Bit the Jackpot (16 page)

"Cara said he smelled medicinal. I was wondering if it was drugs."

"I'm almost positive it is. But what I don't understand is why they were targeting first you and Kelsey, now Cara."

Seamus had a bad feeling about the whole situation. "Do you think it has to do with the election?"

"It's possible."

"And how does Brittany fit into all of this?" Maybe it was time to head back to the club and see if he could find Brittany's aunt. If he knew who Brittany's father was, then maybe they could find some answers to the entire ream of questions they had.

"I don't know, but I don't like it. Maybe I should follow Alexis after all."

"Maybe."

The door to the inner office crashed open and the handcuffed vampire came plowing through, growling in anger and desperation.

"Looks like our friend is awake," Ethan said.

"Good." Seamus moved forward, standing over him as the man flopped around on the floor, trying to regain his balance. "I have a few questions for our friend about the night we met."

He was starting to wonder about the young vampire, the one who had walked off with Kelsey blithely following.

"Starting with this one." Seamus rolled the guy onto his back with the toe of his boot. "Who the hell was the third vamp with you, the one with dark hair. And why did he want Kelsey?"

"Do you have a friend named Dawn?" Kelsey asked Cara, after the guards had let her into Seamus's apartment.

Cara was startled. "Yes. She works at the club with me. Why? How do you know Dawn? Did you meet her the night you were there with Seamus?"

"I'm not sure." Kelsey pushed her bottom lip out.

It was a marvel how the girl could work a pout. Cara would look like a bullfrog if she did that.

Kelsey hadn't changed out of her evening dress. It clung to her supermodel figure like a purple body sock. Cara wished she could exchange breasts with Kelsey for a night. Just to feel what it was like to walk around with the ability to look down and actually see her feet.

"Well, she was there that night, in the dressing room with me. Maybe you met her after I went in the alley. Where did you go, any-way?" It had never occurred to Cara to wonder that before, but she did now. Kelsey had been with Seamus in the hallway when Dawn had been checking him out with Cara.

Then when she'd gone into the alley, Kelsey hadn't been there.

"He was there," Kelsey said. "The one from before."

Well, that was helpful. "Um…" Cara shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans. She'd kicked off her heels and stepped into flip-flops. The lacy camisole top had been traded in for a comfy T-shirt. "Does
he
know Dawn?" Sometimes she had a hard time following Kelsey's train of thought. It was like talking to her grandmother. They weren't speaking the same language.

Kelsey nodded. "Yes. He does. Which isn't good. Dawn needs to stay away from him, Cara. He's dark. He lets me into his mind, and there are dark, evil things in there. He's lost in his own bad feelings, which is sad because he could be good."

The way Kelsey spoke, so calm, so matter-of-fact, sent chills tripping down Cara's spine. "Is he a vampire?"

"Yes. And I think Dawn is with him now."

"Who is he?" Cara whispered, scared for Dawn. Had she brought him to Dawn inadvertently?

But Kelsey just shook her head.

"Should I call Dawn?"

Kelsey tipped her head like she was listening to someone talk in her mind. It completely freaked Cara out. Especially when Kelsey nodded, like she was answering.

Cara knew Seamus could talk to her like that, but it was still damn unnerving to watch someone else doing it. "Kelsey? What do you hear?"

Kelsey's dark hair fell over her shoulder. Her black eyes met Cara's. "He says what happened with Dawn was an accident. He lost control of himself."

A sick taste of blood bile rose up in Cara's mouth. "Oh, my God. We have to go to her."

"Okay," Kelsey said with a shrug, like she hadn't just communed with a psychopathic vampire. "Can we stop for some blood on the way?"

If Alexis could wet her pants still, she would have done it in relief when she found her sister asleep in bed.

Pressing her hand to her heart, she allowed herself to relax a little. "Jesus," she whispered in the dark room. "Good thing I can't die because I think I had a heart attack tonight."

Assessing the situation, she realized Brittany had a puke pan next to her, a wet washcloth lying on her dresser—a normal no-no for fastidious Brittany—and a glass of water on the nightstand. Her sister must be sick.

Alexis reached over and smoothed Brittany's sweat-soaked hair off her forehead. No fever that she could tell, but she looked pale and in pain, even in her sleep.

Brittany stirred. "Alex?" Her eyes fluttered open.

