Page 6 of High Stakes

“Good.”

Something in his eyes set me on edge. Tomorrow was important to him, and my guess was that it had nothing to do with the military’s plummeting morale.

Chapter Three

Moments after Victor and Kael left the training room, the compound alarm screamed overhead. The lights flashed on and off three times, a visual signal to seek shelter on a safe floor. Maru and I locked eyes before bolting from the room; Titus, Abram, and their trainers were somewhere behind us.

“There is a breach at the loading dock,” a mechanical voice calmly stated.

We ran to the staircase and wound our way around and down to ground level. The closer we got to the bottom floor, the more civilians poured into the hallways, clogging them. In a panic, they ran from the danger we were searching for.

“A vampire has breached the loading dock. Please proceed to the nearest safe floor.”

As a security failsafe, the compound had floors that could be completely sealed off and contained, each with a storage room containing water, rations of food, and basic survival supplies. The panicked mass of men and women flooded up the stairs to level three, the closest of the three safe floors.

Maru and I managed to race ahead, slicing through the fleeing crowd. Maru was slicker than an eel and just as agile, so I kept my steps light and stayed right behind him. We slipped into the loading dock before Titus and Abram, and Maru used his palm to seal them and everyone else outside the door. His stake was already in hand. I pulled mine out, gripping it tight.

Maru and I split up, him moving left and me right. One step at a time, we eased around the perimeter of the room, fanning out onto the sidewalk framing the large, empty bay. It was too late for safe deliveries – the sun set two hours ago – and our systems were advanced. If our thermal cameras detected the frigid imprint of a vampire, then there was a vampire in here somewhere.

Straight rows of fluorescent lights flickered overhead, their hum the only sound in the cavernous truck bay. The scent of aged motor oil wafted up from the stains left on the smooth concrete floor. But there was another odor, one I knew far too well: the coppery smell of human blood.

Maru checked behind the forklift on his side and gave the all clear signal. On my side of the room, a short set of metal steps led to the truck bay below. I gestured to Maru, who nodded in acknowledgment. There was nowhere else for the vampire to hide.

The steps were comprised of metal grates. With enough light, I could see right through them to the dark floor below. As the lights flickered nervously overhead, I took a step down.

Imagination racing, I could almost feel cold, dead fingers grab hold of my ankles. His long, jagged fingernails would cut into my skin as he tugged me off balance. My head would hit the concrete with a crack, and the vamp would be on me before the initial shock wore off.

Maru gave a sharp whistle, jerking me from the fatalistic thoughts swirling through my head. His eyes were clamped on my feet where a dark shadow shifted beneath the steps.

My hand tightened on my stake.

I jogged down the steps, ready to strike, instantly spotting the intruder. The vamp didn’t try to trip or bite me. He didn’t attack at all. Instead, he ducked his head out from his hiding space and slowly climbed out, keeping his eyes trained on me and his hands in the air.

His once-olive skin was ashy. Dark circles hung heavy beneath his eyes. Fresh blood pooled at the corners of his mouth. His eyes flicked to the stake in my hand and he held his hands out in submission, raising his brows. His forehead wrinkled dramatically. “I’m looking for Eve. I have a message for Eve.”

Maru nimbly and soundlessly jumped down from the platform and moved across the floor. If the vamp noticed, he made no indication. I tightened my grip on the stake.

“I’m Eve,” I declared.

“I have a very important message to deliver to you, and only you.” His voice rose on the last three words as he looked over my shoulder at Maru, who had made it half way across the truck bay.

“What sort of message?”

The vampire lunged, grabbing my forearm with lightning speed. His grip was almost bone-crushing. Maru took the opportunity to move in as I plunged my stake toward the vamp’s heart, but the vampire was ready. With a swift backhand, my stake flew across the bay, clattering against the smooth cement.

I sucked in a desperate breath.

No one—vampire, human, not even Maru—had ever disarmed me before. How in the hell did I let that happen?

The vamp jerked me close, his eyes searching mine, his coppery breath all I could smell. I tried to break his grip, but he was strong. He shook me once. “Listen to me. He’s sending an army to find you. He’s coming for you.”

I stilled and so did Maru, who was now behind the vampire.

“Who is?”

The vampire’s hand shook violently as he clutched my arm. “Enoch.”

“How does he know about me?”

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