Lethal Blow: (Succubus Hitwoman Book 2) by Eliza Hendrix (best motivational books to read TXT) 📗

As much as I’d love to be a fly on the wall when Rachel meets her great-aunt, I have something else to do—I need to find Devania. It’s doubtful she’s in Vegas, so I might need to make friends around here to gather intel. If she’s running an underground rebellion, she won’t be easy to find.

With my head held high, I make my way back down to the Red Lounge.

Demons, witches, and vampires walk around like they’ve been friends for centuries. It’s the strangest thing to see, considering the different species have been at war since the dawn of time. What I like most about the Dark Hall is that pricks like Lucius aren’t welcome.

It isn’t because the dude’s in charge of San Halos. The reason he’s not allowed inside the Dark Hall is that everyone knows how he feels about interspecies friendships—he finds the whole notion appalling. The Dark Hall is like the Switzerland of the world. Everyone wants the same thing—to forget the hatred and corruption in the real world.

If I didn’t have such a problem with managing my money, and if the Dark Hall’s management team hadn’t set a new rule in 1872 disallowing people from staying for more than two weeks, I’d probably spend my life living inside the Dark Hall.

Back then, I didn’t understand why they’d set this rule, but now I do. Too many people were trying to escape their realities by disappearing into the Hall, and while it might have been enjoyable to forget about the magical world’s monstrosities, turning a blind eye doesn’t prevent wars from happening.

Out of nowhere, someone bumps into me so hard that I have to suck in a lungful of air to get rid of the colorful specks in front of my eyes.

“Oh, thoot. I’m tho thorry,” says the fat vampire. He smiles from ear to ear, something I’m not used to seeing a vampire do, and rests two chubby hands on my shoulders. “Are you okay, mith? Can I get you anything? I-I-I can be tho clumthy thometimes.”

The guy’s so huge that I can’t see anything on either side of him. Still a little dazed, I rub my forehead and blink hard. “Um, no, I’m good.”

He smiles again, his eyes forming little black moons, and squeezes my shoulder. I feel something crack and I pull away. It’s like he’s oblivious to how strong he is.

He turns around, a huge waddle in his step, and people clear the way as he moves.

Finally, the lights in front of me fade. “Wait!”

He stops walking, his last step coming down so hard that the slot machine nearest to him trembles and the horned woman playing it jumps off her seat, her wild eyes darting from side to side.

“Did you thay thomething, mith?”

“Um, yeah,” I say, moving in an awkward fashion toward him. Everyone’s staring at us, and I realize he probably isn’t the first person I should be asking, but he seems like a nice guy, so it’s worth a shot. “Do you like spiders?”

He pulls his upper lip over his fangs, revealing a gummy grimace.

Obviously, it’s a no.

“Not even… a black widow?” I say.

He’s still staring at me as if I offered him a bowl of fresh vomit.

I click my fingers and point at him. “Thank you for participating in my private study, buddy.”

I’m about to turn away when he lets out a thunderous laugh. “Oh, wow. A thtudy? I’ve never partithipated in a thtudy before! Do I get thome kind of partithipathion throphy?”

I fight the urge to slap my forehead. Great. Now everyone’s watching us closely.

Flicking my wrist, I force an exaggerated smile. “Oh, no, honey, it’s nothing like that. It’s for my daughter’s science project at school.”

He looks disappointed. Without giving him the time to say anything else, I swing around, my smile disappearing and my eyes rolling up into my head.

“Thomething about thpiders,” I hear behind me. “A thience project or thomething.”

Goddamn it. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. I might be a great hit woman, but I sure as hell suck being a detective when I don’t know what I’m looking for. All I can do is hope he doesn’t go around talking about black widow spiders. The whole point of using that term was to be discreet, and this Michelin Man vampire looks to be anything but discreet.

Trying to hide my face, I walk fast with my head bowed. If I can at least get out of Red Lounge, I can sneak into a different casino and start over.

“Drink?” comes a young woman’s voice.

I almost bump into her tray of shot glasses but stop myself in time, the tray hovering inches away from my lips.

With my head still bowed, I stare at the woman’s apron—a velvet red fabric that wraps around what appears to be her naked body. Her legs, thin and toned, make me want to sink my teeth into them. On either side of the apron, the skin of her bare and perfectly round breasts peaks out, taunting me.

I know I just fed, but I’m always hungry.

Finally, my gaze reaches her face, and I can’t look away. The woman’s gorgeous—model material gorgeous. Her plump red lips curve at one end and she points her eyes at the shot glasses. “They’re free.”

Biting my lower lip, I reach for a glass, tilt it back, and swallow the burning liquid. She has no clue about what’s going on—I’m bringing out my Lure.

“Is there a limit?” I ask.

She lowers her gaze to my lips. “I don’t limit anything… I like to think I’m pretty adventurous.”

Got her.

“I’m all about adventure,” I say. “What’s the point in life if you can’t play?”

Her right brow pops up and she licks her lips. “I love playing. Especially with toys.”