“Occasionally. Mostly I write boring papers on the inheritance patterns of rare or unusual talents.”
“Rare or unusual talents that happen to be potentially dangerous, you mean,” she said. “Talents like mine.”
“Everyone is potentially dangerous, Alice,” he said.
“Including me?”
“And me. Talent is not required. As a practical matter, it’s a lot easier to murder someone with a mag-rez than with psychic energy.”
“An interesting point of view. I would argue that while it may be simpler and more efficient to shoot someone with a gun, the downside for the killer is that such a method is far more likely to leave physical evidence.”
“Very true. Murder by paranormal means is a lot harder to identify and prosecute.”
“Which is why the FBPI hires specialized consultants like you?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“Why do I have the impression that there is a lot you aren’t telling me about yourself, Owen March?”
“You only met me about an hour ago. There hasn’t been time to tell you my life story.”
“Very true.” She paused. “And now we’re going to get married. That feels so strange.”
“Stranger than your short courtship with Travis Poole?”
“No.” She hesitated. “I just can’t remember much about it.”
“We need to figure out why your memories are so vague.”
She fell silent for a moment, toying with the mirror. Then she looked at him. “Have you ever been in an MC?”
“Once. Right after college. It was a mistake. We both knew it within a few weeks.”
“Why didn’t the two of you realize it wouldn’t work before you got married?”
He snorted. “Beats me. That’s why the Founders established Marriages of Convenience. They give people time to figure out if they are making a mistake.”
“Everyone knows they’re nothing more than licenses for affairs.”
“With some legal safeguards,” he reminded her. “Which is why we’re going to get married.”
“I understand. But our MC will be different,” she added with some force.
“No question about it.”Everything with you is different,Alice Radstone.
She gave him an uncertain look, but thankfully, she did not ask him to explain. That was a lucky break for him, because he had no idea how he would have outlined exactly why she was a complete anomaly in his life.
This was also not a good time to tell her that, despite appearances to the contrary, they did have one thing in common. But she would probably panic if he told her about the Gatley case, and that would not be useful.
“Any way you look at it, this situation is extremely unbalanced,” she said. “It lacks harmony in every aspect.”
“No shit.”
She checked the time. “I can’t wait to get home.”
“About going back to your place,” he said.
She groaned. “Is this where you tell me we can’t risk it?”
