High Stakes (Vegas Vampires #1)(18)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Oh, great, there was going to be some scene with an ex-girlfriend.Just what she wanted to witness while her food was getting cold in some unknown break room.

The brunette gave a sob, than flipped her hair back, exposing her alabaster cheeks and red lips.Really red lips. Like bloody red lips. A wet sheen covered them, and she must not use color stay, because that lipstick had feathered out in the corners of her mouth and

"Wipe your mouth, Kelsey." Ethan pulled out a handkerchief and gently cleaned her off, like she was a child.

"Oh!Sorry, Mr. Carrick." And she burst intotears, great big loud sobs that produced no actual moisture, but made her chest heave and her shoulders shake, and her cle**age come perilously close to bursting out of the tiny black dress that could have doubled as a hair ribbon.

Alexis glanced right and left, wondering where her dinner was and if it would be rude to ask Ethan. She really didn’t want to hear whatever conversation was about to ensue.

"What’s the matter, Kelsey?" Ethan returned his handkerchief to his pocket and squeezed her hand.

"Mr. Carrick, it’s just so awful I’m so glad I found you I was with him and I was, um, eating, and then I heard it. He’s go- ingto kill you!" This was capped off with another round of crying.

Very dramatic.And bizarre.But Alexis wouldn’t expect anything less from Ethan and Company."Kill Ethan? A man gave a verbal threat against Mr. Carrick? Does he have a weapon? We should call the cops."

‘That isn’t necessary," Ethan said, rubbing Kelsey’s arms and staring at her.

Kelsey’s brow furrowed, and she tipped her head like she was thinking hard or listening to something. "Okay," she said. "I know I’m not supposed to, but he was sorry, Mr., Carrick. I won’t do it again." She shuddered. "It was gross. It was Hike he was empty in there, you know what I mean?"

" Shh. Why don’t you go get a drink in the reception room? Find Seamus and tell him what you told me. How did you leave him?"

Kelsey flushed, her pale cheeks staining red. "I just left him.By my desk. I wasn’t thinking " She covered her face with her hands and groaned. "I’m so stupid!"

Alexis was getting impatient. "If someone threatened you, we need to call the police. People lose their whole life savings in these casinos sometimes, and then go nuts and shoot the owner or half the people on the floor. You can’t dismiss this."

"I’m not dismissing it." Ethan let go of Kelsey and turned to Alexis. "I’ll handle it myself with my own casino security. Go back into the reception room with Kelsey, please, and I’ll be along shortly."

Without another word or waiting for any response, Ethan headed to the elevators, already flipping open his cell phone and punching in a number.

Alexis looked at Kelsey, still a little confused and uneasy about the whole thing. "Hey, aren’t you the chick who sits at the front desk? I remember you from yesterday."

Kelsey nodded. "I’m Kelsey."

"Hi, Kelsey, I’m Alexis. Where did you leave the guy? By your desk, you said? Did you tie him up or what?"

Kelsey bit her lip and shook her head slowly.

Alexis watched the elevator numbers go from twenty-six to twenty-two in a smooth thirty seconds. It stopped at twenty-two. Ethan was going to confront the man himself, the dumb ass.

"You going to stay here, Kelsey the receptionist, or are you going down with me?Because I’m following Ethan."

So she didn’t really like Ethan all that much—that didn’t mean she wanted him to get beat up or killed or anything. He could use Alexis "Ball Buster" Baldizzi covering his back with a few quick maneuvers. She had been trained to deflect an attacker, and while she knew Ethan was strong, the odds would be better if she went with him.

"Mr. Carrick told me to go get Mr. Fox. I have to do what he says or I’ll get fired. Besides, I don’t want to see him again that man."

Alexis pushed the down button on the elevator. "Who is he?"

"I don’t know. He didn’t tell me his name. I met him down in the casino at the blackjack table and we came up to the office to, uh " Kelsey had the grace to blush.

Putting her hand up, Alexis said, "I don’t need details. I know what you mean." She got in the elevator. "Sure you’re not coming?"

Kelsey shook her head violently. "I’ll get Mr. Fox."

"Suit yourself. See you in five." Alexis waved as the door shut. She slipped her high heels off, leaving one on the floor and wield- ingthe other as a weapon.

Twenty-two was quiet when the door whooshed open, and at the last second, self-preservation made her hang back. Maybe she should leave this to the experts. Then when she glanced out of the elevator, she saw Ethan lying on the floor in front of the reception desk.

"Shit!" Dropping the shoe, she sprinted the twenty feet and fell to her knees. "Ethan? Are you okay?" The room was dim, the office overnight spots on, but not the regular fluorescent day lights.

She crouched over him, heart in her throat. His eyes were closed, and he was very, very still. There was a strange smell in the air that seemed familiar before her brain told her what it was.Blood. Oh, God, that was blood. Patting his head, she didn’t see any injury, so she moved down his shoulders and peeled back his black jacket.

"Oh, Jesus."Her stomach rolled over as her hand touched his sopping wet dress shirt. "Ethan?"

He’d been shot. Right near the heart, if the rip in his shirt and the growing circle of blood were any indication. Maybe two times, because it looked like there was another hole slightly right of center and raised. Covering him back up with his jacket, Alexis pushed down on the fabric to stop all that blood from gushing out.

A hot, panicked taste filled her mouth. She didn’t have her cell phone. But the reception desk was right behind her. "Hang in there, Ethan, I’m calling 911."

Scrambling up, she tripped on the hem of her dress and hit the desk. Grabbing the phone, she picked it up and hit the buttons. A squawking sounded in her ear. "Damn it!" Maybe she had to dial nine for an outside line or something. It didn’t work. The phone yelled at her again. The third try dialing nine plus the number, she got through and breathlessly explained the situation and her location in the casino to the operator.

"Does he have a pulse? I don’t know." Stretching the phone cord, she picked up Ethan’s wrist and felt around. "I don’t feel any thing." She didn’t feel anything. That was bad.

"Someone will be there momentarily."

"Thank you." Alexis hung up the phone and started digging around in Ethan’s neck for a pulse. She had to find one, there had to be one somewhere. He couldn’t be dead. That just wasn’t believable.