Page 169 of Dark Souls

I threw the dagger.

It missed Sammi.

It hit the board behind her.

The bouncer stopped the spin.

Black. 23.

I closed my eyes, releasing a breath.

“Hmm, well done, sweetheart. Impressive.”

Wesley pulled out another blade from the bag and held it up to me as the bouncer spun the table again. Sammi’s cries were muffled by the laughter and chatter from the other men in the room.

“Red. A number between twenty and thirty,” he sneered as my chest rose and fell with breaths full of fury. “You hit that, and I’ll let you walk out of here without a mark on this pretty, smooth skin of yours. But you miss… and you’re mine for the night. To do with however I please.”

Another deep breath. He’d just give me the perfect excuse to get closer to him without suspicion. I couldn’t walk out of here. I had to miss the target. And there was only one way I could truly be sure to do it.Sorry Sammi.I focused on Sammi’s thigh, tracking it and counting every second between each turn when it came back into my line of aim. I threw the dagger.

Sammi screamed when it sunk into the flesh of her thigh below her mini skirt.

“Shit,” I whispered in a pained voice, slamming my hand over my mouth to fake my horror. Wesley chuckled behind me.

“Lucky me,” he whispered, holding out the final dagger. “Last one. Let’s make it count, shall we? Red. fourteen.”

Fourteen. The date of Luka’s birthday.

Determination strengthened my resolve to see this through. Wesley clearly thought there was no chance I would make this one specific target on the spinning board, but little did he know that by picking that number, I was more driven than ever.

“Because I am such a reasonable man, I’ll let you choose your final outcome. What would you like, sweetheart?”

I stared at Sammi’s bruised, tear-streaked face and the blood oozing out of the dagger in her leg.

“If I hit the target. You’ll kill Alpha Hugo and set her free.” Wesley’s body tensed behind me, clearly surprised by my wish. “He’s been fucking us both. Keeping us both for his twisted amusement. The cheating prick deserves it.” Wesley stepped to the side of me, narrowing his gaze on my face. I read his mind, hearing his doubt that he couldn’t let that happen because his uncle would go mad at a VIP member being murdered under his approval. So, I played to his over-inflated ego.

“You are the new Dealer, aren’t you? You have the power to take a life away? Make a deal?” He cracked his knuckles against his palm, drawing my attention to that dagger ring again. “You kill him and I’ll be single. Free to do whatever I want with whoever I want.” I looked him up and down seductively, fighting the bile that rose in my mouth. “Who would I want more than The Dealer? The most feared man here.”

He lifted his chin, trapping his lower lip between his teeth as he stared at me. I had him.

“If you hit red fourteen, the Alpha will die. But if you miss it, I’ll be having my fun with both of you tonight before he can have you back.” He glanced over at Sammi before stepping away to give me room to reposition myself.

Forcing my vampire sight to track the blurring red slits of the board, I focused on the numbers, attempting to find the one I needed. When I did, I never took my eyes off it, waiting, waiting, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and miss Sammi’s turning body above it. Red. Fourteen. Red. Fourteen.

At lightning speed, my fingers released the dagger with precise force, sending the blade slicing through the air. The silver glint flashed against the dim lighting above us as it twisted and twirled towards the target. Time seemed to slow and an loaded silence befell the room. The only sound was the muffled whimpers of Sammi and the whirring of the spinning board.

The blade soared just like my heart and in the next beat; it struck with a sharpthunk, embedding itself flawlessly in the number fourteen on the red line. The wheel stuttered to a halt, as though the force of my dagger’s impact demanded its stillness and the air hung heavy with shock.

Sammi struggled for a breath, her terrified eyes fixed on the dagger inches from her head and then looked back at me. I winked.

“Get me the Alpha,” Wesley commanded. “And everyone OUT!”

A few seconds passed and no one moved. He turned, hissing at them through his fangs. “Out. Now!”

The men at the gambling tables stood from their chairs, collecting their money chips and left. I turned to face Wesley, trying to hide the satisfaction and glee at the look on his face.

“How did you do that?” he growled, grabbing my throat in his hand. I didn’t react; I just stared into his crimson eyes with the submission that he clearly craved.

“Just trying to impress you, sir. Did it work?”