by Nina Bangs
The thing everyone would have to understand was that behind Lynsay’s big blue eyes lurked the heart of a serial killer. Lynsay loved to destroy demons, and if a few luckless humans got in her way, so be it. The family spent lots of time and money getting Lynsay out of trouble.
“Have to get back to work now.” Conall rose to his full six feet whatever, towering over them. A little intimidation? Probably. “Enjoy your stay.”
Dirk watched Conall leave from eyes that gave none of his feelings away. “Lynsay told me you’ve only been here since Saturday night, but everyone seems to know you.” He turned his inscrutable gaze on Kim.
Think fast. “I barged into the great hall while the Vampire Ball was in full swing. I hadn’t a clue what was happening, so Holgarth sort of took me under his wing and introduced me to the three McNair brothers who run the place.” Weak, really weak. Kim got this mental picture of a giant vulture with its wing draped over her shoulders.
Dirk simply nodded. “Live the Fantasy is a fascinating concept for a theme park. Open twenty-four hours a day and allowing adults to indulge in dozens of role-playing situations. I’d say the Castle of Dark Dreams is the most intriguing of all the attractions in the park. An authentic-looking castle, hotel, and fantasy world all rolled into one.” Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. “Have you found any demons?”
“No.” A direct lie. Kim felt ashamed and defiant at the same time. She might have avoided her demon hunting duties at times, but she’d never out-and-out lied about them.
Brynn didn’t deserve to die, though. How do you know? You only know what he’s told you, and demons lie. If he was really gross-looking would you still be as sympathetic? She didn’t know, but she hoped she’d still care enough about any being’s life to make sure they really deserved to die before pushing that red button.
Kim took a deep, cleansing breath and shifted her gaze to Lynsay. Her sister was frowning at her demon detector.
“It just went dead.” Lynsay poked at the small buttons, but the detector’s screen remained dark. “It was fine a few minutes ago, but now I’m getting nothing. What the hell happened to it?” She looked at Dirk. “What do I do now? I can’t just call Dad to overnight another one. We don’t have any extras at home right now. He’ll have to order another one and then send it on to me. That’ll take almost a week.”
Dirk shrugged. “No matter. You have good instincts. If you sense a demon near, tell me, and I’ll destroy it.” For the first time, he really smiled. It wasn’t a pretty sight. “Let me show you my detector. It’s quite something else.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a detector that looked like the prerequisite cell phone. He flipped it open and turned the screen toward them.
Kim gasped. Looking back at her were two large red eyes with black slits for pupils. Demon eyes.
“The eyes give it a distinctive touch, even though I can’t take credit for them. Its creator built this beauty and then died. Too bad. What was his name? Sergei something or other.” Dirk didn’t sound very sorry. “Mine is the only one in existence. The eyes just appeared on the screen one day. At first I tried to delete them, but then decided it wasn’t worth the effort.”
Kim was about to pull Fo out and announce that yes, the creator had built another one, when she changed her mind. For whatever reason, her instinct was telling her to keep her mouth shut. Lynsay had seen Fo, but that was before Kim had claimed her, before Fo had created her own designer eyes, and before Fo had said her first word, which had since led to an endless stream of words.
Lynsay stared at Dirk’s detector. “How does it clue you in to a demon if those eyes take up the whole screen?”
Dirk smiled some more. “It speaks. Just a few basic sentences, enough to pinpoint the demon.”
Lynsay nodded. “Cool.”
“Umm, mind if I sit down for a minute, Kim?” That deep, hesitant voice could belong to only one person.
With a sigh of resignation, Kim pointed to the same empty chair Holgarth and Conall had occupied. Deimos sat down, dwarfing the chair, the table, and the people sitting around it.
Lynsay’s eyes widened. “Wow, did anyone ever tell you that you look just like Vin Diesel?”
Deimos found that observation blush-worthy, and everyone watched, mesmerized, as the red marched up his neck, across his face, and then over the top of his shaved head.
“Cute.” Lynsay had spoken.
