by Dyan Chick
"You didn't tell them you were coming here?" I asked. Then it hit. "You already agreed to this. Whatever the deal is with these guys, you already said yes. You want me to back you up when we see Gage and Miles and Cody."
He looked at me. "You said you wanted to help."
"Unbelievable," I said. "The old Jason didn't make deals without his pack."
"This isn't pack, it's business," he said.
"I thought those were the same," I said.
The door swung open and a petite, pink-haired sprite greeted us with a too-wide smile. She was practically bouncing on her toes. "Welcome, welcome. Oh, the boss'll be so pleased to see you brought a friend."
"She's off limits to your boss. To everyone," Jason said, a low growl creeping into his words.
"Of course," she said. "They'd never disrespect a guest."
Jason frowned and I wondered what kind of bargain he'd been willing to get into with vampires in the first place. Remembering that I had a job, I quickly turned back to the sprite and extended my hand. "I'm Angie."
"Lovely to meet you, Angie. I'm Star."
Of course you are. "Nice to meet you."
"Come on in, Draven will be right with you," Star said.
I followed Jason into a sitting room off of the entry way and was instantly blown away by the number of flickering candles burning all around us. They covered every table top and hung from scones on walls. There had to be hundreds of them and they were the only source of light. All of the windows were covered with curtains, making the place feel more like a tomb than a home.
Star left us in the sitting room and Jason sat down on a flower print couch. I sat next to him, careful not to sit close enough to touch him. "You think they're squatting? Maybe that's why they're risking burning the whole place down?"
"I hadn't thought of that," he said. "But it is one hell of a fire hazard."
"Forget the garlic, we need to bring a fire extinguisher on visits here," I said.
"Let's hope this is the last visit here," he said.
"Mr. Clayton," a tall, pale man who had probably been in his early forties when he died said. His arms were extended as if he intended to hug Jason and I bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. Jason wasn't exactly the hugging type.
Jason stood, so I followed suit.
"Draven, this is my business associate, Angie. Angie, this is Draven," Jason said.
The handsome vampire dropped his arms and extended a hand for me to shake. "I'm Draven. And I suppose I'm also Mr. Clayton's business associate. Though something tells me, you two have a different kind of arrangement than the two of us have."
"Nice to meet you, Draven." I accepted his but instantly wished I hadn't. His touch was like ice, the skin nearly transparent up close. It sent an uncomfortable chill through me and I pulled my hand away as quickly as I could without looking obvious. Maybe Jason was right to dislike vampires. I didn't have a lot of experience with them up close but I was starting to wish I’d stayed at my hotel.
"Now, shall we get down to business?" he asked as he settled into a chair across from us.
Fourteen
Jason
I could feel the heat radiating from Angie even though she wasn't touching me. Her proximity was intoxicating and it made it difficult to focus on Draven. Though, it did make me feel less like lashing out at Draven, so there was that.
"Mr. Clayton tells me you work in PR?" Draven asked.
"Yes, well, I did," Angie said.
"I'm not sure how that'll help," Draven glanced at me, "for this project. We'd like to keep in out of the public."
"PR isn't always about getting your name out there. Sometimes, it's about keeping it from getting out there," Angie said.
She was smart and professional, not missing a beat. Even if I had dragged her here without warning, she was very good at keeping it cool. I knew her skills wouldn't work on a vampire. Sirens couldn't compel most supernatural creatures. Mages were the only expectation I knew of. But I knew not all of her talent for handling people came from her magic. Angie was charming and charismatic. Magic or not, she was special.
"There are lots of ways you can go about doing things to keep them private," Angie continued. "If you can give me more information about what your partnership entails, I can guide you through what I think your best options are."
"It's not a partnership," I said. "It's more a rental agreement."
"Exactly," Draven said. "We're not trying to take anything from the Rose, we simply want to use the space with the most discretion possible."
"For what, exactly?" Angie asked.
"They want to run a poker game out of my casino. Off record, under the table. And yes, I know it's illegal," I said.
"We'll give a generous cut to the Rose," Draven said.
"How much money do you think it'll drum up?" I asked. "It can't be that much to run a little poker game in the basement, can it?"
"It's not a little poker game," I said. "It would be an ongoing tournament. Could be in the millions."
"That's different," Angie said. "Are you talking small games every week?"
"Smallish games daily," Draven said. "There's a real thirst for vampire friendly gambling and there aren't a lot of establishments willing to host us."
"Why not just do it at your house?" I asked. "You have lots of room."
"There are safety concerns with letting people know where your nest is. We sleep during the day, you know," Draven said.
"Yeah, we know that," Angie said.
I smirked at her rising irritation but dropped it as soon as she turned her gaze on me.
"You already agreed to this, right?" she asked.
"Yes," I said.
"So why am I here?" she asked.
"To help us navigate this," I said.
She let out a breath. "Let me see if I have this straight. You want to encourage and invite vampires to come to your casino to play poker in secret. So you want to avoid humans noticing?"
I nodded.
"Why not just have them come after hours?" she asked.
