Redemption (9 page)

Illumination from the lanterns and candles within the tavern windows danced across the sidewalk, the laughter drifting from inside was a stark contrast to the depression she felt weighing on her soul. Calvin pushed the door open and bowed with a sweeping gesture for her and Ellen to go ahead of him. Hannah made it five steps through the door before she froze. The throbbing in her hand was nothing compared to the stake that seemed to slam through her heart.

Jack's eyes lifted to her arm entwined with Calvin's, he didn't smile, didn't even acknowledge her before his head bent back to the cards in his hand. It was what was sitting in his lap that made her feel as if the top of her head was going to blow off. Millie, the waitress, giggled and pointed at his cards as she turned to flash her thousand watt smile at him. Jack smiled back at her when she pressed a kiss against his cheek.

"It seems as if you've been replaced already my dear."

Though Calvin whispered the words near her ear she found it wasn't him she was thinking about kicking in the balls. It took all she had to turn toward him and speak in a normal tone. "There was nothing to replace. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to change before the night gets into full swing."

Calvin surveyed her and when his eyes came back to hers she saw the satisfaction in his gaze. Apparently she was keeping her cool even better than she thought as he gave her his first real smile of the evening and nodded. "Of course, hurry back."

"I will." Hannah spun on her heel. She kept her shoulders thrust back, her chin held high as she glided across the room toward the stairs. She greeted the patrons as she went and kept her damaged hand in the folds of her skirt as some of them insisted upon shaking her hand or grabbing hold of her arm.

It wasn't until she was safely out of view of the saloon below that she burst into motion and fled with inhuman speed to her room. She crashed through the door and spun to slam it shut as she battled against the hot wash of tears that filled her eyes. Trapped, she'd never felt more trapped, humiliated and infuriated in her entire life.

All she could do was stand in the middle of the room with her good hand fisted as her body trembled. There was no way she was going to be maneuvered into marriage with Calvin, and there was absolutely
no
way she was going to let that other baboon downstairs touch her again. She didn't care what she had to do, but whatever it was she was going to find a way to get them both out of her life. Even if she had to drive a stake through their hearts herself.

Jack didn't look up again but he felt it when Hannah strode past the table and across the room. He heard the patrons calling out greetings to her but she disappeared upstairs a few minutes after her arrival. He could feel William's gaze boring into him from across the table as he tapped Millie on the butt and urged her off of his lap. He'd succeeded in trying to appear as uncaring as possible but now he just wanted to get Millie away from him.

"Thanks for being my good luck charm." He flashed a grin that he knew would disarm any exasperation from the woman and it didn't fail to do so now.

"Anytime handsome," she said as she blew him a kiss.

Jack watched her walk away but his thoughts were no longer on her. Anger still festered in his chest as he finally met William's gaze across the table. He hadn't told his friend anything about what had occurred at the donation center but William had been staring questioningly at him ever since he'd returned.

It wasn't often he was in a bad mood but he'd still been seeing red when he'd stormed back into the tavern. Millie's attention had helped to salvage some of his pride, but it hadn't cooled his ire anywhere near as much as he'd thought it would. Instead his foot was beginning to tap, and despite his every intention not to let it happen, he felt his gaze slide toward the stairs.

"Jack." He reluctantly turned back to William. A hundred questions seemed to be reflected in his friend's eyes but he didn't ask any of them. "It's your turn."

He glanced at the full house in his hand and tossed it on the pile of coins in the middle. "I fold."

A muscle twitched in William's cheek but he didn't say anything more as he turned to the other two humans playing with them. It had become quieter inside the bar when Calvin had entered, and like last night the noise didn't return to its higher levels. Ellen retreated to the stage in the corner and lifted the flute to her mouth, but even the mellow music that flowed forth didn't relieve the tension in the room.

