The Recruit: Book One (10 page)

“Another shot?”  Jeremy whispered in her ear, his breath
tickling and sending shivers down her spine.

“Not just yet.”  She shook her head firmly.  His hand
drifted to her thigh under the table and squeezed familiarly.  She rolled her
eyes and moved Jeremy’s hand back to his own leg.

He smiled and leaned in closer.  “C’mon, HB.  Isn’t it time
we got to know each other better?”

She pinched his cheek, trying to keep her tone light.  “You’re
so drunk you won’t remember a single thing I tell you in the morning.”

He laughed.  “I’m not that drunk.  I can still see how
gorgeous you are.”  He leaned in to kiss her again and she shoved him back.

“Slow down there, cowboy.”  She grinned at him.  I barely
know you, remember?

He grinned back and stroked her arm leisurely.  “I’m trying
to change that.”

From the corner of her eye she could see Will starting to
lean across the table.  His brow furrowed angrily, and she knew she had to act
fast before he beat the crap out of Jeremy.

“Bathroom break!”  She sang out and shoved lightly at Alison
who was sitting on her other side.  Alison, who was rubbing Mannie’s crotch
under the table, pushed her chair in further in so Hannah could squeeze past
her and Mannie.

“I’ll go with you.”  Selena stood up and followed Hannah to
the bathroom.

After using the toilet, the two of them washed their hands
and primped in the mirror.

“God, my hair is flat already.”  Selena sighed and scrunched
her naturally curly hair with her fingers. 

“Please, you look amazing.”  Hannah laughed.

Selena eyed her critically.  “You clean up real nice too,
HB.”

“Gee, thanks.”  Hannah laughed again and rolled her eyes.

“I’m serious.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your
hair down before.  I had no idea it was so long.”

“Yeah, it’s not that practical to keep it down when
training.  Who knows when I’m going to vomit in it.”  Hannah said dryly.

She stood on her tiptoes and turned her body to look at her
butt.  She’d had to borrow a pair of jeans and a shirt from Alison.  The
program had provided her with workout clothes but nothing else, and she had
thrown away the clothes she was wearing the night Sara had died. 

The jeans were too short and both they and her t-shirt were
definitely too tight.  She smiled a little; she had never even imagined she
would fit into a size ten pant.  Two months of hard physical exercise had toned
her body in a way she hadn’t dreamed possible. 

She let out a squeal when Selena slapped her on the ass.  “C’mon,
let’s go back.  I want to ogle Will some more.  Maybe if I get him drunk
enough, he’ll invite me back to his room.”  She winked at Hannah and pulled her
out of the bathroom.

Will took another drink of beer and watched as Hannah and
Selena exited the bathroom.  Before they could rejoin them, the band started
playing a song with a catchy beat and Selena dragged Hannah to the dance
floor. 

He had no idea what he was doing here.  He never joined the
recruits on their night of celebration, preferring to keep it strictly
professional between him and the recruits he trained.  Tonight he had lasted
only half an hour before he had jumped in his truck and headed for the bar. 

He tried to tell himself it was because he was bored and
restless but he knew better.  He had joined them because he couldn’t stay away
from Hannah.  Earlier this morning she’d had him so hot under the collar that
he had practically begged her to sleep with him.  He should have been angry
with her, but all he felt was a grudging respect for how effectively she’d paid
him back for his combat testing stunt.

He glanced back at the dance floor, his hand tightening
around his beer bottle as he watched Hannah gyrate and twist her hips on the
crowded dance floor.  He had thought it was bad seeing her in the tight yoga
pants and her skimpy sports bra day in and day out, but the tight jeans and
low-cut t-shirt was infinitely worse.

He forced himself to look away before he had a full-blown
erection.  He realized Jeremy was staring at Hannah, a hungry look on his face,
and it was all Will could do to not reach across the table and punch him.  When
Jeremy had kissed Hannah, his hand cupping her face familiarly, he had squeezed
the shot glass in his hand so hard he was surprised it hadn’t shattered.

Jeremy glanced at him, realized he had been caught staring
at Hannah, and gave Will a sheepish wink.  “What can I say man – she’s a
knockout.”  He said loudly and tipped his beer to Will.

