Wicked Memories (CASTLE OF DARK DREAMS) (8 page)

“Oh. My. God!” Not
here
. Not in Galveston. Not this close to shore. But she’d seen enough pictures in her lifetime to recognize what she was looking at. “A great white shark.” Was this a real shark? How could she tell?

She finally turned to look at the man crouched behind her. He had the same sensual mouth and the same sexy body, clearly exposed by the wet clothes clinging to his body. But his blond hair was now black, damp strands framing his lean beautiful face. And his brown eyes were now blue, muted in the darkness.

Kayla shifted her mental picture of him to fit the real man beneath the wig and colored contacts.

“Will.”

But that’s all she managed to get out. Panicked, she swung her gaze back to the water. She’d forgotten. Kayla scrambled to her feet. “Banan! We have to save him. He’s still out there.”

7

Kayla stumbled over to her pile of things. She tossed her phone at Will. “Call 911.” Scooping up her gun and knife, she headed back toward the water. Even if the shark was a shape-shifter, it could still kill.

Was she too late? Had the shark found easier prey in Banan? Her father’s words played a repeat reel in her mind. “Do not be impulsive. Do not allow emotions to make you stupid. Always think things through.”

Dad would give her a failing grade for this night. Too bad. If there was a chance that Banan was still alive, she would go in shooting and slashing. She remembered something she’d read about stopping a shark attack: punch it in the nose. God, she hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“He’s safe.” Will grabbed her arm. “Look.”

She looked. Sure enough, Banan was struggling out of the water. He’d recovered his jeans, because he was trying to pull them on. Not easy when both he and they were soaked.

At another time she would have paused to admire the absolutely amazing body her “partner” had, but right now she was too overcome with joy that said body was still intact. Dropping her weapons, she splashed into the surf and flung her arms around him. “You’re alive.”

Banan looked puzzled for a moment and then grinned. “Well, yeah. I’m tough to kill.” His grin turned just as quickly to a frown. “Never go into the water alone at night.”

Kayla finally realized that she was still hugging him, the partner she didn’t think she wanted. But he hadn’t hesitated to put himself in danger to help her. She stepped away from him. “Thanks.”

Banan’s smile returned. “Hey, that’s what
partners
do.”

Kayla didn’t miss the emphasis on “partners.” Sparkle must have mentioned her lack of enthusiasm for his title.

She wanted to turn to the man who had dragged her to safety, but she hesitated, trying to come up with exactly the right words. “I appreciate that you saved my butt, but who the heck are you?” or “Who is Kel, because the only one out there besides me and thee was the monster horse?”

The silence seemed to stretch on forever. If they were waiting for her to say something brilliant, they’d be waiting a long time. But Kayla’s brain finally kicked in. Its short hiatus was understandable. Paralyzing terror could do that.

If she assumed that Banan had run past Will and her to stop the horse from following them, then why was he getting naked as he ran? Where were his weapons, because there was no way he could battle that monster without weapons? And how had he emerged without even a scratch from the exact spot where a great white shark—probably a ticked-off shark because it had lost its horsey meal—had been a moment before? Kayla didn’t really buy into nose-punching as a viable defense against Jaws.

Aware of the man who called himself Will standing silently behind her, she swallowed hard and asked Banan the tough question. “What are you?” She held up her hand to stop a possible lie. “The truth.” She thought she knew, but she wanted to hear him say the words.

Banan studied her for a few beats too long before nodding. “My other form is a great white shark. Sparkle and Ganymede thought I’d be the best one to protect you on land and in the water.” He shrugged. “After what just almost happened, I agree with them.”

She tried to slow her breathing, calm her heartbeat, but none of her body systems seemed to be paying any attention to what she wanted. She was surprised that Banan couldn’t hear her pounding heart because she sure could.

Kayla nodded. Right now she didn’t think she’d be able to speak to Banan without her voice shaking. She turned to face Will.

He wasn’t looking at her. He was glaring at Banan.
What was that about?
When she felt that she had herself under control enough for him not to hear her panic, she spoke. “Well, at least I know what you really look like now, Will.”
A beautiful liar
. “So what’s your true name? Because if you had fake hair and eyes, I can assume the name is fake too.”

“Whatever you want. I’m open to suggestions. Nothing like a new name to wipe the old slate clean.” Will’s smile never reached his eyes. His
blue
eyes.

