The Recruit (Book Three) (30 page)

“Where did you
learn the technology for the bullets?” The redheaded vampire
suddenly asked.

“Good question,
Klaus.” Olof said approvingly. “Well?” He stared expectantly at
Mannie.

“Those two are
fucking geniuses.” Mannie nodded to the twins and Olof rolled his
eyes.

“I find that
hard to believe.”

“Why? Because
we’re black? Fuck you, you racist motherfucker.” Luther said with
disgust.

Olof ignored
him as he stroked Stephanie’s leg with the sword. “Where do you
find the money for your hunting trips?”

“What’s it to
you?” Luther asked. “You broke or something?”

“Answer the
question.” Olof said sharply.

“We got a
silent partner. She’s a millionaire and she was more than happy to
share the wealth after you assholes turned her parents and they
tried to suck her dry.” Tyrone replied.

“Interesting.”
Olof replied.

He dropped the
sword in the stall and stared silently at the other leeches. “We
will not hunt all of them tonight. We were too greedy last night
and hunted too many at once.”

There was some
low grumbling and Olof held up his hand. “Brothers, you will do as
I say.”

The other
vampires nodded immediately and Mannie watched in stunned silence
when a few of them gave short bows to the vampire leader.

“Tonight,
Andreas and Gunther hunt. Choose, brothers.” Olof gestured to the
prisoners and the two vampires walked back and forth in front of
them for a few minutes.

Gunther pointed
to Stephanie and she stared defiantly at him for a moment before
bowing her head. Mannie could see tears dripping down her face and
he spoke quickly.

“She’s weak.
Hunt me, instead.”

Gunther shook
his head. “
Ich mag wie sie aussieht.
”

“Ja, you never
enjoy working for your meals.” The one named Klaus spoke in broken
and halting English and Gunther glared at him as the other vampires
laughed loudly.

“Sei still,
Klaus!” Gunther snarled.

“Enough!” Olof
said when Klaus snarled back. “Andreas make your choice.”

“The brown
woman is mine.” Klaus said quickly when Andreas paused in front of
Selena.

Andreas laughed
and moved on before stopping in front of Tyrone.

“This one.”
Andreas said and Luther gave his twin a sick look of fear.

“It’ll be fine,
Luther.” Tyrone said quietly. “I’ll kick his ass.”

“Excellent.”
Olof clapped his hands together. “Send the girl out first.”

Lars sliced
through the ropes around Stephanie’s wrists with his fingernails
and hauled the girl to her feet. He dragged her to the end of the
barn and pushed open the small door. Ahead of them was the forest
and Lars petted Stephanie’s hair gently.

“You have a
half hour before Gunther comes looking for you. Head into the
forest, my pet.” He said. “Or toward the road, it matters not. Very
few cars travel this way and your hope of finding help before
Gunther finds you is slim.”

He smiled at
her again. “Might I suggest that you do stick to the woods? More
places to hide, right? Perhaps you will get lucky and find a warm,
safe hiding spot until the sun rises.”

Stephanie
swallowed thickly and stared at the others.

“It’ll be okay,
honey.” Selena said softly. “You can do this.”

Stephanie
nodded and glanced over at Tyrone when he called her name.

“I’ll find you
and we’ll kill them together, alright?”

“Alright.” She
said softly. She slipped out the door and into the trees. Lars
closed the door and headed toward Tyrone.

“Wait a few
minutes, Lars.” Olof said. “No doubt they will search each other
out but let’s not make it too easy for them.”

Lars nodded as
Olof suddenly frowned. “Where are Otto and Simon?”

“They headed
into town. The human has our money for the last batch of cars.”

“And Marco and
Felix?”

“The store.”
Lars replied.

“Ja, I know.
Why are they not back? I told them to close early tonight. Go and
fetch them.” Olof said impatiently.

Four of the
vampires left the barn and the others waited patiently until Olof
nodded to Lars. Lars cut through the ropes and lifted Tyrone to his
feet.

Tyrone smiled
faintly at Luther. “I’ll be back to save your ass, dickhead.”

Luther, his
mouth trembling, nodded. “Be careful, numbnuts.”

