The Recruit: Book Two (10 page)

“You.”  He whispered.

“Me.”  Her voice was a soft caress in the
quiet.

“Please don’t – “

The woman plunged the sword through his
breast.  He opened his mouth, a glut of foul-smelling blood came pouring out of
him and she stepped back, yanking her sword free and turning away as he slid
down the wall and exploded.

The man and the woman, still bound to their
chairs and their faces and bodies streaked with ash and blood, looked silently
at her for a moment before the woman cleared her throat.

“Hello Hannah.”

“Hello mom.”

“Explain it to me again.”  Her father was
pacing back and forth in front of the large picture window in the living room. 
It faced out into the back yard and Hannah could see the moonlight glimmering
faintly through the glass.

“Dad, I – “

“You’ve been alive this whole time but
never contacted us, never tried to come home?  Instead, you joined a cult of –
of vampire slayers and learned to use a sword like some kind of ninja?  And
what are you wearing?  Are those leather pants?  Since when did you start
wearing leather pants?  They’re way too tight, young lady!”

“Dad, I know it’s hard to understand and
even harder to believe but you have to trust me – “

Her dad threw his hands up in the air.  He
was still covered in ash and blood, and her mother made a small sound of
distress as he rubbed his face and smeared the blood into the worn lines of his
face. 

“Have you gone crazy, Hannah?  Is that it? 
Have we all gone crazy?  I mean, you skewered two men with a sword and they
exploded all over my dining room.  What kind of men explode into ash?  And
who’s going to clean that up?  Who do you even call to have blood and ash cleaned
from your carpets and your walls?”

“Mr. Torrington, if you’ll just sit down
and let us explain, we can – “

Her father glared at Reid.  “Who are you
again?”

“I’m Reid.  I’m an instructor at the
facility where Hannah has been.”

“Right, right – the cult.”  Her father
stomped back across the living room.

“Jim, calm down.  You know it’s not good
for your heart.”  Hannah’s mother said.  She was holding the dog in her arms,
petting and soothing it, and using it to hide the fact that her hands would not
stop shaking.

“Calm down, Natalie?  Calm down?  Our
child, who we thought was dead in case you’ve forgotten, just killed two men in
our living room with a sword while wearing leather pants!  Do not tell me to
calm down!  I believe this is the perfect time to not be calm!”

Hannah glanced at her mother who gave her a
small smile.  “He always did have trouble believing in the supernatural.  I
couldn’t even get him to go to those vampire movies with me awhile back.  You
know the ones – they sparkled?”

She paused.  “Do these vampires sparkle?”

“No mom.  They don’t sparkle.  They’re evil
and dangerous and they have no – “

“Are there werewolves as well?”  Her mother
stroked the dog’s soft fur. 

Hannah hesitated.  “Um yeah, there are
werewolves.  They call themselves – “

“So it is like those movies.”  Her mother
gave a soft grunt of satisfaction.

“No!  Mom, it is nothing like that.  Please
trust me on this.”

“Mrs. Torrington?”  Selena came out of the
kitchen and handed her a cup of tea.  “Here, drink this.”

“Oh, thank you dear, and please call me
Natalie.”  Natalie took the tea with a trembling hand and sipped at it.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Selena.”

“You don’t have swords?  But you do have
the leather pants.”

Selena smiled a little.  “Yes ma’am. 
They’re easier to hunt in.  The facility gets most of us to wear them.”

“See dear,” Natalie turned to her husband,
“it’s a school uniform.  That’s why Hannah’s wearing them.”

Her father shook her head as Natalie smiled
at her oldest daughter.  “They look very good on you, honey.  Although I think
you might be a wee bit too thin.  Do they not feed you at this school?”

“Yes, mom.  I eat plenty.”  Hannah replied.

Natalie turned her attention back to Selena.
 “Why don’t you have swords, dear?”

“I’m better with guns, ma’am.  There aren’t
many of us… students who are skilled enough to take up the sword.  Hannah is an
exception.”

Natalie looked at her husband.  “Look, Jim!
 Hannah’s doing well!”

She lowered her voice and spoke
confidentially to Selena.  “I’m not surprised by that.  She was always a very
dedicated student.”

“Mom.”  Hannah groaned.

