Page 72 of The Baritone's Rival

Trent peeked around the corner. On the floor sat a vampire who had probably been about thirty when he was turned. His head was down and his thumbs were twitching away furiously. His long, unkempt brown hair covered his face.

“Is he playing a game?” Trent whispered.

Justin hummed in the affirmative. “More of that paralytic would be nice.”

“That and some decent conditioner.” Trent shook his head. “But it’s hard to get. I only had the one dose.”

“Maybe everyone in the room beyond is engrossed enough that they won’t hear us take him out.”

Trent reached into his pocket, pulling out a shiny silver marble. His eyes stayed trained on the vampire, who hadn’t looked up for even a second. Trent didn’t know if he was winning his game, but he was definitely losing at being a decent guard.

With a flick of his wrist, Trent tossed the marble past the guard to the other end of the hallway. A sharp pinging sounded as it hit the metal wall. The gamer vamp’s head snapped up. He squinted and peered down the hallway to his right.

There was no one there.

He stood and lumbered toward the noise. Trent snuck up behind him with a few soft steps and clamped his hand down on the vampire’s mouth. He flinched as he felt the vamp’s fangspierce the flesh of his palm, but he didn’t let go. He spun the vampire around, trusting that Justin could take care of the rest.

With one swift motion, Justin drove a wooden stake through the vampire’s heart. Trent released him and he fell to the floor with a meaty thud.

“We make a good team,” Justin said with a smirk.

“I thought vampires didn’t like carrying stakes around. Too much of a reminder of death, or something.”

“I don’t really care,” Justin said, slipping the stake back into his pants pocket. “Maybe you shouldn’t carry around a weapon that someone could take and kill you with, but you know what? Sometimes you just need to murder a vamp.”

From within the room, the murmur of conversation continued. Trent put his ear against the door to hear better. Oscar’s voice came through loud and clear.

“I don’t know what you think will happen.” Oscar’s voice was strident in rebuffing his sleazy ex. “I’m not going to love you. I’m not going to be your mate. I’ve found mine.”

“You are one crazy little asshole,” Elliot said. “But it doesn’t really matter. Once your so-called mate is dead, you’ll have no choice but to succumb to your fate.”

“That is never going to happen.” The defiance in Oscar’s voice stirred Trent’s soul. And it was also really, really sexy. “Besides, once Trent is dead, I’ll die. You know how this works.”

“You’re talking about him as if he was actually your mate, but I understand what delusion is. After all, I knew his mother.”

At those words, all the wind was knocked out of Trent. That fucking asshole. Of course. That’s why he looked so familiar. He’d been one of the bullies. Not one of the worst ones, Trent would have remembered that. But he knew that voice. A voice that had taunted him when he was locked in a closet or lying on the ground after a beating. As a young vamp, Elliot hadn’t everbeen brave enough to do the actual deed. He was worse, a sadist who got off on the suffering in the aftermath.

A loud slam echoed through the door. “Don’t you dare,” Oscar said.

“Don’t I dare what?” Elliot replied. “I was there. I saw her as she became more and more unhinged. I don’t know why you would want to be mated to the son of those two idiots. I don’t know why you would want to be with someone who hates vampires. Which is understandable, I suppose. We were assholes to him. We would have been nicer if he wasn’t such a stubborn prick.”

“Fuck you. Don’t talk about my mate.” Two quick slams. Scuffling. They were fighting.

Trent stepped back from the door and motioned to Justin. Oscar must have gone for Elliot. But Elliot was a beast. Oscar wouldn’t have much of a chance without help. Justin kicked, and the door flew off its hinges.

Trent rushed into the room. He was greeted by the sight of Oscar and Elliot locked together. Elliot was gaining ground, pushing Oscar back toward the wall inch by inch while Oscar strained against him.

Seeing his mate in danger, Trent didn’t care about his own life. He jumped onto Elliot’s back, sinking a knife between his shoulder blades, hoping to inflict enough pain to give Oscar a fighting chance. Elliot tossed Oscar to the side. There was a fleshy thump as Oscar hit the inside wall of the boat and collapsed down to the floor. Before Trent could move, Elliott was on him, hoisting him up by his throat.

“Ah, and here’s the man himself. I’m so glad that I finally get to do this. You were a little brat when you were a kid, and you’re even worse now.”

Elliot raised his hand, and five sharp claws sprang from it. He pulled his arm back, and Trent braced for the incoming, piercingblow to his heart. But as Elliot moved to land the hit, Oscar was on Elliott’s back, his claws digging in anywhere they could find purchase.

All three of them went toppling over, hitting the floor with the sound of bones cracking. Trent hoped that none of those were his. He wouldn’t heal nearly as fast as anyone else in this room. His whole side throbbed with pain where he’d slammed against the hard deck.

Oscar was clawing at Elliot’s eyes now. He ripped them out with wild abandon, both the one he’d injured in Maine, now mostly healed, and the pristine, untouched one. Elliott bellowed in pain at the loss, grabbing blindly at the vampire behind him. Trent took the opportunity to scramble away, pushing himself across the floor to the opposite wall.

Elliott went crazy. He transformed into a whirlwind of arms and claws. Now completely blind, he lashed out everywhere around him, swinging wildly. Trent did his best to evade the man’s outburst, plastering himself against the wall, but Elliott managed to get in a few swipes on his chest and upper arm. They were shallow cuts, but they stung like hell.

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