The Recruit: Book One (18 page)

“Get off me, asshole!”  She snarled and shoved him back.

He stumbled but caught his balance before he fell on his
ass.  “Are you kidding me?  I’m not good enough to have sex with, but you’ll
sleep with a fucking werewolf?  He’s no better than a dog.”

Her face went white.  “I have no idea what you’re talking
about.”

He started to reply and there was a soft knock on the door. 
Isabelle, her face pale and worried looking, stuck her head in the room. 
“Hannah – you need to come with me.  Richard needs to speak with you.”

Darren frowned.  “Can’t it wait?  We’re not done the
lesson.”

“No, it can’t wait.  Hannah?”  Isabelle held her hand out
and with a final dirty look at Darren, Hannah followed her.

* * *

Will stretched, bracing his foot on the wall of the hallway
and feeling the muscles burning in his legs.  After his confrontation with
Leanne this morning, he had left the facility to go for a run.  Just thirty
feet from the entrance to the facility he had stripped off his clothes, leaving
them piled carefully at the base of a large tree, and shifted before taking off
through the forest.

After a while, a long while, he had shifted back to his
human form and jogged back to his clothing.  He had dressed quickly and
returned to the facility.  The run had cleared his head like he knew it would.  He
would have to talk to Hannah.  He needed to let her know that he suspected
Leanne knew about them.

He walked by the common room for the recruits, and decided
on a whim to look for Hannah.  He would ask her to meet him after her afternoon
lessons so they could talk.  He opened the door; it was just after lunch and
the room was crowded with recruits, all of them talking and laughing at once.

He was walking through the room searching for Hannah, when
he realized that nearly everyone had stopped talking and was staring at him. 
He frowned, spotted Selena standing next to Tyler, and made his way towards
her.  “Have you seen Hannah?”

There was whispering behind him and somebody laughed, a
high, nervous bray that set his nerves on edge. 

Selena was staring at him, and Tyler slipped his arm around
her waist as she cleared her throat and said softly, “Um...not since this
morning.”

He frowned.  “Selena, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”  She squeaked.  She was looking at him with a
strange expression on her face, and she had paled visibly when he asked about
Hannah.

“Has she been hurt?”  He asked, alarmed.  Visions of her
being stuck through with a katana blade flipped through his mind.

“No.”  She whispered.

“Then where is she?”  He sighed impatiently, and there were
more whispers behind him.

“I think she might be with Chen.”  Selena leaned against
Tyler nervously.

“Thanks.”  He turned and left.  He was halfway to Chen’s
training room when Mannie called his name.

“Will!  Richard needs to speak with you.”

“It’ll have to wait.”  He growled over his shoulder.  He had
a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he needed to see Hannah and confirm
she was okay.

“It can’t wait.  Richard asked me to find you.”  Mannie
jogged up behind him and pulled him to a stop.

“Tough shit.  Tell Richard I have something I need to take
care of first.  I’ll be there in – “

“He knows, Will.”  Mannie said softly.

Will looked at him.  “Knows what?”

Mannie shifted on his feet and looked acutely uncomfortable.
 “He knows about you and Hannah.”

Will’s stomach dropped to his feet.  “What about me and
Hannah?”

“Someone saw you, Will.  They saw you with Hannah in the
common room on the night of the full moon.”  He rubbed his hand across his
face.  “Richard’s already spoken with Hannah, and she’s admitted to having sex
with you.  He hasn’t told the Board.  He’s asking us to vote on whether she
stays or not.”

Will cursed vehemently before turning and sprinting down the
hallway towards Richard’s office.

“I seduced her, Richard.”  Will burst through the door of
Richard’s office without knocking.  He slammed his hands down on the desk and
stared steadily at Richard.

“She was lonely and upset over her sister’s death, and I
took advantage of her.  If you’re going to kick anyone out of the program, it
should be me.”

“Will, listen to me.  I need you to – “

“No!  Richard, you know if you send her out there she’s as
good as dead.  She doesn’t deserve a death sentence just because I seduced her
into sleeping with me.  You can’t – “

“You aren’t the only one, Will.”  Richard said quietly.

“What?”

“You aren’t the only instructor she’s slept with.”  He
motioned for Will to sit down and Will collapsed in the chair across from him,
staring dumbly at him.

