(Rainshadow, #2) Deception Cove by Jayne Castle Read Free Book Online Page A

lock. “It’s a small world at the top of the social and business ladder. I’m sure you’re well acquainted with the Whitcombs.”
    “They live in Resonance City.” He kept his tone flat and cool with an effort. “The Sebastians have always maintained their headquarters in Cadence City. I’m not saying we don’t know one another. Occasionally we end up at the same events.”
    “Same clubs, same charity balls, same golf courses, same art museums and hospital boards, et cetera, et cetera. Yep, I know how it works.”
    “I’m saying that the Whitcombs and the Sebastians are not close,” Drake repeated. “I’d appreciate it if you did not twist my words.”
    “Sorry.” She made a face and went through the door. “It’s not your fault that you associate with the family of my ex. I realize that in your world you can’t avoid that kind of contact. But you can see why that fact complicates things a tad for me.”
    Drake kept his mouth shut. Sometimes that was the safest course of action.
    Alice looked around the dingy lobby with obvious relief. “Well, at least my landlord hasn’t locked us out yet, Houdini. The night is looking up.”
    Houdini made cheerful noises.
    “Easy for you to say,” Alice grumbled. “You don’t care if we have to sleep in a doorway.”
    There was no elevator, Drake noticed. Alice took Houdini off her shoulder and set him on the first step of the staircase.
    “You can walk,” she told him. “I’m not carrying you up four flights of stairs tonight.”
    Houdini chortled again, as if going up the stairs was a game. He bounced up each step, keeping pace with Alice. And then, because she evidently moved too slowly, he bounced down a couple of steps, turned around, and scampered back to meet her.
    Drake followed, allowing himself to enjoy the rear view of Alice in her snug black jeans.
    “What is it with Rainshadow?” Alice paused at the second-floor landing, gripped the railing, and looked down at Drake. “That island has always had a weird psi-vibe from what I’ve been able to find out.”
    “Based on what we learned recently, it looks like Rainshadow was at one time a giant bioengineering lab for the Aliens.”
    Alice’s eyes widened. “Okay, that’s a chilling thought.”
    “My brother and his fiancée recently found the ruins of an ancient aquarium filled with the results of some of the Aliens’ genetic experiments on marine animals.”
    Alice started up the next flight of stairs. “Fossils, you mean?”
    “Not fossils,” Drake said. He rounded the landing. “Living fish. Really, really bizarre fish. Sea monsters.”
    “In an
aquarium
?”
    “A giant, crystal-walled aquarium in a huge cavern. The aquarium was still operational and so were the creatures inside. They were bioengineered to survive in high-psi environments like Rainshadow. There was an explosion inside the cavern triggered by one of the three crystals. A lot of the creatures escaped into the flooded caves on the island.”
    Alice paused on the third-floor landing to catch her breath. “Are we talking the kind of marine animals that snack on seaweed?”
    “No. We’re talking the kind of monsters that would eat any human unlucky enough to fall into one of the cave pools.”
    Alice started up the last flight of stairs. “That doesn’t sound good.”
    “No, it’s not good.”
    “But I still don’t see what I can do to help.”
    “Neither do I, but my brother is convinced that we need you, and Harry is never wrong when it comes to this kind of stuff.”
    “What kind of stuff, exactly, is he never wrong about?”
    “Harry is in the security business. Specifically, he’s the head of Sebastian, Inc. security, which has responsibility for Rainshadow Foundation Security. When he’s working a case his intuition is off the charts.”
    “Your brother has never even met me.”
    “No, but now I have met you and I think he’s right,” Drake said. “We need you on the island. My intuition is pretty