Read The Recruit: Book Two Online
Authors: Elizabeth Kelly
The Recruit: Book Two
THE RECRUIT
(Book Two)
By Elizabeth Kelly
Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Kelly
This book is the copyrighted property of the author, and may
not be reproduced, scanned or distributed for commercial or non-commercial
purposes. Quotes used in reviews are the exception. No alteration of content
is allowed.
Your support and respect for the property of this author is
appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to
persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental.
The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used
fictitiously.
Adult Reading Material
Cover art by: LFD Designs for Authors
Table of Contents
“The motion sensors have been tripped.” Mannie stuck his
head into Chen’s training room.
Chen nodded and turned to his student. “We’re finished for
tonight.”
He bowed and, holding both of his katana swords, headed
towards the door.
“Master.” She said softly.
He turned and stared at her for a few moments. “Are you
sure?”
She nodded, and he regarded her solemnly for a moment
longer. “Very well.”
She grinned and quickly grabbed her swords before following him
from the room.
“He’s not going to like this.” Mannie said in a low voice
to Chen.
“He has no say in it.” She replied immediately.
Mannie glanced back at her. “Hannah – “
“Shut it, Mannie. My master says I can go - I’m going.” She
glared at him, daring him to challenge Chen’s decision.
Mannie sighed heavily. “Fine. But if she gets hurt it’ll
be your head he rips off, Chen.”
Chen didn’t reply but he dropped a small wink at Hannah and
she bit back a smile.
They were at the elevators now and as the doors slid open,
she nodded to Jeremy and Ryan who were waiting impatiently at the elevators.
It had been nearly a month since the bloodbath at the
factory, and in that time she and Jeremy had developed a cautious truce. She
doubted they would ever truly be friends again, but they had a grudging respect
for one another. Nearly dying together had a way of softening people towards
each other, Hannah thought sarcastically.
Now, as they stood together in the elevator, he glanced down
at her. “First time hunting since the factory?”
“Yes. You?”
“Yeah. Nervous?”
She shook her head. “No, are you?”
“A little.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“Yeah.” He rubbed his sweaty palms against his pants, and
then rested his hands on the handles of his guns. “Everything’s cool.”
The elevator doors opened with a soft ding, and they stepped
into the dim light of the old shack that served as one of the entrances to the
underground facility.
Hannah plucked her night vision glasses from the top of her
head and put them on. She looked over the top of them at Jeremy. “Just like
James Bond, yeah?”
He smiled a little. “Yeah.”
They huddled with the others at the door to the small
shack. Mannie turned to them. “Ryan and Jeremy, you’re with me. Hannah – you
stick with Chen. We don’t know for sure that it’s bloodsuckers out there, so
everyone just be cool. Last week it was a goddamn bear wandering through.”
He paused. “Will and his team are already out there so keep
your goddamn eyes peeled. We don’t need you shooting each other.”
A shiver went down Hannah’s back and she glanced at Jeremy.
That had been one of the last things Darren had told them before they had
entered the factory.
They stepped silently into the cold night air. Their breath
plumed like smoke in front of them, and Hannah shivered lightly. She was
wearing a short-sleeved shirt and her yoga pants, and she wished she had
thought to grab a jacket on the way out.
Chen glanced at her. “Let’s go.”
She nodded and, holding her swords tightly, followed him
into the darkness.
* * *
Hannah peered around the large oak tree. Her eyes narrowed
as she watched the three vampires feeding greedily on the fallen deer. The
moon was nearly full and, despite the trees, it still provided enough light
that she didn’t need her night vision glasses. She glanced to her right; Chen,
his small body completely still, was standing undetected in the shadows of his
own tree.
He nodded to her and, taking a deep breath, she stepped out
from the protection of the trees. The vampire closest to her caught the
movement from the corner of his eye and he turned, hissing in delight at the
sight of her.
“Hello human.” It giggled. “Lost in the woods are we?” He
stared at the swords in her hands. “I like your swords. They’re very
medieval.”
His companions rose and turned towards her. “Oh my… human
blood. I do so prefer it over the animals.” The vampire who spoke was wearing
a long black cloak with a hood. He raised one pale hand and pushed the hood
back, exposing his white and coldly handsome face.
