spies and spells 01 - spies and spells Read Online Free PDF Page B

picked up the package, taking a gander at it from all angles and lifting it to my nose to smell the dried coffee. “Why would Mick leave the bar to hunt down that man? If they were ‘friends’ as Mick said they were when we were in the hallway of The Derby, why would they be running from each other? And I had even given him a little wink spell for him to follow me to the bathroom to be attracted to me. And nothing could make him break the spell. Did the spell not work?”
    More than my spell being off, I really wanted to know what was in the package.
    Besides, in one hour the guy would turn back into himself and not remember a thing.
    “But you took it.” Vinnie wasn’t going to let it go. “Maybe he was leaving the package in the trashcan for Mick. You need to put it back before they come after you.”
    “Vinnie, you are my familiar in a world of mortals who have no idea who we are. No one is going to come looking for this. Plus I have this.” I lifted my hand in the air, where the magic comes from. The suspense killed me. I ripped the brown wrapping off the box and opened it. “See.” I held the tube of lipstick and compact in my hand. “It’s makeup.”
    I took a closer look at the brand.
    “Not just any makeup.” I popped the top off the lipstick and rolled up the shaft. “It’s Mystic Couture.”
    My eyes widened. I had never had, although I’d wanted, the pricey makeup in my hands. I had seen it in all the fashion magazines and knew you had to be invited to a Mystic Couture party in order to be able to order any products in the line. With my background and limited number of friends, I had never known anyone who sells Mystic Couture, much less been invited to a party.
    “I bet Mick has a girlfriend who wears this fancy stuff.” I imagined what his girlfriend looked like. She was probably rich and hot like him. “Somehow the white brow guy had Mystic Couture. Maybe illegally and Mick was getting a good deal from him. Kind of like Craigslist or something.”
    “Mystic Couture is the leading brand of makeup worn around the world. With international sales going through the roof. Tawny Fawn, founder and CEO, lives in Prospect in a six-bedroom, eleven-hundred-square-foot house.” Tawny Fawn’s stats played like a PowerPoint on Vinnie’s dash screen.
    “I know what Mystic Couture is.” I rolled the lipstick up and took a good look at it. “Everyone in Louisville knows who Tawny Fawn is too.”
    Tawny Fawn was very eccentric. She was also on the board of every council there was in Louisville.
    “I’m not sure why you’re reading her and her company stats to me.” I rolled the lipstick back down into the tube and put it back in the package next to the compact. “This is all over. I lost the bet. The guy will turn back into himself in an hour and I’ll have to work a double shift at The Brew tomorrow.”
    I took the lipstick out again. The temptation of trying it on was too great.
    “I hope you are right.” Vinnie didn’t sound too convinced. The locks on the door popped up. I didn’t bother listening to my snarky car. I pulled the visor down and rolled the pricey lipstick over my upper and lower lip, covering them completely. I smacked my lips together a couple of times before I slammed the visor back to its normal position.
    “Thanks!” I jumped out and slipped the lipstick tube in my clutch.
    I might have lost the dare, but I scored on the makeup.
     “Bravo.” Lilith clapped her hands when I walked back into The Derby. “Bravo, dear sister. Way to turn the wrong guy into a cat.” She threw her head back, giving into a high cackle.
    “Another round, Buck.” I held my finger in the air and took my spot on the stool Lilith had saved for me.
    The cabinet beneath the bar creaked on its hinges when Buck opened it to retrieve a brand new bottle of Makers. He tugged on the tear strip, peeling the red dried wax top off the cap and uncorking it. With Lilith’s glass topped off, he turned to