“Fuck careful.”
Tyrone replied and followed Lars to the door. Without looking at
his brother or the others, he left the barn and disappeared into
the forest.

Olof smiled at
Mannie and the others. “Shall we make a wager on how quickly
Gunther and Andreas kill the young ones?”

Chapter 23

Flanked by the
vampires, Chen, Mallorie and Paul entered the decrepit old barn.
Mallorie inhaled sharply when she saw Mannie and the others sitting
on the floor but shut her mouth with a snap when Chen stepped
discreetly on her foot. A large and powerful-looking vampire, his
hair pulled into a neat bun, approached them.

“What’s this?
More?”

“Ja.” One of
the vampires grunted.

“How
interesting. Lars, three more guests have arrived.” The vampire
smiled at Chen.

“My name is
Olof. What happened to your hand?”

Chen didn’t
reply and the vampire leaned closer. “Come now, don’t be shy.”

One of the
vampires still flanking them, muttered something in German before
handing over their swords, Mallorie’s gun and four wooden
stakes.”

Olof, a mild
look of surprise on his face, turned to the one named Lars. “More
swords. And they killed Marco and Felix – two of my best. Where do
these humans come from?”

When Lars only
shrugged, Olof sighed. “Tie them up with the others.”

Andreas, his
face a mask of excitement, approached Olof. “Olof?”

“Ja.” Olof
waved his hand impatiently. “Go, enjoy your hunt.”

With a hiss of
excitement, Andreas and Gunther ran out of the barn.

As the vampires
did as he asked, Olof squatted in front of Mannie. “You lied to me.
You said these were the only people in your little vampire slaying
group and yet, here are three more.”

“I’ve never
seen those assholes in my life.” Mannie replied.

Olof snarled
and raked his nails across Mannie’s face. Blood welled up and
flowed down his cheeks, soaking into his t-shirt as Mannie grunted
with pain.

“Do you
honestly expect me to believe that these humans with their swords
and their bullets filled with sunlight are not a part of your
group?” Olof sneered. “I am not the fool you believe me to be,
human. Now, how many more are out there? Tell me before I lose my
patience completely and tear off your head.”

Mannie
shrugged. “I can’t remember.”

Snarling, Olof
grabbed Mannie around the throat. Before he could rip his head off,
Chen spoke loudly.

“There are only
two more of us. We broke down not far from the gas station when we
were looking for our friends. They’re waiting for us at the
van.”

Olof, his eyes
glowing, stared at Chen for a few moments before releasing Mannie.
Mannie coughed and gagged, gasping in air through his throbbing
throat as Olof stood and approached Chen.

“If you’re
lying to me, I’ll take your other hand.”

“I’m not
lying.” Chen said calmly.

Lars spoke
quietly in German and Olof shook his head. “Not yet. Their friends
will not be expecting them back yet. We will finish the hunt of the
young ones, and then you and Horst can retrieve their friends and
bring them to the barn.”

Klaus cleared
his throat loudly and Olof stared expectantly at him. “What is it,
Klaus?”

“There are
more, Olof. We can hunt more, ja?” He said in broken English. “The
brown one, perhaps?”

Olof rolled his
eyes. “You are too impatient, Klaus. Would you rather not wait
until tomorrow night?”

Klaus shook his
head and spoke in rapid German, glancing anxiously at Selena.

“He is right,
brother.” Lars said to Olof. The longer we wait, the more weak the
humans grow. Let him have his fun with her tonight when she is
still strong.”

“Fine.” Olof
replied. “Release her into the woods. Give her a twenty minute
start.”

“No!” Mannie
shouted. “I’ll go! She’s weak! Send me out instead.”

They ignored
him and Lars sliced through Selena’s bonds before lifting her to
her feet and herding her toward the door. Klaus slapped her on the
ass as saliva dripped from his fangs and down his chin.

Selena, her
face pale and her small body trembling, refused to look at him. She
smiled briefly at the others, her eyes traveling over each of them
as she stood just outside the doorway, before Lars shoved her
harshly in the back. She staggered forward, nearly falling before
regaining her balance, and flipped the vampire the bird. She jogged
into the forest and the darkness swallowed her.

