Thrilled To Death by Jennifer Apodaca Read Free Book Online Page A

tallish woman in her twenties wearing a pair of baggy jeans, flip-flops, and a Harley T-shirt. She held a large bottle of soda and had dark circles beneath her hazel green eyes. Her short, spiky, black hair looked tortured by finger combing. I recognized her. “Nikki.”
    Rosy swiveled out of her chair and stood up to hug Nikki.
    In the meantime, my mind reeled. Nikki Eden was Rosy’s granddaughter and an up-and-coming magician. She was building her reputation by doing high-cost illusions that intrigued and mystified audiences. In her opening illusions, Nikki rode a motorcycle onto the stage, then she vanished the motorcycle. It got the audience’s attention right away. Combined with girl-power attitude expressed with her leather stage wardrobe and expertise with a whip, Nikki was heading for hard-earned fame. “Nikki, what are you doing here? What’s this all about?” My brain was jumbled with possibilities. And I couldn’t help but wonder if any of this had to do with Shane’s accusations against Grandpa.
    Rosy sat down, and Nikki slid into the seat next to her. “Hi, Sam. I’ll give you the short version—Shane and I had an affair.”
    Cripes. I was astonished that smart and savvy Nikki would fall for someone like Shane Masters. I hadn’t met Shane, but Nikki had to have known who he was when she’d met him. “What happened?”
    She shrugged. “Hormones, pheromones, chemistry, brain damage, it’s hard to explain. Probably arrogance,” she added. She unscrewed the cap from her bottle of soda and chugged a healthy dose. “I need the caffeine and sugar.” She flashed a grin, then went on. “I thought I could outsmart him. I arranged to meet him, planning to find out his weakness. Every magician is afraid of him, of becoming his next target. I was trying to convince some of them that we had to stop being afraid and stand up to these spoilers.”
    A small smile pulled at my mouth. That was so Nikki—not afraid of anything. Her parents had divorced when she was a teenager, and she’d turned into a hellion. At Rosy’s request, Grandpa had taken her to one of his magic shows, and she’d been hooked. She held on to her rebellious edge, but she took to magic with a passion. “And then?” I asked.
    She glanced at Rosy, then said, “He turned on the bad-boy charm, and I fell for the illusion he created. I thought he loved me. We had a secret affair.”
    It made more sense now. They were both rebels and edgy. And Nikki was still young, around twenty-six, while Shane had to be closer to forty, judging from the recent picture I’d seen of him. “So he broke up with you?”
    Her jawline, cheekbones, and nose all had knife-cut edges. The memory sharpened her face even more. “Yep. Right after I told him that I loved him and wanted him to give up doing spoilers so we could develop an act together.” She picked up a paper napkin and unfolded it, then pulled it through her fingers like a scarf trick. “Then he told me to get out of his hotel room or he’d have security escort me out.”
    Ouch. What a bastard. But that made me look at Nikki in another way. “I bet you were furious.” Furious enough to hire a hit man?
    She dropped the napkin and drank some more of her soda. “If I wanted to kill Shane, I wouldn’t hire someone to do it for me, I’d do it myself.” She fixed her tired but vivid gaze on me.
    Gotta respect that, I thought to myself.
    â€œNikki,” Rosy said, reaching over to put her hand on Nikki’s arm in a calming gesture.
    â€œSorry, Grandma.” She smiled at Rosy, her face softening. Then she shifted back to me. “As soon as Grandma called and said Barney had been arrested, I got in my car and started driving.”
    â€œFrom Vegas?” She had a show in one of the newer casinos.
    She nodded. “We knew it had something to do