Killer Temptation by Marianne Willis Read Free Book Online Page A

Brianna made her way out of the bathroom. Apprehension thrummed in her veins. Rachel was a big girl and she shouldn’t fret. There was one last place she hadn’t checked. The dread must be visible on her face, for several people kept their eyes on her as she hurried to the front entrance.
    “Excuse me,” she said to the tall man who stood behind the desk. “I was wondering if my sister picked up her coat and mobile phone, should be in the name of Rachel Johnson.”
    Tick-tatter sounded off the keyboard. Her gaze paused when spotting the half-moon tattoo along the inside of his wrist. Another werewolf. He grabbed a key from the drawer and smiled in an elegant manner. “If you give me a moment, I’ll just check the lockers.”
    She nodded, and he disappeared into the room in the back. Moments later he returned with the same polite smile. “The locker is empty. She must have obtained her items.”
    The colour drained from her face. Where would she have gone on her own? She swung away from the desk, eyes darting over the long entrance hall with its three main arched doorways. Again, she faced the wolf.
    The clerk shot her a quizzical look. “Miss, are you okay?”
    “I must find her.” Her voice shook as she forced the words out. “Please.”
    He nodded, his smile weakened. “I’m the only one behind this desk tonight and many people have come and gone, but maybe you could describe her to me?”
    “Yes, thank you. She’s about this tall,” she said, motioning her hand a little over her own height. “And she has big hazel eyes, long, curly, mahogany hair…oh and she was wearing a purple dress with a frilly material off one shoulder.”
    His eyes widened in realisation. “She wouldn’t happen to have been carrying an empty bottle of Champagne?”
    “Yes.” Trust Rachel to down the whole bottle herself.
    “I remember seeing a woman about twenty minutes ago. I handed over her items before she left.”
    Thank goodness. “Did she say where she was going?”
    The clerk frowned. “No, but she left through that exit.” He pointed to the door closest to them.
    “Thank you,” she called back as she headed for the front. Perhaps her sister had enough for the night and chose to take a taxi back to the hotel. With any luck, maybe the car had not yet arrived and she could catch Rachel.
    The night air was cool and she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. From a distance, the screech of wheels and roaring engines wailed. The scent of gasoline filled the air with the slightest hint of sea salt. The tall building blocked her view of the beach, but the waves crashing along the shore echoed from a distance.
    The road in front of her was empty and dark, with only the golden glow of the streetlights to help her see. Cars parked along the curb on both sides of the street. She took the stairs two at a time, looking left and right. The pathway stretched out, but she could not see past the darkness. “Dammit, where are you?” she hissed through clenched teeth.
    Female laughter echoed from a short distance. She straightened at the sound. The laugh was familiar…
    There it was again. Could that be Rachel? Following the noise, she turned a corner onto…an alley? A stack of boxes and a dumpster lay before her, but further up ahead two shadows under the dim streetlight caught her attention. Rachel leaned against the side of the wall with some tall man’s tongue down her throat.
    Brianna saw red. All that worry had been for naught. Rachel was here, she was safe. A part of her considered separating the little duo so she could yell at her sister for causing such unnecessary stress, but she could not embarrass Rachel that way. She wouldn’t have liked if someone had interrupted her and Tristan tonight.
    Her cheeks grew hot at the memory. She stepped back, leaving Rachel and her lover alone. She could at least seek out Amber and share the good news. But as she took another backward step she frowned at the figure holding her