by T. A. Grey
Laughing didn’t ease the pain from his words, but slapping him did. She left without another word.
CHAPTER 20
Grayson couldn’t believe his reaction to this new Arabella. Or rather, Raquel. His jaw had nearly hit the floor when he’d seen her. He’d crossed the room to her before he knew what he was doing. He’d wanted to slide his fingers through her new hair. Not that he preferred this dark color on her, he didn’t. He’d take her gorgeous sun-kissed golden hair any day. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her? The harder he fought to resist her in all the temptations she presented, the harder it became to stay away. Every moment he wanted to reach out and touch her, whether to hold her hand, stroke her hair, or cup her cheek. They were all personal touches and he had no right to do any of those things.
Except for tonight, he corrected himself. Tonight they were attending the underground casino as a couple looking to spend some cash. Tonight he would kill Jericho Donato, the eldest son, the vampire responsible for cutting his bruid’s head off with a serrated blade.
“You remember the plan?” he asked. She’d gone quiet on the ride. Her anxiety brought out an answering call inside him to make her feel safe. One he’d always been helpless to ignore.
“We try to get past the guards, then lay low and scope out the casino. We gamble and make it look natural while we search for Jericho.”
“Now it’s possibly Vincent could be there since this is a family run business,” he added.
“Right, and if he’s there then you’ll try to take out both—without weapons—which I still don’t know how you expect to do that.”
“All I need are my hands.” And he carried a small blade made of silver in his wallet. No bigger than a wrist blade, it would do in case things got dicey.
She giggled so softly and gently it could lull a man into a feeling of safety that wasn’t real.
“What?” he asked. Why did she laugh at him? He’d never been a funny man. His brother, Lucas, and even Vas, had all the humor of the family. The rest of them were left being humorless bastards.
“You’re funny, that’s all.”
A hard shake of his head didn’t change her statement any. “I’ve never been funny.” Even now when he thought back on his life, he couldn’t remember much laughter. Certainly not in the way of him giving it.
She sighed. “Whatever. Just tell me you’ve fed so I know you’re still strong.”
She thought him strong? This pleased him far more than it should. Remember your mission. This if for Anita. Like an ice-cold wave drenching him, he came back to his senses. More and more lately he found his thoughts straying between Anita and Arabella, between guilt and pleasure. The guilt he deserved, even needed in a way. The pleasure, he had no business, none, wondering what her skin would taste like. Like he was cursed, the thoughts of Arabella brought out a painful tight pressure that pushing down on his chest making it difficult to concentrate.
Another sigh from the passenger seat, this one less sweet and more irritated. That he could deal with. When he looked at her he saw her staring out her window at the moon with her arms crossed.
“What is it?” he found himself asking. Unable to resist, no matter how many lectures he gave himself.
She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
Now he nearly laughed. “Arabella, I’ve been mated for a very long time. I know when it’s not nothing.”
She smirked at him, then shrugged. “I—” her voice faded. “I don’t know what to say, Grayson,” she said softly and went back to gazing at the moon.
He wished he could understand why his instincts wanted him to protect her, to comfort her. That wasn’t his job. Everything had gone wrong from the moment she kissed him in that car. A moment where weakness had claimed him an easy victim and he’d willingly kissed Arabella Donahue. A woman he should have forgotten after so many years. But he didn’t. He never had. And he never would.
Grayson slowed as they came upon the dirt path that Arabella had described some thirty-two miles west of the city out in the middle of nowhere. The road was stuck on the border between two rural counties. Out here there wasn’t a street light to light the way or brightly lit buildings or skyscrapers to illuminate the area and most traffic he passed were pickup trucks and mini-vans. Here in the woods you had only the moon to light your way.
The place was laid out exactly as she’d described it. They were next in line. As Grayson pulled up to the gate, he stopped as he met a line of cars passing through. The cars in front of him were nothing to sneeze at either—Bugatti’s, Audis, and Mercedes. A set of guards eyed and questioned each of the passengers before allowing them to pass. That was just the first checkpoint. The second was still getting into the doors of the casino.
Next in line, Grayson pulled up to the gate. The vampire guards stepped up to the car, searching their faces and back seats like a cop on border control. “Who are you?” one of them asked.
“None of your fucking business,” Grayson responded.
The guard narrowed his eyes watchfully. Then, under his intense study, Arabella leaned across the seat, her hand caressing his thigh with a lover’s familiarity, the other wrapping around his neck as she smiled at the guard. “It could be your business though. If you want it to be.” The words were soft and husky, meant to seduce.
What the hell was she doing! He wanted to roar his anger to release it but he couldn’t. He had to keep his fucking mouth shut. If he ruined this, he might never be able to get back in to the casino.
Her little seductive act was not part of the plan. Except, the guard didn’t immediately call them out as Grayson had anticipated. Instead, the guard grinned back at her with warm approval glowing in the man’s eyes. Ah, fuck that. Without even a thought, Grayson acted. He grabbed the back of Arabella’s slender neck and turned her face to receive his kiss. It was a punishing, hard kiss. He was unable to control his reaction to her seductive ploys, no matter how fake they may be, any more than he could control the need to claim her in front of this guard. So he kissed her. Only after her tongue swept back against his in a silken caress did he come up for air. Grayson could feel her inquisitive gaze burning into him like a laser. The guard couldn’t hide his disappointment.
