Real Vampires: Glory Does Vegas by Bartlett, Gerry (white hot kiss TXT) 📕

“You might if he doesn’t pull himself together soon. I think he’s having a fit of some kind. Being close to a short circuit like this doesn’t help.” I grabbed Davenport’s arm. “Do you have a room here, sir?”

“A suite, upstairs.” He gasped, his eyes doing that red and blue twinkling thing again. “Wouldn’t you like to come up and see it? Bring Misty. Three isn’t a crowd, it’s a little bit of, hmm, pardon my French, Heaven.”

My grip on his arm tightened, wrinkling his jacket. “No thanks. But maybe security needs to escort you up there so you can lie down and recover from this fit of yours.” I turned to the guard. “Would you mind? He clearly needs to pull himself together. He might have a concussion. He’s delusional.” I saw Misty and Valdez coming. “Quickly now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The guard nodded and two men in dark jackets tried to take Davenport away. They didn’t get far.

“I’m fine. Wonderful.” He threw out his arms and the men fell back, rubbing their eyes. “You are needed outside.” He waved them away. “Hurry.” They took off in a run.

Davenport smiled. “Misty, my beauty. Let me take you for that drink. Glory and Valdez are going home. I’ll give you a ride there later.” He glided over to where Misty stood next to me. “Don’t worry, Glory. I will take good care of your ‘roomie.’”

I realized I’d been beaten for now and took Valdez’s leash then stalked away from them both. Misty was a good person. Could a demon corrupt someone like that? Of course, he could. With temptations. As good as Misty was, she was an addict. All Davenport had to do was help her win at those machines and he’d have her in his pocket. I hated that thought.

I cashed out then got the car. I was finally alone with Valdez. We certainly had plenty to talk about on the way home. My heart still raced at the thought of how I’d made a slot machine explode. Where had that come from? And then there was Valdez…

“What kind of secret do you have that Davenport is holding over your head?” I asked as soon as I drove us away from Caesar’s.

“Forget about that. What about all that power you displayed in the casino? I saw you blow up slot machines!” Valdez stared at me. “That was intense. You had a faceoff with a major demon and almost won.”

“What do you mean ‘almost’? I think I beat him.” I was suddenly exhausted. Drained. Was it because I’d managed to throw power at a machine like that? Why hadn’t I ever discovered it before? I wanted to think about it but my brain felt as fried as that slot machine.

“Beat him? I don’t think so. He ended up with Misty, didn’t he?” Valdez gazed out the window. “I hate to think what his plans are for her.”

“She wanted a rich boyfriend. He fills the bill.” I pulled into our parking lot. The place was dark. Management didn’t bother to replace broken lights. “Come on, keep your eyes peeled for purse snatchers.”

“It’s a shame you have scruples. You could have won enough to set up your business in one night, you know.” Valdez sniffed the air.

“By cheating? Really? Now you’re sounding like Davenport.” I held his leash in one hand and my purse full of cash in the other. Maybe I was being paranoid, but the air around us seemed to reek of danger.

“Would you hurry? I hear footsteps.” Valdez was leading me now. “And I smell…” He grunted when a large net flew out of the darkness and covered him.

“What the hell!” I wheeled around, dropping my purse so I could use both hands to fight whoever had trapped him. And he was trapped. I could see him flailing around inside the heavy netting but wasn’t having any luck breaking free. Footsteps? Was someone hiding behind a car?

“Come out and face me, you coward.” I recognized the scent now. “Sid? I thought we showed you it wasn’t smart to try to get even. Misty has moved on.”

He stepped from behind a cargo van. “Really? Has she really? I made sure her car got towed. She has no transportation and the mob is calling in its loans. She’s bound to be desperate. Are you going to bail her out, Glory? I don’t see you loaded with money. You live in this dump and you drive an ancient car.”

“You have no idea what I could do for her.” I peered into the darkness. Sid didn’t look good, not that he’d ever looked appealing to me. But since we’d seen him last, he’d grown a beard and let his hair get shaggy. His suit needed pressing and I could see the grime on his shirt collar even in the dark.

“Give it up, Sid. Misty isn’t interested in you. I never saw you throwing money at her.” I lifted one end of the net. It was heavy enough to push Valdez flat to the gravel lot. “Get this net off my dog!”

“He’s supposed to be in quarantine! But I saw you take off with him then the three of you go into Caesar’s Palace. He could have attacked people in there. Wait till Animal Control hears about that.” Sid paced around the end of the net.

“He’s not in quarantine anymore. You changed your story, remember?”

“I’ll recant. I’ll tell them how you threatened me. You and that boyfriend of yours.” He moved closer. “Where’s Misty? Last I saw her she was with some guy you introduced her to in Caesar’s. He looked like a high roller. Is she with him now?” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a gun. “Tell me, Glory. If you’ve messed this up for me, I’ll kill your dog, then you.”

“Sid, you messed this up for yourself.” I took a step forward. A gunshot wouldn’t feel good, but it couldn’t kill me. I didn’t like the idea of Valdez