"We don't close till two in the morning," I said.
"Well, I think you run it in the open, then," she said.
Draven leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, humans are oblivious to the supernatural. If they see high rollers coming in for an invite only competition, it'll increase your prestige as a brand. It'll make you seem more desirable and affluent. Humans like that kind of stuff. They want to believe they're in the same place as celebrities and the uber wealthy." She shrugged, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"What happens when the humans want to join?" I asked.
"Why not let them?" Draven asked.
"Cause you'll eat them," Angie said. "Even I think that's a bad idea. You mix the emotions of gambling with the smell of blood and shit is going to go down."
"We can be trusted not to eat everyone we come in contact with," Draven said, leaning back in the chair. "We're not complete barbarians. Well, at least most of us aren't. And those who are never last long. The council sees to that."
"Whatever," I said. "Humans or not, you're still forgetting the fact that this is off the books. It can't be well known or they're going to want the taxes on it."
"So make it secretive, but not too secretive," Angie said. "Or report some of the income."
"I like this one," Draven said.
"Don't get any ideas," I said. "She's taken."
Angie lifted her eyebrow and looked over at me but didn't argue with my claim. "I'm not an expert at any of this, and either way, you're talking fraud. Which I don't advise. But there are ways to go about it that will be less likely to get you in trouble."
"I hadn't thought about that," I said.
"Or you could go legit with it. Why not just report it?" she asked.
"Because all of the players are off record. Most of us have been alive since before social security numbers exi
sted and we don't want to have to explain where we came from. Even if we go legit, it's going to start looking bad for the casino to have such a huge influx of cash that can't be traced," Draven said.
"I can see why you haven't told the others this yet," Angie said, looking at me. "There is no win here. It really sounds like you're screwed either way."
"Maybe," I said.
"Or..." Angie let the word hang in the air, tapping her chin with her index finger, lost in thought. "You don't use the casino."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Your dad said the shop was condemned. It still looked fine to me when I drove through town," Angie said.
"You want us to have a poker game in a condemned building?" Draven asked. "We can ask another casino, Jason. I just wanted to give our business to a supernatural first."
"Don't go to another casino," I said. "We'll work it out, won't we, Angie?"
She sighed. "If this is the only way, yeah, I can figure it out."
Draven slapped his thigh. "That's what I wanted to hear. First game will be on Friday night, invitations already went out. Twenty-six vampires, three of them from our royal house, have already agreed to come."
"Twenty-six?" Angie asked. "I thought it was a small game?"
"That is a small game for a tournament," I said. "We'll figure it out, Draven."
Draven snapped his fingers and Star walked into the room holding a large envelope. She handed it to Draven. He stood and took it from her then crossed the room to me.
I stood.
"Fifteen-thousand dollars, just as I promised," Draven said as he set the envelope in my hand. "And you'll get fifteen percent of the house."
"And my guys are working it, right?" I asked.
"Of course, I want this to be fair to all of us," Draven said. He turned to Angie, "I hope to see you again, darling."
My stomach clenched in disgust as Draven lifted Angie's hand and kissed it. I wanted to punch him in the teeth. The only thing that stopped me was Angie's forced smile and the speed at which she removed her hand from Draven. She clearly didn't want anything to do with him.
"It was nice to meet you, Draven," she said, all business.
I felt fingers brush against mine and I looked down, startled. Angie was interlacing her hand in mine, squeezing harder than she needed to.
My breath stopped for a moment and I worked to regain composure. Her touch was electric, sending desire coursing through me. It was dangerous for her to touch me. It made me want so much more. The damn mating bond made her irresistible and it took every ounce of my willpower to gently squeeze back instead of grabbing her and ripping off all of her clothes.
I noticed Draven's eyes flick down to our clasped hands quickly before returning to me. He smiled just enough to show the upper part of his fangs. "Let me know how your employees handle it. You have twenty-four hours, as agreed, to return the money if you decline the deal."
"We aren't declining," I said. The casino was in far worse trouble than I'd let on. If we didn't pay what we owed, the bank would be kicking us out next month. Draven's deal made it possible for me to start thinking about buying the building and maybe even have some left for renovations. I had big ideas and while I didn't want to work with a vampire, it was a short term problem with a long term gain. "We'll see you Friday night. Angie will work out the logistics."
"She will?" Angie asked.
"You can handle that, can't you?" I asked.
"I can, but it's Sunday. That goes well beyond the three days we discussed."
"You aren't staying in town?" Draven asked. "I thought the two of you..."
"It's complicated," Angie said.
"I see," Draven said. "You know, if you ever need a break from that den of wolves, you're welcome here any time."
"She said it was complicated, Draven, not that she was available," I said. "Besides, she's working for me."
Angie let go of my hand. "On second thought, I think my calendar just cleared up. What are you doing tonight, Draven?"
"I'm all yours," he said, this time not hiding his fangs.
"Eight o'clock?" Angie asked. "Will I be off by then, boss?"