It certainly didn't ease his. He knew that Hannah didn't want to be with Calvin, that much was obvious, but he didn't know what had happened to him earlier. The mere thought of the man touching her had been enough to make his blood boil. His normally jovial attitude had vanished in an instant and something almost primal had surged forth to take its place. He'd had to fight the urge to tear Calvin's throat out. That pleasant thought caused his fangs to prick and lengthen even now.

Shit
, he thought.
What is wrong with me?

He needed a few minutes to gather his thoughts and regain control of himself. His gaze slid back to the stairway but she had yet to reemerge and he didn't think she was going to help calm him down anyway. In fact, he was certain that she was the one thing that might completely unravel him.

Pushing away from the table, he rose to his feet. "I'm going for a walk."

"Want me to join you?" William asked as he pulled his winnings toward him.

"No."

Jack gave Calvin a brief wave before walking out the door.

***

He'd spent more than a few hours swimming in the soothing, cool water before pulling himself onto the sandy shore. Lying by the lake, with his hands behind his head, he studied the stars and moon as they shifted across the sky. The water drying on his skin and the wind tickling over him helped to relax him further. He hadn't lain down and simply studied the night sky since his time in the woods.

The moon drifted further across the sky and though he knew he should get back to see what was going on, to see
her,
he remained where he was upon the spongy ground. He was reluctant to leave the lake that reminded him of the peace he'd found amongst the rebels in his first years as part of their movement. The chirrup of the crickets and the mellow lapping of the water against the shore lulled him into a fitful sleep.

On his two year anniversary with the rebels in the woods he was given a new quiver of arrows, a flask of whiskey, and a slap on the shoulder. Aria reluctantly handed him the quiver, but her hand remained on the strap as she eyed the newly made arrows with longing.

With a sigh, she released the strap. "If you would prefer for the arrows to go to someone that can put them to good use, I'll be happy to take them off your hands," she said with a teasing gleam in her eyes.

He took a threatening step toward her but she just laughed. "You're as frightening as a teddy bear Jack," she told him as she danced away, somehow managing to snag one of the arrows from his quiver.

He'd never thought he'd see the day that someone compared him to a teddy bear but he found that he liked it. The twins seemed to have decided that he was their favorite person to torment, a fact that David, Daniel, and Max found endlessly amusing. It made him feel as if he really was at home here, as if he actually had a family amongst the rebels. He knew that they thought of him as family, but he was merely the wolf in a herd of sheep. He shook his head and tossed the quiver onto his shoulder before she could somehow manage to pilfer anymore of the finely crafted arrows.

"I'd like to go into town," David told him. "Neil says he's found another candidate for the rebellion, a young man about your age."

"I'll go with you," Jack volunteered immediately. He'd taken to making all of the trips into town with David. He worried his father might decide he was dead, or had failed, and try to send another vampire to infiltrate the rebellion. He didn't know what he would do if such a thing happened, but he did know that he wasn't about to let another vamp into this encampment.

"I thought you would. Max and Daniel will be joining us as well."

Jack glanced over at the two blond men that were looking over their supplies. He'd grown fond of the two of them over the past couple of years. Daniel was a likeable, easy going fellow whose fingers were almost always stained black with the coal that he used for his drawings. Max was one of the most charming people he'd ever encountered, with a smile that melted all of the young girl's hearts. The girls were always fluttering around him as he regaled them with his stories and teased them by tugging on their hair. Jack hadn't missed the fact that Aria had begun to hang on Max's words too, though he doubted anything would come of it. He didn't think Max would risk ruining his friendship with Daniel by messing around with his little sister.

Jack fell into step beside David as they made their way toward the small town closest to their newest encampment in the woods. There wasn't much left for him to discover about the rebels but he was reluctant to leave the people he had met here. He was even more reluctant to hand them over to his father. He kept telling himself he'd go back next week, but next week had stretched into all of this year.

The rebels moved about constantly but he knew of at least ten major cave systems that they used on a regular basis, and stayed close to, in case there was ever a raid on their encampment. He'd thought that all the moving around would ruin the family unit, but it didn't. Even though they spent a lot of time apart due to hunting or recruiting, David and his children were exceptionally close. The core group of rebels was an extended family unit that looked to David for leadership but Jack suspected they all stayed because of the close knit bonds they had formed with each other.