* * *

Reid, his large
body hidden behind the oak tree, watched as the leeches marched
Chen and the others into the barn. He slammed his fist against the
tree, wincing when it sent a throb of pain across his
freshly-healed break, and cursed under his breath. If he had just
been five minutes earlier, he could have warned them. Now he was on
his fucking own with at least four vampires, probably more,
guarding his friends.

“Think, you
asshole.” He muttered to himself. He turned and scanned the forest
behind him. Hannah and Will were still tracking the twins’ scents
and he had a pretty good idea that it would lead them here. If the
twins were still alive he was nearly certain that they were in that
barn.

The back door
of the barn flew open and two vampires, dressed in dark suits and
red ties, ran out. He shrank back behind the tree as, hissing
loudly, the leeches bounded into the forest.

“Shit.” He
muttered again. It had been too dark for him to tell if they had
been two of the leeches that had captured Chen and the others. They
all looked alike in their dark suits. It didn’t matter, he decided.
He couldn’t sit here with his thumb up his ass any longer. He
needed to make a plan and -

His breath
caught in his throat when the back door of the barn opened again
and Selena appeared in the doorway. His heart stopped and then
started up again in a fierce banging rhythm that stole his breath.
Relief flooded through him in a giant wave that made his knees
weak. She was alive.

He scowled
angrily when the vampire shoved her in the back. She stumbled and
nearly fell and he bit back his harsh bark of laughter when she
turned and flipped her middle finger at the leech. She disappeared
into the forest and he waited, every nerve screaming at him to go
after her, until the vampire closed the door of the barn.

He took off in
the direction that Selena had ran, his heart thudding, and a huge
grin on his face. He darted around a tree and hissed her name,
squinting in the darkness as he ran. Where the hell was she?

* * *

“Will?
Wait.”

“For what?” He
gave her an impatient look as he jogged through the trees. “There’s
no time to fuck around, Hannah.”

“I know.” She
took his arm and pulled him to a stop. “Are you alright?”

“Am I alright?”
He scowled at her. “Am I alright? Well, let’s see –my pack has been
kidnapped and may or may not be dead. Either way, I’m deliberately
leading my mate into danger when every part of me is screaming to
protect her. There’s a bunch of – of super vampires roaming around
who are strong enough to kill a Lycan and – “

His voice broke
and he turned away from her, staring into the trees as she wrapped
her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry for
your loss.”

“I’ve known her
since I was a child.” He said hoarsely. “She joined the program
because of me and I’m the reason she’s dead.”

“That isn’t
true.” She said firmly. “Constance was an adult and she made her
choice. You’re not responsible for her death, honey. Don’t go down
that path.”

He was silent
and she inhaled deeply. They had been running steadily for nearly
half an hour. The twins’ scents were growing stronger, Tyrone’s in
particular, and she was starting to smell Selena’s as well.

“We’re getting
closer.” She said.

He nodded. “We
need to keep moving.”

“I know.” She
rested her forehead in the middle of his broad back. “I love you,
Will.”

“I love you
too.” He turned and kissed her firmly on the mouth before squeezing
her hand. “Be careful with these leeches, alright? Use your swords
to fight. You’re doing well with the Lycan changes but your swords
are still your most powerful weapons.”

“I will. We
should – “

A scream
shattered the quiet night air and Hannah froze before pulling her
swords free. Will was already starting to shift and as his clothes
tore from his body, he growled, “Stay in your human form.”

She nodded as
he shifted fully and bounded ahead of her. She ran quickly but she
was no match for his wolf and after only a minute or so he had
disappeared into the darkness. She found her mate’s scent easily
and increased her pace but staggered to a stop when another
stronger scent drifted to her on the wind.

“Tyrone?” She
whispered. His scent was now impossible to ignore and, abandoning
her chase after Will, she turned and followed it.

* * *

Stephanie
winced as the root dug into her ass, and shifted into a more
comfortable position. She clutched the broken branch a little
closer to her chest before resting her forehead on her knees. She
was ridiculously afraid and she was almost positive the leech would
smell her fear.

She clawed up a
handful of dirt and smeared it across her face, upper chest and
arms. They were already black with dirt but she rubbed more in
anyway. She had ran for nearly twenty minutes, until she had a
stitch in her side, and then looked for a hiding place.