The Banshee's Desire Read Online Free PDF

gave her a small nod, as if to say he approved of what she'd done.
    Worried, she stared back at him. Had he seen? Would he tell? Jacqueline couldn't say for sure, but she sent him a silent message with her eyes, one she hoped he understood clearly.
    Tell on me and I'll make trouble for you, too.

Chapter 3
     
    Nobody had much liked Derek Spark.
    Including most of the members of his family.
    When his brother, Finneus Spark, heard about the murder, he hadn't exactly cried over Derek's demise. It was hard to work up sympathy for someone who physically tortured you just for kicks when you were a kid. Mostly, Finn had just felt a sense of dread.
    Wizard pride would run high over Derek's death.
    Someone probably would have to go in and declare vengeance just to save face.
    It didn't take a genius in Finn's opinion to figure out who the "someone" was going to be. He was the only son left and at the age of twenty-five, he'd rarely been called upon to show his family loyalty. It would be only a matter of time before his father, Jonathan Spark, would summon him about the matter.
    Damn, Derek.
    What an asshole.
    Sure enough, his father had requested a meeting at noon today. The message had been sent via his father's personal secretary, Tiffany--a buxom blonde with sky blue eyes that set Finn's libido racing. At least his father knew how to get his attention!
    "What are you doing later, sweetheart?" Finn asked Tiffany as he lounged against the door frame of his apartment.
    Tiffany had taken in his dark hair, steely green eyes, and flirtatious smile with a breathless giggle.
    "I'm doing whatever you want, Finn," she said.
    "Meet me at Luciano's for drinks. Around eight."  He stared at her chest with appreciation. "Wear something with cleavage."
    Giggling, Tiffany handed him the letter she'd been sent with and left.
    Finn grinned as she walked away. He had a feeling the evening would bring all sorts of delights. He could only hope those delights wouldn't get the best of him, wouldn't cause him to do anything regrettable.
    Occasionally, sex did get him a little…out of sorts.
    But his grin faded as he stared down at the letter in his hand. How old fashioned his father was! No calling on the cell phone or emailing for Jonathan Spark. That would have been too easy.
    Easy had never been his father's style.
    That was one thing he'd had in common with Derek.
    Finn opened the letter, noting the heavy stationary with his father's gold seal at the top. The ink on the paper was slanted and dark, as if the sender had been pressing hard on the paper. And there at the bottom was Jonathan Spark's signature, a flourish of loops that looked as domineering and sophisticated as the man who wrote it.
    Come to my office at noon. Be prompt as we have much to discuss regarding an errand of great family importance.
    Yep. This was definitely about Derek and the shit he'd pulled over in Galesburg Falls . Finn still couldn't quite believe that his brother had managed to hide their nephew for so long. What a huge secret to keep! And what a blow to their family that this nephew had been allowed to live in the first place.
    Finn had only been five when his sister, Gabriella, had gotten in trouble. At the time, he really hadn't understood what the big deal was. She loved some guy who wanted to marry her. Wasn't that a good thing? Isn't that what was supposed to happen?
    But then she'd gone into the hospital to have a baby, and after that, she'd never been quite the same person. Melancholy, dirty, and thin--those were the words that came to mind when he thought of Gabriella's last years. Her suicide hadn't been particularly shocking to Finn. She'd been dead a long time already, in his opinion. The actual dying had been just a formality.
    Over the years, he'd pieced together the story of his sister and another wizard named Toby Williams. They'd fallen in love and secretly begun to see each other. Though they'd lived in separate cities, Toby's magic had been powerful