“You can go in.” He waved them past.
Grayson parked in the grass lot, then helped Raquel out of the car. They headed to the entrance looking to the world like a regular couple. Everything she’d described about this place was entirely accurate. Her gift impressed him far more than it had upon learning about it at first. She’d found this place in the middle of bloody Nowhere, USA, and even drew a map to it.
Another couple just passed by the guard’s inspection when they stepped up. The entrance to the facility looked very industrial. The whole building looked government-run like they didn’t want it to be found or questioned. A flashy casino wouldn’t do for the Donato’s nefarious purposes. The location and building made the perfect cover-up to their illegalities.
The guards barely spared them a glance before allowing them inside. Arabella gave him a surprised look but didn’t say anything. So far their disguises had worked. Grayson was also banking on the knowledge that the Donatos would not expect him to strike so soon. They’d expect him to wait for the most opportune time. Well, there would never be an opportune time. That’s why he’d decided on a blunt attack.
Inside they found a white hallway with ugly linoleum floors that reminded him of an elementary school he’d seen on TV from the 1970s with its green swirly pattern. No one was in sight; the previous couple had already gone down to the casino. The building held up the respectable business image well enough. There was a secretary’s desk with an outdated computer, a corded phone, and some scattered papers to make it look real. Grayson would bet it’d never been used once. And there certainly wasn’t a secretary. They set this floor up to look like a working office for appearances sake.
At the end of the floor hung a red-and-white Exit sign. With Arabella’s hand
clasped in his he led her to the door and opened it. Soft jazz music filtered up from a dark stairway that went down several floors with the sounds of smooth saxophones and plucking guitars. Her hand squeezed his like a lifeline, yet her face looked cool and composed.
Grayson found his lip curling into a smile. Courage and strength came in many different forms. He’d seen many of them over the years. Right now she was nervous as hell and scared, but to anyone looking she was beautiful and tranquil. That took skill to master. Her almond-shaped eyes were lined heavily with black making her gray eyes as bright as a spring flower. Pretty eyes, pretty hair. Yeah, I get it already. She’s pretty. Now if only he could move past it.
Those pretty eyes rounded. He could see exactly what she wanted to say written on her face. Such vivid expressions she had. Before she could say it and break down even more of his composure, he started down the stairs. “Come on, Raquel.”
Soft, feminine laughter tickled his ears as she tucked herself close to his side. Grayson wrapped his arm around her shoulders and he couldn’t help but notice how well they fit together. There was no need to bend his knees to reach down to her level. In fact with the high heels giving her added height, his shoulder had to raise to cover her. They stepped down the stairs and deep into the Donato’s lair almost like a regular couple.
Almost like he wasn’t going down there to kill a murderer.
CHAPTER 21
Arabella had this.
No prob.
Just an underground casino with some possibly dangerous criminals attending—she had this in the bag. Once again she found herself thinking that this plan wouldn’t work. Things never happened how they did in the movies where the hero barely gets the draw on the bad guy and then manages to defeat him. No, this was real life. In real life the bad guy killed you because he’s spent his entire life becoming a cold killer while you’ve sat on the couch watching re-runs of Antique Roadshow on PBS at night. No, the bad guy earned his killing ability by ruthlessly taking lives without remorse. Through years of hard work killing those who opposed him. The poor, unlucky bastards. Point being, she was not safe from being hurt tonight, or decapitated, which would be most likely. Neither was Grayson for that matter. He bled just like everybody else.
I could die tonight.
Talk about a mood killer.
The second Arabella took in the sight of Donato’s underground casino, she had to stifle from gawking. The casino was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. The casinos she’d been to with Sissy and friends were loud, bright, colorful places. Dinging bells rang constantly and machines whirred and clanked to spew out a dismal amount of coins. Elderly couples hunched over a stool with their cane propped against the slot machine with their gambling cup in hand. The smell of stale cigarette smoke and old, musty carpet and alcohol. Arabella had been to a casino a time or two to remember those details very well. What she’d never been inside was an illegal, underground, vampire-run casino.
It was like watching a commercial for a high-end fashion show, but throw in a little fang and extra pretentiousness.
Everywhere she looked the women wore dresses no ordinary woman could fit her body in to. They were the kinds of dresses that had been ‘disassembled’ then put back together to look ‘fresh’ and ‘couture’. Weres and vampires decked out in their finery wagered for high stakes at blackjack tables.
Some Weres and vampires looked like they had come together as well, much like Grayson and her. This might not make most people look twice now, but a year ago, prior to Alpha Zeke becoming president of the council, mating between vampires and Weres was strictly forbidden. The same was true for same-sex couplings—Zeke changed that all. A year ago if a Were and vampire had kissed publicly, they’d have been scorned and bullied. Though, Arabella couldn’t help but think that probably wouldn’t be true in a place like this. Surely the rules of society didn’t matter to nefarious criminals. Sure, it wasn’t unheard of for a vamp and Were to hit the sack together, but rarely did they ever push for more than physical pleasure. Why would they when both knew it was fruitless? And if they did so it was a private matter.
