Beautiful Moves(Shifting Steel Book 3)(34)

They killed him.

A tear slipped down her cheek, followed by another. She hadn't known  Wolf long, but she'd fallen for him hard. Try as she might to resist the  force that drew them together, Ella found herself hopelessly in love  with the man. He was the only one, beside her sister, who knew who she  truly was. And now he was gone. Ella hung her head as the terrible  realization washed over her.

"I'm getting out of here. Dead or alive." Sadly, Ella was having a hard time caring if it went one way or the other.

Ella walked out of the bathroom to find Drake scowling at her.

"You ever again pull a stunt like you did in the desert, I'll wring your  neck and leave your body for the vultures." Drake tapped on his phone,  but the sadistic shock collar did nothing.

Apparently, I broke more than his precious car.

Ella grinned a broad smile that hurt her cheeks. She imagined she looked  slightly insane. She was. Ella reached out with her curse and snapped  the clasp on the choker, then yanked it off and threw it at Drake,  striking him in the chest.

"Maybe you should have considered the repercussions of keeping someone who's cursed," Ella informed the bastard.

In the blink of an eye, Drake had Ella in his grasp, with his fingers wrapped around her neck.

"Don't," he warned, as Ella geared up to do some serious damage to his precious penthouse.

Drake's grip tightened to the point Ella found it hard to breathe. He  was so livid, the freakish animal he harbored, shifted across his face.  His claws and fangs elongating.

"Drake, I just got a call from security. We have a problem in the casino," neck tattoo interrupted.

Ella gasped, when the jackal released her throat. The dim edges of her vision cleared, but she still felt numb.

"Walk," Drake snarled in frustration as he led Ella toward the elevator by the back of her neck.

Ella's mind was a blank as the cubicle descended. They exited the  elevator when it stopped, and went to a room with a wall of monitors  showing the Casino.

"Sit there and don't fucking move," Drake snarled as he shoved her toward an office chair. "What the hell is going on?"

"What's not going on," the lead guard said in frustration. "Sorry sir,"  he apologized for being snippy with his boss. "We have cameras going out  all over the place. Electricity is shutting off sporadically in the  shops and restaurants, and the pool has somehow been drained."

Ella perked up hearing the security guard's abysmal report. She didn't  know how you drained a massive pool, but someone obviously screwed up.

"Excuse me?" Drake snarled, his face turning red. "What the fuck are you  talking about? Chase said there's a problem in the casino."

"The slots are all paying out jackpots. We tried to shut them down, but  the electricity keeps turning back on. We'd have to cut the main trunk."  The guard ran a nervous hand through his hair as he explained the  situation. "We have at least a hundred guests complaining that the  tables are rigged. From what our dealers say, some woman is going from  table to table, telling the players exactly what hand the dealer has. We  tried to locate her, but she's one step ahead of security."

Good for her, Ella smirked. From the sounds of everything, Drake was getting just what he deserved. Karma's a bitch.

"Chase, get all of our people down there," Drake growled, the vein in his neck standing out.

"Yes sir," neck tattoo quickly exited the security room.

"Repeat that?" The guard touched his earpiece. "Bring up camera 73."

"That sector is down," one of the men in front of the monitors replied.

"Sir, I'm not sure if I'm hearing this correctly. We have a new  situation," the first guard reported, looking like he was ready to soil  himself. "People are starting to flee the hotel."                       
       
           



       

Ella looked at the working monitors. Sure enough, people were in chaos, rapidly heading toward the exits.

If you're going to get out, now's the time.

"Just spit it out," Drake demanded. "I can't believe the level of incompetence … "

Ella stood while Drake was yelling at the guard, and headed for the door. She wasn't concerned if he followed or not.



Wolf

"Abuela's a genius," Char giggled. "How in the hell did she empty that entire pool?"

"What part of Aztec Rain God didn't you understand?" Wolf asked.

"Iris, finish screwing with the people at the blackjack table, and head  toward Marisol. You've got a suspicious character, not in uniform, who's  following you," Cain instructed his old lady through the phone.

