Page 10 of High Stakes

“I hope so,” my trainer answered. He clenched his jaw as we moved to the benches reserved for us.

The three of us were a dazzling spectacle, something for Victor to show off and gather praise for. His bright-white smile glinted in the lights focusing on him from the ceiling. Victor took his time introducing Titus, calling him the strongest weapon in our arsenal, a title Titus was completely glad to accept.

An interviewer on the floor shoved his microphone in Titus’s face and asked him if he was afraid to face vampires. Titus scoffed. “I’ve staked plenty of the bastards before,” he boasted. The crowd loved him. Titus made the women swoon with his boyish, lopsided grin, tightening his pecs to the adoration of the masses. As the women swooned and cat called, Titus lapped up the attention like a vamp on a plump vein.

Then Victor turned to Abram to continue his introductions. “If Titus is the strongest, Abram is the most cunning of the trio you will witness tonight. He fears nothing.”

The crowd went silent as the arena-side interviewer held the mic beneath Abram’s lips. “Is it true that you fear nothing?”

“That isn’t entirely true. My only fear would be becoming one of the creatures we hunt,” he replied in his low, brooding voice.

I couldn’t stand to watch another second and turned to Maru instead. “Did the guard make it?” I asked, knowing Maru would have checked for me.

“The damage was too extensive,” he answered softly, giving me a sorrowful look.

I pushed down the bile rising in my throat. The man was so afraid. He knew he was dying. I could see it in his eyes.

He knew it.

And so did I.

Maru was quiet beside me, despite the charged crowd. “I’m sorry, Eve.”

“Me too.” Because I didn’t get to him faster. I didn’t see him. And when I did, I spent precious seconds assuming he was dead. As if those weren’t enough reasons to feel terrible, it was my fault he was attacked. Enoch sent the marauding vampire to me with a message, and another innocent man paid the ultimate price.

Maru pressed his lips together. “The crowd is bloodthirsty.”

“Yeah, I see that.” Military men and women chanted for Titus and Abram, pumping their fists in the air and stomping on the aluminum benches. In their black uniforms, they were a stark contrast to the vibrant white tech suits Abram, Titus, and I wore.

“Have you figured out how Enoch knows about me, yet?”

“Not yet,” he answered grimly, but I knew he would find out. He could follow a trail like no one else... physical, paper, electronic, verbal... it didn’t matter which kind. “But if the vamps are savvy at all, they could hack any feed, closed or not. Or steal one of the hundreds of communicators snapping pictures and taking videos of the fights.”

I shook my head. “Surely they banned them. No one would be that stupid.” He raised his brows and cocked his head to the side and I glanced out into the crowd, my eyes catching the silver glint of several raised communicators. Bright white flashes winked from the crowd. “They didn’t,” I groaned. “I’m starting to think Victor wants the vamps to know about us.”

“It certainly seems that way,” he answered.

“Maru, are you sure there’s no audio in the bay?”

He pressed his lips together. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure.”

What if Victor knew Enoch threatened me? What if this was his way of taunting him back?

No, that couldn’t be it. He’d already announced the fights before the security breach.

I had to focus.

It wasn’t easy to clear my head in here.

Pounding music spilled through the speakers and the crowd sang the lyrics they knew by heart. If I was a vampire planning to attack the compound, to test for weaknesses, this would be when I would strike. No one would ever hear or see me coming. Having most of the military and the Assets assembled in one room? It was almost too easy.

“The vampires have been contained for weeks,” Maru warned, crossing his arms over his chest and flipping back into Asset trainer mode.

Great. They’d be starving. After my epic screw up, I’m sure Victor saved the best and hungriest for me.

“That’ll make the fight more interesting,” I quipped.

Maru rolled his eyes. Silky, black hair cascaded down his bare back. Our skin was a similar shade of brown, his just a touch warmer than mine. Maru was Cherokee, a descendant of warriors, and when I performed well, he would sometimes call me one, too.

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