However, today that wasn’t the case. If she and Grayson wanted to they could become mated together. Mated to him. Arabella sucked in a sharp breath, the sound pulling Grayson’s attention to her. How many times had she thought of it?
Too many to count surely. The number of times she’d wondered, fantasized, about meeting him that night never stopped. Not even as a grown woman. She found herself occasionally having dreams. Those what-if dreams that made you wonder.
What if she could have swayed him with her kiss? What if her kiss could somehow make him not mate with Anita of Redenver house? Childish, girlish fantasies from her youth, or so one would think. Yet that same fantasy had traveled with her long into adult years, through generations. It had matured much as she had. The fantasy had taken on different qualities and warped much like a cushion being sat on repeatedly over the years. She’d aged in the dream/fantasy and so had he, but his face had taken on a shadowy quality. Significant, surely. She’d pondered before what his shadow face meant, and she believed it was fairly obvious. For one, she had no idea what he would look like when he grew older—some vamps could really let themselves go—and for two, she believed it illustrated how little she knew of Grayson Blackmoore. Not that she hadn’t kept up on the news of him over the years. She wasn’t proud of her behavior, in fact that sort of crush she’d grown for him that night so long ago just never went away. And being around him now…
Well, at first she thought he was a lost cause. A man so devoid of happiness that he would forever be bitter and angry with his failures. He needed to understand that everyone made mistakes. Not that it would be simple, because nothing ever was. Already she could almost hear his response as if they were really having this discussion and it wasn’t all in her mind.
When I fuck up, people die.
There, that was the gist of it. She didn’t even need him to open his mouth to say anything. The pretend discussion need not ever happen. She already knew what he was going to say. The responsibility of his job as a bodyguard posed greater risks. When she messed up on the job, someone’s car keys might not be found—worst-case scenario would be if she couldn’t find a lost person. Thank God that hadn’t happened. But the risk with her job was relatively low for anyone involved. Obviously her recent entanglements with Grayson had upped the danger level. Still, when compared to Grayson’s job, hers was fickle.
When he fucked up, people died. And that had never been more apparent to him than in the past month of his life where he lost not only a client, but his wife too, and because of his first failure. Talk about compounding events: the first action of Domico Donato showing up at that carnival and shooting Winston set things in motion like dominos falling.
Two horrendous events of which Grayson blamed on himself, and Arabella understood why. She would probably be doing the same thing in his situation. Luckily though, her father and her best friend, Sissy, and her friends around the pack would be there for her. Whether she wanted them to be or not. They would be there to tell her exactly what she would tell Grayson—it wasn’t your fault.
His brow furrowed questioningly. She’d gone quiet for a minute. But she couldn’t tell him her thoughts. Not yet, not here, not now. Too many nots. She made a silent oath to fix that. She’d always been a happy woman, someone who strived for laughter and smiles in lieu of frowns and disdain. She didn’t do that out of any pretentious morale attitude but simply because with one of those ways she felt good and the other she didn’t. Maybe this was the time. Her chance to finally learn about the man she’d been intrigued about for ages.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
She nodded and he led her into the casino. As planned, he took them on a stroll around the casino so they could scope the place out. The first room was quite large and dark. An assortment of tables were set up with different games from Russian roulette to Texas Hold ’Em. Lighting
was dim save for over the tables. Several adjoining rooms were attached to the larger one which had other games and a bigger bar. The room smelled of expensive, musky colognes and blood-wine. Vampires walked around with glasses filled to the brim. It made Arabella wonder if they received their supply of blood here legally or not. God, she hoped it was legal.
In one of the other rooms they found a heavy, metal door blocked off by guards. Only one man passed through after whispering something to the guard. You had to speak to them in order to pass. Arabella wondered what secrets they kept hidden behind those doors. There were bars aplenty and lavish furniture and tables where people congregated to talk. They had made a circuit of each of the rooms freely available without any problems.
“Thirsty?” Grayson asked.
Actually, she was. “Yes, and if it has alcohol in it all the better.”
He steered her toward one of the bars with the fewest people near it. “You’re not drinking tonight.”
Sigh. “Fine, party pooper. Water will work.”
He ordered her water and a glass of blood for himself. He never touched it though. “Did you get anything?”
They were touching they were so close, the left side of her body tucked against his chest. He was warm, his masculine scent so fetching she had to remind herself of the reasons why she couldn’t turn into him and bury her face in his neck like she wanted to. Every time his hand squeezed her arm to guide her, her stomach fluttered and between her legs tensed.
“He’s not here.”
“How certain are you?”
Her eyes widened with surprise. He wasn’t doubting her outright as he had been doing before. “One hundred per cent.”
He cursed. “We have no idea if he’ll even show tonight. After they spotted you he could be staying far away from this place.” They spoke with their heads bowed close. She could feel his warm breath tickling her cheek. Strange how it made her want to turn in to him so her lips could meet his.
