Freak Show (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7)(5)

“Good Lord, I hope not. We’ve only been here a few hours.”

“Then I’d say we’re already behind.” Jez linked her arm in mine and all but skipped her way to the elevator. I couldn’t help but smile. Her enthusiasm was infectious.

We made our way to the casino where my senses were immediately overwhelmed. The noise hurt my sensitive wolf ears. Raised voices mingled with the clink of bottles and glasses, all topped off with the clang and ding of so many slot machines. I wasn’t sure what was worse, the sound or the smell. So many people crammed into one large windowless room gave off the pungent aroma of sweat, perfume and booze. Among other things.

It took several minutes for me to adjust to the assault on my senses. Vegas may be a vampire’s city, but it was not wolf friendly. The beast inside rebelled at the thought of staying in this place. It was harsh and raw, too much for my forest-loving, earth-bound wolf.

A glance at Jez revealed a wound up woman ready to gamble. For a werecat, she was completely unfazed in this environment. Perhaps it was the demon blood in her veins.

“How exciting,” she gushed. “This city never sleeps. I missed it. I could totally live here.”

“Not me. I couldn’t survive in a city like this.” I gazed about in wonder, finding each person more intriguing than the last. Vegas was many things, but you couldn’t say it wasn’t entertaining.

My gaze closed in on a lady seated at a nearby slot machine. Dark circles lined her eyes. Her hair was in disarray, and her outfit was far from laundry fresh. A few machines over, an older couple, dressed to the nines in fancy evening wear, laughed and joked as they pumped coin after coin into a machine. Contrasting them with the other lady, I realized this place was an enigma.

“What do you think, Lex? Are we high rollers tonight or what?” Jez eyed a small group of women giggling with drinks in hand, as she led me along.

Raoul, my former lover and the wolf who turned me, had left me more than enough money in his will. It had taken me a long time to bring myself to touch any of it. However, I did not have enough to call myself a high roller, nor was I the type to take that kind of risk. I regularly faced vampires and demons that wanted to kill me; gambling with all the money in the world couldn’t replicate that level of danger.

“Hell no.” I decided. “I’m a slot machine girl, myself.”

“Seriously? Your man is a poker master, and you only play slots?” Jez shook her head and tsked at me. “Sad.”

I followed her through the place, content to let her lead the way. A people-watcher could stay in this place round the clock and never run out of interesting things to see. The deeper we went into the casino, the more I felt like I was plunging into a human abyss. I scanned the crowd, feeling for anything present that wasn’t human. The energy in the casino was incredibly scattered, creating a loud noise inside my head. I struggled to shut it out to save my sanity.

The demon seated at a nearby table was unexpected. He looked up as we passed, our eyes connected. For a split second, I saw through his human façade to the black-winged, black-eyed creature beneath. He looked us over, lingering on Jez. Then his gaze fell to the demon mark on my wrist, and he turned away.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that demons enjoy this city,” I muttered.

“Goes without saying, I’d think,” Jez quipped, pulling me along.

Once we got caught up in the buzz of playing and even won a few small jackpots, my tension eased, and I began to enjoy myself. Giggling like teenagers as we tossed back shooters; we became part of the room, just two more gamblers out to lose a crap load of dough. Despite our welcome wagon earlier, it felt damn good to unwind and leave my worries behind for a while.

“If you’d like some time alone with Shaz this week, I’m sure I can lure your vampire down here to play some poker.” Jez pumped quarters into the machine, waiting while I pushed the button. Nothing. Another quarter.

“Actually, that would be great. We haven’t had much time alone since he got home. It’s been awkward. Makes me wonder if it will ever feel right again.”

“He’s had your back from the start, long before you and Arys made your connection. You just need some time together, a chance to remember what made you fall in love.” Jez handed me another shooter and smiled. “You’re damn lucky, you know, to have them both.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, taking the shot and grimacing as it burned its way down to my stomach. “I know. But how realistic is it?”

“What do you mean?” Pausing to gather our meager winnings, Jez gave me a critical once over.

I shouldn’t say it, shouldn’t even think it. But she was one of my best friends, a girlfriend, the one person I could say it to. “Is it selfish of me to want them both? Because it feels like it is. It feels like—” I stopped short, struggling to get the words out. “It feels like it’s wrong. For Shaz. He deserves better. He deserves to be set free. Like Kale.”

Jez turned to me, taking my hand in hers. “Take a look around you. Do it. Now.” She waited expectantly for me to look around the noisy casino. “This is not the place to make those decisions. This is a place to put that shit to bed and go wild. No serious crap. Save it for when you get home. And don’t bring Kale into this. That is a whole other f**ked-up situation.”

“Thanks.” I rolled my eyes and stuck some of our winnings back into the machine. I watched the little pictures flip by, waiting for them to stop and proclaim us losers. That didn’t happen. Instead, we hit a small jackpot and won five hundred bucks.