Gambling on Her Dragon (Charmed in Vegas Book 2) (10 page)

Wolves, as her grandfather used to say, were a mystery.

Love, as her mother said, was a mystery.

She stared into Trey’s eyes, shining like the moon over the sea.

Then he cleared his throat abruptly, murmured something about cleaning up, and disappeared into the bathroom.

Trey. Wolf. Man.

Mystery.

F
our hours. They had four hours.

The first two, they spent gazing into each other’s eyes, boinking like bunnies, and cooing like a couple of lovebirds.

Then they spent an hour trying to figure out what the hell to do next. Midnight wasn’t getting any further away, after all.

The final hour, they went back to shagging and cooing and clinging blindly to hope in that little den of a room, because the world was easier to understand that way.

Trey climbed out of the shower for the second time in four hours and yanked his clothes on just in time to hear the heavy lock click. He looked up to see two wolf shifters open the door and tip their heads down the hallway in an unmistakable order. He grabbed Kaya’s hand and hung on to it as they were marched all the way back to what he’d already started thinking of as the throne room.

Not a window anywhere. Not a clock, just a lot of gold-edged mirrors that mocked every step he took. The place was like a casino, just a lot quieter. And somehow, he didn’t have the feeling he’d walk out of this den a winner.

Shit, shit, shit. A few hours ago, he and Kaya had everything they needed: the money and the phone number. All they had to do was call the guy holding her sister for ransom and set up the switch. All so simple — if only they could get away from these wolves.

The reflection in the mirror taunted him.
 Did you really think it was going to be easy?

A gnawing sense of dread grew in his gut, and he tugged Kaya closer until her shoulder bumped against his with every anxious step.

“Dixon.” A voice growled at him, and his head snapped up. Roric, the alpha, was glaring down from his dais like a medieval king.

He nearly growled back. If he’d been alone, he might have played the role of subordinate to this powerful man. But he had Kaya with him, and stubborn alpha instincts took over. The instinct to protect. To throw out his chest and make a stand. To show he would not be pushed over.

He stared right back, and the reigning alpha’s gaze locked him in place.

“Here I was, thinking we had just another couple of visitors…” Roric paced across his little perch like a restless lion, looking for a way out.

Not a promising start.

Kaya’s fingers tightened over Trey’s as Roric nodded to himself. “Made a few phone calls…”

Trey hid a grimace. Shit, shit, shit.

“Seems that Lana Dixon of Twin Moon Ranch has no idea her cousin is visiting my territory.”

Good news in one way, because at least Trey had a chance of keeping Twin Moon pack out of the trouble he’d stumbled into. Bad news, because it made him a lone wolf, with no one to cover his ass.

His stupid ass. Had he really thought he could roll in and out of Vegas a couple of thousand dollars richer without being noticed?

He threw up his hands. “I was hitchhiking to LA and the driver let me out here.”

Roric ignored him and paced on. “I give my regards to Lana, hang up the phone, and what happens?”

Trey glared in the heavy pause that ensued. How the hell did he know?

“Seems someone else is calling me at the same time, wondering what motherfucker wiped out his gargoyles.” Roric stopped pacing and threw an icy look his way. “Wondering what motherfucking
wolf
 wiped out his gargoyles. Asking if it was one of mine.”

Shit. He hadn’t just annoyed the Westend alpha, he’d stepped on his toes.

“And I get to wondering if that wolf has anything to do with the wolf who wandered in here, you know?”

Trey clenched his jaw. It wasn’t as if he’d wandered willingly into this screwed-up wolf den.

“And, meanwhile, it seems the little lady has trouble of her own,” Roric went on, sneering at Kaya.

She stiffened, and Trey did too. Little lady?

“Seems the lady owes money to an associate of mine.”

Kaya’s fingers dug into Trey’s as her lips formed a thin line. Maybe she was like him, biting back her inner beast’s teeth before they could extend out of her gums.

“The same associate, as it turns out, whose gargoyles were damaged.”

