Bit the Jackpot (Vegas Vampires #2)(50)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Glancing over at Cara, Seamus shifted uneasily. He had seen this coming.All his goddamn fault. He should have turned Cara and just resigned right then and there. He should have taken her and gone back toIreland to let things blow over.

Cara was stroking Kelsey’s hair, whispering to her while Ethan popped open a second bag of blood, tossing the empty one onto the carpet. Kelsey’s neck was covered in thick, clotted blood, but Seamus could see it was healing. Her skin was a more normal tint, and her breathing had evened out. Cara hadn’t bothered to pull on the T-shirt, but didn’t seem aware of the fact that she was sitting there in a red lace bra.

She was beautiful.

And Seamus realized he had done the same thing all over again. He had fallen in lust with Cara initially, which had clouded his judgment. It had been the same with Marie, and like then, others had paid the price for his weakness. Cara, Ethan, and even Kelsey were paying for his lack of self-control, and he felt the guilt crushing him all over again.

He loved Cara. But sometimes that wasn’t good enough.

Cara was aware that Seamus was watching her, a strange pained look on his face. It made her uncomfortable, but her main concern was Kelsey, who was starting to shift uneasily. "Are you sure she’s going to be okay, Ethan? "

"I’m sure. But I’ll have the Frenchman check on her just to be sure."

"The Frenchman?"Alexis said, stopping her anxious pacing. "You mean Corbin?"

"Yes," Ethan said.

"Is he in town?"

"Yes."

"And you knew?"

"Yes. He has been detoxing the vampire who went out the window and who is right now probably on his way back to his drug pusher. We’ll need Atelier to help Ringo through his withdrawal."

Cara winced, thinking there wasn’t going to be any easy way to break an addiction. Yet she found she was having a hard time dredging up sympathy for the man who had bitten Dawn two dozen times and left her almost drained of blood naked on the dressing room floor. Maybe it was the drugs that had caused

Ringo’sbehavior, but it was going to take her a long time to get over what he had done.

Alexis glared at her husband. "How long has Corbin been here?"

"A week."

"You could have mentioned that to me."

"I suppose I could have." Ethan was impassive. "But it’s not relevant."

Alexis gasped. "I would have liked to talk to him."

"You still can. He’s right outside the door."

Cara watched a tall, debonair man enter the room. He smiled charmingly.

"Good day to all of you. Did you require something, Mr , Carrick?"

"We have another patient for you." Ethan pointed to Ringo , who had been tied into a chair by Seamus. A cigarette dangled artfully from his lips.

Corbin made a sympathetic sound."Of course." He walked past Alexis, bowing his head. "How are you, Alexis?And your sister, Brittany? I trust she is recovering from the flu?"

Alexis narrowed her eyes. "How did you know she has the flu?"

His steps faltered. "She told me." Then he knelt down beside Kelsey. "Miss Kelsey has had an accident, yes?"

"You could call it that," Ringo said sarcastically.

Cara pulled her T-shirt off Kelsey’s rippled wound. "Her throat was cut, but I think it’s healing."

Corbin examined the laceration, his long fingers moving with precision and gentleness. "Yes, she will heal. You, however," he said to Ringo . "You are in for a difficult time."

"Bring it on," Ringo said, tossing his hair out of his eyes.

Kelsey’s eyes snapped open. She sat up in Cara’s lap. "Kyle? Where’s Kyle?"

"Right here, Kels ."

She turned and sighed in relief when she saw Ringo . "I had to, you know.For you."

"I know. But you could have warned me."

"No," Kelsey said. "I couldn’t."

"I know." Ringo shrugged.

Cara felt Seamus’s shirt slip off her back. She realized she was still sitting there in her bra, so she dragged the black T-shirt on over her head. Seamus’s scent enveloped her. It made her feel comforted,I love you , she told him, needing to hear his voice.

But he didn’t answer. In fact, he didn’t even look at her. Cara realized he must not have heard her. She wasn’t exactly an expert on the whole thought-projection thing.

"Why don’t we go get you into the shower,Kelsey. " The sight of so much blood all over Kelsey’s body was incredibly gruesome.

"Good idea," Seamus said, inspecting the shattered window, knocking out a few remaining shards."Why don’t you ladies go to bed for the day? I think everyone could use some rest." He leaned over and looked down. "No body on the street."

Cara realized she had been dismissed. He was talking to Ethan with that last pronouncement, not her. It was puzzling, but she reassured herself that the night had been completely overwhelming. Seamus was obviously distracted, thinking, strategizing.Obviously.

"I could use a shower," Kelsey said, standing up, using Cara’s shirt to swipe at her chest. "Cara, oh,my gosh , I ruined your shirt. I’m sorry."

That almost made her laugh. "It’s okay. It can be replaced." She wasn’t sure why Kelsey had slit her own throat, but she knew it had something to do with Ringo .Which was just astounding. Cara wondered if she could make herself rip open her flesh for Seamus. That seemed a little drastic.

Alexis didn’t put up an argument about leaving, nor did she say good-bye to her husband. Their only contact was when she started toward the door, and Ethan yanked her back by the sword she was carrying.

"Leave the sword, Baldizzi . And quit watchingHighlander reruns."

Alexis surrendered the sword without a word and the three women went into the hall, Cara nervously holding on to Kelsey’s arm. She didn’t want Kelsey to suddenly drop or anything.

"I am so angry I could spit," Alexis hissed. "Why the hell didn’t he tell me Corbin was here?"

Cara was feeling a little uneasy herself. Seamus hadn’t exactly been Joe Affectionate in there. "They feel like they have to protect us from everything. Maybe it’s because they were raised in earlier centuries, when women were considered the weaker sex."

"I don’t know. I think that may be true for Seamus, but when Ethan was a kid, women were pretty tough. They had to be to survive." Alexis narrowed her eyes. "I think Ethan is just being an ass**le, that’s all."

"Yeah, they do that, too, sometimes." Cara sighed. Something was wrong with Seamus. She could sense it. He hadn’t evenlooked at her when she left.