Bit the Jackpot (Vegas Vampires #2)(29)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Seamus looked puzzled. But he nodded. "Sure. Okay."

"Thanks, baby. I’m going to say good night to Kelsey and Alexis."

She gave him a little wave and left him sitting there, frowning slightly.

Alexis pounced on her when she cruised past the edge of the dance floor. "Well? What did he want?"

"He wants me to stop drawing attention to myself. I told him I’d be happy to stop dancing inappropriately and then I called him baby, kissed his forehead, and told him I was going to bed. He has no idea what to think."

Alexis snorted. "Perfect. Confuse the hell out of him." She glanced back over Cara’s shoulders. "He’s actually leaving."

"I asked him to walk my dogs."

A grin split Alexis’s face. "You are brilliant. He’ll be kicking you out before you know it."

Great.She couldn’t wait.Really. Cara clamped down on her confusion and reached out to hug Alexis. "Thanks for everything. I’m so glad I have someone to talk to."

"Me, too.It’s nice to have another girl vampire running around. The testosterone level in this hotel is pretty high."

Cara hugged Kelsey. "It’s been so nice hanging out with you, Kelsey. Say we’ll do this again."

"That’s a great idea, Cara," Kelsey said, hugging her back. "I’d like that."

"I think we’re already starting a tradition. We’ll have to do a girls’ night out like once a week." Cara considered Seamus’s reaction to that. "Only next time maybe we should pick a casino where no one knows us."

"Good plan," Alexis said, even as her eyes darted over to her husband, still talking to the bartender.

"See you all later."

Cara left the bar and headed down the hall. She realized almost immediately one of the bodyguards was following her. Considering she was about to collect twenty thousand dollars, she didn’t mind having the muscle backing her up.

Because of the size of her winnings, she had to go to the main box office, and she started down the hall, high heels sinking into the plush gray carpet. It was a nice hotel and casino, very classy and understated, at least by Vegas standards. It was still over the top, with a shiny forties glamour, but a classy glitz.Lots of glass, lots of sharp silver accessories.Which made her wonder about the supposed vampire aversion to silver. Given the abundance of polished silver in her bathroom alone, it seemed unlikely that the legends were true.

It did smell funny in the hallway, though. Cara wrinkled her nose, wondering if someone had gotten sick in an obscure corner and the hotel staff wasn’t aware of it. She glanced around a little, but didn’t see anything obvious that could be causing the smell.

The only other person in the hallway was her bodyguard following behind, and a man coming in the opposite direction. The smell grew stronger and Cara felt her stomach churn. She glanced back at the guard, who seemed to be walking faster now, closing the distance between them. He spoke into his little earpiece microphone.

Cara slowed down. There was something about the man heading toward her, something about the way he lumbered, the way his body was thick on top, spindly from the thigh down, that tugged at her memory. He was closernow, close enough that she could see he was watching her, staring. His hand slid into the inside pocket of his jacket, and Cara felt the sense of danger explode over her, like she had that night in the alley.

"Seamus?" she whispered out loud, grinding to a halt, terrified. This was the man who had been there. This was the man Seamus had been fighting. The one she’d thought of as stupid because of the slackness of his features, the dullness in his eyes. This was the one who’d thought she was pretty.

A knife emerged from his pocket. A wicked, long, sharp, jagged knife, that looked like it could gut a deer with one swift slice. Adeer, or her.

Cara panicked, feet rooted to the carpet, mind paralyzed with fear. She was considering what the hell she should do when the guy raised the knife. A whoosh of air went past Cara and she sucked in her breath, too frightened to scream. Her bodyguard was suddenly visible in front of her, and with one swift lift of his arm, he brought the other vampire to the ground.

A little shriek managed to escape her lips, and she clamped her hand over her mouth.

The bodyguard glanced over his shoulder. "You alright, miss?"

She nodded. He bent back down, handcuffed the vampire, tossed him over his shoulder, and started down the hall. "Come on," he said in a quiet, urgent voice.

"What what was he going to do?"

"Kill you."

Just checking.She’d thought so, but she’d wanted to make sure. Her knees buckled. "Why?"

He paused long enough to glance over at her. "I don’t know."

His tone indicated it was a stupid question.

"Where are we going?" She hurried to keep up withhim, feeling like her Chihuahua must with theLabradors . Her legs moved back and forth at high speed, but she was still six paces behind him. And given the fear still thick in her throat, she did not want to be left behind.

"Mr. Carrick’s office.We’ll get you another escort to Mr. Fox’s suite."

Cara wasn’t sure what to say, so she shut up.

Maybe being with Seamus had more benefits than orgasmic feedings. It seemed she really did need protection.

These vampires were out for blood.

Who would have thought?

Seamus was watching Button, Cara’s Lab, drop a bomb onto the sidewalk, and marveling that an undead Irish potato farmer turned soldier was now a glorified dog walker in Vegas.

It had been a mistake to take all three dogs out at the same time.

They crisscrossed leashes, walked at different speeds, and in three different directions. Satan bit at Button’s hind legs, which caused a lot of angry barking back and forth, andFritz was obsessed with smelling every single bird dropping, piece of garbage, or dead insect they came across.

Seamus was rapidly concluding two things—that it was unnatural to domesticate dogs and bring them into human dwellings, and that he was a sucker. He’d fallen for that sweet forehead kiss and innocent smile from Cara and now he was whipped. Actually, he’d been whipped from the minute he met her. This was just visual confirmation.

Button finished doing his thing and bounded away, jerking back with a startled yeip when he reached the end of the leash’s length. Meanwhile, Fritz and Satan enthusiastically ran over and sniffed Button’s leavings.

" Aww, hell.Knock it off, guys. That’s disgusting." He tugged them both back. They started down the sidewalk. At least it was a nice night. Clear and cool. There were the usual mobs of people out and about, and he’d chosen to stay on the Strip, though he was a half-block down from the serious crowds.