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The question stunned him. He had to take a moment.

“Eventually,” he said, feeling his way. “When the time is right. Everyone gets married eventually. Usually. Everyone in the Jones family ends up in a Covenant Marriage. My turn will come. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. You’ve made it clear that your job has top priority in your life.”

He was a Guild boss. He could sense impending disaster when he saw it. The conversation had taken a harrowing turn.

“I’m serious about my work,” he said. He was pleased with his response. It sounded both professional and sincere.

“Yeah, I did get that impression. Guild men usually marry into other Guild families, don’t they?”

“It’s traditional,” he said. “But there’s no rule about it. There have been plenty of exceptions over the years.” Okay, he was flailing. He needed to level the playing field, and fast. “What about you? Think you’ll try another Marriage of Convenience one of these days?”

“I doubt it. Given recent experience, I’m not keen on the idea.”

“What about a Covenant Marriage?”

“Like most people, I’d like to find someone to love, get married for real, and have a family.”

“I understand.”

Thanks to the rigid laws and customs instituted by the First Generation, family was everything on Harmony. Preserving and strengthening the family unit had been a primary goal of the Colonial governments. It had been viewed as the basic building block of society. Strong familiesmeant strong communities. The First Generation had concluded that forging social bonds was essential if the colonists were to have a chance of surviving.

Some traditions had eased over the past two hundred years, but there was no escaping the fact that, sooner or later, everyone was supposed to enter a permanent Covenant Marriage. Sexual orientation was not a factor. You were free to marry anyone you wanted to marry, but youwereexpected to marry.

The longing to have a legitimate family was probably even more powerful for someone who had been born out of wedlock, he thought.

“Got anyone in mind?” he asked quietly.

“Nope, not at the moment. I’ve had other things to worry about lately.”

“Right.” He slowed the big vehicle as he joined the traffic crawling along the Strip. “Speaking of which, I can’t be with you night and day—”

“Of course not. You’ve got a lot of work to do—close the case of the stolen doll, establish the new Guild headquarters, et cetera, et cetera. I understand. No problem.”

“And because I need time to do some investigation work on your case,” he said. He was beyond flailing. He was starting to lose his temper. Heneverlost his temper. “It’s not a good idea for you to be alone, not until I find the kidnappers.”

“I don’t need a babysitter, Gabriel.”

“Yes, you do, but we will call him a bodyguard. Jared’s feelings will be crushed if you call him a babysitter.”

“Jared?”

“Jared Flint. He’s a member of my start-up team. He’s been complaining about getting stuck with a lot of paperwork. Accompanying you on your Storm Zone Adventure Tours will give him a break.”

“What will you be doing while I’m driving the bus with Jared riding shotgun?”

“I’m going to track down the tuner who tuned the amber in the pendants.”

Lucy perked up, her interest sparked. “Great idea. How do you go about that? There are a gazillion tuners in Illusion Town.”

“The quartz is unusual, and so is the tuning work. Someone in the trade will know who handled the job. When I find the tuner, I should be able to find out who commissioned the work.”

“That sounds like a very logical plan.”

He wasn’t sure if she was impressed or being sarcastic.

“It’s what I do, Lucy.”