The Recruit: Book Two (7 page)

Low growling could be heard and he peered nervously
behind him.  The biggest Lycan he’d ever seen was standing behind him, his
teeth bared and his head down.  Its yellow eyes glowed menacingly at him and
Brent held his remaining arm up in a silent plea.

He turned back to see Hannah standing
directly in front of him.  “Looks like you picked the wrong group of girls to
party with, Brent.”  She winked at him.

He had time to whisper a soft plea for
mercy before her sword was slicing through his cold flesh and lodging into his
heart.

* * *

“I was worried you were too drunk to hunt.”

Hannah gave Will a cautious look.  They
were back at the pullout just outside of the bar.  Mannie, Greg and Ryan had
picked them up at the park as sirens began to wail in the night air.  The
screaming had attracted the local police, and they had quickly driven out of
town before they could be seen.

Now, standing next to the car and wiping
down her swords carefully, Hannah could feel the adrenaline still pumping
through her veins.  She stepped back a bit, putting some distance between her
and Will.  She felt like she did after her very first hunt – a mixture of power
and elation and underneath both those emotions, an overwhelming lust for the
Lycan.  Will, standing shirtless in front of her, was not helping.

“I was.  I went to the bathroom and made
myself vomit – Selena too.”

He gave her an admiring glance.  “Clever.”

She shrugged.  “Necessary.  Both Selena and
I wouldn’t have – “

She paused, staring at the bloody gash in
Will’s side.  “You’re hurt!”  She stepped closer and put her hand above the
gash, bending down to look at it.

“Will – what happened?  We need to get you
to the infirmary.”  She bit back the panic and plucked the t-shirt out of
Will’s hand and pressed it firmly to the wound.

“It’s fine.  One of the bloodsuckers got
his fingernails into me.  It’ll heal soon.”  Despite his dismissal of the
wound, he didn’t try and move her hand away.  She was standing so close he
could feel her hip brushing against his pelvis.  He stared down at the top of
her head before inhaling deeply.  The sweet scent of strawberries filled his
nostrils, and he felt a pang of loss in his belly. 

With an unsteady hand, he brushed back a
piece of her hair that had fallen over her shoulder.  She caught her breath at
his touch and stared up at him.

“Did you enjoy this hunt as much as your
first one?”  He asked softly.

She thought about it for a moment.  “Yes
and no.  I don’t like luring them in the way we did.  I don’t like them talking
to me or touching me.”  She said honestly.

She frowned.  “And they have this weird
thing where if you look at them too long, you just start to feel weak and
foggy.”

“You resisted it well.  We should have
warned you about that.  I’m sorry.”

She shrugged and looked up at the clear
night sky.  “Yeah.  At least it wasn’t raining this time.”

He didn’t reply and she risked another
glance up at him.  Staring at the vampires had made her feel weak, but looking
at Will was just as bad.  Every time she stared at him or was close to him, she
could hardly resist the urge to simply climb the large Lycan like a tree.

He was looking at her with barely-concealed
desire, and her pelvis throbbed deliciously in response.  She wondered if he
was remembering what had happened after the first hunt.  How he had pulled his
truck over and they had stripped off their clothes; how she had straddled him
and rode his cock until the pleasure had consumed both of them.

He was still staring at her, his eyes dark
with desire, and without realizing it her lips parted in response.  He put his
hand on her hip; she could feel the hard heat of it through her dress.

“Do you need a ride back, Hannah?”  He
asked hoarsely.  “I’d be more than happy to give you one.”

“I’d love to ride you.”  She flushed.  “I
mean - a ride from you would be very nice.”

“I do give nice rides.”  He grinned
wickedly when the blush in her face moved down into her chest.

“You look lovely tonight.”  He suddenly
whispered.

“I did.  Now I’m just covered in ash and
blood.”  She couldn’t stop staring at him.  Couldn’t stop studying the familiar
line of his jaw, remembering the delicious pleasure/pain his stubble caused
when he had his dark head between her –

“Will?”  Constance’s smooth voice broke
Hannah’s reverie and she stepped back guiltily, dropping the t-shirt as
Constance joined them.