"Will you go in with Daniel again this time?" David inquired.

Jack nodded as he kept his gaze on the forest, his senses were on high alert as he searched for any hint of danger amongst the woods. He'd grown closer to David over the past couple of years, or at least as close as he could to a man he was going to betray. Jack shied away from the thought; it wasn't something he liked to linger on.

More and more he was beginning to realize that he was the failure his father had always believed him to be. He just wasn't sure that was the bad thing he'd always thought it was. "I'll go in without Daniel if you'd prefer."

David shook his head. "No one goes in alone, ever."

It was David's number one rule, Jack knew that, but he'd prefer to keep them protected if he could. There was no reason for them to put themselves in jeopardy if they didn't have too, but of course he couldn't tell them that. It was Daniel's preference to be the first one to meet a new recruit. Perhaps it was inane curiosity that drove him, but Jack thought it was his way of proving to his father, and the others, that he would be capable of leading the rebellion one day.

They were almost to the town, and the hotel where they would be meeting the newest recruit, when he caught a whiff of something else in the air. In the blink of an eye he had the bow off his back and an arrow nocked into it just as the first of his father's men burst from the woods. The guard never stood a chance as the arrow whistled through the air and struck its target. Daniel and Max just barely managed to dive out of the way of the next charging guard. David pulled his arm back and threw his knife forward with a deftness brought about by years of honing his hunting and survival skills.

The knife hit its target but the metal wasn't enough to take the charging vampire down. Jack released another arrow but the man managed to evade it with a swift dodge to the side. The guard leapt forward and wrapped his arms around David's waist. They bounced as they crashed onto the forest floor. Daniel and Max were already back on their feet and running toward them as the guard snapped at David's throat. David managed to avoid the vampire's fangs by jerking his head to the side but the vampire's weight and strength were beginning to overwhelm him as he was pushed deeper into the leaves.

Jack could let it end this way, he knew that. He'd taken down one guard; he'd been thrown off balance by the second, it wouldn't seem odd if he wasn't able to intervene in time. Daniel would try and assume the leadership role, and he would one day be a good leader, but he wasn't ready yet. The rebellion might just fall apart if David wasn't there to keep it going.

That thought should have made his reaction time slower, it was what he'd come here to accomplish after all, instead it spurred him on. Yanking the stake at his side free of its holster, he launched himself onto the guard's back and drove the stake through sinew and bone to the deadened organ within the man's chest. The guard reared back, knocking him off as he clawed at the weapon protruding from his body. Jack pulled his foot back and slammed it into the stake, driving it the rest of the way through the guard's body.

The vampire's eyes were open as he fell upon the ground. Jack stretched his hand out to help David up. David was breathing heavily, he stared at Jack for a long while before clasping hold of his hand. "Thank you," he said though his gaze was a bit more inquisitive and pointed as it met Jack's.

Jack had to remind himself to pretend to take a deep breath as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He sometimes forgot to breathe around them, it was rare, and something that he didn't think they would notice, until now. David had seen something, or perhaps it was just the attack that had rattled him, but his eyes remained focused upon Jack as he took a step back.

"Anytime," he assured him a bit too loudly and with a slap on the back. "That was a close one."

"It was," David confirmed as he finally turned his attention to Max and Daniel. "Are you both ok?"

"Yes," Daniel answered.

"Are you ok?" David asked him.

Jack nodded. "Yes."

"That was awesome!" Max declared as he slapped Jack on his shoulder. "Fine shooting!"

"Yes, very fine shooting." Jack turned to find David staring at him again. Jack couldn't shake the feeling that he'd let something slip, but then David clasped hold of his forearm and squeezed it. "Let's go get this over with."

Jack released a fake breath of relief as he fell into step beside David again. He'd just saved the life of the one man he'd been sent to destroy, and he didn't regret it at all.