They were distracted when Mannie poured a shot of tequila
directly down Alison’s shirt.  She squealed loudly and slapped Mannie
repeatedly on the chest and face as Frank and Tyler roared with laughter.

“Hey!  Ya’ll mind keeping it down over there?  We’re trying
to enjoy the music.”  One of the cowboys at the table next to them shouted.

“How about you come over here and make us quiet down?”  Jeremy
said impudently.

The cowboy stood, and Jeremy started to get up from his
chair but was stopped by Will’s hard hand on his arm.  “Cool it, Jeremy.”

He looked at the man standing next to their table.  “Sorry
about the noise.  We’ll try and keep it down.”

“Just make sure you do.”  The man retorted.  “We don’t care
much for strangers in our – “

There was a shriek from the dance floor and Will looked over
just in time to see Hannah punch a man twice her size, in the face.  He
stumbled back and then lunged for her and Will, cursing under his breath, stood
and ran towards the dance floor.

* * *

“Well, hey pretty lady – how about you dance with me for a
while?”

Hannah turned to see a man, he was dressed in a flannel
shirt and jeans with a cowboy hat jammed firmly on his head, leering at her. 
She looked him up and down, taking in his tobacco stained teeth and his giant
beer belly, before smiling coolly at him.  “No thanks.”

She turned back to Selena and then froze when she felt the
man’s hand on her arm.  She twisted around and stared pointedly at his hand. 

“Let go of me.”

“C’mon, sweetheart - just one dance.”  The man wheedled.  “I
promise you, you’ll love every minute of it.”

“I’ve asked you to let go of me.”  Hannah said loudly.

“And if I don’t?”  He said softly.

“You’ll regret it.”  Hannah smiled coldly.

Instead of letting her go, he glanced at his friends and
then yanked her closer.  “Don’t play hard to get.  I don’t like stuck-up
bitches.”

She smiled sweetly at him.  “Well, since you put it that
way.”  She stroked the top of his hand lightly and he grinned again and let go
of her.

“That’s better.  Now c’mere – “

He had just enough time to register Hannah’s fist heading
for his face before it connected solidly with his nose.  Pain exploded through
his head and he stumbled back, holding his hand to his face and then looking in
disbelief at the blood smeared across his palm.

“You bitch!”  He screamed and lunged for her.

There was a blur of movement and the man went flying
sideways.  Hannah blinked as Will, his hand around the man’s throat, shoved him
up against the wall until his feet dangled helplessly.

Will squeezed the man’s throat ruthlessly.  “Touch her again
and I’ll kill you.  Do you understand me?”  He snarled.

He squeezed the man’s throat again and slammed his head
against the wall.  The man’s face was turning purple, and his feet drummed
helplessly against the wall as Will cut off his supply of oxygen.

“Will, stop!”  Hannah grabbed Will’s arm and then stumbled
back when Will looked at her.  She had never seen him so angry; his eyes were
glowing and he was snarling and growling low in his throat.

“Hannah, watch out!”  Selena screamed shrilly and grabbed
Hannah’s shoulder, yanking her back just as three men barrelled past her and
jumped Will from behind.

There was a commotion behind them and Hannah turned and
stared in disbelief.  In a matter of seconds, the entire bar had exploded into
chaos.  She could see Jeremy and Tyler diving on top of the table next to
theirs, attacking the cowboys who were currently punching Mannie and Frank as
hard as they could.

Alison, her face lit up with a huge smile, head butted the
cowboy in front of her before tackling him to the ground.

Women were screaming and ducking under tables, and Selena
grabbed Hannah’s arm.  “We need to get out of here!”

“No, we need to help Will!”  Hannah shouted.

“He seems to be handling himself just fine.”  Selena shouted
back.  Will had already knocked out two of the men who were attacking him, and
was currently punching a third man repeatedly in the face.

Two other men ran forward and used their combined momentum
to push Will towards the exit door at the back of the bar.  With another angry
roar, he slammed their heads together.  They crumpled to the floor as the man
Will had been punching in the face, staggered to his feet and pulled a gun from
inside his jacket.

“Will!”  Hannah screamed as the man raised the gun and shot
Will in the chest.  The force of the shot knocked Will backwards against the
exit door.  The door popped open and Will tumbled out into the darkness and
disappeared.

