The Recruit (Book Three) (32 page)

He leaped
silently to the ground and ran. He passed by the woman in a blur of
speed, the wind from his passing kicked up her hair, and she
whirled around to look behind her as he concealed himself behind a
tree. She studied the darkness for a moment before turning back
around.

“I know you’re
out there, leech.” She spoke loudly and, he realized with a
grudging respect, without fear and he stepped out from behind the
tree and into the moonlight.

“Guten Abend,
lovely one.”

Selena took a
deep breath. Oddly enough she wasn’t afraid. She was going to die
tonight at the hands of the vampire standing before her but, for
the first time since she joined the recruit program and began to
hunt, she felt no fear. There was only one thought beating in her
head like an insistent drum.

You should have
told Reid you loved him.

Yeah, she
should have. She did love him, had been in love with him for the
last month, and she should have just told him the truth and damn
the consequences. He would have run screaming but at least she
wouldn’t be feeling such regret now.

“I am eager to
taste you. Your blood calls to me so strongly.” Klaus said softly.
“Do not be afraid of death, my pet. You will live on through me for
all of eternity.”

She closed her
eyes and pictured Reid’s face in her mind as she waited for the
leech to stop his yapping and attack her. She wished she could see
Reid one last time, hear his deep voice and feel the touch of his
warm hands.

“Hello,
sweetheart.”

A smile crossed
her face. She could almost hear his voice beside her.

“Who’s your new
friend?”

Her eyes flew
open and she stared in silent shock at the man standing next to
her.

“Reid?” She
whispered.

“Miss me,
sweetheart?” He grinned at her.

“What – how?”
She felt extraordinarily stupid as she stared at him. He was
covered in ash and blood, fresh bruises were rising on his throat,
and he looked like he’d been through hell and back but he had a gun
in one hand and a wooden stake in the other.

He glanced
briefly at Klaus, looking him up and down with barely-hidden
disdain. “You should know that I’m in one fuck of a bad mood,
fanger.”

The vampire
stared at him in numb silence. He seemed to have been completely
disarmed by the sudden appearance of the large blond man and his
eyes drifted to the gun in Reid’s hand as he turned back to
Selena.

“I didn’t think
it was fair that you got to have all the fun.” His voice was hoarse
and raspy and he patted the gun in his waistband. “I brought you a
gun.”

“Who are you?
Where did you – “

Klaus stuttered
to a stop as Reid waved his gun at him.

“Just give me a
fucking minute, okay? It’s been a long fucking day, two of your
motherfucking friends have already tried to kill me, and I have
something important to say to the woman standing beside me. So,
just shut your fucking mouth.”

He turned back
to Selena, ignoring the vampire completely, as Klaus’ mouth dropped
open.

“Selena, I love
you. I know this was just supposed to be two adults having a good
time and nothing more but I fucking love you, alright?”

“Reid, I –
“

“Enough!” Klaus
shouted. He raced toward the humans with deadly speed. There was
sudden pain in his chest and he stumbled to a stop as a curious
feeling of warmth pulsed through his body.

He stared at
the two humans in front of him. They were both holding guns, the
barrels smoking, and they lowered them as he stared down at his
chest. The warmth was increasing, becoming an excruciating, fiery
burn, and he clawed open his suit jacket and dress shirt. Blood and
bright blue light poured steadily from the two holes in his chest
and he touched them gently before collapsing to his knees.

The humans were
speaking, their voices seeming to come from a great distance, and
he strained to hear.

“Nice shot,
sweetheart. I think mine was the money shot though.”

“Bullshit,
Reid. We both hit him in the heart.”

The blond man
laughed as the edges of Klaus’ vision began to darken. He tried to
speak, tried to scream his pain, but liquid fire was pulsing
through his veins and he could only make a soft, gasping moan
before the fire consumed him completely.

Reid stared at
the pile of ash and blood before snorting derisively. “Wanker.”

“Wanker?”
Selena arched her eyebrow at him and he shrugged.

“I’m trying out
some new insults. There’s only so many ways you can call someone an
asshole.”

Her laughter
had an edge of hysteria, and he reached out and pulled her into his
embrace. He kissed her lightly on the mouth and rested his forehead
against hers. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you
too.” She whispered.

