Lady & the Vamp ib-3

by Мишель Роуэн

"Uh… I… I…" His mouth was literally watering at the sight of her. He wasn't entirely sure if it was because of her exposed neck or the rest of her exposed skin. Probably a combination of the two.

  Her red lips curled into a small smile at his lack of verbal skills. "Thanks. I just bought it. You like?"

  She spun around slowly and slid a hand down over her hip.

  He finally found his voice. "You went shopping? Don't you have more important things to think about right now?"

  Her smile fell.

  Goody Quinn. Insult her. Chicks love that.

  Or… he could have told her hell, yeah, he liked it. And he was ready to rip it off her and take her up against the nearest slot machine.

  One or the other. An insult or a come-on.

  This was definitely his night to make a royal asshole out of himself.

  "We need to find Lenny," she said. "I left a message on his voicemail that we'd arrived. Where the hell is he?"

  She turned away from him so she could look around the casino. His mouth went very dry as he noticed that her dress was bare to the waist, revealing the smooth line of her back.

  Lenny. Yeah, that would help. More testosterone. That's what he needed. Help to clear his head and remember what the hell was really important. And it wasn't Janie's annoyingly sexy red dress.

  She chewed her bottom lip in a way that betrayed her nervousness. "We normally don't get assigned to

  Vegas. OrAtlantic City . Lenny has a bit of a problem."

  "A problem?"

  "Gambling is an issue for him."

  Quinn managed to laugh softly at that. That hulk of a guy had a gambling addiction? Steroids, sure. But gambling?

  "Then maybe he's at the tables," he suggested.

  Her eyes widened slightly, and she took off. He had to move swiftly to keep up with her. The woman was hell on heels.

  They moved past the flanks of slot machines—everything from one-cent to ten-dollar bets. Quinn had never gambled much in his life. He didn't see the thrill in it. He'd always gotten his excitement by chasing danger. Shoving money into electronic devices or onto green felt tables seemed rather anticlimactic to him.

  Lenny wasn't too hard to spot. He was hunched over a blackjack table on the opposite side of the floor,

  with the ever-present, ratty-looking poetry notebook at his side.

  "Hit me," he told the dealer as they approached.

  "Hit you?" Janie repeated. "I'd say that would be a pretty good start. What the hell are you doing?"

  He craned his neck to look at her, and his eyes did a bugging-out thing that Quinn swore he'd only seen before in Bugs Bunny cartoons.

  "Janie, that dress…" he managed, then grabbed the drink next to his notebook and downed it in one gulp.

  She chewed her bottom lip. "Maybe it was a bad idea."

  Quinn raised an eyebrow at her.

  "Janie, I'm glad you're here," Lenny said. "I'm winning. My unlucky streak must be over finally. After all, it has been seven years."

  "Lenny broke an enchanted mirror seven years ago," she told Quinn. "They say it's bad luck to break any mirror, but that isn't really true. However, enchanted mirrors owned by vain witches are a different story."

  "Vain witches?"

  "Don't get me started." She turned back to Lenny. "Come on. We have to leave. We're going to locate my sister Angela tonight before the Boss wants to see us."

  "Good luck," he said. "Barkley did say he had a line on her. He was pretty excited about it. I think he's got a bit of a psychic sweet spot for your sister."

  "Good luck? No. We need your help."

  He shook his head. "You'll be fine without me. Besides, lucky streak? Hello? I can't leave the table. I don't know how long this is going to last."

  "Where's Barkley right now?" Quinn asked.

  Lenny didn't look up, but he fished into his pocket for a key card. "Here. He's upstairs in the room."

  "You're sharing a room?"

  "Do you know how expensive this place is? Besides, I didn't even know if we were going to stay very long. I left him up there with some room service and a pay-per-view."

  "He didn't feel like gambling, too?"

  "Yeah," he said distractedly. "Something like that."

  Janie snatched the card out of his hand and started walking away without even waiting for Quinn. "I'll talk to you later, Lenny."