“After one of the other recruits came to me with the
accusation, I called in the other male instructors individually to ask if she
had slept with them.  One of them confirmed that she had.”

“Who?”  Will whispered.

“It doesn’t matter.  What matters is that – “

“Who is it, Richard?”  Will snarled.  “Tell me!”

Richard sighed.  “You’re going to find out eventually.  Darren. 
She’s been sleeping with Darren.”

Will stared blankly at him.  He felt like he had been
punched in the gut, and he had to force himself to focus on what Richard was
saying.

“I brought Hannah in to question her about it.  She admitted
to sleeping with you.”

“And Darren?”  Will asked hoarsely.  “Did she admit to
fucking him?”

Richard paused.  “No, she denied those allegations.  She
said that Darren had been hitting on her for the last month or so and she’s
turned him down repeatedly.”

Will took a deep breath, relief coursing through him and
Richard frowned.

“Will, I’m not sure that she’s telling the truth.  Just
because she won’t admit it, doesn’t mean she isn’t having sex with him.”

Will ignored his last comment.  “Have you spoken with the
Board?”

Richard shook his head.  “No.  I’ve decided that the Board
doesn’t need to know of this… indiscretion.  I have, however, asked the other
instructors to vote on whether we keep Hannah in the program or not.”

“You’ve put me in an awkward position, Will.  I need to do
some serious damage control before the rest of the –“

“It’s too late.”  Will said sullenly.  “The whole goddamn
building knows.  Thanks to that stupid little bitch Leanne.”

Richard twitched.  “How do you know it was her who came to
me?”

“She’s been begging me for months to sleep with her.  I’ve
turned her down repeatedly.  Obviously she saw me with Hannah and decided to
get her revenge.”

Richard sighed deeply.  “She did the right thing coming to
me, no matter what the reason.  As for you and Darren,” Richard sat back in his
chair and tapped the arms of it nervously, “I’ve decided to give you both a
written warning in your files.”

Will laughed bitterly.  “That’s it?  So you’re turning
Hannah into a scapegoat?  Christ, Richard.”

Richard suddenly leaned forward.  “What do you want me to do,
Will?  Dismiss both you and Darren from the facility?  For fuck’s sake, Darren
is the best weapons instructor I’ve got, and you’re the most capable vampire
killer I’ve ever seen.”

Will opened his mouth to protest and the usually
mild-mannered Richard stood up, his face red with anger.

“Shut the fuck up, Will!  You have no idea what kind of
position you have put me in!  Hannah was showing real promise, and you’ve gone
and fucked everything up because you couldn’t keep your goddamn dick in your
pants.”

Richard wiped his hand across his brow.  “And dammit Will –
screwing her on the night of the full moon?  What the hell were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t, Richard.  I made a mistake.  It’s fine though. 
She isn’t hurt and I didn’t – “

Richard held his hand up.  “Don’t.  You were lucky and you
know it.  What if you had bitten her?  Or killed her?  Did you think of that?”

“Of course I did!”  Will shouted.  “Don’t you think I know
how badly I’ve fucked up?”

Richard sighed, his anger deflating like a balloon.  “Be
back in my office in two hours.  We’ll take the vote then.  You and Darren
won’t be voting but you both need to be there.”

Will nodded and stood up to leave.  Richard looked up at
him, his face somber.  “Do me a favour  – stay away from Hannah.”

* * *

“Are you going to say something or just stare at me?”  Hannah
asked Selena grumpily.

Selena gave her a hurt look.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I was breaking the rules, Selena!  Because I’m a
private person and I didn’t think it was anyone’s business.  Because I saw the
way you reacted when you found out Will was a Lycan.”  She buried her head in
her hands.  “Because you’re the only friend I have here, and I didn’t want to
lose you.”

Selena hesitated and then sat down next to Hannah.  She put
her arm around her shoulders and leaned her head against Hannah’s.  “I’m sorry,
Hannah.  I just – I don’t know what to say.”

“Just tell me we’re still friends.”  Hannah said.  “That’s
all I need to hear right now.”

Selena smiled at her.  “We’re still friends.  But why Will? 
Can you tell me that?  I mean, I understand Darren.  He’s hot in a skeevy kind
of way.”

