Tuesday Teaser 8/19/2025

8/19/2025

Declan used the ladder and climbed down into the airlock. The room wasn’t very big, six foot by six foot at the most. He touched his earbud, activating it, and made sure the transmitter with the range extender in his wristband was switched on.

“Are you reading me?” he asked.

“We are. The hatch is being closed, the boat has to release the docking clamps,” Porter said.

“Understood,” Declan replied quietly.

He inhaled deeply and let it out very slowly when he felt the panic from the realization of what Porter was saying rocketed through Lucas.

“Hey, hey, Lucas, it’ll be okay. This sub can’t be locked to that thing until he’s inside. If it…” Jonas’s voice faltered, and it took a few seconds for him to continue. “If it blows and the boat is still attached, it could drag it down too.”

“Well, I’d rather die,” Lucas’s voice sounded wet.

“You can’t make that decision for everyone on this submarine,” Ori added.

It hit Declan then, what part of Ori’s role was in all this. Like Jonas, Ori knew a great deal about how werewolves thought, their pack structures, and reading their emotional states. Declan knew Lucas, understood him because of their bond. Jonas and Ori had come by that information in an entirely other way. They could keep Lucas focused and if the need arose, see each other through a tragedy.

Declan couldn’t express how much he hoped that wasn’t necessary.

“You do remember we can’t see you on this monitor, so maybe talk,” Jonas groused.

Declan chuckled. “I do always appreciate how you keep my mood light. Sorry. There is a touch screen but no window in the airlock door, so I can’t see directly out into the passageway, I’m adjusting the room lighting now. It’s pretty basic in here. There’s a keypad, a few walls, and the touch screen that shows an image of the passageway outside the door.”

“Oh, that’s great. Have vampires in a facility that has cameras but no direct line of sight through doors,” Ori grumbled. “Brilliant.”

“Someone didn’t really think things through,” Jonas added. Declan could picture the sarcastic expression Jonas likely wore.

“Lowering lights and examining the keypad under the filtered light.” Declan used the light on his phone to slowly scan the buttons. He cycled through several of the filters before very slight changes in the metal became obvious.

Barking a short laugh, Declan said, “Don’t ever try to con a conman.”

“Do you have something?” Lucas asked. His voice, as were his nerves, was much steadier.

“One of the keys has been used repeatedly and the others are all the same,” Declan confirmed.

Blair snickered. “One of these things is not like the other.”

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Declan turned off his phone and pocketed it, then adjusted the lighting in the room so it was brighter once again.

He held his breath and pressed the button. There was a click and something inside the keypad turned. The next sound was a pop, another softer click, and the keypad swung open on hinges. Inside was a simple handle.

“What’s going on?” Sophia asked.

“We were right. There is a handle concealed by the keypad. I’ll open it now.”

Deep breaths, steady hands.

Declan closed his eyes for a few seconds and gripped the handle. He was completely prepared to hear the sound of the compartment being blown away from the main part of the facility and water rushing in. He wondered how long he’d be coherent for before the pressure crushed his skull.

Declan turned the handle.

There was a whoosh and he started.

“What was that?” Several voices said in his earbud.

Declan opened his eyes and laughed. “The door opening.” He turned and leaned against the hull, letting his head thump back.

He stood there taking in deep breaths and letting them out slowly. A gentle bump signaled the submarine reestablishing the lock. When the upper hatch opened, Declan looked up, and gave a thumbs up, smiled, and pointed to the open door.

“Put that on.” Lucas leaned through the hatch and dropped the hazmat suit down to Declan’s waiting hands.

He took off the holster, setting it on the floor and began to step into the suit, glancing out the door to the passageway at the same time. Something moved, so fast and jerky Declan barely had the chance to focus on it before it was gone.

“What the—?” Declan exhaled.

In the next instant he was slammed sideways, hitting the floor hard on his side. Someone, Lucas, and Porter he thought, shouted in his ear bud, “Go, go!”

Sheer instinct had Declan scrambling to get up, both arms up and on the defensive. Solid brown eyes stared him down and someone, male, Declan was sure, grabbed at his throat, jaws snapping, screaming at him. Declan clearly saw fangs—a vampire. Something yellow and large streaked down through the opening and grabbed the attacking vampire from behind.

“Hey!” Jonas hollered. With both arms around the man’s chest, Jonas shouted and yanked him back and farther away from Declan.

Declan bounced to his feet and snatched up his Taser. The man Jonas held twisted his upper body while kicking furiously. His movements sent Jonas stumbling backward, hitting the outer wall. The hazmat suits were slightly slippery, and Jonas lost enough of his grip that the man shimmied away from him. In the next instant the guy was lunging at Jonas, slapping at him, arms flailing in a pinwheel motion.

Jonas pulled back and even with the face shield in place Declan saw his utterly shocked expression. He gasped softly, blinked a few times, took one ultra-fast step forward then cranked back one arm and punched the vampire square in the face. Their assailant dropped like the proverbial stone to the floor.

“Will you put the damn suit on?” Jonas snapped. “I need somewhere to take this guy.”