Once again, Kim made introductions all around. “Deimos works part-time in the castle and in Sweet Indulgence, the candy store you passed on the way into the park.”
Deimos didn’t even pretend to pay equal attention to Dirk. He stared at Lynsay with open admiration, his amber eyes glowing with adoration. Kim did a few mental eye rolls.
“If you have some free time, Lynsay, I’d really like to show you around the castle and the rest of the park.” His blush deepened in response to his daring invitation. “They have a neat mock-up of New York City, and you can pretend to be any superhero you want. Then you get to kill all the villains.”
Lynsay leaned forward, her eyes bright with interest. “Really? Hey, I’d love to do some role-playing as Cat Woman.”
Kim figured Deimos had gotten lucky—or not, as the case may be. “Kill all the villains” had been the magic words. But Kim didn’t know how Lynsay would react when she found out that her big bad superhero was a virgin. Lynsay loved men, and not for their minds. Kim hoped Lynsay would be gentle with Deimos. She couldn’t control the smile that tugged at her lips. Maybe Sweetie Pie and Jessica wouldn’t lose all their leaves after all.
“When will you be free?” Deimos looked as though he wanted to grab Lynsay’s hand right now and make off with her.
Lynsay looked at her watch. “I’ll be sitting in the lobby at one. We can eat lunch and then do the tour.” She glanced at Dirk. “Did you have anything planned then?”
Dirk shook his head. “Go and have fun. If things develop the way I think they will, you’ll be kept busy destroying demons the rest of the week.”
That pronouncement sent a shiver of dread down Kim’s spine. She ate the rest of her breakfast in silence while Lynsay and Deimos discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the superhero population. Dirk didn’t have much to say either as he watched every person who entered the restaurant with unwavering interest. Did he expect demons by the dozen to be rolling in for a late breakfast? Obviously.
Finally, Deimos left, and the others finished their meals. Kim urged them to leave when they offered to sit with her until she finished eating. After they left the restaurant, Kim relaxed. But not for long.
“Yo, Kim, up here.” Ganymede’s mental shout bounced around in her brain.
She winced and then looked up. Ganymede and Asima crouched together on the exposed beam above her. Quickly, she scanned the restaurant to make sure no one had spotted the two cats. Luck was with all of them. Most of the diners had left, and the few who remained were busy with their food.
“Your uncle looks like a sneaky, manipulating kinda guy. I like that in a man. But I think you need to be careful around him. Don’t let him use you to get to Brynn.” Ganymede shifted his gaze to a woman sitting at a nearby table. “Whatta you think my chances are of snitching that last piece of bacon?”
Kim scowled at him.
“Yeah, you’re right. The Board of Health and all that crap.” He turned to Asima. “Any words of wisdom, babe?”
Asima aimed a death glare at him. “Call me babe again, and you’ll have another scratch on your nose to match the one already there.” She looked down at Kim. “I think your sister is dressed like a tart. If I didn’t know better I’d say she shopped at the Sparkle Stardust Boutique of Bad Taste. No wonder Deimos was drooling all over her. Immature boys like clothes that are blatantly sexual. I’ll have to take a look at her wardrobe and suggest a few elegant upgrades.”
Oops. Better keep her contest win to herself. And Kim could tell Asima that Lynsay would eat dirt before she’d wear something that coul
d be described as “elegant.” Finishing her coffee, she pushed away from the table. As she reached down for her purse with the still-silent Fo glaring up at her, Ganymede made a final comment.
“I couldn’t get into your uncle’s mind. That’s a big neon warning sign. There aren’t many humans who can keep me out when I want in.” Ganymede cast a speculative glance at the lonely piece of bacon the woman had abandoned. “You know, I think I can get it. I’ll sneak from table to table, jump onto the chair, reach up with a faster-than-light paw, and whip that baby off the plate.”
Asima looked at him askance. “Give me a running start out of here before you humiliate me in front of everyone.”
Kim left the two to fight over the bacon and headed for the elevator. She’d just have time to freshen up and put on her tart outfit.
10
Brynn stepped off the elevator and looked around the lobby. He spotted Conall standing by the registration desk. Conall nodded at him, a signal that Lynsay and Dirk weren’t nearby.
