Bit the Jackpot (Vegas Vampires #2)(48)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Cara swallowed hard and decided that if she didn’t get killed by anassassin, Seamus would do it with his bare hands when he saw her.

But she just wanted a peek, just enough of a look to see that he was alright. Then she’d retreat and everything would be just fine.

She was almost sure of it.

"It used to be a lot easier to do this kind of stuff, didn’t it?" Seamus asked as he and Ethan headed down the hall. He couldn’t believe the way Cara had clung to him. It pleased him at the same time it made him feel guilty for worrying her. But hell, he could take care of himself.Had been doing it for almost four hundred years. "We used to just sign up for every war that came our way. Now it’s harder."

"Very true.Now we have responsibilities.People relying on us. We have to exercise caution." Ethan touched the frame of a painting hanging in the hallway and straightened it. "We’re civilized. We own property. And we have women waiting for us at home."

"It’s not so bad, is it?" Seamus pictured Cara in his bed, the way her eyes had darkened when she said she loved him. "Not so bad at all."

"Nope.Different phases in life, that’s all. And meeting Alexis was just what I needed."

Seamus thought the same could be said for him and Cara. He’d been so discontent, so frustrated,so uptight. Cara had changed all that, forced him to relax. But he didn’t like that she had cried when he’d left.That made him feel lousy, guilty. "Hey, do you remember Hutchins? The captain who was atWaterloo with us? Remember how his wife used to follow the drum?"

Ethan laughed as they got on the elevator. "Shit, I’d forgotten about him. Every time we were ready to head out to the front lines, she would grab on to him and wail and scream for him not to leave her."

Seamus could still picture it, her skirts flying, bonnet askew, head lifted toward the sky like she was begging God for intercession. "He was always so embarrassed, but he couldn’t bring himself to toss her off. He’d pat her and try to reassure her until the cook would finally pull her off. The one time she got him around the knees and they both went down in the mud."

They laughed. "We used to cut him up over that," Ethan said. "But now I have to sympathize with the poor chap. I find my wife is a little hard to control sometimes."

"At least you understand Alexis. I have no clue what Cara is going to do half the time."

"Will she follow us?" Ethan asked.

"No.Of course not." Seamus scoffed. At least he didn’t think so. "Will Alexis?"

"Absolutely."

"You probably should have put some clothes on," Ringo said to Kelsey when they left her room and got on the elevator. It didn’t seem to occur to her it was a little odd for her to be strolling along in a bikini while he was wearing a suit. But hell, maybe it wasn’t. He had ditched the delivery jacket in Kelsey’s room.

"There’s no time. Mr. Carrick will be down here in like five minutes."

Ringoquestioned that Keisey would be able to pull this off, but he didn’t see that he had a whole lot of options. He just had to make sure any fallout didn’t land on her.

They stepped out on the twenty-third floor, the office level. The office doors were unlocked and a receptionist was typing on a computer.

"Hey Kelsey," the receptionist said, barely glancing up. "What are you doing?"

"I just forgot something in Mr. Carrick’s office. I’ll be in later like normal."

"Okay." The woman didn’t even seem to notice Ringo or the fact that Kelsey was wearing a bikini. "Happy Birthday," she added.

"Thanks," Kelsey said, without missing a beat.

Ringocouldn’t prevent a small smile as they went down the hall. Damn, she was cool under pressure. He never would have guessed it.

She didn’t even balk when there was a mortal guard outside the room Williams was in. "Hi, James," she said with a smile.

"Kelsey." His eyebrow went up. "If you’re going swimming, the pool is on the first floor."

"Ha, ha.Very funny."She smiled at him. "Can you go get me a cup of coffee?"

"Sure." The guy went down the hall.

Just like that. "Very smooth," Ringo told her.

"I’m working on the mind-control thing. Now go in there," she said, shoving him. "I’ll keep watch."

Opening the door, he braced himself, not sure what in the hell he was going to find on the other side. It wasn’t as gruesome as he imagined, though Williams looked like hell. He was lying on a couch watching TV, handcuffed to the furniture leg. Ringo wasn’t sure if the restraints could actually secure a fifty-year-old vampire but Williams looked too sick to give a shit.

"Hey." He stepped in front of him.

Williams struggled to sit up."Blood. I need blood. They’re giving me blood that is bad or something I’m dying, Ringo . You’ve got to help me."

Using his foot, Ringo stepped on the handcuffs and snapped them in two pieces. "Get up."

"How we going to get out?"Williams took a deep breath, his normally pale pallor nearly translucent. "Fuck, I’m going to be sick." He leaned over and puked while Ringo turned away in disgust.

He did not want to end up like Williams. Yet he knew he was already there. He was only one missed feeding away from the shakes and sweats Williams had.

The door opened and Kelsey ran in. "Guard is back, and Sea- musand Mr. Carrick are coming down the hall."

"Alright."There was no time to screw around. Ringo hauled Williams up by his shirt and dragged him over to the window.

"What are you doing?" Williams sputtered and whacked at Ringo with weak, unfocused punches. "Let me go."

"I’m saving your ass. The entry is blocked. We’re going out the window." Ringo took a hard-back chair and swung. The glass shattered upon impact, shards flying everywhere.

"We’re in a high-rise. We can’t." Williams stopped to hurl again.

"You want to get back to Donatelli and his drug blood or what? I can leave you here to dry out." Ringo shoved him toward the open window, the sun just starting to appear in the east, their shoes crunching and sliding on the beads of burst glass. "Or you can go out my way."

"No the fall will kill us."

Nothing could kill them except decapitation, lack of blood, or a stake through the heart. "What’sa few broken bones when they’ll heal?" Ringo got a hand on Williams’s pants at the waist, another on his shirt at the shoulder. He jerked him up onto the window ledge. "Withdrawal didn’t do anything for your weight, man. You’re f**king heavy."