Read Games Demons Play (Mystic Isle, Book 3) for Free Online

this weekend.”
    His salt-and-pepper eyebrows rose.
    “What is it?” she asked, folding her arms
over her chest. When would men stop underestimating her?
    “I — nothing, mademoiselle. Do you need a
ride to the airport? Do you have a flight?”
    Izzy had spent the last half hour trying to flash from one side of the room to the other. So far she’d
managed to fall off the bed.
    “Have you ever been?”
    “To Mystic Isle?” He sounded scandalized
again.
    “ Da. ”
    “Once.”
    “Then you know it is a long flight.” One she
did not have time or money for. Maybe Coco could — Wait. If he’d
been there before, he could flash there again. Izzy pasted
on her sweetest, most innocent smile. “I need your help.”
    Five minutes later, Izzy was dressed and had
run a comb through her hair. Her trademark black eye-liner and ruby
lipstick were notably missing. But her appearance didn’t matter at
this point.
    She plucked her well-worn deck of cards from
the dresser and shoved them into the rear pocket of her jeans,
still warm from the drier.
    She soaked in the heat and stepped toe-to-toe
with Pierre. “You are sure this will work?”
    “It’s how I learned, mademoiselle. Hold on to
me.” He held out his hands and she took them.
    She crossed her fingers, prayed that this
worked. Closing her eyes she visualized the soft white sand, the
pale moonlight, the thick green jungle, and so far away.
    “We’ll land at the airport,” he murmured. She
felt light. Not quite herself.
    “I hope theese works,” she replied
softly and squeezed her eyelids even tighter.
    There was a moment of weightlessness, a cool
breeze, and then warmth. Humidity. Salty air.
    She cracked open her left eye. The small
airport sat before her, runway lights ablaze. She’d made it.
    She squeezed Pierre’s hands. “Thank you!” She
repeated the words in Russian, then French. It wasn’t enough. She
launched herself at him and hugged tight.
    He chuckled. “Be careful, mademoiselle. Shade
would have my head if anything happened to you.”
    She’d pulled away and searched his face.
“Why?”
    The old man gave an elegant shrug. “He seems
protective over you for some reason.”
    That made no sense. He had no reason to feel
that way. They hardly knew each other. Though, her debt to him was
mounting. Perhaps she could win enough to buy him something nice. A
watch, perhaps.
    “Thank you again.”
    “If you need anything else, mademoiselle…” He
held out a folded sheet of paper.
    She unfolded it and found his number on it.
Beneath that, the name and address for the mechanic that had
Gorgeous. “Tha —”
    He flashed .
    “Miss?”
    She turned to see one of Mystic Isle’s
employees eying her curiously.
    “You will take me to casino? Please.” She
smiled through her nervousness. This would work.
    “One of the limos has just returned,” the
woman said, waving her hand toward the long black car.
    Izzy smiled her thanks and headed toward the
handsome driver. Another time, without the image of Gorgeous upside
down and brutalized in her mind, she would have considered seducing
him. Tall, dark-haired with intense silver-gray eyes. She could
have licked him from head to toe. But the spark of attraction
wasn’t there.
    The drive was very familiar, but this time
she did not indulge in the minibar. The road wound through the
mountains and then back down to the coast. Biting back a squeal of
excitement, she leaned against the window and stared out at the
lush landscape. With Pierre’s help, she’d actually made it.
Hopefully Shade wouldn’t be too upset. Maybe Pierre would not tell
him.
    Another impulse on her part, but she had a
good feeling. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel
like she was missing something. Looking for something that eluded
her. A peaceful calm enveloped her. And then excitement took over.
She was good at the cards. She just needed to stay focused.
    Her cell phone vibrated in her back pocket.
She retrieved it and