Page 86 of How to Stake a Vampire
Samuel stepped up behind me while Bo huffed indignantly. “Here, let me show you.”
His hands covered mine, adjusting my grip and stance. The familiar warmth of the mate bond flared between us, making it suddenly very difficult to concentrate on vampire-staking techniques. I bit my lip.
“Focus on the target,” he murmured in my ear, his breath sending shivers down my spine while his heat and scent flooded my senses. “Don’t overthink it.”
My wolf stood to attention. I tried to focus on the dummy instead of the way Samuel’s body felt pressed against mine. It was harder than it should have been, especially considering we were less than two days away from the full moon.
“Now,” he said softly.
It took all my willpower to ignore the way my wolf was panting lecherously and release the stake. This time it hit the dummy square in the shoulder joint with a satisfying thunk.
“Much better,” Barney said approvingly. “Although we could all have done without the romantic coaching.”
“Yeah, how about we focus on not dying?” Didi said pointedly.
Heat flooded my cheeks as Samuel stepped back with a slight smile.
Damn my alpha and his sexy moves.
Detective Johnson was up next. His first throw hit the dummy's center mass with enough force to embed the stake six inches deep.
Gavin sniffed. “Show off.” The dragon newt promptly set his stake on fire before he could throw it.
Didi cursed and grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall.
By the time we de-sparked Gavin and moved on to close-combat techniques, I was starting to feel like we might actuallyhave a chance against Ludvik. The key, according to Barney, was working as a team and not trying to be dumb heroes.
“Vampires are designed to hunt alone,” he explained as he demonstrated a defensive position. “We’re not used to coordinated attacks from multiple opponents. Use that against him.”
“We tried that yesterday,” I reminded him.
“This time, we’ll know what to expect.”
Samuel frowned. “What about his speed?”
“Anticipation.” Barney sighed at our expressions. “He’s fast, but he’s also predictable. Vampires, even enhanced ones, have patterns. Study his movements, predict where he’ll be, not where he is.”
“That sounds easier said than done,” I muttered.
“Everything worthwhile is,” Barney replied.
Detective Johnson looked like he’d been mulling something over for a while. He finally spoke.
“What if we can’t find his coffin?”
His words were followed by a fraught silence.
Barney lowered his brows. “Then we’ll have to find another way to stop him.”
“Like what?” I asked warily.
Barney hesitated. “I honestly don’t know.”
Before anyone could respond to this less-than-encouraging statement, footsteps pounded down the basement stairs. Nigel appeared, a few tentacles writhing in agitation around his head and his face flushed from running.
“You need to come,” he gasped. “Now!”
“What’s wrong?” Samuel asked sharply.