  "Wish me luck."

  She wished him something under her breath that Quinn didn't quite catch, but it sure as hell wasn't luck.

  Chapter 16

  Janie slid the card into the lock and opened the door on the fifth floor. The lights were off. The only light in the dark room came from the television screen, which, while on mute, was prominently displaying a porno movie.

  She shook her head. Men. Were they all the same?

  She glanced over her shoulder. Quinn was right behind her and he raised his eyebrow. He nodded at the TV.

  "Seen that one already," he said and then actually grinned. "It was very well acted."

  Yup. All the same.

  He brushed past her and walked into the small room that contained two double beds, the decor again all in shades of red. Adequate, but not quite the luxury of Quinn's VIP suite, that was for sure.

  "Barkley?" he called. "You in here?"

  "Don't you think it's strange that Lenny would just leave him up here?"

  "Maybe he's not feeling so hot."

  The door to the bathroom nudged open then, and a big black wolf padded into the room. It walked over to one of the beds, hopped up on it, sat down, scratched behind its floppy ear with its left hind leg, turned around three times, and lay down.

  And whined.

  "You are kidding me," Janie said.

  "I don't think they allow pets here." Quinn peered closer at the wolf. "Having a bit of a problem maintaining human form, are you?"

  Barkley whined again. Then his tongue rolled out of his mouth and he panted.

  Janie shook her head and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Since the sinking was on par with theTitanic , it was a little hard to ignore. Finding her sister so easily had sounded too good to be true. Turns out it was. "Well, I guess that settles it. I'm going to try to make contact with my

  Boss right now. I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

  "Janie—"

  She held up a hand. "Just forget it, Quinn. I gave you a chance. One chance. And since that chance is currently covered in fur, our deal is null and void. You're going to have to give me that stone."

  He turned toward the wolf again. "Lenny tells us that you might know where Angela is. Is that true?"

  Barkley sat up and woofed.

  "Is that supposed to be a yes?" Janie asked.

  "It sounded fairly positive, don't you think?"

  She sighed. "Just give up."

  "Not yet."

  Quinn sank down to his knees next to the bed so he and Barkley were at eye level. "I'm going to assume that you can understand me. So here's what we're going to do. One bark means yes and two barks mean no. Understand?"

  "Woof."

  Janie crossed her arms. "I don't believe this."

  "Do you know where Angela is right now?"

  "Woof."

  "Is she here at the El Diablo?"

  "Woofwoof ."

  Quinn turned to Janie and raised an eyebrow. "See?"

  "This is like twenty questions only much, much stupider."

  "Not much of an optimist, are you?"

  "Not even remotely."

  He turned back to the wolf. "Is she in a hotel on the strip?"

  That earned a positive woof.

  He named off about ten casinos that were met with negative responses until he came to theParis casino.

  That received a positive woof.

  "She's at theParis ," Quinn told Janie.

  She shook her head and gave another shaky sigh.

  "You don't believe him?" he crossed his arms.

&nbs
p; "It's not that I don't believe him," she said. "It's just… just that there's no time to waste on a wild goose chase. Maybe he means that she's actually inParis . As inFrance ."

  Suddenly Barkley howled loudly and shot up on all four paws. Janie and Quinn exchanged a concerned look.

  She took a step backward. "Is that a yes or a no?"

  "Not sure."

  Then Barkley collapsed on the bed, and in a matter of seconds his dark, shaggy, wolf-life form morphed into that of a human male.

  A very naked human male.

  He stretched full length out of the bed and, after a moment, propped himself up on an elbow. "I really wish I could figure out why that's happening. Because it's becoming rather inconvenient."

  "So you have no control at all over it?" Quinn asked.

  "None." He scratched his chest, which was covered in a fine layer of black hair, then sat up, swung his long legs over the side of the bed, and stood up.

  "Uh… Janie," Quinn said. "We should probably go now."

