Wicked Memories (CASTLE OF DARK DREAMS) Read Online Free PDF Page A

was convinced that her client held the key to every bizarre event she’d witnessed tonight. And she intended to gather all the evidence she could before fleeing back to Philly and her father’s anger.
    Sparkle wound her way around the ongoing fantasy, heading toward a man who must be the castle’s resident wizard. He was dressed for the part. From his expression, she’d bet that no laugh lines would ever dare crinkle his face. Didn’t seem like a friendly type. Sparkle stopped in front of him.
    “You are
late
. I had to find a replacement for you.” He almost vibrated with righteous anger. “Your replacement is
not
satisfactory. She has no flare for portraying a sexual creature. I’m embarrassed for her.” He sniffed, dismissing the woman as a failure. “I have a schedule to maintain, and you should care enough about the castle’s reputation for excellence to show up on time.”
    Sparkle ignored the wizard’s outrage. “
Your
traitor son has sold his services to the vampire hell spawn across the street.” Her tone hinted that only weak family genes could cause his son to do something that stupid.
    The wizard’s thin lips thinned even further and his eyes narrowed to slits. Kayla expected laser beams to shoot from them and leave a smoking hole in Sparkle’s forehead.
    “My son would
never
stoop to working for a . . .” He paused. “Wait. Did you say
vampire
?”
    Kayla’s thoughts exactly.
    “The owner of Nirvana is one of the Mackenzie vampires.” She tapped out an impatient rhythm with her toe.
    Kayla decided that Sparkle was prepping the toe for upcoming ass-kickings.
    The wizard seemed to consider her words for a moment. “I still can’t believe he’d agree to work for a mere vampire.”
    Kayla blinked. He hadn’t even paused at the word “vampire.” And no matter that her brain was trying to explain everything away as the ravings of a bunch of crazies,
she’d heard the cat speak in her head
.
    Don’t panic, don’t panic.
Kayla swallowed hard and glanced away as their argument escalated. She wanted to be a lawyer. A good attorney listened to all the evidence. Before leaving, she’d give Sparkle a chance to tell her side of things. Not that anything her client could say would explain away talking cats and vampires. But until then, she needed to concentrate on something else to calm the mad pounding of her heart, to keep her feet from taking her away from here right now.
    Kayla glanced at the people around her. The ongoing fantasy looked like fun. Too bad she wouldn’t get a chance to try one. But if she stayed, how would she
maintain her professional objectivity without being sucked into the madness surrounding her?
    Stop. Think of something else
. She scanned the people standing against the wall. They must be waiting to take part in the next fantasy. Ordinary people. She needed a huge dose of ordinary right now.
    Her gaze reached the end of the line and froze. A man stood leaning against the wall. Tall with wide shoulders. Nothing unusual about his clothes—jeans, boots, black T-shirt with a hoodie pulled over it. He hadn’t bothered to push back his hood. Her father had taught her to notice those kinds of details. And she would swear he was staring right at her.
    She shook off the idea. He was probably interested in the wizard and Sparkle. They were getting louder by the minute.
    Kayla couldn’t seem to drag her attention from him, though. His face was in shadow, and strands of blond hair fell down over his eyes. But her first impression was of a hard beautiful face. You’d think those two words wouldn’t go together, but they did. She felt the urge to walk over and pull the hood away from his face so she could get a better look.
    Then he smiled at her. At
her
. There was no doubt. The same way there was no doubt that his smile left her gasping. Literally. She took a deep breath.
    She should look away. That’s what people did when they were caught staring. But she’d grown up in