“Oh my God.”  Selena whispered.

The whole bar had quieted; men and women stared in shock at
the man holding the gun as he looked blankly at the weapon in his hand.

“Will?”  Hannah whispered.  She stared trembling at the exit
door as the front door of the bar opened and a group of ten men and two women
swept in. 

“Well, well, well – what do we have here?”  A tall man, his
face perfectly void of colour, glanced delightedly around the room. 

“So much destruction, so much chaos, so much…” he paused and
inhaled deeply, “blood.”

“Oh fuck me.”  Hannah whispered as the man grinned and she
caught a glimpse of long white incisors.  She grabbed Selena’s arm with a hand
that had turned cold as ice, and began to back up.

“Hannah, what –“

Selena’s voice died as the twelve vampires hissed and bared
their fangs before the bar was plunged into darkness.

There were screams and shouts of pain that turned into soft
gurgles and Hannah, still gripping Selena’s arm, dropped to the floor dragging
Selena with her.

“Selena move!”  She whispered furiously and, keeping a firm
grip on Selena’s arm, began to crawl across the dance floor as terrified
screams filled the air.

Blind, her ears ringing with the screaming as the smell of
blood filled the room, Hannah crawled towards what she hoped was the bathroom
door.  The exit door was too far away, and she knew their only chance of
survival was the small window in the bathroom.

Panting, Selena’s soft sobs filing her ears, Hannah crawled
forward until her reaching, questing hand hit the wall.  She ran her hand
across the wall to the right, sobbing with fear and anger when she encountered
nothing but smooth wall.  She switched directions, running her hand to the left
and when her fingers found the doorway of the bathroom, she breathed a prayer of
relief and opened the door just enough for her and Selena to slip through.

She shut the door softly behind them and leaned against it,
panting lightly as Selena stared wide-eyed and trembling at her.  There was a
low buzzing and the emergency light in the corner above the mirror clicked on,
bathing them in weak light.

“Hannah, what’s happening?”

“Vampires.”  She whispered.  “They’re vampires.”

“The others.”  Selena swallowed.  “We need to help them.”

Hannah nodded.  “There’s a canvas bag full of wooden stakes
in the van.  I saw them under the seat when we were leaving the facility.  We
need to get to those first.”

Selena gave a small sob of dismay, and Hannah shook her
roughly.  “There’s no time for that.  C’mon, we have to get to the van.”

She dragged Selena to her feet and led her to the far wall
where there was a small window high up on the wall.  She laced her fingers
together and held them low.  “Here, I’ll boost you.”

Selena shook her head.  “No, I’ll boost you.  I’m not strong
enough to help you up through the window once I’m up there – you’re strong
enough to help me.”

Hannah nodded and stepped into Selena’s laced hands.  With a
small grunt, Selena heaved her up towards the window and she quickly opened
it.  She was just struggling through the small opening when the door to the
bathroom burst open and two vampires floated into the room.

“Ooh look... snacks!”  The one vampire winked at the other
and before either Hannah or Selena could move, they had raced across the room. 
The smaller one grabbed Selena and yanked her away from Hannah.  He pinned her
to the floor, and Selena screamed as he sunk his fangs deep into her throat.

“Selena!  No!”  Hannah shrieked.  She fell back on to the
floor and scooted across it on her butt as the other vampire smiled gently at
her.

“Don’t be frightened, dearie.  I’m not going to hurt you.”

Hannah looked around desperately for a weapon.  Under the
counter, dusty and nearly hidden behind the garbage can, was a thin rod of
rebar.  She scooted closer to the counter as the vampire advanced towards her.

A loud howl from the bar made him freeze and as he glanced
behind him at the door, Hannah rose to her knees and dove across the floor,
sliding on her stomach and reaching for the rebar.  The vampire, moving
quickly, reached for her feet and Hannah screamed piercingly as he dragged her
out from under the counter.

He flipped her easily onto her back and fell on her.  As
more howling and screaming was heard from the bar, his eyes widened with
surprise and he looked down at the piece of rebar sticking out of his chest. Hannah
had raised the rebar as he attacked, and skewered him like a piece of shrimp.  He
gazed at her in shock as blood spurted out of his chest and coated her hands
and arms.