Damaged
, like maybe they’d chipped a nail and not run head-on into a bus or the steel frame of an awning.

“So what’s a wolf to do?” Roric’s stiff posture made it clear he wasn’t expecting an answer. Finally, he sighed in a way that said,
So much work in my little fiefdom, so little time.
 “So I decided to invite my associate over. Get this misunderstanding settled, once and for all.”

Now, why didn’t Trey like the sound of that?

A tall, dark figure with a sleek black ponytail stepped forward from the shadows on the left side of the hall. The man wore a tailored, black-on-black Armani suit that made his pale skin seem almost translucent. His eyes instantly dismissed Trey but lit up as they prowled over every inch of Kaya’s body.

Her hand trembled in his, and all Trey could do was hang on. A growl built in his throat.

“Miss Proulx, I presume,” Roric’s associate said in a light European accent of some kind. He gave a tiny bow, like he was a goddamn count or something. When he straightened and smiled at her, the points of his teeth showed.

Kaya gasped in recognition.

A second later, Trey caught on, too. Those weren’t teeth. They were fangs. Vampire fangs. The guy who was holding her sister for ransom was a vampire?

Trey sniffed the air and found it void of any scent — a hallmark of vampires. A real-life, pointy-fanged, bloodsucking vampire.

He glanced at Kaya.
 Tell me you just forgot to mention the vampire part.

She shot back an apologetic glance that said,
Minor detail.

Minor detail? The sister wasn’t just indebted to some Vegas gambler, but to a vampire gambler. Vampires were sneaky, conniving creatures who could suck even the strongest wolf dry of life. Vampires fought dirty and preyed on the weak.

And yet this one was somehow associated with the Westend wolves. Trey glared at Roric. How could any wolf stoop so low as to deal with vampires?

Roric gave him a merciless shrug that said,
Business is business, son.

It was just as Lana had warned him: Westend pack fostered a mercenary attitude so uncommon among wolves.

“I’ve heard so much about you,” the vampire said to Kaya. “We’ve been waiting so eagerly for your visit.” His eyes caught on her chest, and a scarlet-red tongue licked his pale lips.

A second vampire appeared behind him, then a third, shoving a stiff captive along.

“Get your hands off me, asshole,” the woman grunted.

“Karen!” Kaya shouted and darted forward.

Trey caught her arm and yanked her back. No way was he letting Kaya close to a vampire. They were already way too close. As in, a thousand-mile radius kind of close.

“Hi, Kaya,” Karen sighed, twisting out of the vampire’s grasp. “Sorry I got hung up with half of fucking Transylvania here.” She rolled her eyes and made a mockery of their names. “Igor and Ivan.”

The brunette who looked so much like Kaya exaggerated the vowels
—
 
Ee-gor and Ay-van
 — and the vampires rolled their eyes.

“Igor,” the first corrected her, clearly not for the first time.

A little smirk slipped onto Karen’s lips. “Whatever.”

Christ, she was feisty, just like her sister.

“We have the money,” Kaya blurted. “We were bringing it to you.”

“Oh, yes?” Igor, the head vampire, raised a thin eyebrow.

“Actually, I have the money,” Roric smirked, holding up the bag of cash his men must have brought in from the car.

“My money!” Kaya and Trey blurted in unison.

“My money, now.” Roric grinned.

“What? You wouldn’t!” Kaya yelped.

Roric raised his eyebrows in challenge. Of course, he would.

“Money I’m happy to give my associate to reimburse him for his losses.” Roric shot an accusing look at Trey. “Minus, of course, a small fee for rescuing you out in the desert.”

“Rescue?” Kaya sputtered.

Trey growled openly. So he’d inadvertently messed with whatever tenuous pact Roric’s pack had with the vampires. Surely, wolves would stand together when the going got tough?

Roric shook his head.
Fat chance, kid.

Igor flicked a fleck of lint off his sleeve and sighed. “Reliable gargoyles are so hard to find these days. And the price witches charge for new ones…”

Roric nodded. “All in the name of maintaining smooth business relations, of course.” He threw a thin smile at Igor and shrugged at Trey’s incredulous look.
Yes, these vampires are snobs, but what can you do?

