Sweet Reckoning

Her flurry of lust disappeared when she approached me, looking at my bound hands.

“Anything to drink or eat, miss? We have turkey paninis and—”

“Nothing for her,” Pharzuph said, sounding too close.

The woman looked up, surprised, then back down at me. “No beverage?”

The Dukes thought I was a lush, so I needed to act the part. “Rum and Coke?”

“She’s underage,” Pharzuph said from his lounging position behind me.

“Oh.” She looked at me with a touch of exasperation. “How about a soda?”

I shook my head. “Nothing for me, thank you.”

“Okay, sweetie.” She definitely didn’t know what to think about me and my predicament. I wondered how old she was. Younger than Patti. Maybe thirty.

She served Kaidan and Pharzuph their meal. Kaidan ate fast and looked as sick as I felt. He stood and pulled a small pillow from the overhead bin and sat again. The movie credits began just as a peal of feminine laughter sounded from behind us, followed by flirty bantering . . . a minute later, a quiet moan. With as much discretion as possible I reached over and turned up the volume in my headphones as high as it would go.

I dared a glance at Kaidan, who was leaning against the window with his pillow. I knew he was pretending to sleep because his mouth was closed. His lips always parted the tiniest bit when he slept.

I stared at the movie in a tense daze, not daring to turn my head. The skin at my wrists burned. Time passed too slowly. When I finally felt our descent, I let my muscles slightly relax for the first time. Kaidan hadn’t moved the entire trip. The flight attendant took her jump seat, staring blankly ahead and looking pale, her aura a blend of residual lust and fuzzy dark grays. I didn’t want to pick apart her emotions.

Kaidan stared out his window as we hit the pavement in Vegas. The flight attendant rushed from the plane the moment the door opened.

I remained sitting as Kai stood and pulled out his bag. Pharzuph walked up from the back with his hands casually in his pockets, a neutral expression on his face.

“A car should be waiting for us,” Pharzuph said to Kaidan. “Cover the girl.”

Kaidan took a navy blanket from the overhead bin and put it around my shoulders, wrapping me enough to hide my hands. Then he put an arm around me and forcefully led me from the plane, down the stairs, into the waiting car and the sweltering dry heat of a Vegas evening.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

SIN CITY

It was six p.m. when I got my first glimpse of the infamous Vegas Strip. Tall buildings and hotels crammed together in a tight cluster amid the arid landscape. I ignored my cravings at the sight of people walking the streets openly with alcohol, some carrying full cases of beer. I kept myself numb to the barrage of signs that advertised women for sale. Pharzuph chuckled from the driver’s seat.

“It never gets old.”

As we pulled up to The Venetian Hotel, Pharzuph turned to Kai, who sat next to me in the backseat. “Untie her, but hold her hand and don’t let her out of your sight until you get to the room.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kaidan untied me, and I rubbed my wrists. He pulled me from the car, taking my hand securely in his while he held his duffel bag in the other. A valet took the black sedan, and the three of us made our way inside the hotel. Though Kaidan came across as cold, his hand was warm and I was glad to be touching him.

Pharzuph bypassed a long line of people waiting to check in at the giant, fancy lobby. He smiled warmly, and nobody complained. It was amazing to watch his willful influence in action. The check-in clerk was blushing and laughing as she placed the key cards in his waiting hand.

He strolled handsomely back to us, winking at the tallest, slimmest woman I’d ever seen. She wore a silver, slinky dress, and was on the arm of another man, who didn’t notice as she turned and stared brazenly at her tempter. He was much younger than some of the women checking him out, but that only added to his allure—young, confident, handsome, built, and rich.

“I love this city,” Pharzuph said to himself. He handed a key card to Kaidan. “Keep to your room. I’ll send someone for you when it’s time for the summit. It’s likely to be late in the night before everyone gets here. We’re planning for the witching hour—demon hour if we must.” Pharzuph looked me up and down, a sneer on his lips. “She can’t get into the club dressed in that. Find something more appropriate.”

“Yes, Father.”

Without another word, Pharzuph strode away. My back relaxed as distance was put between us, but I stretched my hearing to him, determined to listen to where he was going and what he was planning. I knew Kai would be listening, but I wanted to hear for myself.

“Come on,” Kaidan said, tugging my hand.

It was a relief to be out of Pharzuph’s presence. I was quickly taken in by the hotel’s ambience. It was like a hotel, high-end mall, and entertainment gallery combined. We walked down a wide corridor full of the diversity of humanity and the army of guardian-angel soldiers, who focused with total devotion on their jobs. I wondered if all of these angels knew the dangers that were in store for their humans’ souls tonight. I still tried to keep tabs on Pharzuph, placing a bubble of my hearing around him, but I had to shift it every time he moved, and it took great concentration to focus on his voice and footsteps, especially with all the sensory distractions.

The Venetian was home to an indoor waterway that replicated a canal in Venice, Italy. There were gondola boats and singing “Italians” in red-and-white-striped shirts. The rounded ceilings were painted to look like a summer sky above the Piazza San Marco, as vivid as the real thing, if only the sounds didn’t echo off the storefronts lining the walkways.