Forsaking (Vampire Assassin League Book 26) Read Online Free PDF

space opened, assembling into steps that disappeared into blackness beyond her headlamp range. She pondered that ladder-like access for a bit as dust particles sifted through her light.
    Uh oh
.
    A fine film of dust covered everything. She was going to leave footprints. She probably left a clear trail, starting at the front steps. Marielle turned her head, aiming the light at her path. Nothing looked disturbed at all. The floor started trembling slightly, while the soft sigh of moving gears whispered through the area. The steps closed. Marielle turned back to them and a few seconds later it was just another chunk of floor, covered with a film of dust that matched the surroundings. The conceptual artist part of her wondered at the perfection. The technical part checked on the why. She squatted and touched a fingertip to the dirt, scraping a nail along a hard surface. Nothing moved. Somebody had painted the surface to always look undisturbed?
    She really should alert the authorities. Contact someone. Do anything other than go back around the bar, push the boot rail, and this time descend the steps.
    Anything.

 

CHAPTER FOUR
    The phone in his chest pocket vibrated again. The low rumble caused more than one person to look in his direction. Bram pulled the slim phone out with one hand and put his cards atop the table with the other. Face down.
    “I am going to have to take this call,” he informed them.
    “Not with an open game,” one of them remarked.
    “You know the rules,” the dealer informed him.
    Bram sent a glance toward the pile of ten thousand dollar chips in the center of the table, moved it back to his cards. He had a royal flush. The phone rang again. His palm shook with it. He sighed, snagged his hat off the empty chair beside him with his free hand and spun it before settling it atop his head.
    “Very well, gentlemen. Ma’am.” He nodded to the others, tapped his hat brim, and then smiled. “I fold.”
    He pushed the chair away from the oversized mahogany table and rose in one fluid, soundless motion. The chair wouldn’t have made sound anyway. It was atop expensive carpet. He was in one of the high stakes rooms, facing five opponents: four men, one woman.
    A woman.
    Playing poker.
    That took some getting used to.
    Well
. The gender of the players might have changed. The game hadn’t. Bram was really good at noticing player quirks. The woman licked her ruby-red lips if she was concerned about the hand. One gentleman tugged an earlobe. Another fidgeted on his seat, making slight rustling noises. The final fellow had a true poker face, but didn’t keep the same control over his fingers. He’d tighten them on his cards occasionally.
    The players facing him were dressed expensively. Fancy suits. Ties. The lady was in full evening attire, in a shade of red that almost matched her lips. Bram looked out-of-place in dark denims and one of his custom-tailored western shirts. He wore a belt fashioned of embossed leather with a large buckle. Bolero tie. He’d brought one of his fancy hats. He also sported a gun belt on his hips, although it was empty at the moment. He’d had a Colt. They’d made him check it. The weapon had set off all kinds of alarms when he’d first arrived.
    That had been before he proved his financial ability, greased some palms, and gained access to this room...along with three large, beefy-looking, security types that probably still hovered at the elevator foyer. He’d guess they’d be spending the time checking and re-checking their reflections in the long window overlooking the city.
    Dobb Lake had certainly altered since Bram had last come over the hill. This place wasn’t a town anymore. It could claim the moniker of city. The view from that long window in the elevator foyer backed it up. He checked it out as they’d waited for entrance. The city had all kinds of streets, traffic, and lights. All of it easily delineating the size of Dobb Lake.
    It was late. He didn’t know how