“What?  I’m not allowed to be proud of my
child?”  She kissed the top of the dog’s head and looked at Chen.

“I’m sorry.  I’m being terribly rude.  My
name is Natalie.”

“My name is Chen.”  He bowed to her.

She stared at his swords.  “So you’re a
student of the sword as well?”

“Not exactly, mom.  Chen is an instructor
at the school.”  Hannah knelt beside her mother and rested her hand on her
knee. 

“Mom, I know – “

She paused as her mom’s eyes filled with
tears and she rested her hand gently on the top of Hannah’s head.

“Oh Hannah Banana, I’m so happy to see you. 
I love you.”  She leaned forward and hugged Hannah hard.  Hannah, her own eyes
starting to water, hugged her back, inhaling her familiar scent.

“I love you too, mom.  I thought about you
and dad every day and I wished so much that I could let you know I was alive, I
really did.  It hurt to know that you thought I was – “

She sputtered to a stop as the dog,
squished between them, licked her open mouth.

“Reuben, enough!”  She said as he licked
her face and hands eagerly.

“He missed you too, honey.”  Natalie
laughed through her tears.  She glanced up at her husband.  “Jim, for God’s
sake – hug your daughter.”

Her father glared at her.  “I will as soon
as she explains what the hell is going on.  Am I the only one who thinks this
is completely – “

He stopped as the back door opened and
Ryan, Jeremy and Danny entered the living room.  “The area is clear.”  Ryan
reported.

“Any sign of the other five?”  Chen asked
quietly.

Jeremy hesitated, glancing at Hannah’s
parents.  “Yes.  We found their bodies dumped in a gravel pit a few miles
away.  What was left of them.  They had been mutilated and torn apart.”

“The vampires have started mutilating their
prey?”  Chen asked softly.

Danny shrugged.  “I don’t know, sir.”

“Dad, did you see anyone else in the house
or the yard?”  Hannah asked.

Her dad stopped pacing in front of the
window.  “Not that I’m aware of.  Although there have been a few vehicles we
didn’t recognize parked down the street for the last month or so.”

“Chen, how did they manage to kill them
that quickly?  There was no warning from them, no message sent to the
facility.  If we hadn’t come tonight, my parents would have been killed.”

“The vampire said they had help from their
friends.”  Her mother supplied helpfully.

“Friends?”  She frowned at Chen.  “What do
you think that – “

She stopped as Reuben began to growl low in
his throat. 

“Reuben, hush.”  Her mother scolded the
little dog and Hannah gave Selena a quick look.  The Latino woman nodded and
started forward.

Hannah glanced up at her dad.  “Dad, get
away from the window.  Right now.”

Her dad scowled.  “What are you talking
about?”

Her mother screamed as the window exploded
behind her father and a pair of long pale arms reached through and yanked him out
of the house.

Hannah leaped to her feet and ran for the
door, knowing that she was too late and cursing her stupidity.  She tore open
the door and ran out on to the back porch, her heart pounding and her body
filled with dread.

“Daddy!  Hang on I’m – “

She skidded to a stop as her father stared
at her from the middle of the yard.

“Dad?  Are you okay?”

He nodded, rubbing his back.

“What happened?”  She asked, running over
to him as the others spilled out of the house.

“I don’t – don’t know.  One minute there
was one of those things pinning me to the ground and then it was just gone. 
Something grabbed it and dragged it into the bushes.”

He pointed behind him.  “I think – I mean,
it looked like a really big dog.  Or maybe a wolf.”

She stiffened beside him and he cleared his
throat.  “I know that sounds crazy.”

“It doesn’t.”  She walked towards the
bushes, pausing at the edge of them.  “You might as well come out.  I know
you’re there.”

There was no movement and she sighed.  “I
mean it, Will.”

The bushes rustled in front of her and the
large grey wolf jumped the fence and slipped into the yard.  Faintly, she could
hear her father’s grunt of surprise and her mother’s soft gasp.

The wolf stared up at her and whined low in
his throat.  Reuben peered around her legs and then trotted forward, sniffing curiously
at the giant lupine.  Will returned the favour before looking anxiously at
Hannah.

“Shift.”  She demanded.

He shifted immediately and her father gave
another louder grunt of surprise.

“I’m sorry, Hannah.”  Will said softly.

