Bridal Jitters Read Online Free Page B

determination in her eyes and smiled. For some reason he suddenly felt a lot more optimistic about his marriage prospects than he had when he had come downstairs earlier.
    •   •   •
    “Damndest thing I’ve ever seen.” Mac Ewert ran a blunt-fingered hand through his thinning gray hair. “I’ve heard of waterfalls, but I’ve been mapping catacombs for twenty years, and this is the first one I’ve ever run into.”
    “They’re rare,” Sam agreed. “But I think we can handle it for you.”
    Virginia felt her jaw drop. She barely managed to conceal her shock. She was amazed by Sam’s casual response to Ewert’s announcement. They were going to have to de-rez a
waterfall
? She almost groaned aloud. Of all the bad luck. This was just what they did not need for their first time out as the new firm of Gage & Burch; a nearly impossible assignment. She was the one who had taken the call yesterday morning from Mac. He had certainly not mentioned anything about a waterfall.
    She reminded herself that waterfalls fell into Sam’s area of expertise. She had to admire him for projecting an image of professional confidence, but she seriously doubted that he’d had any experience with waterfalls. Few people had.
    She had read about them, of course. They were described in the textbooks as unique cascades of unstable dissonance-energy manifestations—ghosts—that could block entire corridors. Unlike most UDEMs, they did not drift aimlessly through the underground tunnels of the Dead City. Instead, they were anchored in one place, forming impenetrable walls of seething psi energy that could fry anyone dumb enough to get too close. Little was known about them because so few had been discovered. Those that had been found had been de-rezzed by teams of very expensive, highly specialized experts, not by small-time security consultants. Sam would be on his own with this one. Her name was now on the newly repainted door of the office, but that didn’t mean she could help him with the waterfall. This was a job for a ghost-hunter. A really, really good ghost-hunter. All she could do was cheer him on.
    Ewert gave Sam a look of mingled desperation and aggressivedemand. “Think you can handle it, Gage? This project is already running behind schedule. I’ve had one delay after another in the tunnels during the past month. I can’t afford any more.”
    “I’ll take a look,” Sam said. “I can give you a firm answer as soon as I examine it.”
    Ewert planted his hands on his desk and glanced at the khaki-and-leather-clad man who lounged against the wall. “Leon, here, doesn’t think any single hunter can deactivate it. He tells me I’m going to have to contract with the guild for a team of specialists. Trouble is, my budget won’t stretch that far.”
    “It’s big,” Leon drawled. “More ghost energy than I’ve ever seen in one place and I’ve been working underground for damn near fifteen years.”
    Virginia glanced at him. Leon Drummond was the Ewert team’s ghost-hunter. He was working on a standard guild contract. He had made it clear that he resented having a private consultant brought in to handle the waterfall problem.
    Leon was everything that gave ghost-hunters a bad name, as far as Virginia was concerned. He was arrogant, macho, ill-mannered, and he had poor taste in clothes. His oversized belt buckle was studded with so much amber that if he ever fell into the river, she was pretty sure that he would sink like a stone.
    “Like I said, I can give you an answer after I’ve had a look at the waterfall,” Sam said calmly.
    “Suit yourself,” Leon muttered.
    Ewert leaned wearily back in his chair. “Leon will take you to the site. I can’t allow anyone else into that corridor until the waterfall is cleared. Too dangerous. For God’s sake, don’t do anything stupid. If you and Miss Burch can’t handle it, just say so. My insurance won’t cover any lawsuits.”
    Sam nodded as he got to his feet.