“Are you almost ready to go?”

Will nodded as Constance stared at both of
them.  She bent and picked up the fallen t-shirt and then ran her fingers
around Will’s wound. 

“It’s starting to heal already.  That’s
good.”  She smiled warmly at him.  He nodded nervously as Hannah stared at
Constance and willed her to burst into flames. 

She put her arm around Will’s waist,
squeezing possessively before giving Hannah a bright smile.  “Are we giving you
a ride back to the facility, Hannah?”

Hannah shook her head.  “No, I’m going with
my master and Selena.”  She gave them a brittle smile and walked away.

Will woke the moment she climbed into his
bed.  He tensed, his fingers curling into the sheets, before the familiar scent
of strawberries drifted to him.

“Hannah?”  His voice was raspy with sleep.

“Hi Will.”

“What are you doing here?”

She leaned over him, and he inhaled sharply
when her bare breasts brushed against his naked chest.

“Didn’t you hear, Will?  I graduated
today.”

He tried to clear his head of the fog of
sleep.  “Graduated?”

“Mm-hmm.”  She leaned down and kissed his
chest before tracing her tongue around his flat nipple.  He groaned and cupped
the back of her head.

“I still don’t understand why you’re here.”

She winked at him.  “I’m no longer a
recruit, and I was in the mood to celebrate.  But hey, if you’re too tired to
celebrate I can leave.”

She went to slide off the bed and he
grabbed her arm, tossing her on to her back and hovering over her.  “I didn’t
say you had to leave.”  He muttered. 

She put her arms around him, running her
fingers over the back of his neck.  “Good.  I have the perfect way to
celebrate.”

“Do you?”  He grinned before kissing her. 
She opened her mouth immediately and he thrust his tongue into her mouth,
groaning at the familiar taste and shuddering when she sucked on his tongue.

“Oh yes.”  She gasped as he trailed hot
kisses down her throat and on to her chest.  She arched her back, a loud moan
escaping her lips when his mouth closed around one hard nipple and pulled.

“That feels so good, Will.”  She whispered.

He ran his hand down her flat stomach to
the soft curls between her legs.  She parted her legs and he slipped his
fingers between her legs, cupping her warm sex.  He groaned at how wet she was
and she pushed her pelvis at him.

“You always make my pussy so wet, Will.”  She
whispered into his ear.  He jerked against her, her words sending waves of
pleasure straight to his throbbing cock.

“I’ve been waiting so long for you to fuck
me.”  She breathed.  “Please don’t make me wait any longer.”

“No,” he agreed, “I can’t wait any longer
either.”

She spread her thighs wide and he lowered
himself between them.  He pushed his cock into her, both of them moaning in
mutual pleasure. 

“Oh Will…”  She sighed softly as he grabbed
one smooth thigh and hooked it around his hips.

He began to move within her, his breath
increasing at the feel of her smooth wet tightness. 

He paused above her, staring into her eyes.
 “I’ve missed you.”

She gave him a slow smile.  “I’ve missed
you too, my love.”

He hesitated and she gave a small moan of
need, moving her hips restlessly under him.  “I – I love you, Hannah.”

She stared at him, her eyes widening with
shock and delight.  She opened her mouth and Will frowned when nothing came out
but a loud knocking.

“Hannah?”  He stared down at her.

She smiled and opened her mouth again, only
to have another loud knocking noise come out of it.

“Hannah, I don’t understand.  What – “

Will woke abruptly as a third knock, this
one the loudest yet, made him sit straight up in his bed.  He looked wildly to
the left, his heart sinking at the empty bed.  He had been dreaming.  He rubbed
his forehead wearily.  Christ, it had been so real – he could almost smell
strawberries in his apartment.

Now the person was almost pounding on his
door.  “What?  For Christ’s sake what do you want?”  He shouted irritably.

“Will, it’s Chen.”

He pulled his jeans on and stomped over to
the door, jerking it open and staring testily at Chen.  “What the hell do you
want, Chen?”

