Killer Temptation by Marianne Willis Read Free Book Online

changed so much from the little girl she once considered a friend. “Look at you, you are beautiful.”
    “Me?” Kimberley waved her arms. “You look like a Victoria Secret’s model.”
    Brianna almost snorted. “Please. It’s just the dress.”
    Wiping the tears with her palm, Kimberly smiled. “I always wondered what happened to you. The day I left, I almost told my new parents to take me back. We always said it was just the two of us, remember?”
    She laughed. When other children were adopted, it was Bill Withers' song that comforted them. Both girls had been bounced from foster home to foster home until at last, they settled in Tennessee Children’s Home and had been inseparable. Brianna had never known genuine loneliness until Kimmie left the orphanage with her new family.
    “I remember. You were my first true sense of family.” Running into her old friend was like seeing a long-lost sister. She had nothing but cherished memories. Brianna blinked away a fresh set of tears. No, she was no longer a girl, but a woman.
    “Same.” Kimmie’s smile was no different, the kind that tweaked in one corner. “Well, this is the last place I expected to see you. What are you doing here?”
    Kimberly was pure human, but she must have ties with the supernatural. “I could ask the same of you. I’m here with my witch family.”
    “Witches?” Kimmie cocked an eyebrow. “Nice. That must have been an interesting family to join.”
    “Never a dull moment.” At ten years old, Brianna had been reserved when first coming into the Johnson family, but one-by-one they broke through her shell and she loved them all. They never hid the fact they were witches, not to her at least. To them she was a Johnson and their secret was hers.
    “I’m here with my step-brother,” Kimberly chimed in, snagging her from her thoughts. “He’s human too, but his…girlfriend? Wife? However they classify it—she’s a vampire. By gosh, this is weird, talking about witches and vampires when not that long ago we were clueless of their existence.”
    Ignorance is bliss , if that was how the saying went. The unknown was easier to deal with. Being a part of the witch community became a competition, always striving to be the best sister, cousin and even girlfriend, just so she could fit in. As though pleasing everyone would compensate for her lack of supernatural powers. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m looking for my sister. I’ll come back, and we can exchange contact details before we leave.”
    Kimberly smiled with enthusiasm. “That’d be great. Come back with your sister, I’d love to meet her.”
    She gave her another long hug. “Sure thing.” Although, she doubted Kimmie would want to meet Rachel in her drunken state.
    By the time she finished with the rows of tables on the right side of the room she had to meet back with Amber. Quickening her pace, she headed for the meeting spot. Amber stood with her hands clasped together, gaze dancing over the room.
    “Amber!”
    Her cousin turned, sighed and walked toward her. “Any luck?”
    “No. I can guess you haven’t found her either.”
    Her hair swung with the shake of her head. “No. I’ll keep trying.”
    “Me too.” Brianna sidestepped her cousin and headed to the left side of the room.
    Table check round two. From one end to the other, she observed each table. Okay, so Rachel wasn’t seated at any. Where to next?
    A waiter holding a silver tray of snails stepped in from outside. The sharp scent of garlic and butter whiffed past her nose as she passed him and hurried out onto the balcony. Old Victorian style lamps hung from the brick veneer walls, an outdoor glass table sat a few feet away, but no one perched on the surrounding iron chairs.
    Again, she headed back inside, into the ladies room, and found Amber checking each stall. “No luck yet?”
    She swung around with a shake of her head. “No. I’ve checked this restroom twice now.”
    “Keep trying.”