At least he knew what they looked like now. Holgarth had snapped a picture with his camera phone before stopping at their table this morning. Dirk looked pretty ordinary. That made him all the more dangerous. It was easy to dismiss the ordinary as nonthreatening. And Lynsay looked young, cute, and enthusiastic. It was the enthusiastic part that worried Brynn.
He walked across the lobby searching for Kim. When he spotted her, his surge of pleasure surprised him. After he’d left her room, he’d tried to convince himself that it made good sense to keep her with him today. Sure it would be a hassle. He’d have to make an excuse to leave her for about five minutes at the end of each hour so he wouldn’t have to embarrass them both by offering his body. But didn’t it make sense to keep her close by so her sister and uncle couldn’t draw her to the dark side? Yeah, that was stretching it a little. Kim wasn’t the second coming of Darth Vader.
But wanting to spend time with Kim was dangerous. The more she knew about him, the more info she’d have to accidentally spill to her bloodthirsty relatives. Then why was he still walking toward her?
She’d been sitting in one of the lounge areas scattered around the lobby, but when she saw him she smiled and then stood. Now he knew why he was still walking toward her.
Wow. Give Sparkle a hand. A sexy little purple top that dipped low and clung to parts that deserved the attention, sexy black pants that emphasized every dangerous curve, and sexy little shoes with heels that made her legs go on forever. Sexy. That outfit touched his soul. Well, maybe not his soul. A soul wasn’t standard equipment with a demon. But it sure touched something. And that something was growling its approval. He sure hoped she didn’t decide to put on the jacket she was holding.
As he reached Kim, he glanced at his watch. He’d have to walk away from her in exactly fifty-five minutes. “You look good enough to eat.” He frowned. That was Eric’s line. Or maybe the werewolf in room 220. Brynn never said things like that. He never encouraged women to think he liked them except when the compulsion was in control.
“Really? Thanks.” Her eyes shone with the happiness his comment had given her. “Let’s get out of here before Asima spots us. She thought Lynsay looked like a tart, and I got the feeling she’d turn vicious if she saw me wearing a Sparkle creation. I don’t want to chance a wardrobe malfunction if she tries to rip the clothes from my back.”
Brynn grinned. Good thing she couldn’t look into his mind. It wasn’t the visual of Asima ripping the clothes from her back that had him looking around hopefully for the cat. “Let’s get out of here then.”
She stuffed a brochure she’d been holding into her purse. “A Miss Abby gave this to me right after I met you on Saturday night. I was taking a closer look. She owns Ye Olde Victorian Wedding Chapel. From the photo, I’d say she ruined a beautiful Victorian home. It’s amazing what a few cans of pink, blue, and yellow paint can do to a perfectly wonderful house.”
“Never heard of the place.” But then why would he? He wasn’t planning a trip to a wedding chapel.
Kim smiled. “Maybe you should keep closer track of the brochures people leave lying around.”
“Hi, Brynn.” Fo’s big purple eyes peered at him from the outside pocket of Kim’s purse. “Kimmie says I can’t talk with strangers because they might take me away from her and do terrible things to me. I’m not sure I believe her.” For all her bravado, Fo slid her eyes to the left and right, checking to see if anyone was listening to her.
Brynn tried not to smile. “Kim’s right, Fo. Scientists would like to take you apart to see what makes you so special, and the government would want to own you.”
Fo seemed to think about that. “No one can own me, because I belong to me. But I’ll try to keep quiet.”
Kim smiled down at the detector. “When we go into a store, I’ll turn your pocket toward me so no one will ask about you. You can still analyze everyone we meet, but I’d like you to wait until we leave the store before telling me what you think.”
Kim might be smiling at Fo, but Brynn couldn’t miss the worry in her eyes. She had to be torn between how to keep the developing intelligence that was Fo safe and yet not stifle her.
As they exited the castle, Brynn lifted his face to the sunny and surprisingly warm Galveston day. He felt good. Really great. Even with the threat of the demon-destroying Vaughns hanging over him. Go figure.
