CLEAR,' COOPER SAID, SNAPPING the Spectrum's gearshifter, 'you ended our engagement not because I fought a duel but because I fought it for the wrong reason?'

Elly was very still and very tense in the seat beside him.

'I don't think we should talk about this anymore,' she said. 'There's no point.'

'You sure as hell didn't have any problem talking to Lydia London about it.'

'I like her. There was a sort of instant bond between us. She was very understanding.'

'You just met her tonight and already you've got a bond thing going? What about me? You've known me for months. We were engaged. What about our bond?'

'What bond?' she asked politely.

'I think I've got a right to be pissed off.'

'I knew you wouldn't understand.'

'You're damn right, I don't understand.' He was not going to lose his temper, he told himself. Damned if he would let her make him lose it. 'Your logic is about as watertight as a sieve.'

'My logic doesn't have to hold water, it just has to make sense to me. And it does. By the way, in case you didn't eavesdrop long enough to hear every little detail, I'd like to point out that Lydia certainly got my logic.'

'Sure she's on your side. She's a woman. You women all stick together when it comes to this kind of stuff.'

'Please keep your voice down. You're upsetting Rose.'

He glanced at Rose, who was sitting on the back of the seat, watching the night through the window. The jeweled bracelet glittered around her furry neck. She didn't look upset, he thought. Then again, she was a dust bunny. What the hell did he know about what was going through her brain? He couldn't even figure out what was going on in the brain of the human female sitting next to him.

He drove a couple of blocks without speaking, calling on years of training and habit to control the frustration and anger simmering deep inside him.

When that did not prove to be stunningly effective, he went with the positive thinking approach.

'Does it strike you that we sound like a typical married couple quarreling on the way home from a party?' he asked.

'No,' she said. 'It doesn't. For one thing, we're not married.'

So much for positive thinking.

'No, but we're sleeping together.'

She flashed him a look that could have scorched a ghost. 'We are not sleeping together.'

He should stop right now. This was a dangerous road. Even he could see that. But he couldn't seem to stop himself.

'What about last night?' he asked.

She gripped her purse very tightly. 'Last night doesn't count. You were in the grip of a bad burn.'

'You can use that line of reasoning to excuse my actions, but how do you explain the fact that you were just as hot as I was?'

'You hunters aren't the only ones who get hit with certain aftereffects from an extreme adrenaline rush,' she said coolly. 'The experience may be more intense for you after you've worked ghost light to the point of melting amber, but, trust me, the rest of us are susceptible, too. What with the encounter with that mugger in the alley and rescuing Bertha, I assure you, I was very highly rezzed myself last night. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?'

Not a chance, lady, he thought. But it was finally dawning on him that this was probably not a good time to pursue the subject.

'All right, if you don't want to talk about our past history,' he said aloud, 'we might as well talk business.'

She gave him a wary, sidelong glance. 'Guild business?'

'As far as you're concerned that's the only kind I care about, isn't it?'

She leaned her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes.

'I may not approve of some of the things the Guilds do, and I've got problems with a lot of the outdated traditions,' she said, 'but I would remind you that I am a direct descendent on my father's side of John Sander St. Clair, a founder and first chief of the Aurora Springs Guild. Furthermore, I count a number of heroes of the Era of Discord and several former Guild chiefs and Council members on both branches of my family tree. My father is one of the most distinguished men in the Guild, and my brothers are all top-ranked hunters.'

'I'm aware of your family history,' he said quietly.

'Of course you are.' She opened her eyes and turned her head on the seat to look at him. 'It's one of the reasons you wanted to marry me.'

He concentrated on the narrow street. 'What's your point?'

'Regardless of my personal issues with the archaic traditions of the Guilds, I do have a strong sense of loyalty to them and a respect for their role in history. I also have an appreciation of their ongoing importance as emergency militias. I am not stupid. I realize that catching the blue freak is extremely important. You'll have my full cooperation in your investigation.'

He paused at a stoplight.

'Thank you,' he said quietly.

'You're welcome.'