Ghost Hunter

Chapter 2

A Few Hours Later in the Old Quarter of Cadence City…

ELLY STOPPED AT THE LAST BOOTH AT THE BACK OF THE crowded, noisy tavern.

Cooper sat alone, dining on a large sandwich, some greasy looking fries, and a bottle of Green Ruin beer.

She was startled to see that he was dressed like the other hunters around him. It was, she reflected, the first time she had ever seen him in khaki and leather. One of the reasons she had fallen for him in the first place was that he had seemed so different from the other hunters she had known all her life.

He wasn't wearing his glasses or Guild seal ring, either, she noticed. He was, in fact, doing an excellent job of blending into the crowd. But then, Cooper had a knack for making you see what he wanted you to see. She could personally testify to that. Back at the beginning of the roller-coaster ride that had been their relationship, she had actually believed that he was a librarian.

But even in khaki and leather, he still rezzed her senses in a way that no other man had ever been able to do.

Her pulse was racing, but she gave him her coolest, most composed smile.

'Welcome to Cadence,' she said brightly. 'Mind if I join you?'

She had to raise her voice to be heard above the loud rez-rock music, but she did not allow her brilliant smile to waver by so much as a fraction of an inch. Growing up in a family with three brothers and a father who were all ghost hunters had taught her a few things about dealing with the species. So had her mother. Rule number one, according to Evelyn St. Clair, was that a woman had to stand up for herself, or else she would get trampled beneath a lot of heavy ghost-hunter boots.

Cooper's boots were heavier than those of most hunters.

He looked up from his sandwich and beer, showing no sign of surprise. She knew that he had seen her enter the bar a moment ago and had tracked her progress through the crowd. Very little escaped Cooper's notice. He had a hunter's natural awareness of his environment.

'Elly,' he said in the low, dangerously soft voice that never failed to stir the hair on the nape of her neck. He got slowly, politely to his feet. 'Nice to see you again. When I got your call a few minutes ago, I was surprised to hear that you were in the neighborhood.' He indicated the rowdy tavern scene with a faint inclination of his head. 'Not exactly your kind of place.'

She set her oversized tote very carefully on the seat across from the one Cooper was using.

'When you're looking for a hunter,' she said, slipping out of her coat, 'you go to places where they tend to congregate. Unfortunately, the Trap Door is just that sort of dive. The big surprise here is you. Back in Aurora Springs you didn't spend a lot of time in the usual hunter hangouts. You're not wearing your seal ring, either. What's up? Are you here incognito or something?'

'Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.' He took her coat and hung it on the hook at the front of the booth. 'Guild bosses tend to attract attention. I'd like to avoid that on this trip. Luckily only a couple of people here in Cadence know me by sight.'

She sat down beside the tote. 'Why all the secrecy?'

'I'm in town on personal business, not Guild business.' He lowered himself onto the red plastic cushion across from her. 'I'd prefer not to be recognized. There are reasons.'

Oh, damn. He's got a mistress here in Cadence. He's trying to protect her from the media. The tabloids loved to cover illicit Guild boss affairs and associated gossip.

Her heart plummeted. The fizzy feeling deep inside that had been bubbling like mad ever since she'd gotten the phone call from her mother that afternoon, suddenly went flat.

Should have considered the possibility that he was involved with someone else, she told herself. It's been six months, after all. What did you expect? That he had been pining away over there in Aurora Springs, missing you?

When her mother had phoned to tell her that she'd heard that Cooper was on his way to Cadence, she'd been unable to suppress the little jolt of hope and excitement. He was coming after her at last.

Except that he hadn't come after her. The drive from Aurora Springs took an hour and a half, at most, and probably a good deal less in Cooper's sleek, high-powered Spectrum EX. Guild bosses didn't worry a lot about posted speed limits. Cooper had no doubt been in town for hours, but he hadn't called or come by the shop. Now she knew that he had probably gone straight to his lover's place.

But if that was the case, why wasn't he with her tonight? It was after eight o'clock. Maybe she was married.

Pull yourself together, woman. You're here on a mission.

Still, she found she had to give herself a couple of minutes to adjust to being this close to him again. She had not actually forgotten the impact he made on all her senses. She relived it frequently late at night when she was alone in her bed. Nevertheless, when she had learned he was due to arrive in town today, she had convinced herself that, after all these months away from him, she would be able to handle the sexy thrill.

It was downright annoying to discover that she had not developed any real immunity to Cooper in the past few months. But being on her own here in the big city and running a business had taught her a few new social skills.

'How did you know I was in town?' Cooper asked.

'The Old Quarter here in Cadence is my neighborhood now,' she said smoothly. 'Let's just say I have my sources.'

'Right.' He nodded, evidently satisfied, and picked up his sandwich. 'Your mother phoned and told you I was on my way here to Cadence.'

'Well, yes, as a matter of fact. She called me this afternoon to warn me.'

He looked amused. 'She thought that my impending arrival warranted a warning?'

'She's my mom. She didn't want me to be taken by surprise if you decided to show up at my shop.'

'Should have remembered that moms are inclined to do things like that.' He drank some beer and lowered the bottle. 'So, how's life in the big city?'

His mesmerizing blue eyes were even more riveting without the transparent shield of his glasses, she discovered. Or maybe she had just forgotten how compelling they were.

'Life here is great,' she said briskly. 'A whole new world, in fact. I always knew that Aurora Springs was staid and conservative compared to a city like Cadence, but I didn't realize just how old-fashioned and behind the times the place really is until I got here.'

'Been an enlightening six months for you, has it?'

'It certainly has. Did you know, for instance, that the local Guild is making a major effort to go mainstream like the Resonance City Guild? There's talk of turning it into a corporation.'

He shrugged. 'Mercer Wyatt will probably be able to make the Cadence Guild resemble a mainstream business enterprise. But I can guarantee you that when it comes to the inner workings at the top, things aren't going to change much.'

'How do you know that?' she demanded. 'Look at the Resonance City Guild. They say the former boss, Emmett London, managed to turn it into a respectable corporate entity before he resigned. It even has a representative on the Resonance Chamber of Commerce, for goodness' sake. Talk about mainstreaming.'

'I've got nothing against taking the Guilds mainstream. Up to a point. Got a few plans of my own for Aurora Springs.'

That stopped her. 'You do?'

'Yes.' He raised his brows. 'But that doesn't mean anything will actually change much in the executive offices.'

'Why not?'

'Because,' Cooper said with an air of great patience, 'although you can change some aspects of how the Guilds function and how they are perceived by the public, at their core, they are fundamentally different from mainstream corporate entities.'

'Why?' she demanded.

'The Guilds are a cross between business enterprises and emergency militias. That mix requires a