Page 39 of My Boyfriend Bites

“I don’t stalk,” an indignant Dante replied. He prowled.

Rennie snorted. “Whatever you say, boss.”

“I’ll head for the main dining areas, as that’s where the most people will be, assuming the invaders follow the pattern of their previous robberies on ships.”

“Try not to get shot.” Rennie’s advice.

“First, they’d have to see me coming,” Dante’s riposte before they split apart. Rennie moved silently down the steps, gun in hand. He likely wouldn’t encounter more than a handful of pirates left as lookouts. The bulk of the invaders would be inside harassing and intimidating passengers.

Let them. Dante was actually less worried about the pirates than he was about the killer on board. A killer that roamed free but whose next victim would likely be the captain, same as the other ships.

Dante had kept the door wedged open when the power went out, meaning he could slip back inside the ship. He moved silently past Selene’s door, wondering what she did inside, and clenched his fist lest he knock just to hear her voice. Pathetic. Her door remained undamaged. She was fine, and he had a job to do.

The door leading from the private suite section to the elevators and interior stairs didn’t open when he tugged. A light yank, he should add, just to test. With no one around, he gave itsome muscle, snapping the locking mechanism and wrenching it open.

The next hall had a bank of elevators—currently inert with people trapped inside screaming for help. He swept past those to the grand staircase, and as he descended, the noise of those in the dark made it hard for him to detect any threat.

“Are we gonna die?”

“Told you we should have gone to the Grand Canyon.”

“Let’s fuck before the lights come back.”The adventurous never wasted an opportunity for sex in a public place.

There were pinpricks of light at the bottom of the steps, people using their phones as flashlights. While they oozed fright, it appeared to be more the fear of the unknown and not that of violence, meaning the pirates hadn’t passed through.

Dante weaved among them, a wraith on a mission. While he’d told Renard he’d check the dining rooms, he changed his path to make his way to the bridge, where he hoped to find the elusive captain. Once he located her, he’d stick close by and wait for the killer to strike.

The stairs located in the forward of the ship had more wailing passengers, whom he ignored as he climbed, making his way to the secured bridge. Once he arrived, he’d have to devise a way to see inside.

That turned out to be unnecessary. As he neared the bridge, he could hear sailors arguing.

“I don’t know what else you want me to do. Nothing is working. No power, no radio. We’re too far from any cell dishes to be able to do a regular call either,” exclaimed a male.

“Where’s the damned captain? She must have some ideas,” huffed another.

“Haven’t seen her since midafternoon,” claimed a third voice. “Not sure what you expect her to do, though. Until we get themain or backup genny online, we’re basically a floating metal island.”

“With people who are gonna lose their shit as if we did on purpose,” sighed the first male. “Jeezus, what a nightmare. And to think I should have been home on a two-week vacation.”

“Anyone ever find out what happened to Peter?” someone queried. “It’s not like him to not show up for a shift.”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. He’s a shitty first mate,” grumbled a woman.

“Should we check for the captain in her quarters?” questioned one of the crew.

“And have her bite a head off for leaving our post?” grumbled the first whiner.

While they argued, Dante ghosted away, mentally reviewing the map he’d memorized of the ship. The captain’s quarters weren’t publicly posted, but he’d accessed the employee version of the ship’s layout and knew where to go.

Everywhere he passed, people talked—and panicked—about the situation. Apparently, a lack of power meant they’d soon sink, at least according to some. Some seemed to think it meant world apocalypse via EMP pulse. Others claimed ghosts were responsible. Strangely, not one mentioned the possibility of pirates.

As he navigated the halls, not seeing much but rather guided by spatial instinct, he smelled death before he encountered it. A body lying prone on the floor. Could have been for any number of reasons, heart attack being the most likely since he scented no blood.

A pause to kneel by the body and fingers placed on the cooling flesh showed it recently dead—and drained.

He rocked on his heels. Another vampire aboard?

It would certainly tie together many pieces of the pirate puzzle such as the witness accounts which claimed the thievesrobbed and left without shooting anyone. The problem being if that were true then why did some passengers go missing?

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