Releasing on November 16th 2021, Guild Boss is the long-awaited fifteenth installment of Jayne’s beloved Harmony series and we have an exclusive excerpt to share with you!
SYNOPSIS
Welcome to Illusion Town on the colony world of Harmony—like Las Vegas on Earth, but way more weird.
Living in this new, alien world doesn’t stop the settlers from trying to re-create what they’ve left behind. Case in point—weddings are still the highlight of any social calendar. But it’s the after-party that turns disastrous for Lucy Bell. Kidnapped and drugged as she leaves the party, she manages to escape—only to find herself lost in the mysterious, alien underground maze of glowing green tunnels beneath Illusion Town. She’s been surviving on determination and cold pizza, scavenged for her by a special dust bunny, when help finally shows up.
Gabriel Jones is the Guild Hunter sent to rescue her, but escaping the underground ruins isn’t the end of her troubles—it’s only the beginning. With no rational reason for her abduction, and her sole witness gone on another assignment for the Guild, whispers start circulating that Lucy made it all up. Soon her life unravels until she has nothing left but her pride. The last thing she expects is for Gabriel Jones to come back to town for her.
The Lucy that Gabriel finds is not the same woman he rescued, the one who looked at him as if he were her hero. This Lucy is sharp, angry, and more than a little cynical—instead of awe, she treats him with extreme caution. But a killer is still hunting her, and there aren’t a lot of options when it comes to heroes. Despite her wariness, Gabriel is also the one person who believes Lucy—after all, he was there. He’s determined to help clear her reputation, no matter what it takes. And as the new Guild Boss, his word is law, even in the lawlessness of Illusion Town.
“Hello, Lucy,” Gabriel said.
His voice was exactly as she remembered it—compelling, thrilling. It was a voice she heard in her dreams. She also heard it in her nightmares.
“Oh, hello.” She managed her brightest smile, the one she reserved for the tourists. “Welcome to Illusion Town, Mr. Jones. Congratulations on the promotion. I understand you’re the director of our new Guild. As you can see, we’re all terribly excited. We’ve never had our very own Guild headquarters.”
“This town hasn’t needed the Guild until recently.” Gabriel lounged in the doorway. “The discovery of the Ghost City has changed the situation. Lot of work going on in the Underworld near here now. That requires increased security.”
The Ghost City—the ruins of yet another Underworld metropolis that had been built and later abandoned by the long-vanished Aliens—had changed a lot of things in the area, mostly because big money was involved. Access to the vast and largely unexplored complex was via liquid crystal portals in the underground Rainforest. One such portal had been located below the surface a few miles outside of town. Coppersmith Mining, Inc. had acquired the mining rights to the Ghost City, but word on the street was the company had its hands full dealing with rogue prospectors, smugglers, and other unpredictable hazards, to say nothing of the wild and violent paranormal storms that swirled through the empty streets of the ancient city.
“And as we all know, when it comes to security in the Underworld, the Guild has a monopoly on the business,” Lucy said politely.
“It’s what we do,” Gabriel said, equally polite. “It’s why the Guild was founded. You could say we’re mission focused.”
“No shit. Well, a monopoly is a monopoly. Would you mind getting out of the doorway? That was my last run for the day. I’m going home now, but first I have to park the bus.”
“Sure.”
Gabriel did not step back down to the ground. Instead, he moved into the bus. Lucy stifled a sigh. There was no way she was going to get rid of him. She yanked hard on the lever, shutting the doors, and put the heavy vehicle in gear. Without a word, she drove toward the bus barn a short distance away.
Gabriel leaned against the handrail and contemplated the view through the double-pane windows. The ominous ochre-yellow light that bathed the Storm Zone night and day was growing more luminous as darkness approached. The dilapidated two-hundred-year-old buildings of the old Colonial town were steeped in strange shadows. Soon the fog would coalesce—the same kind of eerie yellow fog that had been waiting the night Gabriel had carried her out of the ruins and into the glare of the cameras.
“Where’s your car parked?” Gabriel asked.
“I don’t have a car. Can’t afford one at the moment. Luckily, I live in the Dark Zone. I can walk to work and back home.”
“Long walk around the Dead City to the Dark Zone.”
“Not if you cut across the ruins,” Lucy said.
Gabriel eyed her as if he wasn’t sure how to handle that comment.
“That’s a joke, right?” he said. “You don’t really walk home through the ruins.”
She rolled the bus into the big garage and brought it to a halt. She shut down the engine and turned to face him, one arm draped over the steering wheel.
“I’m sure you aren’t here to quiz me on my commute habits,” she said. “What can I do for you, Mr. Jones?”
“I want to hire you. I’ve got a situation that requires a weather channeler.”
From GUILD BOSS published by arrangement with Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2021 by Jayne Castle.
Jayne Castle is a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, the author of more than fifty New York Times bestsellers. She writes contemporary romance novels under the Krentz name, as well as historical novels under the pseudonym Amanda Quick. Learn more online at jayneannkrentz.com and Facebook.