"Good eye." Wolf nodded to his friend.

"Is Marisol still by the slot machines?" Iris asked.

Iris was psychic, but she didn't see everything. She also couldn't  defend herself against the shady character on her tail. Marisol and  Abuela, on the other hand, could drop the bastard in a heartbeat.

"Yes, just look for the jackpot siren."

"I'm heading her way."

"Babe, it looks like Trip is about to do his thing," Cain informed Iris.  "It's time for us to switch places. You ladies come back to the van and  hang with Wolf."

Cain grabbed his gear and got ready to exit the van, along with Vick, Tony, Mark and Jericho.

"What do you think you're doing?" Wolf asked Char, when she started to follow the guys.

"Ella's my friend. We don't know what's happened to her. She needs a girlfriend," Char said with glossy eyes.

It's my woman in there. She needs me.

"Go," Wolf replied, even though he wanted to be the first familiar face Ella saw.

Wolf started to snarl in frustration, until the shooting pain in his  chest reminded him why he was forced to sit on the side lines. He was  lucky to be alive, but it didn't feel that way. Thinking about what the  fucking jackals might have done to Ella was driving him insane. Wolf  prayed it wasn't as bad as he imagined.

"Check it out. Trip was the straw that broke the camel's back," Cain chuckled as he hopped out of the van.

Unlike most Shifters, who's beast ghosted their human form, Trip could  shift completely into his inner beast. Wolf wanted to smile when he saw  the black jaguar calmly wandering through the casino, like the big ass  predator he was. Panicked guests were quickly starting to fill the  parking garage all around the van.

"Be safe. I'll make sure nothing happens to the van," Wolf grumbled, as everyone abandoned him.

He watched his sister, cousins and friends wade through the crowd, like  fish going upstream, to get into the hotel. Wolf froze when he glanced  back at the iPad in his lap. There was Ella, standing in front of the  camera, planted in security.

"When did she get in there?"

Wolf listened to the jackal alpha yell at some guard, as Ella casually  exited the room. His fists clenched, hoping Drake didn't turn on Ella.

Hurry out of there, Princess.

"Everyone, I've got eyes on Ella. She's exiting the security room," Wolf reported.

Wolf hated that he no longer had eyes on Ella. Everyone was heading  toward the control room, but they couldn't move fast enough for his  liking.

"Son of a bitch. Where'd the girl go?" Wolf heard Drake snarl at the  guard he was berating a moment before. "Chase, Miss Roulant is somewhere  on the main level. Find her," the jackal alpha yelled as he stalked out  of security.

"Shit," Wolf cursed.

Ella didn't have nearly a long enough head start. Wolf got out of the  van. He wasn't in top shape, but there was no way he could stay put.



Ella

Ella saw Drake's men at the casino exits. They were assisting the  evacuating guests, but she had a feeling they were looking for her too.  Ella turned and headed deeper into the hotel.

They weren't going to let her go. Even if she made it out of the hotel,  they'd pluck her from amidst the fleeing crowd. They'd sniff her out  with those animal senses. Drake even knew where she lived. He had her  purse. There was no place she could hide.

I can't lead these people back to Sabine and Char. It was time to finish this.

Ella glanced up as the sprinklers erupted, drenching her already  tattered dress. She noticed the sign for the theater and headed that  way. As she reached the set of theater doors a man stepped out blocking  her path.

"Ma'am, you need to evacuate," the polo wearing employee insisted, as he  pointed to the exit. The man placed his hand to his ear and listened  intently. "I've got her right here," he said, looking Ella up and down.                       
       
           



       

Ella threw out her hand, shoving the man back with her curse. She barely  flinched, or felt remorse, as he flew into the far wall. Ella didn't  know if the guard was like Drake, but she didn't wait to find out. She  ran into the empty theater, past all the chairs, down toward the dais.  Ella climbed the stage, then turned and stared at the crowd of vacant  seats.