The Recruit (Book Six), page 28
She stared at him. “Drink more.”
“It’s enough,” he said.
“We have to help the others at the facility,” she said. “You need to drink more.”
He shook his head and twisted his upper body so she could see his back. She lifted his shirt and ran her hand over smooth skin where once a gaping wound was. “You’re healed.”
“I am,” he said.
“But you didn’t drink very much.”
“Sweet one, I drank more of your blood than I’ve ever drank before. Do you feel dizzy or weak?”
“Not at all,” she said.
“Are you certain?” He set her on the floor and stood, then helped her to her feet, keeping a strong arm around her waist. “I took a great deal of your blood. Are you sure you feel okay?”
“I feel fine,” she said. She touched her throat, staring at the smears of blood on her fingertips. “Looks like Google was right, after all.”
He half grimaced, half laughed before saying, “How did you escape?”
She showed him the silver ball. “Luther and Tyrone’s sunshine ball. They gave it to me before we left. I burned Dante’s familiars to ash. The rest of the vampires are with Calissa on their way to the facility.”
“I’m gonna let the twins burn me with so much holy water when I see them next,” Nathaniel said.
She laughed and kissed him hard on the mouth. “Yeah, we’ll talk about that. We need to get to the facility. Shit. We need to find a phone and warn them.”
“They took your phone, and I don’t have them in my contacts. Do you know any of their phone numbers?” Nathaniel said.
She stared at him. “Shit. No. We need to get there right now. We can help them.”
Nathaniel cupped her face. “I’ll drop you off at your hotel room and then -”
“No!” She shook free of his touch and picked up the nightstand leg, brandishing it like a weapon. “We do this together, Nathaniel.”
He studied her before nodding and kissing her again. “All right, sweet one.”
Chapter 26
“Holy fuck. That’s a lot of fucking leeches.” Reid stared at the screens in the security room before taking Selena’s hand. “Maybe you should sit this one out, sweetheart. You’re still recovering.”
“Like hell I’m sitting this one out,” Selena said.
The door to the room opened and Ryder ran in. “Jordan’s not in his office. I couldn’t smell him anywhere close to it. No fucking idea where he is.”
“He’ll know we’re in deep shit in about thirty seconds,” Mallorie said. “The leeches are close enough now that the facility alarms are gonna start going -”
The lights went out and the screens died with a soft hum.
“What the fuck?” Ryder said.
“They cut the fucking power,” Reid said as the emergency lights kicked in and bathed the room in a soft red glow. “Fucking fangers, man.”
“Hannah?” Will turned to Hannah who was standing apart from the others with her phone to her ear. “Did you get a hold of her?”
Hannah shoved her phone into her pocket. “Mom’s phone is going straight to voicemail. So is Dad’s.”
Will’s face twisted and Hannah took his hand. “It’s okay, honey. You know they’re both terrible at charging their phones. The vampires may not even go to the farmhouse. But if they do, she’ll keep Gavin safe.”
“We need to get to them,” Will said. “Our pup is in danger.”
“I know.” Hannah smoothed her hand over his chest. “But if we go outside now, we’ll never make it to the farmhouse. We need to trust that Mom will keep him safe.”
“We need to get out there right now,” Miranda said. “I know the elevator has a code but -”
“They don’t need the fucking elevator,” Reid said. “They’ll just punch through the elevator floor and climb down the goddamn shaft. C’mon, Scooby Gang, it’s time to go kill some vamps.”
“Are you even listening to me? We go out there, we’re dead,” Hannah said. “There are too many. They’ll overpower us, use their numbers to take us out.” She glanced at Will and the other Lycans. “All of us.”
“Well, what the fuck do we do now?” Mallorie said.
“We let them come in.”
Hannah turned to stare at Chen. He was standing near the door holding Andrew’s hand, and she frowned at him. “We let them into the facility?”
He nodded and Reid said, “Holy fuck, Chen, I knew you had a goddamn death wish but -”
“He’s right,” Will said. “It’s our only chance. We know the facility, they don’t. We let them in, and we lead them to where we want them to be. Which is as far away from the non-recruits as possible. The admin and the housekeeping and maintenance staff are being moved to the east wing. It’s the farthest wing from the entrance. We block the doors and lead the vamps away from it.”