“How did you just happen to be here in time to save me?” Kayla couldn’t believe how furious she was with him for everything he
hadn’t
told her. But that didn’t make any sense at all. She had secrets too. Besides, she didn’t know him, didn’t
want
to know him, so who or what he was didn’t matter.
You are such a liar
. “Oh, and who is Kel?”

“I happened to be here because I work at Nirvana. Someone from security reported a woman sneaking around the pilings. I came down to take a look.” He held up his hands. “Can I help it if I was in the right place at the right time?” He tried on an innocent expression.

Fake. It didn’t work. “Who is Kel?” Her mind was slowing down, clogged with enough freaking-impossible input to bring it to a standstill.

Will smiled, a real smile this time. “The horse.”

Kayla had sort of expected that answer, but she knew her mouth was still hanging open. What did you say to that kind of an admission?

Banan moved up beside her. “Kel is a kelpie.”

Kayla forced herself not to edge away from the shark. “Explain kelpie and why he was lurking in the dark.”

Will glanced up at the pier. “You know Sparkle, you
work
for Sparkle, and so I have to believe you also understand what she and Ganymede are. Ordinary security wouldn’t help Nirvana’s owner protect his pier from an attack by Ganymede. He decided to bring in a team that could hold its own. Kel is part of that team.” He met her gaze. “A kelpie is one of the fae, a shape-shifting water horse. I’m sorry about what happened. He wasn’t going to hurt you. Kel just wanted to scare you so you wouldn’t come snooping around again.”

“Right. Just wanted to scare me. Then why did you race into the water and drag me to shore?”

Will glanced away. “Sometimes Kel gets a little carried away with his job. Better to be safe.”

Banan snorted his contempt at Will’s explanation. “You just wanted to play the hero.”

He glared at Banan. “You overreacted. Anyone glancing down from the pier could’ve seen you guys. If a crowd had collected, someone would’ve gotten it on the news. I don’t think Nirvana’s owner or Sparkle would be happy about that.”

Banan narrowed his eyes. “Then maybe your boss should keep his hired help from attacking innocent humans.”

Banan reached out to put a protective arm across her shoulders, and Kayla forced herself not to shudder.

Will caught her in his unblinking stare. “Innocent? I’m beginning to wonder.” Then he turned away. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

Kayla watched him leave. He’d just disappeared from view when she realized she hadn’t thanked him. Whether she’d been in danger or not, Kayla appreciated his effort. She allowed herself a small smile. If he’d wanted to play the hero, he’d done a good job.

After she’d retrieved her boots and other things, Banan guided her back toward the castle. Kayla swallowed her hysterical giggles. She could imagine what they both looked like. He wore only his wet jeans, and his hair hung long and dripping down his back. Okay, it was a great look for him. On the other hand, she was a mess. Her boots were dry, but that was about it. And she was sure her dripping hair didn’t look as good as his dripping hair.

Once she reached the hotel lobby, she stopped. “You can take the rest of the night off. I’m going up to my room and staying there. I have a lot to think about.”

He nodded. “I have to report to Sparkle. See you tomorrow.”

Kayla turned to the elevators. She was lying, of course. She had no intention of staying in her room for the rest of the night. Yes, the thought of crawling under the covers and pulling them over her head held a certain appeal, but Sparkle wasn’t paying her to hide in her bed.

Surprisingly, she felt calm. There were just so many times she could freak out before the ohmigods grew redundant. Right now, she had a job to do.

After a hot shower, she dried her hair and reapplied her makeup—Sparkle would expect nothing less. Taking a lesson from he-who-calls-himself-Will, she pulled on a hoodie and headed over to Nirvana for a few hours of entertainment and espionage. She hoped Banan didn’t see her leaving the castle. He was way too visible for what she was planning.

As she stood in the long line still waiting to enter Nirvana even at this late hour, she noticed the sign by the gate:
NO ONE UNDER 13 ADMITTED
. What was that about? Young kids loved thrill rides. An amusement park wouldn’t last long if it kept children out. Sparkle had to know that, so why was she worried? Of course, her park didn’t allow children either.

Once inside, Kayla looked around. Same rides she’d seen in hundreds of other parks. The amusement pier was huge, which would make it easier to stay off the radar of one über-sexy enemy. Because if Will worked for Nirvana, he
was
her enemy. She just hoped
he
didn’t know it yet.