  But Janie wasn't looking at Quinn. Even with thoughts of her sister's imminent safety weighing heavy on her mind, she was enjoying the show a little more than she knew she should. She'd never seen a werewolf shift to human before, and Barkley wasn't all that hard on the eyes. She had to say that she preferred him in human form. It was much more… interesting.

  "Janie," Quinn said again, louder. "Are you listening to me?"

  "Yeah, of course. Go. We should go."

  The werewolf had agreat body. Maybe it had been much too long since she'd seen a naked man up close and personal. Everything still seemed to be in the right places. Her gaze traveled down the length of his tall, leanly muscled body.

  Yes, very, very nice.

  "Janie," Quinn repeated more sharply. "Let's go find your sister."

  Janie snapped back to reality and blinked hard. "Right. My sister."

  Quinn glared at Barkley. "Put some clothes on."

  He shrugged and seemed completely unaffected by being nude in mixed company. "I'm coming with you.

  Just give me a minute to find some jeans."

  "You want to come?"

  "Dude, Angela is my soul mate. The mate of my soul. As soon as she sees me, I know she's going to feel the same way. My psychic connection to her is that strong. That doesn't happen just every day, you know." He turned to look at Janie and raised an eyebrow. "Janie, that dress is smoking. Maybeyou're my soul mate. Damn, you're beautiful." He shook his head. "Sorry. I can't help it. I'm always horny when

  I shift back to human form."

  Janie raised an eyebrow and glanced at Quinn, who looked utterly annoyed.

  "Clothes?" Quinn snapped. "Now?"

  "All right, all right."

  Barkley ran into the bathroom and was finished dressing in about thirty seconds flat. He held Janie's were-loom necklace out to her.

  "Thought you'd like this back." He grinned. "I think it was really helpful."

  She took it from him gratefully and put it back on around her neck, where it belonged. It didn't exactly go with the dress—diamonds and gold would have been the more logical choice—but she immediately felt a bit better having it back on.

  Less than ten minutes later, Janie stood with the two men outside the Paris Las Vegas Resort and

  Casino, which looked as though the Eiffel Tower had been launched over the ocean and landed in the middle of the Vegas Strip.

  The whole town was surreal that way. At one end of the street was the New York Hotel, which looked like a miniNew York City skyline, and theLuxor , which was shaped like a huge black glass Egyptian pyramid. At the other end was the Venetian, which sported a working canal complete with gondolas and

  Venice-style streets. Around the world in less than two miles.

  Angela's in there? Janie thought as she stared up at the replicaEiffelTower .Could it really be this easy?

  Maybe it was. Maybe everything in her life didn't have to be a constant struggle. It would actually be a nice change.

  Her jaw tightened as she thought of the reunion they'd finally have. She'd worried herself sick for too long, thinking that Angela had been kidnapped or murdered. If she'd been hanging out at a Vegas casino all this time without giving a thought to her concerned older sister…

  Dammit. As long as she was safe and sound, that's all Janie cared about at the moment.

  The yelling could wait until tomorrow.

  She turned to Barkley. "So you're sure that you saw her here. In your vision?"

  "It was another dream. I can't really get official visions. I've tried. I have to be asleep, and I see images. I saw the tower. And some strawberry crepes. And a guy wearing a beret. And I saw Angela."

  Janie glanced at Quinn.

  He shrugged. "The crepes sound like a solid lead to me."

  "Okay." She took in a shuddery breath. "Let's go check it out."

  They entered the hotel and headed straight for the casino area.

  Janie scanned every face she could see until her eyes hurt.

  Dammit, she thought.What am I even doing? There's no time for this. I'm putting all my faith in a psychic werewolf? What is wrong with me ?

  "I don't see her." The strain showed through in her words.

  Quinn touched her arm gently. "We're going to find her, Janie."

  "But what if we don't?"

  His expression stiffened. "Then I'll give you the stone and you will give your Boss the Eye. I won't try to stop you. Not if it means your sister's life. I'm not that much of a selfish bastard."

  Then he touched her face, stroking his thumb across her cheek, and the world suddenly seemed to stop.

