High Stakes (Vegas Vampires #1)(11)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Five minutes alone with Brittany . That’s all she needed to convince her sister to return to her normally scheduled life, sans Ethan Carrick and his creepy Goth crew.

Alone was the key. With Ethan hovering all the time, making her lips tingle, Alexis knew she was going to have problems convincing

Brittany to leave, so she had to get to her sister when no one else was around.

Winning two dollars on a slot, Alexis printed her ticket and tried to look nonchalant. Casually, very casually—she was so good at this subterfuge thing—she inserted herself into a crowd of drunk, laughing women getting on the elevator. At least she thought they were drunk, but maybe the giggles were just from having a good time. Since Alexis didn’t really know how to have a good time, she wasn’t really sure.

She pushed the button for the twenty-second floor.

"Dang, I shouldn’t have worn a bra," one woman said, reaching into her dress with both hands and tugging.

Alexis guessed her accent was from Texas , her dress from New York .

"So take it off," one of her companions suggested. "Since you had your lift, you should be fine without it."

"There are other people on this elevator," the woman said with great dignity, before dissolving into giggles.

Other people must mean Alexis, because they all seemed to know each other.

"I don’t care if you do," Alexis told her. "But there’s probably a camera somewhere in here."

"Really?I never thought about that." And the woman proceeded to peel down the front of her bodice, rip off her bra, and shake her ta-tas in a slow three-sixty. "Got to catch every angle-I’m not sure whichis my best breast side ."

Her three girlfriends screamed and laughed. Alexis watched with horror, and oh, my God, envy. When in her thirty years of lifehad she ever done anything impulsive, goofy,shocking ?

Never, because it always seemed like frivolity belonged to her mother, and not since she was five years old had Alexis wanted to be anything like her mother. But there was a difference between her irresponsible mother and these women, who were just having fun. In their forties and looking fabulous, they were clearly enjoying life.

Did Alexis enjoy her life?Sort of.

She liked her job, felt satisfaction when she won a case and a person who had committed a crime was forced to serve time for that.

She was proud of Brittany , that she had become a dentist, and was happy and well-adjusted, and normally didn’t do anything to give Alexis worry.Normally.

But did Alexis enjoy her life?

She wasn’t sure.

The elevator opened on the nineteenth floor and the women got off, the brazen one having pulled her dress back up. But she left her bra lying in the middle of the floor with a "that should get peopletalking ."

Alexis moved gingerly around the black lace bra, hoping no one would get on the elevator and think it was hers. She couldn’t imagine ditching a bra—that was like throwing thirty bucks on the floor of the elevator.

Brittany was right. She was wound too tight.

Feeling a little melancholy and edgy, she got off at the twenty-second floor, looked around, gave a startled, "Oh! This isn’t right." in case anyone was witnessing her, and turned to the private elevator.

Hitting the up button, she hoped James, the ham-fisted security guard, wasn’t hanging around. He would recognize her. She didn’t think he was swift enough to figure out what she was doing, but nonetheless, he’d probably call Carrick.

But no one yelled or grabbed her shoulder, so she figured she was safe. The door slid open, she rushed on, and saw this elevator only went to floors twenty-three to twenty-six. Bingo.

She wasn’t sure what she would do if Brittany refused to come with her. Probably have a cow. The whole situation was disturbing on many levels, not the least of which was that in the past, Brittany had always looked to her for advice. Alexis had been able to influence Brittany , guide her,help her make the right decisions. It was really scary that suddenly her baby sister seemed to be thinking on her own. And not very well, given that she was hooking up with a Gothic cult.

"Twenty-three twenty " She scanned the hall, heading left when she saw which way the room numbers went.

The carpeting was thick, with black-and-white Art Deco squares, but it still felt like her footsteps were echoing loudly in the hushed hallway. Since this floor was private, the space between doors was farther, and each suite was tucked into a little alcove, with a gunmetal gray placard affixed to the wall next to it with the number on it. Alexis had to admit, as far as tacky casinos went, Carrick’s wasn’t so bad. She kind of liked the Old Hollywood theme, with its sleek furniture and plush glamour.

Just for one day, it might be nice to trade in her short, big-in-the-booty body, and her tough-talking prosecutor lingo for long legs, a slinky dress, some wicked red lipstick, and a sultry voice that made men drool.

Yeah, like that was going to happen.

And she sure in the hell wouldn’t want to live like that for more than one day. Smoldering looks would get exhausting after a while.

But a date here and there would be nice. Only the men she came into contact with were either smooth-talking defense attorneys or criminals. She wasn’t willing to take a chance on a repeat offender, no matter how attractive he might be in a beige jumpsuit. And defense attorneys made her gums itch.

A man stepped out of the alcove directly next to her. "This is a surprise."

After swallowing a scream, Alexis glared at Ethan Carrick. Damn it, she was one freaking door away from Brittany ‘s room. Which meant Carrick’s room was next to Brittany ‘s, which kind of made her want to throw up. How could her sister be having sex with this man?

And why couldn’t she be having sex with anybody?

"Hello." Even though her heart was beating just a wee bit faster than normal, she gave him a casual smile and started on past him. Not doing anything here

"I thought that you went home." He stepped in front of her.

"I did." She moved left to get around him.

He shifted, blocking her way. "Then why are you back?"

She moved right. Again he blocked her.

"Look at us, we’re dancing," she said in exasperation. "Will you just move?"

Ethan had changed into jeans and a black T-shirt, which showed every one of the well-defined muscles in his long and lean chest and arms. An expensive watch, with a diamond here and there, flashed on his wrist. There wasa darkness in his eyes that she didn’t understand, and didn’t like.

"Tell me why you’re here and I’ll move."

Might as well be honest.They were going to get into it whether she told the truth or made up some bullshit story. "Okay, here’s the thing. You like to pretend you’re a vampire. So I’m pretending to be a vampire slayer. And I’m going to get my sister and take her back to her apartment, where she belongs, away from this freaking fun house."