Heat rose inside me and I clenched my jaw to keep from lashing out. My nostrils flared and the corners of my vision darkened. I wanted to possess Angie, keep her for myself, but something deep down held me back. Angie wasn't the type of girl to get off on the dominating alpha type. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself. "Yeah, we'll be done by then."
She flashed me a smile and batted her eyelashes. "Isn't he swell?"
I clenched my hands into fists and steadied my nerves on the fact that Draven had no idea what he was getting into. Angie was a wild one and she couldn't be tamed. Even by her own mate. "Come on, we're going to be late for the meeting."
"See you tonight," Angie said to Draven. Then she walked to the front door as if she owned the place.
As soon as she stepped through, I turned on the vamp. "If you hurt her, I will kill you and your entire nest of blood bags."
"Something tells me the girl can take care of herself," Draven said. "Besides, if you'd just apologize for whatever it was you did, maybe she wouldn't be turning to other men."
"You're not a man, you're a walking corpse. And the joke's on you. I'm not the one who has to apologize." I stormed out of the house, tempted to turn around and throw the money back in his face. But my agreement with Draven meant freedom. And once it was over, I never had to speak to him again.
Fifteen
Angie
I didn't know why I grabbed his hand. It was just one second there was a far too sexy vampire looking at me in a way that was making me question my newly formed vow of chastity and the next, I had my hand in Jason's.
That little touch sent my heart racing and shivers up and down my spine. I was sure he could tell exactly what I was feeling. Every inch of me seemed to be on fire, desperate for release. Taking him by the hand was stupid. I shouldn't have done that, but here I was unable to control myself.
Then, just when I was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, things might work out between the two of us, he had to start throwing his weight around. I am not something to be claimed, mating bond or not. This is not the fifteenth century.
So here I was, sitting in heavy silence in Jason's car after agreeing to a date with a dead guy just to piss him off. It definitely worked. He hadn't even looked at me since he entered the car.
The ride back to town was silent and I wondered how long my resolve would last. I needed to make a point, here. I wasn't going to crack. I knew that if we were together, I would have to have him. And that couldn't happen. Jason meant too much to me for him to end up as another body in the trail of men stupid enough to sleep with me.
"I'm going to put you in charge of this," Jason said, breaking the silence.
"Me?" I asked, then shook my head. "Is this so you don't have to take the brunt of it with the guys? Are you going to tell them it's my idea?"
"No, I'll tell them it's my idea, but let them know they won't have to do anything other than show up where you tell them to," he said.
"I don't know anything about the actual game. I don't know how to staff a poker tournament or what kind of equipment is needed."
"You already sound like a manager. If I asked any of them to do it, they'd show up at the start of the game and wonder why there were no tables for the players. You can do this, just tell them what you need," he said.
"Why me?" I asked. "I thought you were dying to get rid of me and now you're keeping me here all week?"
"I thought you wanted to do this to pay me back for that favor I did for you," he said, his voice sounding cold and impersonal.
"So we're back to this, again?" I asked. "You pretending there's nothing going on between us."
"Are you willing to let there be something between us, Angie? Or are you only into the dead now?" he asked.
"If you're alluding to something unmentionable regarding the body I brought
to town you better rethink yourself," I said.
"I was talking about Draven," he said.
"Oh." I had nearly forgotten about the date during our conversation. Shit. Why did I agree to that?
"Once we get this started, you can delegate to the guys. They like you, they should listen to you," he said.
"Why do they like me?" I asked. "I left you. Shouldn't they be pissed as hell for how their pack master was treated?"
"I didn't give them all the details," he said.
"Why not?" I asked, warm hope filling the pit of my stomach.
"It's embarrassing, okay?" he said.
All feelings of warm hope were gone. "Got it."
He parked the car in front of a building at the end of Main Street and I looked around at the lights and signs for six different casinos all next to each other. The soap shop was gone. The candy shop that sold fudge was gone. Instead, I saw neon and corporate looking logos. I recognized several of the casino brands as some that I'd seen on a trip to Las Vegas when I was a teenager. Small town Crescent Falls was even more at risk of dying than I realized.
In front of us was a smaller, less obnoxious casino with a wooden sign hanging above the glass front door. A carved red rose took up most of the sign and the words Lucky Rose were carved in below it. I hadn't let the name sink in before but now that I was staring at the words, I didn't realize I hadn't caught it. "You named it after your mother."
"Yeah," Jason said as he opened the door.
He left the car without any more explanation and I sat alone for a moment staring at his mother's namesake on the sign. I'd never met her, but I knew they'd been close when he was a kid. Shame weighed heavily on me as I recalled a visit to her grave on her birthday when Jason and I had still been happy. We'd left her flowers and he'd introduced me to her. It was sweet.
It might have even been the day I first realized I was falling for him, but I didn't know just how intense the feeling would get. There was so much hope then. I knew I couldn't let myself be with him, but he was so hard to resist that I just stayed. Turned out, I stayed too long. If I had left then, when I was suspecting, before the mating bond fully snapped into place, we might not be in this situation.