“I guess I don’t need this jacket.” Kim sounded almost disappointed.
He watched her fling the jacket onto the backseat of his car and put on her sunglasses before she slid into the passenger seat. She wasn’t as secure in her new look as she’d like him to think. The jacket would’ve covered up at least half of it.
Once in the driver’s seat, he turned to look at her. “You look great—sexy and beautiful.” If he knew anything, he knew what sexy and beautiful women looked like. Not that he’d ever cared much about their looks. They’d been nothing more than a never-ending line of bodies he’d had to pleasure and a bunch of interchangeable faces flushed with the ecstasy he’d brought them. He did ecstasy well. “But Sparkle was right. You need some attitude to go with those clothes.”
“I can give her some of mine.” Fo might be new to the conscious world, but she’d stored up an overflow of attitude.
“Thanks, Fo.” Kim laughed as he turned off Seawall Boulevard and drove toward the island’s only mattress store. “But attitude’s easy. Every woman will know I have some serious stuff going on when they see me with you.” Her smile lit up her face. “Just look at you.” She leaned over to slide her fingers the length of his arm. “They’ll wonder what I did to deserve running with a man who has such a fine . . . mind.”
Surprised, he smiled at her. Kim wasn’t the first woman to tease him, but she was the first one to do it and not earn a scowl. A scowl was protection. It said, Leave me alone because I’m not a fun guy to be with. Maybe he didn’t feel he needed protection from Kim. Wrong assumption. The kind that could get him killed.
She studied him, but her glasses hid anything her eyes might reveal. He could slip into her mind, but somehow he didn’t want to do that. Not today. Today he wanted to be an ordinary guy out with his woman. Okay, so he could only be ordinary for fifty-five minutes out of each hour, and she’d never be his woman. But other than that, he wanted to pretend he was like every other man on the street.
“What do you want out of life, Kim?” Stupid question. He didn’t need to know anything more than he already knew. Knowing things about people brought them closer. He didn’t want to be closer to any woman. Right. That’s why you invited her to help you choose a new mattress. You didn’t want to get closer to her.
“I want to be ordinary.” She seemed definite about that.
Uh-oh. They had something in common. Not good. He didn’t need to do any bonding here.
“I want to be an architect who’s normal in every possible way. Normal husband, normal children, normal house, normal everything.” Her expression turned wistful.
That left him out. He was glad, right? He didn’t want to be on her list of “normal” men. But if he felt like it, he could tell her that no matter what she did, she’d never be ordinary to him. He sensed she’d always be an extraordinary memory. He frowned. Where’d that thought come from? Thankfully, they reached the mattress store before he could explore its source.
As Kim climbed from the car, she put her finger to her lips to signal quiet for Fo. The detector mumbled her dissatisfaction but then lapsed into reluctant silence.
Brynn walked into the store behind Kim and immediately stopped to look at the first mattress he came to. “How about this one?” He sat on it. Felt okay. “I’ll take this.”
“Whoa there.” Kim bit her bottom lip in concentration as she looked at the mattress. “You shop like a man. A mattress is an important investment. You don’t buy the first one you see.”
For a moment, Brynn lost all interest in mattresses as he watched her release her lip, and he thought about sliding his tongue across its soft fullness.
“Let’s keep looking.” She turned to study some of the others. “What are you looking for in a mattress?”
One that’s only big enough for me, so that I never have to share it with a woman while I’m under the compulsion. Usually the woman took him to her place, and that was fine with him. He didn’t want the memory of what he was haunting his bed.
He shrugged. “I like a firm mattress.”
She nodded, happy. “There you go. That’s a start.”
“Can I help you?” The woman’s voice was like melted butterscotch—sweet, thick, and sticky.
Brynn turned toward the voice. Two people stood watching them. The woman was tall with breasts that were . . . He’d try again. The woman had long black hair that tumbled around her face, and she had breasts that were . . . Umm, she had long bare legs and breasts that were . . . He gave up and turned to Kim to see if she’d noticed the woman’s breasts.
