It dawned on her that if they attacked Landry, there was no telling what he might do to retaliate. Max and Araminta could certainly inflict some painful wounds, but they were too small to do anything more than draw blood. That would only inflame Landry all the more.
She clutched at Araminta.
“No,” she whispered. “Please don’t.”
“Hold on to her,” Davis said quietly. He took Max down from his shoulder and gripped him in one hand. “We don’t want them getting singed.”
Celinda tucked Araminta safely into the crook of her arm. Araminta resisted, straining to get free.
The green ghost was moving now, closing in on Davis as Landry used his psi energy to manipulate it.
There was no question but that Landry was a powerful para-rez talent. Celinda knew that even a light brush with the flaring radiation at the outer edges of the ball of alien energy would be sufficient to knock a human being unconscious for hours. Sustained contact for more than a few seconds would leave a severe psychic burn.
“This is what happens to cheap PIs who don’t know enough to back off when they should,” Landry said, vicious eyes alight with an unwholesome excitement. “Time you understood that I’m the boss here in Frequency.”
A distraction was needed, Celinda thought. And the only one at hand was Araminta. She started to lower the dust bunny to the floor. Araminta was wriggling eagerly, anxious to be set free. Celinda was sure that she would head straight for Landry’s ankle.
Davis studied the ghost as though it were a particularly bad piece of post–Era of Discord art. “You know, Landry, I really don’t have time for this today. I keep telling you, I’ve got a wedding to attend.”
All Celinda saw was a faint silvery shimmer in the air. It was as if she were suddenly viewing Landry’s energy ghost through an antique mirror.
The UDEM flared once more, wildly, and then winked out of existence.
Hurriedly she tightened her grip on Araminta, securing her again.
“Some other time,” Celinda whispered soothingly.
She looked at where the ghost had been. There was no sign of it. She had witnessed Davis’s unusual talent the night before last when he had de-rezzed the twin ghosts. Nevertheless, she was a little awed by what he had just done. No one de-rezzed a Benson Landry ghost.
Her reaction was nothing compared to Landry’s. It was clear from his expression that he was stunned. He was also furious.
The dark spiderweb of psi emanating from him quivered dangerously, but the spider had paused. In that instant of crystalline tension she realized that the only thing preventing Landry from attacking Davis physically was fear. It was the one force strong enough to stop a true para-sociopath from doing whatever he pleased. Landry had enough control left to realize that he might not survive the outcome of a showdown.
It was her brother, Walker, who shattered the unnatural silence. He came up behind Landry in the hall, anger blazing across his face.
“What the hell is going on here?” he demanded. “What are you doing in my sister’s room, Landry?”
“He is not in my room,” Celinda said quietly. “If you will notice he is standing in the hall.”
Landry swung around, features set in savage, frustrated fury. Without a word he strode swiftly away, heading for the elevators.
Walker looked from Celinda to Davis and back again. “What was that bastard doing here?”
Celinda pulled herself together. “Nothing. He heard I was in town, that’s all. Came by to say hello.”
“The hell he did,” Davis interrupted mildly. “He came here to threaten your sister.”
“Davis.” Celinda glared, appalled. “Please shut up. This is none of your business.”
“It is now,” he said.
“I trusted you,” she wailed.
“I know.” His expression softened a little. “And you’re going to have to trust me again.”
Walker frowned. “Someone want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Sure,” Davis said. “Come on in.”
Walker stepped warily through the doorway, still uncertain.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Celinda said to Davis. “He’s my brother. It’s my family that’s at risk here. You have no right to interfere.”
“You’ve done your best,” Davis said. He closed the door behind Walker. “But the bottom line is that you can’t protect your family from the likes of Benson Landry. The only way to stop a guy like that is to kill him.”
“I was getting around to that, damn it,” she shouted. “Now, you’ve gone and ruined everything.”
Chapter 21
DAVIS WATCHED THE EXPRESSION ON HER FACE AS SHE REalized what she had just said. Suddenly he understood. A mix of soaring admiration for her reckless daring collided with a mind-bending fear of what could have been the outcome.
“Should have figured as much,” he said. “That explains a few things.”
“Celinda?” Walker was bewildered. “Are you saying that you were going to try to kill Benson Landry? Holy shit. Have you gone crazy over there in Cadence?”
“Damn, damn, damn.” She walked to the bed and sank down on it.
Araminta, fully fluffed again, muttered in a concerned way. Celinda set her free. The dust bunny drifted up onto her shoulder.
“I had a plan.” Celinda stared at the closed door, her hands small fists in her lap. “I know his weakness, you see. I was going to try to use it against him.”
“Will one of you please tell me what the hell is going on here?” Walker demanded.
“I will,” Davis said. He walked to the window and stood looking out over the Quarter. He was still trying to get his pulse rate back down to somewhere near normal. She had planned to murder Landry. “Four months ago Benson Landry drugged your sister and set her up for the tabloids in order to destroy her business after she refused to take him on as a client.”
“Son of a bitch,” Walker said tightly.
Davis turned around. “But that wasn’t enough for him. He also threatened to ruin her whole family if she went to the police. Celinda tried to protect all of you by keeping silent and by moving away from Frequency.”
“I knew it.” Walker rounded on Celinda. “I knew you couldn’t possibly have fallen for that bastard. We all knew it. Why did he show up here this morning? To threaten you again?”
“It’s complicated,” Celinda said. Her jaw was rigid.
Davis crossed his arms and leaned one shoulder against the wall. “Your sister happened to purchase an alien relic that had been stolen from the Cadence Guild vault. I tracked her down and offered to buy it back. But Araminta ran off with it and hid it before we could make the exchange. Someone else back in Cadence is also looking for the artifact. Somehow Benson Landry found out about it, too. That’s why he came here this morning.”
“What a mess.” Walker shoved his fingers through his hair. He peered more closely at Davis. “You’re not really Celinda’s date for the wedding, then, are you?”
“No, he isn’t,” Celinda said wearily. “He’s my bodyguard.”
Davis looked at Walker. “She’s half right. I’m also her date for the wedding. It’s called multitasking.”
“Mom told me this morning that she and Dad thought things looked serious between you two,” Walker said.
Celinda’s head came up at that. “Good grief, what made her come to that conclusion?”
Walker spread his hands. “Something about the conversation that took place last night when they invited the two of you to have a drink with them, I think.”
Celinda blinked. “But we argued in front of them. It was embarrassing.”
Walker nodded. “Right. Mom said there weren’t many people who could have dragged you into an embarrassing quarrel in a public place. She said that meant that whatever you and Davis had going must be serious.”
“I don’t believe this.” Celinda was clearly flummoxed. “We had a stupid quarrel in a bar, and they assumed our relationship was serious? That’s ridiculous.”