“He was a concept guy,” Sophy muttered. “A visionary.”
But now she was on the defensive. Angela moved in fast.
“Regardless of what happened in the past, both men agreed that the secrets of the Kaleidoscope weapons should not be allowed out into the world,” she said. “They made a sacred pact between the families and we are all bound to honor it.”
“Exactly,” Sophy said, very cool again. “That means Luke and I work together. Right now we need information—specifically everything your husband knows about Kaleidoscope.”
“Harry does not take orders from a Harper,” Angela snapped. “Luke, do something about her.”
“Are you kidding?” Luke said. “I might not be the smartest man in the world, but I’m not dumb enough to try to break up a cage match fight between two women.”
“Very wise,” Harry announced from the other side of the study. He closed the computer, got to his feet, and strolled toward the desk. “Maybe we should all try to focus here.”
“The Boss has a point,” Luke said.
Angela pulled herself together. “Yes, he does.”
“Sophy is right,” Luke said. “We do need information about Kaleidoscope. For our generation it’s ancient history. We knowbits and pieces of the story, but neither of us has a complete picture.”
“It wasn’t contemporary history for me, either,” Harry said. “I was born after the pact was made and after Dad and Tobias Harper ended their partnership. My father never talked much about Kaleidoscope or Pandora’s box. He just emphasized that both were extremely dangerous.”
“Hold on,” Luke said. “Pandora’s box disappeared in the Fogg Lake explosion. What does it have to do with Kaleidoscope?”
“There were issues with the Kaleidoscope weapons,” Harry said.
“Right, the psychic recoil problem.”
“The crystals in Pandora’s box were developed to deal with the recoil. But in the end Dad and Tobias Harper concluded the crystals were even more dangerous than the weapons. To the end of his days Dad hoped the stones had been buried under tons of rock in the Fogg Lake explosion, but he always wondered if someone might have smuggled them out.”
Sophy sniffed. “Someone named Tobias Harper, for instance?”
“Of course not,” Harry said. “When it came to Kaleidoscope and Pandora’s box, Xavier and Tobias trusted each other. They had no choice.”
“The good news is that this doesn’t involve the crystals in Pandora’s box,” Angela put in quickly. “If that were the case, Deke would have written something else on those passes. Evidently he was just worried about Kaleidoscope.”
“She’s right,” Harry said. “Look, I need to do some research in the vault. I’m going to pull the old Kaleidoscope files and see if there is anything useful in them. I’ll call you as soon as I have something.”
“Thanks,” Luke said. “We’re on our way to Santa Rosa. I ordered the company jet to meet us there. Let me know what you find out in the vault.”
“Will do,” Harry said.
He ended the call.
Angela retrieved her phone and glared at him. He was the love of her life, but she had never met a more stubborn man.Typical Wells, she thought affectionately.
He had vowed to retire that year and she had been thrilled. They were booked on a long cruise. Plans had been made. Until six months ago, the management transition at the top of Wells, Inc. had been going far more smoothly than most people, including most industry watchers, had anticipated. It was a given in the business world that succession arrangements within tightly held family firms were invariably messy. But there had not been so much as a ripple of resentment when Harry had announced he was stepping down and would be handing the reins to Luke.
Their oldest grandson was the obvious choice, and not just because he lacked any of the psychic-grade engineering and scientific talents that ran in the bloodline. It had been clear from the cradle that Luke’s father, Matthew, would always prefer his engineering lab to running the company, and Deke’s restless nature, which had become even more pronounced after the death of his wife, meant he would never be able to concentrate on running Wells, Inc.
Luke, on the other hand, could focus on the arcane intricacies of business the way others in the family did on research and development. Until the disaster six months ago, he had been not only content with his future role as the head of Wells, Inc., but enthusiastic about it, too.Drivenwas not too strong a word. Like all the Wells men, once he set a goal or took on a responsibility, he was mission-oriented.
He had been obsessed with the challenge of taking the company into the future—right up until the wrong woman had walked into his life. Victoria Ellsworth hadn’t just broken his heart—thatwould have been bad enough—she had shattered his confidence in himself. That was the damage that Angela could not forgive.
Harry was convinced that the problem was temporary, that Luke simply needed time to accept that he had made a mistake. Yes, it was a serious mistake, but catastrophe had been averted. He had learned from his error in judgment. He would soon be ready to move forward.
Angela had told herself the same thing—at first. Lately, however, she had become increasingly concerned. Luke was not bouncing back the way they all had hoped.
But right now, she, too, needed to focus.