  For a moment she couldn't hear the clanging and ringing sound of the slot machines. She didn't notice the swell of people around them in the casino.

  He gave her a small smile. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  Because I think I just fell more in love with you than I already was, she thought.

  Before she could say anything, Quinn's gaze left her face and he pulled away from her. "Barkley! Where are you going?"

  Barkley had started walking off in the opposite direction. He seemed to be sniffing along one of the walls, past a blackjack table, and then he disappeared behind a corner.

  Quinn's forehead creased into a frown. He grabbed her hand, and they started walking quickly to catch up to the werewolf. "Maybe Barkleyis barking up the wrong tree—pun fully intended—but we need to keep him in sight."

  "I wouldn't be surprised about any incorrect barking at this point."

  "Well, I am absolutely positive that he was right about one thing."

  "What's that?"

  He grinned and his gaze glided down the front of her. "That dress is worth every penny you paid for it."

  Despite the huge amount of worry she was working through—to say nothing about the fact her heart was beating a mile a minute because of Quinn's selfless offer a moment ago—she couldn't help but feel pleased at the reaction the dress had received so far. Especially from Quinn. Sure as hell felt better than dusty jeans and a sweaty tank top.

  "It's Gucci. You should see the boutiques they have here. I'm going to be paying it off for months." She paused, thinking hard. "That is, if I live through the night."

  A excited scream rang out as someone hit the jackpot on the progressive slots.

  His appreciative gaze suddenly snapped back up to her face. "I want to meet this boss of yours. When you meet with him later, one way or the other, I want to come. I'm going to make sure he doesn't hurt you."

  She laughed at that and didn't like how nervous it sounded. "You make it sound so easy."

  "It is."

  "It isn't. He's not a nice guy, Quinn. I'll deal with him the best I can. If you stick your nose where it doesn't belong—"

  He stopped walking and grabbed her arms. "I won't let him hurt you."

  "You're hurting me."

  He let her go. "Sorry. Vampire strength."

  She tried to smile but found tha
t she couldn't. She watched Quinn out of the corner of her eye as they continued to follow Barkley through the casino.

  Could she kill him?

  No. Shecouldn't kill Quinn. Shewouldn't kill him.

  However, could she kill Quinn if it meant saving her sister? What if that was the only option the Boss gave her?

  She swallowed so hard it hurt.

  Quinn glanced at her with concern after her long silence. "I mean it, you know. I will kick your Boss's ass if I get the slightest chance."

  She shook her head at him and managed to smile a little.

  "What?" he asked.

  "You're… something, Quinn."

  He frowned, perhaps not knowing what to make of her statement, and she touched his tense arm, sliding her hand up to his shoulder. She really wanted to hug him, which, for her, was a very strange thing to want. She wanted to kiss him again like she did when they were at the monster-killer tree.

  But she didn't want him to meet the Boss. He'd tear Quinn apart in two seconds flat with or without

  Janie's help.

  And ifshe wasn't going to kill him, then nobody else got to. She'd make sure of it.

  Barkley scampered back to join them.

  "Am I interrupting anything?"

  "No." Janie tore her gaze away from Quinn's handsome face.

  "I'm finished checking things out," he said. "My nose is worn out from sniffing everything. By the way, I did find those crepes if anyone's hungry."

  What little hope Janie had for success slipped away. Luckily, it wasn't much of a surprise. "Listen, I appreciate you giving it your best shot, but it's time we head back to the El Diablo."

  He looked back over his shoulder. "Oh, no, I found her. She's in the VIP room playing high-stakes roulette. Am I drooling? Because she's even more gorgeous than in my dreams."

  Janie's eyes widened. "You… you found her? Seriously?"

  He nodded. "Come on."

  Janie's heart pounded hard in her chest as she followed the werewolf through the casino.

  Quinn smiled and squeezed her hand. "See? I told you we'd find her."

  "You didn't really believe it, though, did you?"

  His smile widened. "No comment."