Freak Show (25 page)

People packed the streets. Families, couples, groups of friends all made their way through the throng, voices raised in jubilance. We couldn’t walk for more than a minute without someone shoving escort cards at the guys.

Jez plucked a card from Arys’s hand and studied the busty blonde in the photo. “I bet this isn’t the girl that shows up when you call.”

Arys shrugged “As long as they send a screamer, it’s all good.”

The two of them shared a laugh while I exchanged an eye roll with Shaz. Nobody could ever say predatory types didn’t have a sense of humor.

We passed showgirls posing with tourists for tips and even a few Elvis impersonators traveling as a small pack. The bright lights and constant noise was kind of comforting and much more intense in real life than any movie could portray. I was fascinated by the glitz of The Strip. There was so much to see. Maybe Vegas wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe it was just all the damn vampires.

The Eiffel Tower was especially beautiful against the night sky. I gazed up at it, lost in thought, wondering about the men I’d killed in that hotel. It was a lost memory that didn’t feel real. Roscoe owed me for that, and I would collect on that debt.

We reached the Bellagio to find the foot traffic very heavy in front of it. All of the tourists and their dogs lined up, waiting for the fountain to go off again.

Two giggling twenty-somethings passed with drink containers bigger than my arm. Jez’s gaze followed them with delight. “I must have one of those.”

“A girl or a drink?” I asked. It was Jez after all.

Her response was lost in the noise as the fountain lights came on. People chattered excitedly and held up smartphones to take video footage.
God Bless the USA
played over loud speakers, creating a sense of unity among all gathered, regardless of home country. It was nice.

I crammed in against the railing with everyone else. The fountain waters went so high. The Bellagio was gorgeous lit up in the background with the fabulous Caesars Palace just across the street to the right.

For the first time ever, I felt like a tourist, and I loved it. The fountain spray was cool against my skin, a brief reprieve of the desert heat. I watched with as much childlike glee as the next person as the water leaped as high as the Bellagio itself.

“Beautiful,” I whispered to myself. That moment in time was something special and maybe even a little magical, which made me wish I could capture the feeling and keep it forever.

“There’s nothing quite like it.” With a knowing grin, Arys slipped his arms around me from behind. “It’s one of my favorite places in all the world. That sounds childish, doesn’t it?”

“It does.” I laughed and leaned back into his embrace. “But I get it. I really do.”

The song ended. The fountain waters fell quiet, and the small lake lay peaceful once again. The crowd began to disperse, and the chatter kicked up a notch. As Arys tugged me away, onward to Caesars, I cast a wistful glance back at the dark water.

Jez stopped to take a photo with some showgirls. Her smile stretched from ear to ear as she snuggled up to the sparkly ladies. It was so simple, to pretend to be one of them. Human. Sometimes it was necessary too, for the good of our own mental health.

The crush of the crowd crossing the pedway to the hotel was as chaotic as it had been the last time I’d crossed. Above the din, I could hear the voice of the guy selling water on the end.

Stepping back into Caesars meant a shot of cold air conditioning in the face. I welcomed it. What I did not welcome was the unfortunate reminder that human life would never be for me. A bride with a handful of flowers cheerfully pranced through the lobby on the arm of her groom. Their friends followed, all dressed to the nines in wedding attire. My gaze went to Shaz who was also watching the happy couple. What was he thinking?

He caught me looking and forced a tight smile. It was still hard to accept, even after so many years. That would never be us.

The Poker Room was loud and busy, much like every other part of the casino. Men and women surrounded the tables and wore very stern expressions.

Jenner sat at one table, alone. In a suit that hid his tattoos, he looked suave, almost sexy. Shaz and Jez excused themselves, leaving the vampire talk to the vampires.

“We’re going to watch some dancing girls,” Jez said with a wink. “Come find us when you’re done with the politics.”

I sat across from Jenner, letting Arys take a seat in the middle. I decided to buy into the game. Why should they have all the gambling fun? I’d seen enough of poker to know it was a game of chance but also of strategy. No reason I couldn’t hold my own.

“Now, what could be so important that you dragged me over here?” Jenner inquired, peeking at his cards before looking at each of us in turn.

I shot a questioning look to Arys. These casinos were under heavy watch. Could we talk freely about such things here?

“Alexa killed Linden about an hour ago,” Arys said brazenly, answering my question. “Is that important enough? We fly out at midnight. I thought it was worth sharing with you first. It changes things.”

Jenner was silent. Not only did I have no idea how good his hand was, I had no idea what he was thinking. His poker face was exceptional.

A peek at my own cards revealed an ace and the two of clubs. Folding never crossed my mind. It would be like giving in before I knew what kind of chance I stood. So, when Jenner raised the pot to five grand, I sucked in a deep breath but matched the bet.

“Linden’s dead? Good job.” His icy gaze swept over me in appraisal. Clearly, someone was still harboring a grudge. Couldn’t say I blamed him. “So what now?”

The dealer laid the first three cards on the table, and Arys immediately folded. Big baby.

“Now we take apart the rest of the blood ring before it can recover from the loss. That will be your job. Think you can handle it?” Arys and Jenner shared a look. Something unspoken passed between them.

I was feeling good about my cards so I continued to stay in the game. Big mistake. The dealer laid the last two down, and my certainty changed as Jenner’s straight beat my three of a kind. Crap.

“Don’t you think it would be easier to take over the blood ring rather than disband it?” Jenner suggested, pulling my chips into his pile, shooting me a smarmy smile as he did so. “At least if we control it, we can make changes. Such as, no more kids.”

