Free Vengeance (Night Roamers) Book Three by Kristen Middleton

harm you.”
    I smiled. “I’m counting on it.”
    He stepped back. “Now, just try and act normal. We’ll hang out here for an hour, and then take a break,” he turned towards Duncan, who was frowning. “Obviously, grumpy here needs to feed.”
    Duncan flipped him off.
    I smiled and walked towards the entrance to the casino. When I stepped inside, I noticed that it was modest compared to some of the other casinos in Vegas, but still bustling with activity. After getting carded and charming the attendant into believing I was really twenty-one, I traded the bill in for smaller ones and glanced around the busy room. In no time, I found an open slot machine next to an elderly woman wearing a blue sun hat and cardigan. I sat down next to her and groaned inwardly. Her perfume, probably subtle to most people, was making me dizzy. I cursed my new sense of smell and hoped she’d be moving on quickly.
    She smiled at me. “Hello.”
    I smiled back. “Hi.”
    “You’re lucky. I was thinking about taking over that machine. Another gentleman lost a quite a few coins in it, earlier. It’s due to spit something out soon. You might just get lucky.”
    “That would be nice,” I said, staring at the machine. I’d never gambled before and I wasn’t exactly sure what to do.
    “You can put coins in or bills,” said the older woman , noticing my hesitation. “It gives you credits to wager and then you can decide how much you want to risk.”
    “Oh, thanks.”
    “First time in a casino?”
    I smiled. “It’s that obvious?”
    She laughed. “It’s okay. There are many people who have their cherry popped in Vegas. Both gambling and other things, if you get my drift.”
    I giggled. “Yeah, I do.”
    “I’m Hilda, by the way,” she said, holding out her hand.
    I shook it. “I’m Nikki.”
    “Your hand is cool,” she said. “You should bring a sweater with you next time. They have the air conditioning cranked in these places.”
    “I will. Thank you.”
    A redheaded cocktail waitress walked up to us and asked if we wanted something to drink. She reeked of cigarettes and vanilla. It was obvious to me that she wasn’t just passing out the drinks, either, as I could smell alcohol oozing out of her pores.
    “No, thank you,” said Hilda. “I’m on too many medications.”
    “ Oh, okay. What about you?” asked the waitress, her eyes slightly glossy.
    “I’m good,” I replied , trying not to gawk at her costume, which looked more like a piece of sequined lingerie.
    The waitress lowered her voice. “A guy playing roulette wants to buy you a drink. He ’s the tall one with the shoulder-length brown hair, and white polo shirt. Kind of cute, if you ask me.”
    I turned to look towards the roulette table and lo cked eyes with the stranger, who looked like he was in his twenties and, just like she said, kind of cute.
    He smiled and raised his glass in salute.
    Not wanting to give him any encouragement, I quickly looked away.
    “Uh, tell him, thank you, but I’m good.”
    “No problem,” said the waitress. “To tell you the truth, he’s already purchased drinks for two gals earlier, so he’s definitely a player. I normally don’t give this information out, but guys like that just pull my chain.”
    Hearing that , I relaxed. Definitely not a Lycan searching for little old me.
    “Thanks for the war ning.”
    “No problem,” she replied, walking away.
    “I heard,” said Hilda , out of the corner of her mouth as she pulled the lever on her machine. “But you know, it is Vegas and I’m sure he’s just looking for some action. Hell, if I was forty years younger, I’d give it to him myself. He’s a hunk.”
    I smiled. “Maybe you should buy him a drink. He might like older women.”
    She chuckled and waved her hand. “My cougar days are over, dear. I’m lucky if I can get my underwear on in the morning, let alone take them off only to scare the hell out of a good-looking guy like that.”
    I laughed and