The door opened and Olivia stepped into the room. Will turned to her. “Did you round up the recruits?”
“Yes,” Olivia said. “They’re waiting in the hallway. The admin and housekeeping are in the east wing, but Tyrone and Luther and the babies refused to go to the east wing. They’re in the common room in case you need them to fight. I told them to stay in the room and stay quiet. I don’t know if they will though. The twins were already talking about joining in on the fight.”
“I’ll join them,” Andrew said. “Make sure they stay in the room until they’re needed.”
“Douglas, maybe you should go with them,” Will said.
Douglas bared his fangs at Will, a low growl erupting from his throat as his body swelled and fur sprouted on his face. “I won’t hide in a room with the babies while others fight, Will. Do not ask me again to do so or it won’t be the vamps you need to worry about.”
“Hoo boy, the gentle professor’s about to kick some leech ass. I call dibs on him for a team partner,” Reid said with a grin.
Andrew studied Chen before unbuckling the strap that held Chen’s sword to his left arm. He tightened and re-buckled it then cupped Chen’s face and kissed him. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Chen said. They kissed again and Andrew squeezed his hand before leaving.
Will took Hannah’s hand. “We split into teams and draw the vamps away from the east wing. Push them south toward the main training rooms. Once they’re in the area, we can -”
“We can what?” Reid said. “There are hundreds of them and less than twenty of us. What exactly are we supposed to do with them if we can even get them into the training rooms?”
“Fight,” Will said grimly. “It’s the only thing we can do.”
“Christ,” Mallorie said. “This is a really bad plan. The recruits aren’t prepared for this.”
“Frankly, neither are we,” Douglas said.
Will squeezed Hannah’s hand. “I want you to take the emergency exit, the one that brings you out on the north side of the woods. Go to -”
“Wait, what?” Miranda said. “There’s an emergency exit to this place?”
“Yep,” Reid said. “It’s in the ‘So You’ve Decided to Become a Recruit’ manual they hand out on the first day.” He nudged Selena. “Christ, the babies never read the manual.”
“Why aren’t we just getting the non-recruits out that way?” Miranda said. “Hell, all of us? Let the vampires take the facility if they want it.”
“Because you have to haul ass up a very high and very narrow ladder one by one and we’d never get everyone out before the vampires discovered us. Besides, once they’re out, what do we do with them then?” Reid said. “It’s nothing but goddamn trees and leeches for miles. We don’t have enough vehicles to get everyone to safety.”
“Enough! We’re wasting time,” Will snarled. “Hannah will leave through the emergency exit and go to the farmhouse to protect her parents and our pup. The rest of us -”
“Will,” Ryder said, “we need her here.”
Will growled at him. Ryder looked away before straightening his spine and staring at Will again. “She’s one of our best fighters.”
“I don’t care,” Will snapped. “Our pup needs her and -”
“We’ll go,” Mannie said. “Olivia and me. It makes sense. We’re fast, even faster than Hannah in her Lycan form. We’ll go to the farmhouse and get Hannah’s parents in a vehicle and the fuck out of here. They can go to town with Gavin and wait until it’s safe to return.”
“More like wait until we’re all dead or vamps and then take the baby and start a new life in fucking Costa Rica or some shit like that,” Reid said. “Amirite?”
He held out his fist to Selena. She shook her head. “I am not fist bumping to that, Reid.”
“We all gotta go sometime, sweetheart.” He grinned at her.
She sighed. “You know, it’s a little worrisome how amped up and excited you get whenever we’re about to die a horrible death.”
Mannie clapped Will on the shoulder. “We’ll come back to the facility as soon as they’re safe.”
Will stared at Hannah. She nodded and said, “He’s right.”
“Go,” Will said. “Be careful out there, Mannie.”
“We will.”
Hannah grabbed Olivia’s hand as she walked by. “Will you tell Mom and Dad something for me? Tell them I love them, and if they don’t hear from me or Will by the morning, to take Gavin and get as far away from this goddamn town as they can. Can you tell them that, Liv?”
