Bit the Jackpot (Vegas Vampires #2)(61)
Author: Erin McCarthy

Cara clung to Seamus and she shuddered at Kelsey’s words. Seamus felt all his shock, horror,guilt , collapse in on him, and form a very hot, tight ball of anger. Heaven and hell, how could he ever make this right for Cara? She must have been sick, humiliated. And he was livid. He was six new words for pissed off. He was so f**king angry that if he moved one muscle, he was going to rip Donatelli’s head right off his shoulders.

Ethan moved around Donatelli in a slow circle, expression feral. "Concede the election now or I’ll kill you."

"I call your bluff," Donatelli said. "You’ve gotten tame in the last century. You won’t kill me."

Seamus set Cara away from him and moved forward. "He doesn’t need to. I will."

He wasn’t bluffing.Not at all. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to take off Donatelli’s head, despite the law of the Nation.

The Italian must have seen his conviction. He took a long moment, where they studied each other,then he shrugged. "You are overreacting. I didn’t hurt her."

Seamus flew at him, vampire speed, and pinned him against the wall, arm at his neck. "Keep your filthy fingers off my girlfriend, you bloody liar. You’ve shown no respect for Ethan or me, the law of the Nation, or these women. We’re ending this here and now."

"It doesn’t look to me like we’re doing anything," Donatelli said, his voice tight but mocking.

Seamus jerked him back and snapped his neck, breaking it with a nice, sharp crack.

"Fuck, that hurt," Donatelli said, eyes glazed with pain, collapsing to the ground when Seamus let go of him.

"I’m calling our security," Ethan said. "We’ll take Donatelli’s statement of concession and broadcast it on the network immediately, and then security can escort him to New York , where he can await trial for treason."

"Treason for what?" Donatellicomplained from the floor, looking in too much pain to move.

"Plot to kill the president," Seamus told him. "It’s either that— which will mean banishment—or death.Your choice." A sick part of Seamus hoped Donatelli would taunt him by choosing death. It would be all too easy to justify killing him then.

"I don’t see that I have much choice, do you?" He still managed to sound like a prick, even down on the ground curled up in agony. "I will concede. Does that make you both happy?"

"Immeasurably," Seamus said sarcastically. He hauled Dona- tellito his feet for the sole purpose of punching him in the gut, when Cara called him.

"Seamus, the women on the bed."

"What?" He glanced over at her. She was pointing to Dona- telli’sbed. There were two mortal women sleeping there undera glamour .

"What should we do with them?" Cara asked. Seamus noticed she had pulled her shirt and jeans back on. "I don’t think they’d be here if they really knew what they were doing."

"I’ll take care of them," Ethan said, immediately going over to the bed. He picked up both of them, one on each shoulder, and headed for the door.

"You are no fun whatsoever. Did anyone ever tell you that?" Donatelli asked.

Seamus felt his temperature rise. If he had to spend one more minute with this guy, he was not going to be able to contain his rage. "Cara, Kelsey, Alexis, why don’t you go back to the Ava? We’ll be back soon."

"Okay," Alexis said, with zero argument. Seamus knew then that she must still be hurting if she wasn’t arguing.

Ethan returned."All taken care of. They won’t remember a thing."

"We’re leaving," Alexis told him.

"Can you drive?" Ethan asked, touching her broken wrist.

"Cara can drive. We’ll be fine."

Kelsey was out the door first. Alexis gave Ethan a smile. "Kick his ass," she whispered loudly.

Cara just went for the door and didn’t even glance Seamus’s way. He watched her go, worried. She was too quiet. That wasn’t like her. And he would have liked to have given her a smile, to reassure her. But she just left, head down, shoulders rolled forward.

Ilove you , he told her mentally.

But like he had ignored her before, now she ignored him.

Ethan wanted to kill Donatelli . He knew one word of permission from him and Seamus would take his head off no questions asked. Ethan didn’t blame him. He couldn’t imagine how it must have felt for Seamus to see Donatelli touching Cara like that. But there were laws they had to follow, and while this method didn’t satisfy blood-lust, it was the right thing to do.

Though oddly enough, Seamus had broken a number of their laws lately, which was completely unlike him.

"Should I kick your ass?" Ethan asked Donatelli .

The Italian shrugged, adjusting his jacket, moving up onto his knees. "How is my wife, by the way? I heard she was in Vegas for your wedding. I was devastated she didn’t stop by to say hello."

The ass**le.Ethan clenched his fists. "My sister is not your wife any longer. Gwenna was smart enough to divorce you over four hundred years ago." Thanks to Henry the Eighth and his lust for new wives, Gwenna had been able to legally sever her relationship with Donatelli . Emotionally, though, Ethan wasn’t sure she had recovered yet.

"That doesn’t change the fact that we were married for over a hundred years."

"Of which Gwenna regrets every one."

"That truly breaks my heart. And it’s not true. We were happy before you turned her against me."

Ethan snorted. He hadn’t turned Gwenna against Donatelli , but he’d been thrilled to help her escape him.

Seamus grabbed Donatelli and hauled him to his feet. "Quit your yapping. No one believes your sob stories."

"Let’s just get this over, shall we?" Donatelli rolled his neck cautiously.

"Here, let me help you out the door." Ethan reached out and yanked Donatelli’s wrist, breaking it more cleanly than Donatelli had done to Alexis, but snapping it in three pieces nonetheless. "Oops. Sorry."

Seamus grinned at him with sick satisfaction.

Ethan had to admit it felt better than it should.

By the time Seamus finally found Cara two hours later, he was sick with worry. He’d looked for her everywhere in the Venetian, the Ava, and all points in between. Alexis had assured him Cara had returned with her, and the dogs didn’t look like they’d been left alone for long—no accidents on the carpet in her new hotel room. He’d gone to the club and to her old apartment with no luck. No one had seen her. After wondering how rude it would be to call

Dawn at midnight when she’d just gotten out of the hospital, Sea- mushad a thought.

Ten minutes later he was hovering outside the Resthaven nursing home, debating a walk around the perimeter of the building or a bold stroll straight into the lobby. He was on a gravel walkway that was separated from the long, low building by a row of indigenous drought-tolerant plants. The night was quiet, peaceful, and when he stood still and let his vampire hearing pick through the stucco building, he heard the low hum of ventilators, an occasional squeaking shoe on linoleum, and a TV droning softly. Then he heard Cara whispering, her voice gentle and full of love.