She nodded as her mother sidled up next to
her.

“Hello!  I’m Hannah’s mother, Natalie.”  She
looked his naked body up and down shamelessly and Hannah suppressed a grin as
Will blushed deeply.

“Will, ma’am.”

She looked him up and down again.  “You’re
a werewolf I take it?”

“They’re called Lycans.”  Hannah said.

“Well, it’s lovely to meet you.”  She
smiled at him again as Jim cleared his throat behind her.

“I’m standing right here, Natalie.”

She glanced behind her at her husband.  “I
know, dear.  Why don’t you take Will into the house and find him some pants.”

Will, blushing so fiercely now he was
almost glowing, said, “I have clothes in my truck.  I’ll be right back.”  He shifted
back into wolf form and disappeared into the darkness.

Her mother took a deep breath and looked at
Hannah.  “You’re right, Hannah.  He’s
nothing
like those werewolf boys
in that movie.”

Hannah laughed as her father joined them. 
She stared at her father.  “Dad – “

“Come here.”  He said gruffly and she
nearly threw herself into his arms.  He kissed the top of her head and squeezed
her tightly.  “I love you, baby girl.”

“I love you too, dad.”

“Honey, your father and I aren’t super
happy about this plan.”  Her mother picked up a cantaloupe and sniffed it.

It was mid-morning the next day.  After
spending most of the night attempting to explain what was going on to her
parents, Hannah had finally collapsed on her childhood bed close to dawn and
fallen into a deep sleep.  Her mother had roused her at ten, and asked her to
accompany her to the grocery store. 

“I don’t have nearly enough food for all
your schoolmates, dear.”  She had said.  “I thought maybe we could have a
barbeque tonight.”

“Mom,” Hannah had protested, “we’re not
here to have a barbeque.  We’re here to protect you and try to lure the
vampires in.”

“Well, you still have to eat don’t you?”  Her
mother had argued.  “We might as well have a barbeque.  Plus, you said you were
the bait.  What better way to announce that your home then by taking a trip to
the grocery store?”

She had hesitated.  “You don’t think the –
the familiars will try and attack you do you?  I mean, I know we’re safe from
vampires during the day but what about their human pets?”

“No, mom.  We’ll be fine.”

Her mother had reiterated her fears as they
were announcing their plan to grocery shop to the others and Reid had stepped
forward.  “I’d be happy to go with you and Hannah, Mrs. Torrington.  Safety in
numbers, as they say.”  He had winked at her.

“Please, call me Natalie.  And that’s so
kind of you, sweet boy,” Natalie had patted his bronze cheekbone, “but Will has
already offered to accompany us and I’ve accepted.  Isn’t that right, Will?”

She smiled at Will who, with a slightly
confused look, stood up from the couch.  “Uh, yes ma’am.  That’s right.”

Now, Hannah glanced behind her at Will. 
Her mother had charged him with pushing the grocery cart and he was trailing
behind them, dutifully pushing the half-full cart in front of him.

She bit her lip to keep from smiling.  She
imagined that the large Lycan had not expected to be doing something as mundane
as pushing a grocery cart when he had snuck out and joined their hunt.  Of
course, he had not yet met the force of nature that was her mother.

“It’s the only way to do it, mom.  The
vampires killed everyone because of me.  They want me and this is the best way
to draw them out.  There’s more at stake than just this.  The vampires are in
the middle of an uprising and they need to be stopped.”

Her mother sighed.  “I know.  It’s just –
we thought we had lost you once before, Hannah.  We don’t want to lose you
again.”

“You won’t.”  Hannah gave her a quick side
hug.  “I promise you.”

Her mother nodded and stopped in front of a
row of shelving full of bread.  She stood on her tiptoes and reached for a package
of buns.

“Will, be a love and bring down three of
those packages of buns for me would you?”  She asked sweetly.

“Yes ma’am.”  Will reached up and snagged
the packages of buns and deposited them into the cart.

“You are a dear boy, aren’t you then?  And
please, do call me Natalie.”  She patted his chest gently before looking at the
list in her left hand.

“I’ve forgotten the cucumbers.”  She began
to wander back to the produce section.  “Hannah, take Will and get the
hamburger please.”

She left them standing in an awkward
silence.  Will glanced at her before pushing the cart down the aisle.  She
hesitated and then followed him.

