The Recruit (Book Six), page 6
“I was, but your son decided it was the perfect time to wake up.”
“Hi, big guy.” Will leaned over and kissed Gavin’s forehead. “You need to be sweeter to your mama.”
Hannah laughed and rested her head against Will’s chest as she studied the man sitting on the fallen log about twenty feet away. “How’s he doing?”
Will shrugged. “Not sure. He doesn’t say much.”
“Jordan gave him permission to be outside, huh? That was pretty quick.”
“Yeah. He talked to him last night. The meeting didn’t last long but Jordan had Mannie set him up in an empty apartment – our old one, actually.”
“Again, that seems fast.”
“It is. Especially for Jordan. Not that we’ve had that many turned vampires here but the fact that he’s letting Nathaniel outside already, even with supervision, is not like him.”
Hannah studied the back of Nathaniel’s head as the vampire tilted it back, so his face was in a beam of sunlight filtering through the trees.
“I can see why Jordan did it though.” Will traced one finger over Gavin’s belly, smiling when the baby grabbed his finger in a tight fist.
“What do you mean?” Hannah said.
“Nathaniel isn’t dangerous,” Will said. “Whether it’s because he hasn’t been a vampire for long or because he used to be a priest, he doesn’t have much fight in him. The look on his face when Olivia gave him Luther’s blood to drink… it was pure misery.”
“It can be a tough adjustment,” Hannah said. “Especially considering who he was before. To go from being a priest to killing people without remorse… it’s not easy for any of the turned vampires to accept what they were, but I can only imagine how much more difficult it is for him.”
“He’s going to choose death,” Will said.
Hannah glanced up at him. “Has he told you that?”
“No, but I can see it in his eyes. He has too much guilt, too much,” Will gestured vaguely, “sadness, to join the fight. It’s better for him to choose death.”
“It’s only been a couple of days,” Hannah said. “He should give himself at least a week before making that type of decision. Did Jordan tell him he needed to decide quickly?”
“No. He’s giving him as much time as he needs, just like the other turned vampires. But I don’t think it’ll make a difference,” Will said.
The door to the dilapidated shack that served as the entrance to the underground facility opened with a loud squeal. Hannah glanced at Nathaniel. He was still sitting on the log with his head tilted back and his eyes closed.
Mannie stepped outside, followed by Olivia and Clementine.
“How’s the stripper doing?” Will asked as Clementine took a deep breath of the fresh air.
“Her name is Clementine,” Hannah said. “Don’t be a judgey mcjudge face, honey.”
Will smiled a little. “Sorry. How’s she doing?”
“Okay, I think. She took the whole existence of the paranormals thing well, but it’s kind of hard to deny it when you’ve been bitten by a vampire.”
Hannah watched as Mannie stood behind Olivia and put his arms around the slender vampire. She smiled up at him and then said something to Clementine. The woman smiled and nodded before gazing around the forest.
Her body stiffened when she caught sight of Nathaniel. Hannah smelled the change in her scent easily. Will sniffed the air before studying Clementine and then Nathaniel. “Why is she lusting after him?”
“I’m not sure. She asked about him after I talked to her. She also asked if a person had an attraction to a vampire after being bitten.”
“Shit,” Will said when Clementine started walking toward Nathaniel. “I should take him inside.”
“Why? If she wants to talk to him, she should,” Hannah said.
Mannie glanced over at Will and Will shook his head before shrugging. Mannie nodded and relaxed, kissing Olivia’s throat as they watched Clementine approach Nathaniel.
“She wants to do more than talk to him,” Will said.
“Well, unless both she and Nathaniel are exhibitionists, I don’t think we need to worry about anything but talking happening,” Hannah said. “I’m more concerned that he might try to feed from her.”
“He won’t,” Will said. “He’s had plenty of blood and, seriously, Hannah, the guy doesn’t have it in him anymore. He won’t feed from her or anyone else.”
Nathaniel’s desire to feed from the woman approaching him was almost overwhelming. It eclipsed his joy at being in the sun in a single tidal wave of hunger. He wanted to stand and flee into the forest, but he made himself stay where he was.
He owed the woman – Clementine, her name is Clementine – an apology.
He almost barked laughter out loud. If he thought an apology would be enough, he had lost a few brain cells. He had drunk her blood, killed her friends, and nearly killed her. Attempting to apologize was laughable.
Still, it didn’t stop him from saying, “I’m sorry,” the moment she sat next to him on the fallen log.
“I know,” she said.
Her voice was low, musical, intoxicating.
She was sitting too close to him, not quite touching him but it was too easy to imagine bending his head, nuzzling her neck, sinking his fangs into that soft skin. He slid down the log a few inches as Clementine studied him quietly.
“You’re Nathaniel, right?” she said.
“Yes. And you’re Clementine.”
“I am. It’s nice to meet you.”
He coughed out harsh laughter. “If I could take it back, I would. You have to believe me. I’m sorry I bit you and I’m sorry I killed your friends and if -”
“You didn’t kill them. The other two vampires did,” she said.