Hannah scowled.  “I am not sleeping with Darren.  He’s lying
through his teeth.”

Selena frowned.  “Why would he lie about something like
that?  He could lose his job over it.”

“Probably to get back at me for rejecting him repeatedly. 
He knows Richard won’t fire him.  I swear to you, I’m not sleeping with that
douchebag.”

“Are you being kicked out of the program?”  Selena asked
tentatively.

“I don’t know.  Richard is holding a vote in an hour or so with
the instructors.  They’re going to decide whether I get to stay or not.”

“I’m sure they’ll vote you to stay, Hannah.  For God’s sake,
Will isn’t the first instructor to sleep with a recruit.  He’s just the first
one to get caught.  Maybe the others will – “

She was interrupted by a knock at the door and Jeremy
stepped into the room. 

“Hey.”  He rubbed his hands nervously across the front of
his jeans.  “Selena, can I talk to Hannah alone for a minute?”

Selena glanced at Hannah who nodded, and she stood and left
the room.

“Hey Hannah.”

“Hello Jeremy.”

He cleared his throat.  “So, I guess I know why you were
never interested in me.  Your dance card was already pretty full.”

“Jeremy, I -”

“No, it’s fine Hannah, really.  I mean I get sleeping with
instructors to get through the program.  You were behind the rest of us and you’re
obviously desperate for revenge for your sister so, yeah, I can get why you
would sleep with Darren.”

“I am not sleeping with Darren.”  Hannah said through
gritted teeth.  “And if I was, I certainly wouldn’t be doing it to fuck my way
to the top.  I’ve worked just as hard as the rest of you to get through the
training.”

He gave her a bitter look.  “Whatever helps you sleep at
night, Hannah.”

“Get out.”  Hannah pointed to the door, her hand trembling.

“Fine.”  He started towards the door but stopped with his
hand on the door handle.  “Just tell me one thing – why Will?  Was it for the
thrill of sleeping with a Lycan?  Is that it?  Did you get off on him touching
you, knowing that he could kill you if he felt like it?”

“Why I slept with him is none of your goddamn business.”  Hannah
said harshly.

“Of course it isn’t.”  He laughed bitterly.  “Do you know
that I actually thought I might be falling in love with you?  That, of course,
was before I found out you let that Lycan paw at you like a dog.  You’re not
the person I thought you were, Hannah.”

“Let me make something perfectly clear to you – I don’t give
a fuck what you think of me.”  Hannah said quietly.  “Now get the hell out of
my room.”

“Gladly.”  He muttered and left, slamming the door behind
him.

* * *

Richard stared solemnly at the six instructors gathered in
his office.  “You all know why we’re here.  Rather than involve the other
centres and the Board of Directors, I’ve made the decision to handle the
situation in-house.  I’ve asked all of you to carefully consider whether you
believe Hannah should be allowed to continue within the program.”

He glanced at Will and Darren.  “For obvious reasons, the
two of you will be excluded from the vote.”

He turned back to the others.  “You’ve had a few hours to
decide.  Are you ready to vote?”

They nodded and he sighed.  “Fine.  I’m voting yes.  I think
Hannah deserves a second chance.  Isabelle, yes or no?”

She glanced nervously at Will before looking down at the
floor.  “I vote no.  If she’s been using her – her body to advance through the
program, it isn’t fair to the other recruits who are obeying the rules.”

Mannie snorted with disgust as Will squeezed the arms of the
chair he was sitting in. 

“Thank you, Isabelle.”  Richard looked at Mannie.  “Mannie?”

“Yes.”  Mannie said immediately.  “Hannah has improved by
leaps and bounds over the last few months.  She’s worked hard to keep up with
the other recruits even though she was at a disadvantage at the beginning. 
Plus, she killed a vampire without any weapons training.  She’s got goddamn
balls of steel, and I don’t give a shit if she fucks her way through the whole
goddamn facility.”

Richard raised his eyebrows.  “Crude, but thank you for your
input.  “Aaron?”

“I vote no.  I agree with Isabelle – it’s not fair to the
other recruits.”

The entire room looked to Chen.  He was sitting quietly with
an almost bored look on his face.  Will’s stomach was churning and he let his
breath out in a nervous rush.  It was up to Chen now, and he honestly didn’t
have a clue which way the man was going to vote.