“I will,” Olivia said. “I promise.”
She and Mannie left the room. Reid glanced at his watch. “Fuck, they gotta be on top of us by now, right?”
“Yeah,” Will said. “We need to tell the recruits the plan and get into position to draw them -”
The buzzing of her phone in her pocket had Hannah scrambling to pull it free. Praying it was her mom or her dad, she glanced at the screen before staring at Will. “It’s Clem.”
She hit the speaker button. “Clem? Where are you? Are you and Nathaniel safe? Are you -”
“Clementine.” The voice coming through the phone was most definitely not Clem. “A pretty name for a pretty girl.”
Hannah’s wolf growled and her senses heightened. She could hear her mate’s low growl, and scent the fear of everyone in the room with hellish clarity. She took a deep breath. “Hello, Calissa.”
“You know my name,” Calissa said before laughing softly. “Did Nathaniel tell you everything there was to know about me?”
“Where are Nathaniel and Clem?” Hannah said.
Calissa laughed again, the sound made Hannah’s wolf howl and her skin prickle. “I wouldn’t worry about them. Afterall, it’s not they who have the wolves knocking at their door.” She paused. “No pun intended, of course. Tell me, Hannah, are you happy as a half-breed Lycan? Or do you wish you were still fully human?”
Hannah didn’t reply and Calissa made a tsking sound. “Come now, it is my hope that we could at least have a civil conversation. I, myself, think it would be most dreadful to be a Lycan, but I confess it’s exciting to me that you are one. I know it’s made you faster and stronger, and I do love a good challenge. Of course, I’m perfectly happy to accept your surrender, if you prefer.”
“You know that’s not going to happen,” Hannah said.
“Think of the lives you would save,” Calissa said. “If you surrender now, I promise to kill your human friends instead of turning them.”
“No,” Hannah said.
Calissa hissed in annoyance. “Do not be stupid. You are grossly outnumbered. You’ve seen my army. Surrender to me, and your friends will live forever. Join me outside, Hannah, now.”
“If you want me, come and get me,” Hannah said and ended the call.
Reid grinned at her. “Man, if I’d tried that line I would have come across as a total douchebag. But you? You really sold it, Hannah. Good for you.”
Hannah stared at him before bursting into laughter. She was afraid for her pup and her mate and her parents. Hell, she was afraid for everyone in this room including herself. But the laughter was an unstoppable force within her that came bubbling out.
Reid grinned delightedly at Selena when she started to laugh too. One by one, the giggles hit all of them, until the room was filled with the sound of laughter. Even Ryder and Douglas and Chen were chuckling, and Will… Hannah glanced up at her mate. A smile was on his face and he cupped her face before kissing her tenderly on the mouth.
“I love you, my mate.”
“I love you too, Will. Always.”
She cried out when the explosion rocked the facility. They staggered on their feet and Will grabbed her arm, steadying her as bits of the ceiling rained down on their faces.
“What the hell was that?” Douglas said.
“If I had to guess,” Chen said, “they just blew the elevator shaft.”
“Fuck me, leeches with dynamite. This just gets better and better,” Reid said.
Will took a deep breath. “I know it looks bad and I know,” he glanced at Hannah, “we’re scared and worried for our loved ones, but we can do this. It won’t be easy. But this is our goddamn home, and we are not letting some fucking vampires take it from us. Are we?”
“Fuck no,” Reid said. He pulled his gun out from the holster at his waist. “Let’s go find us some motherfucking vamps to kill.”
“Reuben!” Jim scolded the dog who was standing on the porch and barking ferociously into the darkness. “Give it a rest on the barking, would you?”
He bent and picked up the dog, settling him on his lap as he pushed the porch swing into motion with one foot. The little dog was still growling and staring fixedly into the darkness beyond the pale light the bulb above the door gave off.
Jim leaned forward and stared into the darkness, a thread of disquiet slipping down his spine. He cleared his throat and said, “Is there someone out there? Answer me.”