“I ordered them to do it,” he said. He closed his eyes as the sun touched his face.
“We all make mistakes,” she said. “I forgive you for biting me.”
He turned to face her, trying not to stare at the pulse in her throat. She was a beautiful woman. Something about the fullness of her lips, the arch of her brows, those chocolate brown eyes… he’d never seen anyone as gorgeous as her.
Don’t forget her tits. They were incredible, remember?
He ignored his inner voice. He was a priest and while impure thoughts were a temptation, he needed to -
Not a priest.
Sorrow filled his chest. It blotted out the hunger and the sting developing on his skin from the sun. No, he was not a priest. Not anymore.
“We all make mistakes,” she repeated when the silence dragged on.
“Mistakes?” he said. “We all make mistakes? I almost killed you. Would have killed you or worse – turned you into a monster like me. You shouldn’t forgive me, Clementine.”
She shrugged, before staring at her hands in her lap. “Well, I do. Why did you choose me?”
“I…what?” he said.
“At the club. You deliberately chose me over Jolene. Why?”
He stared at the sunlight flickering through the trees. “Because you’re beautiful.”
When she didn’t say anything, he glanced at her. She was staring solemnly at him and he swallowed hard when she said, “I think you’re beautiful too.”
“Only because I glamoured you into letting me bite you,” he said. “It hasn’t faded yet. Once it does, you’ll realize what I did to you and hate me like you should.”
That was bullshit. The glamour would have faded long ago, but she didn’t know that. It was better for her, safer for her, if she stayed away from him.
Feeling like he needed to apologize more, he said, “I’m sorry I kissed you and touched you. That was inappropriate of me.”
Fuck, he sounded like such an idiot.
“Inappropriate because you’re a priest,” she said.
“That was a long time ago,” he said. “It’s not who I am anymore.”
“Then who are you?”
“A monster.”
“I don’t believe that,” Clementine said. “I lived with a monster for a really long time, and monsters never apologize. They never look sick with regret.”
A new emotion was overtaking the hunger and the lust. Anger. Anger for the man who had hurt sweet Clementine. He wanted to find the man who’d hurt her, wanted to find him and tear him apart slowly while the asshole begged for mercy.
Unease bit at his stomach. The intensity of his feelings toward a woman he’d just met was a little alarming. Especially for a woman who was obviously suffering from some sort of post trauma stress. What else would explain her fascination with him?
“When are you leaving for the recruit facility in New York?” she said.
“How do you know about that?”
“Hannah told me. She’s the female Lycan with the swords.”
He looked behind him. He’d smelled the female the moment she joined her mate. She was less pungent then her mate, but the smell of wet dog made his nose wrinkle.
“When do you leave?” she said again.
He just shrugged.
“Are you choosing to die instead?”
Her bluntness made him twitch. He stared at her gorgeous dark eyes before looking away. He didn’t owe this woman an explanation for his decision, but he wanted to try to explain anyway.
“I’m surprised. You don’t look like a coward,” she said.
He scowled at her. “I’m not a coward, Clementine.”
“You kind of are,” she said. “Your life was destroyed by the vampires. Don’t you want revenge?”
“Don’t you? I destroyed your life,” he said.
“Actually, it’s probably better now.” She picked at the cuff of the hoodie she was wearing.
“No, it’s not,” he said.
“Do you think that I actually like being a stripper?” she said.
“I don’t know anything about you,” he said.
“That’s fair,” she said. “But for the record, I hated being a stripper.”
“You can’t go back to a normal life,” he said. “Did they tell you that? Did they tell you that now that you’ve been bitten by me, you’re marked? That every vampire who stumbles across you will try to finish the job I started?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Then you should know this isn’t an improvement, no matter how shitty your life was before.”
“All I know is that I don’t ever have to let another gross man grope me just so I can pay rent. I’ll never have to take my clothes off and shake my ass in a room of drunk men so that I can buy groceries. My old life is done, but it wasn’t that great to begin with, and the chance to have a fresh start – even with the dangers that come along with it – is a blessing.”
“So, what, you’re going to join the recruit program?” He looked her up and down, secretly liking the way she blushed when his gaze lingered on her perfect tits. “You’re not strong enough or tough enough to be a vampire hunter, little girl.”
“I’m not a little girl,” she snapped. “Don’t call me that again or I’ll show you how tough I am.”
Her sudden anger, her display of backbone toward him, shamefully, made him hard. He ignored the pressure at his groin. “Killing a vampire isn’t easy.”
“I imagine it isn’t,” she said stiffly. “And I have no interest in hunting them anyway. But Olivia and Miranda said there are other jobs I can take within the facility. I’ll get a salary and time off and…”
“And what?” he said.
“Friends,” she said and then looked away like she was embarrassed. “Anyway, I’m meeting with Jordan tonight to discuss my options.”
“What about your family? The people who love you? You’re just going to walk away from them? Let them think you’re dead?”
Her face paled and she tapped at her collarbone, three quick taps with the tips of her fingers. “My family gave up on me a long time ago.”
The sadness in her voice made him want to comfort her. Made him want to pull her into his lap and rub her back and tell her everything would work out.
