Bit the Jackpot (Vegas Vampires #2)(58)
Author: Erin McCarthy

"My name used to beNancy ," Kelsey announced.

"What?" Cara looked at her in confusion.

"When I was mortal, in the fifties.My name wasNancy . I hated it."

Oh, my God. Cara was breaking into a vampire’s hotel suite with a sword-wielding fledgling and a name-changing assassin-loving secretary. Where had the calm life of a mild-mannered stripper gone?

"Kelsey is a nice name," Cara said, for lack of anything better to say.

"I tried outSummer for a while, in the sixties and seventies, but it was too blond for me."

Alexis gasped, having wandered over by the bed. "Oh, that is sick. I’m going to be sick."

"What?" Hearing the horror in Alexis’s voice, Cara imagined used condoms, sex toys,  p**n ,a penis pump. "What is it?"

" Donatelli’sunderwear.They’re briefs."

Cara glanced at Kelsey, who gave a snicker of amusement." Geez. You scared me. I thought it was something really gross."

"This is gross!"

"There is nothing here," Cara repeated. "Let’s go. I just remembered I said I’d start back at work tonight they’ll want me there by ten so we should go before Donatelli decides to come back to his room."

"Too late," Kelsey said. "He’s coming in the door now."

"What?" Cara grabbed Kelsey and glanced around frantically, looking for a place to hide.

"Don’t bother. He can sense us."

"Shit," was Alexis’s opinion.

Cara looked around for a weapon. That lamp looked heavy, but it was bolted down, and Donatelli was already walking through the door with two women.

He stopped inside the doorway, expression unreadable. Glancing from one of them to the other, he finally settled on Alexis, who was still over by his bed. "Mrs. Carrick," he said. "What a pleasant surprise to see you this evening. You don’t usually venture out of your husband’s place."

"I felt the need to check out the Venetian," Alexis said, with way more aplomb than Cara could have mustered.

"Excellent." He smiled at Kelsey. "Hello, Kelsey. You’re looking good, as usual. I always thought you should have been a supermodel, not a secretary."

"Thanks."

Cara couldn’t gauge Kelsey’s true feelings from her neutral, polite expression and she was impressed that Kelsey had pulled herself together. She had real reason to be afraid of this man. He had ordered her to be drained of blood,then had her tossed in Ethan’s apartment like an empty blood bag.

"And I don’t believe we’ve met." Donatelli held out his hand. "I am Roberto Donatelli ."

Alexis and Kelsey were both playing it cool so she needed to do the same. She swallowed a gallon of spit and said carefully, "Cara Kim." She forced herself to shake his hand and concentrate on keeping her thoughts locked.

"Ah.Seamus Fox’s new lover. It’s a pleasure." With his Italian accent,lover didn’t sound rude, but Cara sensed it was meant to be. That he was good at saying one thing and meaning another. "Allow me to introduce my friends, Kathy and Laura. They are in town from Oregon and I’ve been showing them the best spots in Vegas. Kathy, Laura, this is Alexis Baldizzi -Carrick, the wife of a business associate of mine. Kelsey, a close intimate friend of mine, and Cara Kim, a dancer down at the club SomeLike It Hot."

Oh, he was good. Cara would give him that. He had managed to let her know he knew who she was, what she was. Intimidate Kelsey. And be the only one to call Alexis by her full given name, in an unfailingly polite gesture that clearly infuriated her. All while ignoring the fact that they were in his private hotel suite without his permission.

"Nice to meet you."Kathy stuck her hand out.

Cara shook automatically while Laura grinned. "We’re here for our birthday. We both turned forty this month, so we left the soccer games and the laundry at home and came for a wild weekend."

"Oh, well, Happy Birthday." Cara tried to pull her hand back. Kathy was gripping it too hard, and something about the glassy, drunken look in both their eyes was disturbing.

These were normal suburban housewives and Cara had the sudden sick sinking feeling that Donatelli was toying with them. In what way, she didn’t really want to know, but she couldn’t imagine it was totally oftheir own free will. He was using his vampire influence on them and it repulsed her.

"We were just going to have a drink. Would you care to join us?" Donatelli asked, heading to the bar in the sitting room.

"Cut the shit, Donatelli ," Alexis said, obviously tired of being polite. "Where’s Ethan?"

"You’ve lost your husband?"

"Do you know where he is?"

"No." Donatelli poured scotch into three glasses. "Is that the reason for your charmingly unexpected visit? You think I know where your husband is?"

"Yes, I do."

"What about Seamus?" Cara asked.

Donatellihanded Kathy and Laura a glass each. They both tossed the whole thing back like seasoned alcoholics.

"I don’t know where they are, though I imagine they’re together, as usual. If I were both of you, I’d start to worry that maybe there is more than friendship between them."

"You’re scum," was Alexis’s opinion.

Kathy and Laura were starting to look confused. "Well, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," Kathy said inanely.

Donatellismiled at her, clearly amused. "Come here, both of you."

They walked over to him. He put an arm around each of their backs and walked them over to the bed, murmuring lowly. They stretched out on the huge king-size bed and Donatelli bent over them. Cara was about to scream and yell and do something to stop him, when he stood back up.

Both women were asleep. Cara let out the breath she’d been holding.

Sighing, he walked back to the sitting room. "They were starting to grate on my nerves. I got them for a friend of mine, and he has the audacity to be late in returning tonight." He smiled at Kelsey. "You know my friend, Kelsey. Ringo would enjoy these women, don’t you think?"

Kelsey didn’tanswer, tiny spots of red appearing in her cheeks.

"Leave her alone," Alexis said. "We’re leaving anyway."

"Oh, you think so? But I’m not done enjoying your company yet. I was hoping we could play parlor games, have a few drinks, talk and tell jokes." He opened the drawer of the buffet and rooted around in there. "I’d love for Cara to dance for us."

Cara started to back up, tapping Kelsey on the elbow to get her attention. Donatelli was starting tocreep her out. He had something in mind. He was taunting them.