I chewed my bottom lip, an anxious habit I’d never been able to break. He did have a point, it just sounded so sketchy.

“The only way I’m going to agree to that is if we take it even further,” I said, peeking at the new cards I’d been dealt. “No innocents at all.”

The lady dealing had the best poker face of us all. She went through the motions of her job without reacting to our conversation. Either she didn’t care, or she knew better than to get involved.

Jenner scoffed. “You clearly don’t understand how supply and demand works. That’s asking too much.”

“And you clearly don’t understand that I’m not asking.” Again, I chose to hold my cards, a pair of fours. Not the best hand by any means but still worth a shot.

Arys watched our exchange with thinly veiled amusement. I think he had been waiting a long time for this moment, when I would become a thorn in the side of his vampire kin.

“You know, Alexa,” Arys said with a chuckle after I lost the next hand. “Sometimes you have to fold. It’s not always worth the risk.”

“Even the shittiest hand has the possibility of being a win,” I retorted. “I just have to be a better liar than a vampire.”

“Which you aren’t,” Jenner quipped. “You’re still too human.”

That shouldn’t have been an insult, but for some reason, I took it as one. Jenner wore his disdain of me like a fragrance. He stunk of it. He had every damn right. And yet, he’d put me in a position of having to prove myself to be vampire enough to rule at Arys’s side.

I held Jenner’s gaze, a coy smile curving my lips. “Did you taste anything human in my blood?” I taunted. Without twitching a finger, I reached out to him with a gentle push of power, just enough to envelope him in a seductive haze. I didn’t even have to touch him to make him want me. It was so wrong for so many reasons, yet I felt empowered. This time I raised the bet, feeling a little cocky. Having an advantage felt liberating. It didn’t happen often enough.

Jenner stiffened and broke eye contact. “What the hell do you want me to do? Since you’re laying claim to this city, that makes the blood ring your damn problem. Not mine.”

I let Arys field that one. It was his choice to take control of his former home city. I had my hands full enough with Edmonton. Piling Vegas on top of that was bound to give me a nervous breakdown.

“While I’m away, you will run the city. You will also, however, answer to me. Be my right hand, Jenner. We can reign here, together.” Arys tossed some chips in as a bet, but his eyes were on the other vampire.

Jenner mulled over the offer. We played another hand, and I actually won. The thrill was instant and a little addictive. Fun rush, though I’d had better.

“I won’t be your whipping boy, Arys. If I act as your right hand, then I get a say in what goes on here too.”

“Of course.”

“The blood ring relied heavily on us for their supply. We lured people in for them. Now would be a good time to try a takeover. But it’s not going to be easy.” He looked from Arys to me and back again. “I want one thing. Sloane. When she turns up, I deal with her. Not you guys.”

“Fuck that,” I protested at the same time Arys said, “Deal.”

I shot my twin flame a dark glare. Jenner didn’t try to hide his enjoyment of our conflicting responses. I jumped in, just barely restraining myself from an angry tirade.

“You damn well better gain control of that blood ring. No children. No expecting women and no rape or abuse. Or I’ll be coming back here for you.” My threat lacked the satisfaction I usually felt when issuing one. Leaving the blood business running in any way didn’t sit well with me. Still I knew Jenner was right. Something like that couldn’t be dissolved overnight.

“Start replacing the innocents with evil doers,” Arys added. “There are more than enough here. Rapists, murderers, pimps, whatever. Find them. Sell them. Tell the buyers that’s what they get now. If they don’t like it, they hunt their own prey, and then you kill them.”

Jenner sat back in his chair, fuming. The anger rolled off him like steam. “All I want to do is run The Wicked Kiss, my way. I walked away from the blood ring for a reason.”

“Then have Roscoe or someone else do the dirty work. Just get it done.” Arys’s tone had dropped to a deadly low.

I was with Jenner on this one. I wanted nothing to do with the blood ring. I just wanted it gone.

“So you get to come here, issue commands and leave me with the mess. Sounds about right. You’ve always been the flighty one.” Jenner’s insult rolled off Arys who shrugged.

“The mess was here when we arrived,” I interjected. “In fact, I’m pretty sure you would be ashes in the desert right now if we hadn’t been here.” Leaving Jenner brimming with hate and rage was not going to be in anyone’s best interest. Swallowing my pride, I angled at a ceasefire. “According to Hurst, our bloodline is crazy powerful. We need to be united, not divided. Especially now.”

Jenner’s chips clicked together loudly as he threw them down to place a bet. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

I laughed bitterly. “I’ve had that feeling since I got here.”

The hunger that burned in his gaze was startling. He watched the pulse in my throat and licked his lips. The backlash from what I’d done to him might be cause for concern. If he went down the same road as Kale…but no, that couldn’t happen. Kale’s madness was due to much more than a taste of my blood.

“I’d rather die than be yours.” Jenner’s admission was low, a murmur, yet I heard it clearly.

“You’re not the first to tell me that,” I quipped. “Should I just kill you now and get it over with then?”

Much to my surprise, Jenner folded. He tossed his cards down and gave up the win, which had he held out, would have been his. His loss felt symbolic.

“God, I hate you,” he muttered.

I happily added his chips to my dwindling stack. “Consider me extremely relieved. I’ve come to learn that a vampire’s love is far deadlier than his hatred.”

Arys’s expression was unreadable. If he was perturbed by my claim, he didn’t show it.