Chen raised one eyebrow at his ire.  “Did I
interrupt something?”

“No, I was just having a nap.”  Will
muttered.

“Yes, well – I thought you should know that
Richard has asked me, Reid and Mannie to meet him in his office.  He’s telling
Hannah about her parents in – “ he looked at his watch, “precisely seventeen
minutes.”

“What?”  Will stared at him in shock.  “He
didn’t say anything to me about this meeting.”

“Perhaps he thought it would be better if
you weren’t there.”  Chen said prudently.

“Then why are you telling me about it?”

“Richard wants what is best for the
facility and while I certainly don’t disagree with that, I want what’s best for
Hannah.”

“I’m not sure she’ll want me there.”  Will
said a little petulantly.

“I think you’d be surprised.”  Chen said
mildly.

“Richard will have your head if he finds
out you told me about this meeting.”

Chen smiled.  “Then I trust you won’t
disclose how you learned about the meeting.  See you in – “ he checked his
watch again, ”fourteen minutes.”

* * *

“Richard, you wanted to see me?”  Hannah
looked around his office curiously.  Chen, Reid and Mannie were all sitting in
his office and all three of the men looked nervous and uncomfortable. 

“I did.  Please have a seat, Hannah.”  He
pointed to the brown leather chair across from his desk and she sat down,
folding her hands neatly in her lap.

“There are a few things we wanted to talk to
you about today, Hannah.  First – “

He stopped as his office door opened and
Will slipped into the room and sat down on the couch against the far wall.

Richard hesitated and Will gave him a short
nod.  “Sorry I’m late, Richard.”

Richard muttered something under his breath
before smiling a bit grimly at Hannah.  “First – congratulations, you’ve
graduated from the program.”

Hannah’s face lit up.  “Really?” 

She glanced at Chen for confirmation and
the small Asian man nodded, a brief smile crossing his face.

Richard nodded.  “Yes.  We’ve been very
impressed with your progress the last month, and Chen assures me that you’re
ready to move on to the next step of the program.”

“Which is what exactly?”  Hannah asked
curiously.

“Well, normally you’d integrate back into
normal society, usually living with one or more other recruits who have
graduated, and hunting on a regular basis.  Or the Board of Directors would
send you out on different assignments that will be helpful to the program. 
However, with your history of being bitten, we’re concerned that it might be
too dangerous to send you on assignment or put you back in the general
population.”

“I can take care of myself.”  Hannah
protested immediately.

Richard held up his hand.  “We know that. 
But we still think you’d be more useful to us here at the facility.  Chen
believes with time you could become an excellent instructor in the art of kenjutsu.”

“I didn’t join the program to spend all my
time teaching at the facility.  You can’t keep me prisoner here.”  Hannah said
tightly.

“We’re not keeping you prisoner, Hannah. 
If you want to leave, we won’t stop you.  But we hope you accept the deal we’re
offering and remain with us at the facility.  You’ll still, of course, be going
out on regular hunting trips.”  Richard assured her.

“Can I think about it?”

“Of course.  We don’t need an answer right
away.  My understanding is that Chen and Reid both think it would be a good
idea if you did a bit more training with guns.  You could work with Reid on
your weapons training while you’re considering our proposal.”

Hannah glanced at Reid.  He winked at her
and she rolled her eyes, smiling a little.

“Thank you, Richard.  I won’t take long to
decide.”  She started to stand and Richard held his hand up. 

“There’s something else we need to speak to
you about, Hannah.”

* * *

Will stared anxiously at Hannah.  Over the
last twenty minutes she had grown progressively paler, and she was gnawing on
her bottom lip compulsively.  She wasn’t crying, not yet, but even from across
the room he could see her legs trembling and she was clutching the arms of the
leather chair so hard her knuckles were white.

When Richard, his own face white, showed
her the final picture of her aunt and uncle, a small moan of dismay escaped her
lips and he couldn’t take it any longer.  He crossed the room in three long
strides and knelt in front of her.