"Yep, it's me. Are you sick, Brit? "

"I have the flu."

Alexis felt sympathy and guilt stab her simultaneously. Here she'd been out dancing in a bar and Brittany was sick in bed, calling her for help.

"Can I get you anything, baby?"

"No, I'm okay." Brittany turned on her side and pulled the blanket up farther. "After I called you and you didn't answer, Corbin came."

"Corbin? French vampire Corbin?" The dickhead who had slept with her sister then left without a word? The vampire scientist known to be researching a cure to immortality? That Corbin? Alexis didn't like the sound of that at all.

"Yeah. He found me in the bathroom and changed my wet clothes. He tucked me in." She sighed, her eyes drifting shut.

Alexis had a hard time picturing Corbin Atelier tucking Brittany into bed. "That sounds… nice. Are you sure you weren't dreaming, though?"

Brittany frowned. "I don't think so. He said he was taking me to bed. He took my clothes off."

Sex dream. The poor kid was conjuring up Corbin in her state of delirium.

"Okay, shhh. It was just a dream, sweetie." Alexis fussed with the covers, wanting to kick Corbin Atelier. He had gotten under Brittany's skin in a way Alexis had never seen another man, and she didn't like it. If she ever ran into the Frenchman, she'd give him a roundhouse kick to the crotch for hurting her sister's feelings.

"Just a dream?" Brittany sounded disappointed. "Maybe that's why his accent wasn't as strong as it normally is."

Alexis stroked her cheek. "I'm sure that's it. It was just a dream."

"What do you mean you don't know where she is?" Seamus stared at the bodyguard in front of his apartment, anger, disbelief, and fear rising together in him. "And what happened to the other guard?"

"He went with Miss Kim and Kelsey. We wouldn't let them leave alone, Mr. Fox." The jackass had the nerve to sound indignant.

"You weren't supposed to let them leave at all!" Seamus had no clue where they could have gone. Cara had just assured him she understood the dangers they were facing and would stay in the apartment. Why the hell would she leave?

"I… sorry."

"Never mind. Just call his fucking cell phone and tell me where they are." Seamus ran his fingers through his hair and tried not to worry. Ethan had gone to check on Alexis. Cara and Kelsey were missing. He had a bad, bad feeling about all of this.

The guard dialed on his cell phone and spoke in a low voice. Seamus resisted the urge to snatch the phone out of his hand.

"Sir, Daniel says they're at a club. A, uh, an exotic dance club called Some Like It Hot. Miss Kim wanted to pick up her paycheck."

That made no sense whatsoever. Why would Cara choose to pick up her paycheck on the same night she'd won twenty thousand dollars at Texas Hold 'Em and she'd nearly been killed by an assassin?

"Tell him to stay put. Do not let Cara or Kelsey out of his sight for a second. I'll be there in five minutes."

The guard relayed the message as Seamus checked his pocket for his keys and wallet.

"Mr. Fox? Daniel says they went in the back and it's ladies only. He had to stay in the club."

Wonderful. "Tell him to find them and keep them with him or he'll be looking for a new place of employment."

And with that, Seamus ran for the elevator.

When Cara burst into the dressing room at the club, she found Dawn's boyfriend, Bryan, on the floor kneeling over her. He shot her a wild glance over his shoulder, his face leeched of all color, shock and horror glazing his eyes.

"Cara… Jesus. Look at her… God. We need help…"His voice trailed off in a sob, and Cara's stomach clenched.

Bryan was a 250-pound bouncer with more tattoos than fingers. Yet he looked like he was going to throw up. She tried to steel herself for what had happened to Dawn, but nothing could prepare her for the sight of her friend sprawled out naked on the dirty carpet, vicious bruises and angry red teeth marks all over her body. Everywhere. On her neck, shoulders, sprawling out over her breasts and stomach, her navel, and peppered over three fourths of her legs. She was a pearly white color, her skin cool and damp, a sheen of perspiration glistening.

"Oh, Dawn. Oh, God." Cara swallowed her revulsion and fell to the ground beside Bryan.

"She's still alive," Kelsey said. "She's just lost too much blood."

"What?" She didn't look alive. Dawn lay very still. But when Cara glanced at Dawn's chest, she saw it was rising and falling in small, barely visible breaths. She burst into tears of relief and grabbed Dawn's hand. "Hang in there, sweetie, you're going to be fine. Bryan, did you call 911?"