“Your mother is something else.”  He said
softly.

“Isn’t she?”  Hannah grinned.  “I’ve missed
her terribly.”

“You look a lot alike.”  He gave her a
quick look.

“Yeah, Sara favoured dad in looks and I
favoured mom.”

“She’s much more –“

He hesitated and she laughed.  “More of a
hippie than me?  A free spirit?”

He grinned.  “Yeah, something like that.”

“She drives my dad nuts sometimes. But
they’ve been married for nearly thirty years so obviously she doesn’t drive him
that
nuts.”

They stopped in front of the meat and
Hannah began to load the cart with packages of ground beef.

“Hannah?”

She paused and looked at him.

“I owe you an apology.  I know you
specifically told Richard you didn’t want me here.”

“Why did you come to my parents’ house, Will?” 
She stared solemnly at him.

“Because I couldn’t stay at the facility
knowing that you might be in danger.  I was worried that your concern for your
parents might – might cloud your judgement, make you more vulnerable to
attack.”

She sighed irritably.  “You need to
understand that I can take care of myself.  I know I was weak and afraid when
you first met me, but I’m not like that anymore.  Why can’t you get that?”

“I do get it, Hannah.  I swear.  But it
doesn’t mean that I won’t worry about you.”

“Why?”  She asked abruptly.  “If what we
had was just a fun distraction for you, why are you so worried about me?”

“So just because we’re not together
anymore, I’m not allowed to worry about you?  To care about whether you live or
die?”  Will gave her a stormy look, his hands squeezing the handle of the
grocery cart.

“When it interferes with my life, yeah I
guess that’s what it means.”

“Interferes with your life?”  He gave her a
look of exasperation.  “Please explain to me how I’m interfering with your
life.”

“Are you kidding me?  Every time I turn
around I practically stumble over you.  How am I supposed to move on if you’re
following me, acting like a macho asshole and scaring off every guy who comes
near me? ”

His face was reddening and his hands were
clutching the grocery cart handle so tightly, his knuckles were white.  “It
doesn’t seem to have stopped Reid.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Reid’s a friend.”

“He wants to be more than friends, Hannah. 
Don’t pretend he doesn’t.”

“So what if he does?”  She threw the
package of ground beef into the cart and angrily began to grab more, chucking
them into the cart.  “Why shouldn’t I be more than friends with him?  He’s
funny and good looking and a pretty good kisser.”

He sucked in his breath and his eyes
flashed dangerously at her.  “You’re mine,” he began, “if he – “

“I am not yours.”  She said through gritted
teeth.  She threw another package of ground beef into the cart.  “You ended it,
remember?  If I have to hear you say that I’m yours one more time, I swear to
God I will run my sword through your leg.”

She glared at him.  “I was yours and then you
went and fucked it up.  That’s on you – not me.  Besides, you’re one to talk. 
I know about you and Constance.”

He gaped at her.  “Me and Constance?  There
is no me and Constance.”

“Oh please,” she said scornfully, “you were
in love with her when you were younger.  Douglas told me all about it.  If you
hadn’t left to take revenge for your family, Constance would have become your
mate long ago.”

He shook his head.  “You’re wrong.  You
think because you talked to Douglas that you know – “

“I know enough.”  She interrupted.  “You’re
freaking out because I kissed Reid but it’s fine that you can sleep with
Constance and – “

“I did not sleep with Constance!”  He
nearly yelled at her.  A woman, lugging a basket overflowing with groceries,
let out a soft squeak of surprise and nearly dropped her heavy basket.  She
made a wide detour around them, watching Will carefully.

Hannah didn’t blame her.  Will was puffing
up; his chest was straining against his thin t-shirt and she could see the
muscles in his thighs bulging against his worn jeans.  His eyes were completely
yellow now and he was breathing heavily.

“Calm down.”  She scolded him fiercely,
looking around nervously.

He took a deep breath, willing himself to
control his anger.  “I am not sleeping with Constance.” He repeated himself
quietly.  “Who told you I was?”

“No one had to tell me.”  She scoffed.  “You
went hunting with her the night of the full moon.  I know your urge to hunt and
to – to mate is higher during the full moon.  You can’t tell me you didn’t have
sex with her that night, not with the way she constantly throws herself at
you.”

