Cass’s irritated voice responded,“Sure, ya, but you are also trying to keep humans in the dark about this world, so you’re just going to have to pretend like you’re a human, even if you aren’t.”
I grabbed the phone and my purse as I started to walk to my garage. “All right, you smart ass. I guess you have a stupid point, but I want it noted that Iamall powerful and unkillable.”
“Duly noted.”I could hear the hitch in her voice as she smiled into the phone.“Now be careful, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
We hung up as soon as I got into my Rolls Royce. It was a classy night, so I figured I would drive the classy car tonight.
Here's to hoping that I didn't mess up and expose myself to humans tonight.
Ipulleduptothe casino valet, and it took all my willpower to not bust up at the ambiance. They were taking pictures at the front after all, and it would’ve looked horrible if I was bent over laughing and pointing at this ridiculousness.
It appeared as though Deekahal had decided to make it look like a cheap version of Hell. I wondered when he’d been there last. I mean, I didn’t go either, but I did use a seeing glass to peek in every once in a while. I may be pissed at him, we may have argued and said some things neither of us really meant, but I was still his daughter, and in my own special way, I loved him.
He wasn’t the best dad, always gone due to running hell and such, but he was far from the worst. He loved me deeply in his own unique way, which was why I needed to get out and away. The pressures he was putting on me freaked me the fuck out. It was too hard to sign on to something forever when forever was never promised. Just look at my parents.
I looked up at the huge twenty-five-story building, impressed that he was able to get it all that shade of blood red. That had to have taken a lot of paint. The entrance had two clear glass columns made of fire that ran continuously with a sign above it in big neon red letters that readThe Fire Pit.I walked up the red-carpet stairs and was immediately accosted by paparazzi and the like.
I made it a point to have my own people there to ensure that I, and those that I represented, looked good in everything we posed for. Media was all about the pictures, and since we were demons, we didn’t have to photoshop much. Well, not much when it came to looks or bodies, but maybe the occasional glasses filled with blood or horns on some heads. You know, the normal stuff.
After the vultures had taken their pictures and asked their questions— during which I made sure I mentioned my dress was made byHer Sinful Designs—I finally made it to the large black stone doors, which had two ogres managing them. I smiled and nodded to them even as they scowled. I had to keep up the appearance that they were just normal humans who were all dressed up or had CGI holograms on them. The things that humans believed, even when they saw it right in front of them, was outstanding.
As soon as I stepped foot inside, I was swept up by humans and demons alike who were trying to meet me, get my opinion on something, or just be seen talking with me to get a picture. I tried to dodge as many beings as I could to get to the bar because I had a feeling this was going to be a long night of schmoozing, and I needed fuel for that.
I sat down at the bar and when I looked up, I saw a familiar face, Garth, the owner of Vex. “What are you doing here? I never thought you would come out of your tower of power.” It was one of the jokes I liked to throw his way because Vex was almost impenetrable with all the power it was holding.
He smiled at me, for once showing teeth, as he was cleaning a glass. “Deekahal hired me just for tonight. Apparently, there are a bunch of my clients coming in tonight that needed the special drinks that only I could make for them. He’s paying me four times the amount I would make at Vex tonight to do it, so it felt like a no-brainer. I even gave the staff the night off.” He winked at me before he picked up a martini glass. “Lemon drop, right?”
I smirked up at him as I shot him with some finger guns. “You know it. Also, some of that blue juice too,” I said, letting him know that I wanted a shot of Pride magic with it. Usually, I went for Lust magic with my drinks—it made them sweeter—but since I was going to be gambling, I needed that sour Pride magic to give me that boost of I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude.
“Coming right up.” He raised an eyebrow at my order, knowing I preferred Lust, but turned around and put his hand on the magically sealed cabinet that held the sin magics. He poured a few drops into the glass, then started to shake up the lemon drop. Soon it was done, and he slid it over the counter.
I took my first sip and shivered at the taste of the lemons having an extra bitter kick but felt the magic settle in my stomach with ease. I lifted my drink and nodded to Garth in thanks.
“I’m sure I’ll be coming back for a refill.” I winked and he smiled, nodding his appreciation.
I started to make my way through the lobby, which was huge. I first went to get some chips, knowing that eventually I might play some games and wanted to be prepared, but as soon as I was ready for the casino floor, I had people pulling me in different directions, wanting me to meet so and so. That’s when I started weaving and working the room like a pro.
I said hi to a couple of the high-level demons, talked to a few of the humans who were looking around, feeling like they didn’t belong but not wanting to miss out on the fun. Humans should follow their instincts more, but they got so wrapped up in the feelings they had that they let those instinctive warning bells fall silent and got themselves into trouble. That was when we demons got to feed.
By the time I had spent an hour circling the room, I just wanted to find a place to sit and let my feet have a rest from these high heels. Don’t get me wrong, they were stunners and I had been getting complimented left and right about them, but I was more of a bare feet kind of girl and prolonged times on stilts made my feet ache. Plus, this place was packed and finding a seat was harder than it should’ve been.
Finally, I saw a seat available at the end of one of the gambling tables. I growled at some lady hovering around it so she would get out of my way, then claimed my seat. As soon as I sat down, I felt eyes on me. That was nothing new, truly, but there was a pair of eyes on the other side of the table that felt like they were drilling into my soul.
I looked up and found the most mesmerizing aquamarine eyes staring at me. It was like they were pulling me into them, telling me to give up everything and fall in, take the plunge into death.
Those siren eyes almost got me too before I heard the dealer call out, “Bets. Taking bets now.”
That broke the spell from this Other. I wanted to stay in my seat, so I decided I would play whatever game this was. I looked at the sign on the table and it said Texas No Limit Poker. Oh. Okay, I could play this game. I’d watched it on TV a few times. The old man in the cowboy hat always made me think of my Pop Pop.
I looked at the table and saw that the big blind and small blind were already up, and two cards were already placed in front of me. I dug into my purse and pulled out about half of my chips, clanking them in front of me in stacks before I picked up my cards. An ace of hearts and a king of hearts. That was a good start.
The man with the blue eyes glared at me before he threw down a hundred dollar chip. I didn’t really know why he was glaring at me, but in my world, those were fighting looks, so I put down two hundred and bit my lower lip, resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at him. He smirked at me as each person folded until it got back to him.
He threw in another hundred to call mine. While the dealer was pulling the chips to the center and prepping the next card, it gave me a moment to examine the blue-eyed shark in front of me. And that's what he was, a shark in this pool of gamblers. The only thing missing when he smiled was blood dripping from his teeth.
The next thing I noticed was his platinum ashy hair, paired with his chiseled jawline, tattoos that went up his neck and one ear pierced at the top. His Armani suit that wrapped around his body so tightly it made him look like a present I wanted to unwrap with my teeth. He looked like every woman’s bad boy wet dream.
The flop came out, and it was an ace of diamonds, a two of hearts, and a three of hearts. It was hard because the pair of aces could help me out in the long run or he could have almost a straight with the ace, two, and three. I kept flopping back and forth on my decision, since he was the first one to make a move.