“Do you find me attractive, human?” He wrinkled his lips at
her in an attempt of a smile. “I could make you immortal, my pretty one. Would
you like that?”
He untied his cloak and let it fall to the ground before
unbuttoning the sleeve of his shirt and pushing it up his forearm. “First, I
will have a nice long drink and then I will turn you.”
“No fair!” The vampire who had noticed her first, whined
loudly. “I want a taste too. You can’t keep her all to yourself.”
“Shut up, moron.” The vampire hissed at him. “Do you want
the others to hear? She’s barely big enough for all of us to have a taste. We
don’t need the rest of them finding her too.”
“Then let me at least have a drink first!” The vampire ran
towards her. It reached for her, its lips peeling back from its teeth and its
cold hands grasping her shoulders. It made a small gasp, its glowing yellow
eyes widening just a fraction before it looked down at the steel blade embedded
in its chest.
“What…” It whispered and exploded into blood and ash.
The other two vampires shrank back, hissing and baring their
fangs as Hannah smiled at them.
“Who’s next?”
“You bitch!” The larger vampire snarled and as one, the two
vampires sprang towards her. She raised both of her swords and grinned
fearlessly as they rushed her. With a quick flick of her right wrist, she
sliced through the neck of the smaller vampire. Something skimmed past her
cheek, something that felt like a high-speed darning needle, and as she plunged
her sword deep into the larger one’s chest she realized blue light was pulsing
through its veins. There was a small dark hole high on its chest, and she turned
her head away as both vampires burst apart and blood and ash rained down around
her.
“Master, did you see – “
There was the soft sound of leaves rustling behind her and
she whirled around, raising her sword.
“Hey – whoa, stop!”
She stared at the tall blonde man standing in front of her
with his hands up, a gun with a silencer clasped loosely in his right. Her
sword was pressed against his throat and he winked at her. “Relax, sweetheart.
I’m one of the good guys.”
Nostrils flaring, she kept the tip of her sword against his
throat. He glanced to her right. “Chen, tell her.”
“Let him go, Hannah.” Chen’s soft voice demanded obedience
and she dropped her sword at once, stepping back and staring quietly at the
man.
“My name’s Reid.” The man lowered his hands but didn’t
holster his gun. “I’m the new weapons instructor.”
Hannah glanced at Chen for confirmation and he nodded. “He
arrived late last night. We’re introducing him to the recruits tomorrow.”
“You’re a recruit?” Reid looked Hannah up and down.
“You’re pretty good for a recruit.”
“Did you shoot that vampire?” She asked.
He nodded and gave her a boyish grin. “Sure did.”
“You almost shot me.” She snapped. “Perhaps we should have
hired someone who could actually aim.”
He surprised her by laughing. “If I’d wanted to shoot you,
sweetheart, I would have.”
“I had it under control.” She said tightly.
He shrugged. “Let’s just say I don’t have as much faith in
your shiny swords as you do.”
She glared silently at him, her hands tightening around the
handles of her swords, and the grin on his face widened. “Forgive me. Next
time I’ll have more faith, Hannah.”
Chen glanced around. “Where are Will and the others?”
“I got separated from them.”
Chen frowned. “You’re supposed to stick together. No one
hunts alone.”
Reid nodded. “I know.”
He kicked his foot through the ashes. “Think this was it
for the fangers?”
Chen shook his head. “No, they mentioned more.”
He cocked his head to the left and Hannah took a step
towards him, raising her swords as Reid spun around and pointed his gun into
the darkness. The lazy grace was completely gone from his tall, lean body and
he stared intently into the darkness, every muscle in his body tense and
vibrating.
There was a soft whistle and the three of them relaxed as Mannie,
Jeremy and Ryan emerged from the darkness.
“Reid.” Mannie nodded to him before looking at Chen. “We
found two.”
“There were three here.” Chen pointed to the ash and blood that
coated the ground under their feet.
“Do you think there’s more?” Ryan asked.
Mannie shrugged. “I don’t know. Will and his group headed
west, they may have seen something.”
Reid shook his head. “We hadn’t seen anything before I got
separated from them.”