“I didn’t sleep with her the night of the
full moon.”  He scowled.

“Whatever, Will.”  She muttered.  She
turned back to the cooler of meat and reached for another package.

He was quick; she had to give him that. 
Before she had even picked up a package, he was standing behind her, his large
body pressed against hers and his hot breath blowing on the back of her neck. 

“I am not sleeping with Constance.”  He
reached around and cupped her face gently, forcing her to turn her head and
look at him.  “I didn’t sleep with her the night of the full moon, Hannah.  We
hunted, nothing more.  Do you believe me?”

She stared into his eyes.  They were fading
from yellow to their usual blue and after a moment she nodded.  “Yes, I believe
you.”

“Good.”  He rested his forehead against
hers briefly.  “I have never slept with Constance.  Not when we were younger
and not now.”

She licked her lips nervously as he pulled
his head back and stared down at her.  His eyes roamed her face, taking in the
flush in her cheeks and her slightly-parted lips. 

“I almost came to you the last full moon.”  He
confessed hoarsely.

She swallowed, her nostrils flaring a
little, and he knew she was remembering the last time he had sought her out on
a full moon.

He dipped his head towards her.  He could
feel her trembling and her mouth parted as he put his arm around her waist.  He
was just about to kiss her when she whispered, “Why are you doing this to me?”

He hesitated.  “Hannah,I – “

“You wanted your fun with the human – I get
it.”  Her eyes were bright with unshed tears.  “But you ended it.  Why do you
keep tormenting me?”

The look of pain and sorrow in her dark
eyes made his chest hurt.  Feeling ashamed of his behaviour, he let her go and
stepped back. 

“I’m sorry.”  He said roughly.  “I never
meant to – “

“Good God, how much ground beef do we
need?”

Natalie had joined them and she was staring
into the cart with a bemused look on her face.  “Your school friends have large
appetites do they?”

She frowned, staring first at Hannah and
then at Will.  “Is everything okay?”

Hannah nodded, staring down into the cart,
as Will cleared his throat.  “I’ll meet you in the parking lot.  I need some
fresh air.”

He left and Natalie placed a gentle hand on
Hannah’s back.  “Honey?  What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”  Hannah sniffed.  Tears were
threatening and she blinked them back fiercely.  She would be damned if she
cried in the middle of the supermarket. 

“Are you sure?  Both you and Will look
upset.”

“Who cares about Will?”  Hannah burst out. 
Her mother blinked in surprise when Hannah started to grab packages of beef
from the cart and slam them back down into the cooler.

“I hate him!”  She spat.

“My love, stop.”  Natalie said quietly. 
She took Hannah’s shoulder and turned her around.  “I know you’re upset but
stop taking it out on the ground beef – it’s innocent.”

Hannah snorted as her mother reached out
and smoothed her hair back from her face.  “Now, why do you hate that tall
drink of water?  He certainly seems fond of you.”

“He isn’t.  He was just using me.”  Hannah
muttered.  She continued to return the packages of meat to the cooler, forcing
herself not to throw them.

“I realize I don’t know him very well but
trust me honey, Will obviously has a thing for you.”

“Had.”  Hannah corrected her.  “Turns out
that I was just a distraction for him.  A way to pass the time until someone
better came along.”

Natalie frowned.  “The way he looks at you
would suggest otherwise.”

Hannah sighed and began to steer the cart
towards the front checkout.  “Yeah, well he broke up with me.  Apparently I was
nothing more than a fun time for him.  He finally manned up and admitted that
Lycans and humans could never have a serious relationship but not before I had
fal – “

She paused and shook her head.  “He wasn’t
even supposed to be here.  I specifically requested that he not be sent with us
but he joined the hunt anyway.  He does whatever he wants and no one has the
balls to stand up to him because he’s a Lycan and, deep down, they’re afraid of
him.”

“Are you afraid of him?”  Her mom asked
softly.

“No.”  Hannah replied immediately.

They were nearly to the checkout now and
Natalie pulled Hannah to a stop.  “Honey, can I give you some advice?”

Hannah nodded and her mother smiled at her.
 “You haven’t had a lot of experience with men but I have.  I mean, I pretty
much dated the entire football team back in high school.”