“You’re not
just saying that because you’re grateful I saved your life, are
you?” He grinned at her and then yelped when she knocked him to the
ground and threw herself on top of him.

“No, I love
you, you jackass. And I would have been just fine. I had that
vampire right where I wanted him.” She said tartly.

“Yeah, that
stick you were carrying looked pretty damn dangerous.” He
replied.

She pressed her
mouth down on his, kissing him with an almost frantic, desperate
need. He opened his mouth and she slid her tongue in, stroking his
with firm strokes as he reached down and squeezed her small
ass.

“You sure know
how to thank a guy for saving your life.” He murmured against her
mouth.

“Shut up,
Reid.” She whispered before kissing him back.

He dropped his
gun and squeezed her ass with both hands, pushing her against him
as they kissed deeply.

“Jesus, get a
fucking room, you two.”

They broke
apart, staring up in surprise at the Lycan and the humans standing
above them.

“Vampires
everywhere and you’re sucking tongues in the middle of the forest.”
Tyrone rolled his eyes as Selena jumped to her feet and threw
herself at Hannah.

The two women
hugged tightly as Reid stood and clapped Tyrone on the back before
nodding at the wolf. “Hey, furball.”

Will growled at
him, baring his teeth. Reid grinned and gave Stephanie a quick
hug.

“Are you
alright, honey?” Hannah scanned Selena up and down anxiously.

Selena nodded.
“I’m fine. Very glad to see you guys.”

Hannah hugged
her again as Will barked softly.

“I know.”
Hannah replied. She studied the others solemnly. “It’s going to
take all of us to save our friends. Are you ready?”

They nodded and
she gave them a confident smile. “Good. Listen closely, here’s what
we’re going to do.”

* * *

“It is taking
them longer than usual.” Lars remarked quietly.

Olof nodded.
“Ja.”

“Perhaps we
should send a few more.”

“There is no
need. Our brothers are skilled hunters, Lars. The humans are no
match for them and you know that.”

When Lars
didn’t reply, Olof turned and studied him carefully. “What is
it?”

“I have a bad
feeling.”

Olof laughed.
“A bad feeling? We are immortals, Lars. There is no other creature,
human or otherwise, stronger than us. What could you possibly have
a bad feeling about?”

Lars shrugged.
“I don’t know. I just think these humans are – “

His voice was
drowned out by the loud howl of a Lycan. The vampires stiffened and
the other four joined Lars and Olof in the middle of the barn.

“Olof?” A
short, gray-haired vampire spoke quietly. “Did you hear that?”

“Of course I
did, Horst!” Olof snapped. “It is right outside our door.”

“What do we
do?”

“What do you
mean?” Olof replied impatiently. “We destroy the Lycan, whoever it
is.”

Without waiting
for the others, he swept toward the back door of the barn. He threw
it open and marched into the night. The others gave each other
uneasy looks before following him.

Olof stared at
the three humans and the Lycan standing at the edge of the woods.
He studied the swords in Hannah’s hands and gave Lars a look of
disbelief.

“More humans
with swords. Who are these people?”

“She is no
human, Olof.” Lars replied.

Olof inhaled
deeply. “You are right, brother.”

He took a step
toward the woman, ignoring the large Lycan’s growl. “What need does
a Lycan have for swords?”

“We’re here for
our friends. Give them to us unharmed, and we’ll let you live.” The
woman replied.

Olof cocked his
head at her. “Is that true?”

The woman
hesitated, a brief smile flickering across her face, before shaking
her head. “No. We’re going to slice off your heads and watch you
burn.”

Olof laughed
cheerfully. “How fascinating you are with your swords and your
pathetic threats. I was going to kill you but I’ve changed my mind.
I think I’ll keep you as my pet dog.”

The Lycan
standing next to her howled loudly and the woman rested one sword
against her leg before placing her hand on his broad back. Olof
rolled his eyes. “Obviously I can’t keep both you and your mate as
pets but his fur will make a warm pelt for my bed. What are your
names?”

When they
didn’t reply he smiled warmly at them. “Come now. I would know the
names of those who would take my head.”

The woman
shrugged. “I’m Hannah and this is Will.”

