Free Blood Sacrifice (The Blood Sisters Book 3) by Jill Cooper Page A

out.” Vain swung her arms
around Alexis’s hips and pulled her in for a sweet kiss. “More specifically the
Wild Aces Casino. With Kevin dead, we’ll only have so long to break into his
penthouse and grab the Ruby Heart.”
    The
Bloods were on the move. Vain’s crystal ball told her that much, and, just as
in the past, Vain would use the information it gave her to seize the upper
hand.
    “How
are you going to manage that? It’s not as if they’re going to let us just walk
in, Mistress.”
    Vain’s
rage smoldered. “Leave that to me, darling. I know my strengths and weaknesses.
And your weaknesses.” Vain flirted.
    “Clear
the brothel and allow only our best customers.” Vain voice boomed with the
order, as she headed toward her bedroom. “Guards, everyone out that isn’t on
the VIP list, but not without first taking their money.”
    Money
came first. Well, second beneath sexual satisfaction, and, speaking of being
satisfied, Vain opened the door to her private bedroom. Inside, Duncan was tied
to the bed and gagged with a leather strap. He was asleep or unconscious, not
that it really mattered which it was, but Vain had a decision to make.
    Take
him or leave him here. Could she risk moving him?
    No.
He wasn’t under her spell enough to go willingly. Vain hated to leave him here
unguarded and ripe for the taking, but if the Ruby Heart remained unclaimed for
too long, someone else might get to it first. Its power was more important than
any one person.
    A
hands-on person, Vain didn’t know which task really deserved her attention.
Duncan was a matter of personal revenge, but the Ruby Heart could be the secret
to just about everything Vain’s heart desired. Not only could it be used
against the underworld, but possession of it had brought infinite luck to
Kevin.
    Maybe
it could bring the same to Vain.
    She
studied Duncan’s bruised cheek and his swollen black eye with a pout. Vain
fished her fingers through his hair and pulled until his head rounded back.
“Dear sweet, Duncan Jasper.” She spun the dagger in her hand and placed the tip
against his neck.
    “It’s
a pity it has to end this way. I wish at least to see your eyes as I end your
life.”
    As
if to get her wish, Duncan’s eyelids struggled to open. The dull blue eyes
gazed at her with sleep in them and Vain’s heart banged. Briefly, he smiled
like a drunken man on his sixth beer. “If you’re gonna do it, Jess…do it.”
    So
Duncan saw her as Jessica. Vain didn’t know if that made it worse or better.
He’d forever think his beloved Jessica killed him? She would get none of the
credit? None of it mattered, as it turned out, Vain couldn’t stomach killing
him. Hurting him was one thing, but murdering Duncan was another.
    The
game couldn’t continue if he were dead. Vain didn’t have the power to raise the
dead—at least not yet.
    She
removed her knee from the bed and stepped away, twirling the dagger in her
hand. Vain retreated from the room as Alexis hurried by. Vain grabbed the sweet
underside of her arm and when Alexis turned, she smelled of honey. “Bring me
Hannah, would you? I need someone to take care of Jasper while we’re gone.”
    Sweet
little naïve Hannah was the woman for the job…under the right conditions. Lucky
for Vain, she was a master of getting people to do what she wanted. She grabbed
a bottle of scotch from the corner bar and when she heard a sniveling cry, Vain
poured a glass.
    Hannah’s
hair was still a tangled mess and her face was streaked black with mascara.
Instead of a tight corset, she wore a baggy gray shirt. Unkempt, unclean—what
would the clientele say about Vain if they saw Hannah in such a mess?
    “Drink
this.” Vain shoved it into Hannah’s hands, but the girl was shaking. The glass
rattled against her trembling fingers. Vain helped the glass to her mouth until
Hannah took a sip. “It’ll calm your nerves.”
    She
coughed and sputtered, her hand clamped over her mouth. “It burns, oh