Trey shook his head. Wolves colluding with vampires? Back home, wolves and vampires gave each other a wide berth, just in case. But this was Vegas and shady Westend pack. Why was he not surprised?

Igor turned his nose up and brushed a delicate lace hanky against his nose.
Heathens
, his dismissive look said.

“That’s our money!” Kaya snapped, stretching to her full height. Her eyes flashed with fire, and he wondered if she’d start breathing fire. A trick that would come in awfully handy at a time like now.

Trey bared his teeth at the vampires, backing her up. Really, he ought to be correcting her. Technically, it was
his
 money, but somehow, he didn’t care. The line between what was Kaya’s and what was his was going gray and blurry, like none of that mattered as long as they stood together. Stayed together.

“Such a pity,” Igor tsked, fingering Karen’s hair. “But I’m sure your sister will be happy to earn back what she owes me in a different way.”

Karen yanked out of his grip and snarled. “Over my dead body.”

Igor gave her an icy smile. “That would be the hard way, my dear. But that, too, can be arranged.”

The vampires behind him licked their lips.

Karen just smirked. “Think you boys can drink pure dragon blood? All that mercury in my veins…” She let the words hang in the air like a threat. “I doubt it.”

Trey glanced at Kaya. Hadn’t she said Karen was a half sister who couldn’t fly? Which meant Karen was only half dragon and probably didn’t have the high mercury content that protected purebred dragons from vampires.

Karen stood proud and unwavering, playing the world’s most dangerous bluff with a perfect poker face. Trey wondered how she’d ever lost whatever bets she’d made to get into trouble in the first place.

The corner of Igor’s eye twitched as he struggled to keep his cool. Clearly, Karen hadn’t been as cooperative a captive as he had imagined. More like the
Ransom of Red Chief
-type
—
 the little boy who drove his captors so crazy, they ended up paying his family to take him back.

“The most noble of vampires can drink dragon blood.” Igor leaned in menacingly. “And it can be distilled. Remember, my dear: the easy way, and the hard way…”

“I’ll show you the hard way,” Karen muttered, clenching a fist.

Trey stepped forward before she swung it. “Forget it.”

Igor laughed. Just laughed. “And what exactly do you have to bargain with?”

He stopped just short of shaking a clenched fist in the vampire’s face. Crap, what did he have?

“The car. You can have the car.”

“Granddad’s car?” Karen squeaked. “No way.”

Kaya shook her head in a vehement
No,
 and Trey stared at the two of them.

Igor let out another annoying tut-tut sound. “I have all the cars I need.”

Kaya cast a wild glance around the room, desperate for some bargaining chip. Trey socked Roric with a beseeching look. Surely, the old wolf…

Roric snorted and motioned his guards forward.
Clear my hall of this rabble
, he might have commanded, if Igor hadn’t spoken first.

“Of course, there might be one thing…” Cool, appraising eyes traced every inch of Trey’s bulk.

He felt the cold hand of death creep up and down his spine as he wondered what Igor had in mind.

“Two of my scouts reported spotting a new candidate for the pits,” Igor murmured. “I wonder if that could be you.”

Kaya froze at his side. “No. No way.”

Trey tilted his head at the vampire. The pits?

“No!” Kaya grabbed his arm. “Not the pits.”

She looked so long, so deep into his eyes, he nearly obeyed the unspoken command.
Don’t do it. Don’t risk it.

Igor coughed in a not-too-subtle hint, and Trey dragged his eyes away from Kaya to her sister. Somehow, he had to get the two of them free. He could fight as well as any wolf. Better, even. And since he didn’t have any better ideas…

“Don’t,” Karen warned.

But what else could he do?

“I fight,” Trey proposed, turning to the vampire. “I win. We go free. All three of us.”

Igor’s eyes were a dull, flickering red that hurt to look at. Trey hung on, though, straining every muscle to do so. He could stare this ass down. He could fight and win.