Eternally Yours 1 by Gina Ardito Page A

record’s still intact, eh? Wonderful.”
    Leaning closer, Luc perched an elbow on the desk’s marble edge. Fury charged his molecules into a frenzied dance. “Would you care to explain to me why the Board kept vital information from us on this bounty?”
    His eyes widened under arched snowy brows. The man resembled an arctic owl perched on the edge of branch. “They did?”
    “Yes, they did. ” He pointed an accusatory finger. “And you know it, you wizened old geezer. Now tell me why.”
    He said nothing at first, but a pink flush crept up his craggy face. Finally, he sighed. “It was a test.”
    “A test? ” Irritation shot through Luc’s synapses, charging the air with static electricity. “Since when do I need testing? I have a spotless record. I always bring back the goods within one visit. One out, one back. I’m the best you’ve got.”
    Sherman nodded eagerly, an arctic owl holding onto his branch for dear life through a category seven hurricane. “Yes, that’s true. But the Board wanted to test Ms. Devlin. And she passed.”
    His reply was flat and emotionless. “Yippee.”
    “What did you expect, Luc? A test was your idea.”
    “ My idea?” He rolled his chair back and stared at the little man. “How was it my idea?”
    “You’re the one who said she was raw and inappropriate for the position. ” Sherman spread his hands wide. “The Board decided to see if she could hold up to a challenge.”
    “And what exactly was this challenge? Let’s-see-if-she-can-screw-up-Luc’s-perfect-record-on-her-first-day?”
    “Nonsense, Luc. ” The spirit guide waved a hand, and Luc had the urge to grab those fluttering fingers in a death grip. If only he weren’t so damned tired. “We knew you’d get your quarry,” Sherman continued, “no matter what it took.”
    “Yeah, well, it was touch and go for a while there. All the crap you put me through was hitting below the belt, though. You didn’t have to incapacitate me to test Ms. Devlin, did you?”
    The arctic owl grew quizzical. “No one incapacitated you.”
    “The hell they didn’t!” Impatience reaching a fever pitch, Luc shot to his feet. “ Either I caught some Afterlife strain of the flu or someone here was messing with my molecules. I nearly drained myself in that damn crawlspace over an argument with a socialite.”
    “Until Ms. Devlin discovered the lady’s secret,” Sherman added with a lop-sided grin. “And that’s what the Board had hoped for. The big question was, would Ms. Devlin be able to figure out what bound Kristin to Earth? And once she knew, could she use that information to convince the lady to leave anyway?”
    R esentment created a blood-red aura around Luc’s force field. “ She didn’t convince the lady.” He thumped his chest with a fist. “I did.”
    Smiling, Sherman shook his head. “You delivered the fait accompli . But she did the work. She learned about the child and the vicious siblings. She used that information to bring about Ms. Esterby’s change of heart. You swooped in for the swift conclusion.”
    Not quite the way he would have phrased the events, but…
    “Maybe,” Luc admitted. “Still, I would have preferred to know about this test so I wasn’t bushwhacked during the hunt. Christ, you might as well have hit me with a two-by-four.”
    “ You were hardly bushwhacked, Luc.” Sherman’s tone grew indulgent, a parent calming a hysterical teen. “In fact, Ms. Devlin’s results wouldn’t have reflected upon you at all. She’s your trainee, not your shadow. Her successes and/or failures do not affect your record in the slightest. Besides, what difference does it make? She passed. You should be jumping for joy.”
    “Why? If she’d failed, she would have been reassigned , and I’d be a helluva lot happier.”
    Sherman laced his fingers and propped his sunken chin atop his steepled hands. “Perhaps, Luc, you might consider your apprenticeship with Ms. Devlin as your own personal