Mannie looked at the small group. “Let’s break into smaller
groups. We’ll cover more ground that way. Jeremy, you can stay with me, and
Ryan you can go with Re – “
“I’ll go with Hannah.” Reid interrupted smoothly.
Mannie glanced at Hannah who shrugged before kneeling and,
using large handfuls of the dry leaves, wiped the blood and ash from her hands
and arms.
“Fine. Reid and Hannah you head to the north, Ryan and Chen
go south, and Jeremy and I will cover the east. We’ll meet back at the shack
in –“ he checked his wristwatch, “half an hour.”
* * *
“You’re pretty good with those swords of yours.” Reid said softly.
Hannah ignored him, studying the darkness for signs of
movement in the trees around her.
“How long have you been training with Chen?”
She sighed, giving him an impatient look. “A few months.”
“Months? Jesus…and you’re that good already? You must be a
natural.” Reid said in an admiring voice.
When Hannah continued to stay silent, Reid tried again. “So
what brought you to the facility?”
“Shhh.” She stopped and turned around to glare at him. “In
case you’ve forgotten, we’re hunting - not going for a midnight stroll through
the forest.”
He grinned at her. “Fair enough, sweetheart. Just out of
curiosity – if I did ask you to go for a midnight stroll with me, would you?”
She stared at him in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Do
you realize how dangerous this is? This is hardly the time to be flirting and
–“
She let out a soft squeak when he suddenly dove at her and
pushed her back against a tree. He pressed his body against hers and cocked
his head, his brow furrowed in concentration.
“What are you doing?” Hannah scowled and tried to push him
away.
“Shhh.” He mimicked her. “I think I hear something.”
Hannah held her breath and listened. After a moment she shoved
again at his chest. “There’s nothing.”
“You have blood on your face.” He informed her.
He wiped at her cheek with his thumb and showed her the
smear of red.
She shrugged. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”
He grinned and then suddenly stiffened, looking behind him
quickly before turning back to face her.
Hannah realized she couldn’t hear anything, not the rustle
of small animals or the movement of larger ones deep within the woods. It was
much quieter than it should have been and her heartbeat increased. The hair on
the back of her neck was trying to stand up, and her body was beginning to
shake with adrenaline.
Reid leaned closer, his hard chest pressing intimately
against her breasts, and placed his mouth against her ear. His warm breath
tickled and she suppressed a shiver as he breathed, “Ten feet over my
shoulder. Do you see the eyes?”
He pressed harder against her. She could feel the bark of
the tree digging into her back, and as he bent his head into the curve of her
neck she squinted over one wide shoulder. She inhaled sharply as she caught
sight of the eyes glowing softly at her. Reid was tensing against her, and she
hesitated as she stared at the eyes. They were low to the ground, too low for
a vampire, unless it was crawling towards them.
Reid was like a stone against her. She could feel him
starting to turn as a familiar growling began and she caught his arm. “Reid,
wait.”
The muscles beneath her hand bunched, and she knew he was
only seconds away from turning and firing.
“Stop!” She hissed at him, throwing her arm around his shoulders,
her sword slapping him gently on the back. “It’s one of the good guys.”
He looked behind him as the growling grew even louder, and a
giant grey wolf emerged from the darkness. It was stalking towards them on
stiff legs with its lips peeled back from its large white teeth. Reid turned
around to face it, sheltering Hannah between his large body and the tree.
“You sure about that?” He said quietly. As the wolf grew
closer he raised his gun, pointing it at the beast.
“I said stop it!” Hannah hit him on the leg with the butt
of her sword and wiggled her way free.
“And you stop it too.” She glared at the wolf as she
stepped towards it and it gave a soft whine, staring anxiously at her. Reid
moved towards them and the wolf resumed its growling, snapping its teeth and
curling its lip back.
“Don’t be an asshole.” Hannah glared at the wolf.
Reid shook his head in wonderment. It was one of the
biggest wolves he had ever seen. Its large head was twice the size of Hannah’s,
and its broad back was higher than her waist. It stared balefully at him as
Hannah glanced around the darkness.
“What are you doing here?” She spoke to the wolf in a
hushed voice.
It gave another low whine before staring at Reid once more.
“He thought you were a vampire.” She said. Reid blinked a
little at how easily she seemed to understand the wolf.