Nothing but the whispering of the wind and the low buzz of insects replied. He couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched and he petted Reuben absently as he studied the darkness.
“Well, Gavin’s asleep.” Nat came out onto the porch. “He was practically asleep before he finished his bottle. Sweet boy. Hannah thinks he should sleep through the night – Jim, what’s wrong?”
He stood and joined her by the door. “I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right. Reuben was barking and I think… I think there’s someone out there.”
Nat frowned and stepped forward. She scanned the darkness and Jim’s unease turned to fear when Nat said. “Get in the house, Jim. Now.”
He immediately backed into the house, holding the door open for Natalie. She stepped inside and shut the door, locking it before pulling him further down the hallway. “Stay here.”
She disappeared down the hallway toward the kitchen, moving so quickly she was a blur. He blinked when she reappeared not fifteen seconds later. “Nat? What is it?”
“Vampires,” she said. “Half a dozen at the front of the house and at least another half dozen at the back. We’re trapped.”
“Shit. I’ll call Hannah,” he said. Still holding Reuben, he fumbled his phone out of his front pocket, muttering another curse. “My phone is dead. What about yours?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Nat said with a calm surety that sent icy chills down his body. “She wouldn’t make it here in time.”
“Nat,” he said.
She snatched the car keys off the side table and shoved them into his pocket as there was a heavy thud against the front door. Jim could see small cracks already starting on the doorframe as the vampires barrelled into the door again and again.
“C’mon,” Nat said. They ran down the hallway to the small guest bedroom on the main floor that now served as Gavin’s nursery. They slipped inside and Nat locked the door before hurrying over to the crib.
“Nat, what are you doing?” Jim said as she wrapped a blanket around Gavin’s sleeping body.
“Jim, honey, we don’t have much time,” she said as her fangs descended. “Once the vampires are in the house, I’ll lead them upstairs. Take Gavin and Reuben and go out the window.” She pointed to the window on the far wall. “Stick to the side of the house in the shadows, okay? You get in the car and you go. Don’t look back.”
She smiled at him and pressed her cold lips against his. “I love you, honey. Being your wife has made me happier than you’ll ever know.”
“Stop it, Nat,” he said. “I’m not leaving you.”
“You have to,” she said.
“You can’t fight a dozen vampires on your own.” He touched her braid and then rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “I won’t leave you.”
“Please, honey,” she said as the banging intensified. “The doors won’t hold much longer. I need to get out there and draw them away.”
“No,” he said. “Turn me and I’ll fight with you.”
“Jim, I… I can’t.”
He picked up Gavin and carried the sleeping baby to the closet. He set him inside and whistled for Reuben. The little dog ran into the closet and curled around the baby, staring up at Jim. “Good boy, Reuben,” Jim said and petted his head before stroking Gavin’s soft cheek with one finger.
He closed the closet door and returned to Nat. She stared up at him, her lips trembling. “Jim, you should run.”
He gripped her head and kissed her mouth. “I won’t make it to the car before one of them catches me, honey. You know I won’t. Our only chance to keep Gavin safe is if you turn me.”
“I don’t think I can do that to you,” she said.
“Nat!” He grabbed her wrist and yanked up her sleeve. “Open up your damn wrist right now, or so help me God, I’ll gnaw it open myself.”
Tears sliding down her cheeks, Nat sliced open her wrist with her nail. Jim took a deep breath and brought her wrist to his mouth, sucking at her cool flesh and swallowing the bitter dark liquid.
Chapter 27
The loud rumbling, the way the room seemed to sway under him, had Jordan rolling off the couch with a low groan. The unexpected migraine that had felled him was so intense, he hadn’t made it from his office to his personal quarters. Instead, he’d made it as far as Douglas’s art room before the nausea had him stumbling into the room to throw up in the trash can. He’d staggered his way to the old and lumpy couch at the back of the room and collapsed on it. The buzzing pain in his brain and the flashing lights in his vision had made it almost impossible for him to get his migraine meds out of his pocket. He’d shoved the applicator into his nose and inhaled the spray, grimacing and retching at the bitter taste that filled his mouth.