“Honey, I’m so sorry.”

She stared down at him.  Her eyes dark with
pain and tears catching in her lashes, she spoke for the first time.  “Sara and
I spent two weeks every summer with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Garry at their
cottage.  I can’t believe they’re dead.”

“I know, baby.”  He whispered.  He
hesitated and then stroked her thigh gently.  His touch broke the barrier of
calm she had wrapped herself in, and she started to cry in earnest before
throwing herself at him.  He caught her and wrapped his arms around her,
rubbing her back as she buried her face in his neck and sobbed brokenly.

He held her tightly, murmuring soft words
of comfort into her ear as she cried and shook against him.  After a few
minutes her crying tapered off and she sat back, staring hollowly at him.

“This is my fault.”  She whispered.

He shook his head immediately and wiped the
remaining tears from her face.  “No, it isn’t.”

“It is.”  She said dully.  “They want me. 
This – this Marcus wants me and they’re killing everyone I love to get to me.”

“Hannah, that isn’t – “

“I should have died.”  She gave him a look
of stark despair.  “You should have let me die that night, Will.  If you had, Andrew,
Peter, Maria – “ she took a hitching breath, “Aunt Cindy – would still be alive
right now.”

“Don’t say that!”  He whispered fiercely,
cupping her face.  “You can’t blame yourself for this.”

She stared at him, through him, and he
squeezed her face.  “Hannah?  Are you listening to me?”

The terrible blankness in her eyes reminded
him of the night in the factory and he felt a shiver go down his back.  She was
acting almost catatonic and he was terrified for her.

Chen suddenly appeared beside him.  He
placed one hand on Hannah’s arm.  “Hannah?  Look at me.”

When she didn’t respond, Chen slapped her
lightly on the arm and sharpened his voice.  “Hannah!  I said look at me.”

Slowly, she turned her head and looked up
at him.  “Master?”

“I thought you were stronger than this.”  Chen
spoke harshly, disgust colouring his voice.  Will started to growl low in his
chest and Chen gave him a look that stopped the growl before it had really
begun.

“Your sister is dead.  Your family is being
slaughtered by the vampires.  Are you really going to sit there and whimper for
death like a beaten puppy?  Or are you going to find those goddamn balls of
steel Mannie’s always yapping about and take your revenge?”

Hannah, her breath whistling harshly in her
throat, stared at him for a long moment.  “Revenge, Master.”

“Good.”  He hesitated and then reached down
and cupped her face in his hands.  He kissed her forehead and then her mouth. 
“I will help you take your revenge for the loss of your family.”

“Thank you, Master.”

He smiled a little.  “Call me Chen.”

* * *

“How many people do we have protecting my
parents?”  Hannah asked Richard.  She had left the office for a few moments to
use the washroom and wash her face.  She had come back into the office and gone
straight to the couch, crowding up against Will and taking his hand in her
small, cold one.  She had stared defiantly at Richard for a moment, daring him
to say something, but he had only sighed and began to pull another document up
on his laptop.

“We’ve got a team of five on them.  They’re
very good at what they do and they’ve been keeping a very close watch on your
parents.  There have been no signs of vampires.”

Hannah sighed.  “Good.”

“Hannah,” Richard hesitated, “we believe
that the vampires are – “

“Waiting for me?”  Hannah interrupted him. 
“You want to use me as bait to lure them out.”

Richard nodded, surprised into silence.

“Do you think this Marcus is the leader of
the uprising?”

“We believe he might be.”  Richard said
cautiously.  “But we don’t know for sure.  If we could capture him, it would be
very helpful to us.”

“Fine.  I’ll do it.  I can be ready to
leave in half an hour.”

Mannie sat forward.  “We appreciate your
enthusiasm but it’s already been a few weeks and the vampires haven’t made
their move yet.  We can wait a while longer.”

Will felt Hannah stiffen beside him and she
stared at Mannie.  “What did you say?”

“I said we don’t need to leave right away. 
We need to go over the plan with you, escape routes from your parent’s house,
figure out a way to – “