"Yeah, like five minutes ago." He leaned forward, touched a tentative hand to Dawn's cheek. "Is she really alive?"

Miraculously, her eyes opened. Bryan let out a sob and a curse.

"The ambulance is pulling up," Kelsey said from the doorway.

"I'll go get them," Bryan said, swiping at his cheeks. He ran for the door.

"Cara?" Dawn whispered. "I'm cold."

"I'm sorry, honey." Cara grabbed a dressing robe off the clothes rack in the corner. She tucked it over Dawn as gently as possible. "What happened? What did he do to you?"

Dawn sighed. "I don't know why I did it… I cheated on Bryan. But it felt good, Cara. It felt so good, the best sex I've ever had. I begged him not to stop. I'm not sure what happened, but I think I passed out from pleasure." She wet her lips with her tongue. "Why do I feel like this… like there's an ice cube on my chest and I can't move?"

"You lost some blood but the ambulance is here now." Cara tried to sound reassuring. She gave Dawn a smile. "I think after tonight Bryan may be giving you that engagement ring you've been after. You scared the crap out of him. You didn't hear it from me, but he's out in the hallway crying right now."

"Really?" Dawn shivered, her teeth clattering together. "Maybe I don't deserve Bryan after what I did."

"It wasn't your fault. Trust me." Then Cara squeezed her hand and moved back to give the paramedics room as they maneuvered their gurney into the small room.

The first thing out of the one's mouth was, "What the… ? What happened to her? Did something bite her?"

Cara just shook her head. Bryan said, "I found her like this. I don't know what happened."

Ten minutes later, they had Dawn hooked up to an IV, settled on the gurney under a heated blanket, and were wheeling her back out to transport her to the hospital.

Cara stood in the doorway for a minute, watching them retreat. She rubbed her forehead and turned to Kelsey, who was in the back of the room sitting on a stool. "Kelsey, I guess we need to find our guard. I want to go to the hospital and make sure Dawn's going to be okay."

"She'll be fine."

The voice made her jump. It was a man, coming from behind her in the dressing room. Cara turned slowly and came face to face with a dark-haired man in an expensive suit, a cigarette burning in his hand. He wasn't good looking so much as he was striking, and the smile on his lips was crooked, devious.

"Did you do this to Dawn?" This had to be him. The one Kelsey had been talking about. Cara could feel his coldness as he shrugged his shoulder.

"Yes." He took a drag off his cigarette and blew smoke in her direction. "And even though I lost it for a minute or two, I'm not going to apologize for it. We both enjoyed ourselves before she passed out. She'll be fine after they give her some blood back. I bet she even begs me for it again."

Cara's stomach roiled. She wasn't entirely sure what he had done to Dawn, but she found herself clenching her fists in disgust. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I just want to talk to you for a minute." He turned to Kelsey, who was watching with wide eyes. "Come sit with me, Kelsey." He held out his hand.

She started to shake her head no, then frowned. "Kyle?"

His face relaxed, lip turning up in a smile. "You do remember."

Cara couldn't tell if Kelsey remembered anything or not, but she did walk right over to him and let the man take her hand. She sat down on the couch next to him, let his hand rest on her knee. It made Cara's stomach churn even more viciously. She wondered if he had done to Kelsey what he'd done to Dawn.

"I didn't expect you to be a vampire," he said to Cara. "Though I can understand why Fox wanted you. You're a nice package."

If he thought she was going to thank him for the compliment, he was insane. Of course, it seemed like he was a lunatic anyway. She wanted to just grab Kelsey and run like hell, but Kelsey was still holding his hand and didn't look particularly concerned. Cara didn't think Kelsey would follow her if she ran.

In fact, Kelsey was turning to him. Running her fingers over the nape of his neck to massage him. Patting the back of his hair down like he was a little kid instead of an evil vampire.

He didn't seem to mind her touch. He just said, "So, Cara, you belong to Seamus Fox. I wonder why he would break the law for you? Aside from the obvious, that is." He blew more smoke out. "I'm curious."

Kelsey brushed cigarette ash off his pant leg.

"You are incredibly annoying, you know that?" he told her, though without any malice.

"A lot of people say that about me," Kelsey said with a complete lack of guile.