Wicked Memories (CASTLE OF DARK DREAMS) Read Free

their way into the castle. What the hell were they doing there?”
    Kayla frowned. If Sparkle was waiting for the cat to spout words of wisdom, she’d wait a long time.
    Sparkle grabbed Kayla’s hand and dragged her toward the door. “Let’s go. I want to catch them while they’re still together.”
    “But don’t you have a fantasy to do?” Kayla couldn’t help it. She was anal when it came to duty and job performance. A weakness.
    “Holgarth will find someone else. Now move it.” Sparkle sounded as though she was talking through clenched teeth.
    Kayla didn’t argue. If Sparkle expected her to make Nirvana go away, she’d need every scrap of information she could get. She glanced down to see the cat padding alongside them. Unusual. Cats didn’t do much following on command.
    They raced down the winding stone steps instead of taking the elevator, ran across the great hall, and reached the hotel lobby in record time. Kayla was still busy congratulating herself on surviving with no broken limbs when Sparkle shouted.
    Three men who stood just inside the entrance turned and then strode toward them.
    Kayla sucked in her breath. Talk about spectacular. She didn’t think of herself as shallow, but wow, just wow.
    They stopped in front of Sparkle.
    One of them—a man with pale eyes that looked as though they could ice over with a single blink—nodded at Kayla.
    “And you are?” His question sounded casual, but something else seemed to flow beneath the surface.
    Kayla scooped her jaw off the floor and answered. “Kayla Stanley.” She didn’t owe him any other explanation. If Sparkle wanted him to know more, she’d tell him.
    Sparkle ignored Kayla and moved closer to the man. “What were you doing inside Nirvana, Zane?”
    Zane narrowed his eyes at her tone. “Meeting with the owner. He offered me a job, and I accepted. Consider this my two weeks’ notice.” He didn’t wait for Sparkle’s mouth to close before walking away.
    Well, that was interesting. Kayla looked at the two remaining men.
    “Ditto that.”
    Sparkle stared at the boy who’d spoken, and now that he was closer Kayla could see he really was a boy. About sixteen or seventeen. Beautiful even with the blue spiked hair.
    “Why, Klepoth?” They seemed the only words that Sparkle could manage.
    “More money, more everything.”
    Kayla got the feeling that the “everything” was important. She wanted to ask what it was, but decided against calling attention to herself when she saw Sparkle’s expression. Kayla worried that Sparkle was about to tug off her boot and go to work on the unsuspecting Klepoth.
    But all Sparkle did was glare at him before shifting her attention to the last man. She didn’t seem to notice when Klepoth left.
    “You were in Chicago. When did you get in? What happened? Talk to me, Eric.” Her expression softened a little.
    “The owner of Nirvana called. He said he had an offer for me. You’d spent so much time ranting about him that I decided to fly in. Glad I did. I’ve decided to accept. You’ll have to find someone else to take care of things in Chicago. I’ll stay on for two weeks before I start working at Nirvana.”
    Eric didn’t sound guilty, he didn’t sound anything. He sounded disconnected, distant from the words he spoke. That probably meant something, but Kayla found it hard to concentrate on his words because she was having a tough time looking away from his gorgeous eyes. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anyone with eyes that brilliant shade of blue. Once a long time ago she’d visited Moraine Lake in Canada. His eyes were the blue of that lake.
    Sparkle tentatively reached out toward Eric and then yanked her hand back. Her expression hardened. “What’s his name?”
    “Thorn Mackenzie.” He turned away.
    “Mackenzie?” Sparkle seemed too shocked to call him back.
    From the look on Sparkle’s face, the name meant something to her.
    As Eric walked away, Kayla breathed deeply and refocused