As she started to tune in to those around her, she noticed something a little strange. The crowd was a lot more intense than she’d expected. Crazy screams and whoops of something more than just excitement came from the people on the rides. And the people passing her seemed too enthusiastic for just another amusement park. Weird. The rides looked normal, but the crowd’s reaction to them wasn’t. It was something Kayla would have to investigate, because she never knew where she’d find ammunition to use against Nirvana’s owner.

Kayla tried to make her wandering seem random. She bought some cotton candy to look as though she fit in. Bad idea. She’d forgotten how it stuck to everything. She paused at the carousel and considered climbing aboard. Then she abandoned the idea. The merry-go-round had always made her sick when she was a kid.

Memories of childhood disappeared as the carousel circled around to a large black horse. No, it couldn’t be. But it looked like the same horse. It even had green eyes and seaweed in its mane. A woman wearing jeans and an ecstatic expression was riding the horse. Kayla followed the horse as it circled, trying to make up her mind. It couldn’t be the kelpie, could it?

“You got me in trouble, sweet thing. But that’s fine, because it was worth it to see the expression on your face.”

The hard male voice was right next to her. Kayla swallowed a startled yelp. She turned, and her eyes widened. He was tall and lean, with black hair and bright green eyes. He didn’t look friendly.

“Excuse me?” She edged away from him.

He smiled. Kayla got the feeling he didn’t do it often. No laugh lines anywhere.

“I’m Kel.”

Not possible. She glanced at the carousel and then back to the man. “I’ve heard of split personalities, but this is ridiculous.” Was she being a smart-ass? Not a good thing when faced with a mythical monster. The problem? She wasn’t mentally or emotionally ready to take on the human incarnation of the kelpie. That’s probably why her brain was sputtering and flinging out stupid statements.

“That’s it? Nothing else to say?” He looked disappointed.

She took a deep breath. Her brain stopped sputtering. Kayla decided she’d had enough of being scared. It was time she got mad. “Jerk. You saw that I wasn’t doing anything. You didn’t have to give me a dental close-up. What kind of a-hole gets his thrills by terrifying people?”

“Me?” His smile widened. “Besides, I’m part of the security here. You looked suspicious to me. An ordinary person just out for a stroll on the beach doesn’t have an ankle sheath and gun.”

Kayla knew she looked startled.

“Yes, my eyesight is that good.” He leaned close.

She didn’t back up. Kayla figured if she was ever going to stand up to him, it would be here, where there were lots of witnesses and he was out of his water element. “I was raised on the tough side of Philly.” Not true. “When I go anywhere alone at night, I’m prepared.” True.

“Then think of what happened tonight as a learning experience. Around here you don’t leave your weapons onshore when you go into the water.” He wasn’t smiling anymore. “Because there’re more things below the surface than you could ever imagine. And you might not always have shark-boy along to watch your back.”

She wanted to yell at him for having the nerve to lecture her, but she didn’t. He was right. Kayla had seen his razor-sharp teeth. She wouldn’t go into the water again without all of her weapons. Maybe she’d invest in a speargun. But before they parted, she had to ask, “Is that horse really you?” She glanced at the carousel.

“Yes.”

“How?” She had a feeling that as long as she stayed at the castle, “how” would be her favorite word.

He shrugged. “Our security chief has . . . skills.”

She frowned. That explained nothing. He started to walk away.

“Oh, one last thing. If I’d been a serious threat, what would you have done?” Better to know the consequences now than to find out too late.

“Once I’d lured you onto my back, you wouldn’t have been able to get off. I would’ve carried you into deep water and drowned you.”

She swallowed hard. “And then?” She had to know.

“You saw my teeth. Use your imagination.” He walked away.

The true horror of the kelpie washed over her. Not a beautiful horse. Not a great-looking guy. He was a thing of nightmares.

As laughing crowds broke around her, she was left with her cotton candy and the realization that this job would be a lot tougher than she’d originally thought. What owner would hire supernatural entities to guard his park? Then she remembered what Sparkle had said about Thorn Mackenzie.
Uh, maybe a vampire?
Unlike Nirvana’s security chief, she
didn’t
have the skills to win this fight. Sparkle had made a mistake. No human would be qualified for this job.

“Wearing a hoodie as a disguise? Not very creative, Kayla.” The deep voice sounded amused, but a thread of danger wove through it.

Oh, crap. Kayla turned to face Will. She blinked. Before this, she’d only seen him in disguise and in the dark. Under the glare of the pier’s lighting he was a whole new animal. He’d dried his hair. It was almost as black as Kel’s, shaggy with strands framing his face and a few falling over his eyes.