The large blond
man in the group stepped forward and bowed. “I’m Reid. Nice to meet
you, asshole. Has anyone ever told you that you look ridiculous in
those suits?”

“Charming.”
Olof said dryly. “You’ll be the first to die.”

“What?” Reid
said innocently. He stepped back next to Selena and put his arm
around her slender waist. “Why am I always the guy these
bloodsucking wankers threaten to kill first, sweetheart?”

“Maybe because
you insult their fashion choices.” Selena suggested.

“You’d think
they’d
want
to know when they look ridiculous.” Reid
shrugged.

Olof gave him a
dismissive look and turned his gaze to Hannah. “My name is Olof and
these are my brothers, Lars, Horst, Gregor - “

“We don’t
care.” Hannah interrupted. “Release our friends – now.”

Olof sighed and
crossed his arms over his chest. “I see you have rescued your
brown-skinned friend from Klaus but where are your young ones?”

A look of pain
flashed across Hannah’s face.

Olof grinned
happily. “Tell me, she-wolf. Don’t be shy.”

“They’re dead.”
She suddenly snapped.

“How sad, but
not surprising. Andreas and Gunther are excellent hunters.”

“Were.”

“I’m sorry?”
Olof arched his eyebrow at her.

“I said they
were
excellent hunters. They’re dead. We killed them and it
was surprisingly easy.”

Reid held up
his hand. “Speaking of dead - you aren’t missing a couple other
friends, are you? They were about this tall, spoke German, wore
suits like yours.”

Gregor squeezed
Olof’s arm. “Otto? Simon?”

Olof shook him
off as Reid nodded. “Pretty sure I heard one of them ask for Simon
when I put that stake through his heart.”

“
Otto
ü
nd Simon konnen nicht tot
sein
.” Gregor whispered.

Reid nodded
again. “Oh they certainly can be dead, my pale-faced friend. If
you’d like, we can go for a little stroll and I’ll show you the
pile of ash.”

Selena stared
up at him. “You speak German?”

“I do.” Reid
grinned.

“When did you
learn German?”

“College maybe?
I don’t really remember. Meth’s a hell of a drug, Selena.” Reid
said cheerfully.

“You smoked
meth!” Selena nearly shouted.

“No, I’m just
kidding. But I did smoke pot. A lot of pot. Seriously. I’m not
saying I grew some plants in the closet of my dorm but I’m not
saying I didn’t either.” Reid wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“Enough!” Olof
hissed. He turned to his brothers. “I will take the she-wolf, and
Lars will take her mate. The four of you capture the humans. I want
them alive.”

He bared his
fangs at Hannah as the other vampires rushed forward.

Chapter 25

“Do you think
that was Will?” Paul asked Chen.

The Asian man
nodded. “It sounded like him.”

“We need to
help him.” Alex yanked at the ropes.

Paul scowled.
“We need something to cut them. Something to – “

The front doors
of the barn eased open and Luther made a harsh barking sob when
Tyrone and Stephanie slipped inside.

“God, Luther.
Keep it together, ya fuckin’ baby.” Tyrone rolled his eyes as he
opened the door of the stall and grabbed Chen’s sword. Stephanie
picked up Paul’s sword and knelt beside him as Tyrone crouched next
to Luther.

“Lean forward,
Luther.” Tyrone pushed on Luther’s back and slid the sword behind
him. He sliced through the rope connecting him to the metal hoop in
the wall before carefully cutting the rope around Luther’s
wrists.

Luther groaned
with relief and rubbed at his wrists for a moment before suddenly
grabbing Tyrone and hugging him tightly.

Tyrone hugged
him back, clearing his throat roughly, before pushing away. “God,
you’re such a pansy, Luther.”

“Fuck you,
Tyrone.”

“There was
another loud howl from outside as Luther stood and limped to the
stall. He grabbed Alex’s sword and went to work freeing Chen as
Tyrone freed Mannie.

“Hannah and
Will are out there?” Mannie asked.

“Yep. So are
Reid and Selena.” Tyrone confirmed. They’re going to kick some
leech ass.

Mannie
staggered to his feet. “We need to get out there and help them.
These vampires are fucking strong and – “