Which was madness. Pure and utter madness.
He sat on his hands to stop from touching her and shifted a little so that he was in a new beam of sunlight.
“How funny would it be if you started sparkling right now?” she said.
He stared blankly at her and she tapped her collarbone again. “Never mind, I’m being stupid.”
“I’ve missed the sun,” he said.
“Yes, I imagine you have. How long has it been since you’ve been in sunlight?”
“Too long,” he said.
“If you let them kill you, you’ll never feel the sun again,” she said.
He didn’t reply and she said, “Dying isn’t the answer, Nathaniel.”
“You don’t understand the guilt. It’s – it’s too heavy of a burden.”
“I’m sorry you carry that weight,” she said, “but maybe by helping the humans defeat the vampires, you can atone for what you did. Isn’t that what you priests were always harping about anyway? Atonement?”
He smiled a little. “Something like that.”
They sat in silence for a while. Clem yawned before standing and studying him for a moment. “You should go inside soon, Nathaniel. You’re starting to smoke.”
Nathaniel lifted his hand, staring silently at the wisps of smoke drifting from his knuckles.
Chapter 6
“Since you have no interest in joining the recruit program, I can offer you a couple of different options for working in our facility here or transferring to one of our other facilities to work. We have seven across the country, eight if you include the new recruit training centre in New York.” Jordan sat back in his chair and stared gravely at Clementine. “Assuming, that is, you’re not insistent upon returning to your normal life.”
Before Clem could reply, he said, “While it is fully your decision, returning to your old life is a very dangerous and -”
“I know,” she said. “I have no desire to become a vampire snack just so I can go back to living in my shitty apartment and stripping for a living. I’m fully on board with working and living at the facility now.”
“Right.” Jordan’s face was a bit red, but Clem gave him props for looking her in the eye. “You don’t have to decide right away, but here at our facility we have an opening in admin and one in housecleaning. The Atlanta facility also has an opening in admin as well as one in the kitchen. The Miami centre needs someone in their accounting department.”
“I never graduated high school,” Clem said. Her cheeks burned with the admission, but better he knew her skill set now. “Are there any openings at the recruit facility in New York?”
“Not currently,” Jordan said.
Clem hid her disappointment. She wasn’t trying to go to the recruit facility because Nathaniel might be there, she told herself. She had always wanted to live in New York City.
“If something opened up, could I transfer there?” she said.
“Yes,” Jordan said. “In the meantime, you could work in admin here and -”
“I didn’t graduate high school,” Clem repeated.
“Yes, I heard you the first time,” Jordan said.
“I’m better suited to the housekeeping position.”
Jordan shrugged. “Your choice, of course, but I think you’ll find that Resa in admin is more than happy to provide training and guidance.”
“I think I should stick to the housekeeping,” Clem said.
“Very well. I’ll let Tonya know – she’s the head of housekeeping – and she’ll be in touch with you shortly.”
“Has everyone who worked here been bitten by a vampire?” Clem said.
“Not everyone. Some have learned of the vampires’ existence without being bitten,” Jordan said. “But for those who are bitten, working here gives them a chance to lead a somewhat normal life. And, of course, it works out well for us to employ them. It would be too difficult to explain to the unbitten why there are people training to kill vampires, wouldn’t it? The bitten don’t need convincing that vampires exist.”
“Is that what we are now? The bitten?”
Jordan didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Your life will never be the same, Clementine.”
“Were you bitten?” she asked.
“A long time ago.” Jordan turned to his laptop, clearly dismissing her. “Tonya will be in touch.”
“Housekeeping? Why would you choose to work in housekeeping when you could do a desk job?” Miranda said.
“Miranda,” Olivia said.
“What?” Miranda glanced at her before turning back to Clementine. “Do you really want to clean toilets and mop floors?”
“No, but I told you – I didn’t graduate high school,” Clem said.
“So what?” Miranda said.
“Good God, you’re going to make me say it,” Clem said. “I’m not smart enough, Miranda.”
“That’s bullshit,” Miranda said with a snort. She stood up from the couch. “Olivia, you ready for our run?”
“I am,” Olivia said. She smiled at Clem. “You sure you’ll be okay here without us? We might not be back by dinner if Miranda makes me run the loop six times like she did last week.”
“It’s good for you,” Miranda said with a grin. “Besides, Clem will be fine. It’s just the common room and there isn’t even anyone else in here.”
“But if we’re not back in time and she has to eat dinner in the cafeteria alone, I’ll feel bad,” Olivia said.
“I’ll be fine,” Clem said. She didn’t want to point out that she was more used to eating alone than she was to eating with friends. She wasn’t keen on reminding Olivia and Miranda that she was a loser with no friends.
“Did you get a room yet?” Miranda said.
“I did. It’s a dorm style room and there’s no kitchen or anything but I really like it.”
“Cool.”
“Do you think they’ll let me return to my apartment to get some personal stuff?” Clem said. “I don’t have a lot but there’s a couple things I’d like to grab before my landlord throws it all out because I don’t pay my rent this month.”
