The Recruit: Book Two (5 page)

“Why do we always have to hunt in such dive
bars?”  Mallorie complained.  “Couldn’t we just once go to a good one?  The
guys here are all a bunch of skeeves.”

April grinned.  “Are there even any good
bars in this town?”

“There has to be one where every guy
doesn’t have grease on his hands and a beer belly.”  Mallorie griped.

“It’s better than a factory.”  Selena
muttered.  Her small tanned hand was clenched tightly around the beer bottle in
front of her, and she squeezed it even harder when a group of men brushed by
their table.

“Easy, Selena.  Relax.”  Hannah murmured. 
She leaned closer to the Latino woman.  “If you’re not ready, there’s no shame in
going back to the SUV and waiting for us.”

When Selena didn’t respond, she placed a
gentle hand on her arm.  “Selena?  Did you hear me?”

“I heard you, Hannah!”  Selena barked. 
“I’m fine!  Just back off, okay?”  She yanked her arm free and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“To the bathroom.  I’ll be back in a
minute.”  She stalked away and Hannah glanced across the crowded bar, staring
briefly at Reid who was frowning at her.

She waited a few minutes and when Selena
didn’t come back she stood and smoothed her dress down.

Constance looked up at her.  “Where are you
going?”

“To check on Selena.”  She replied shortly
and walked away before the Lycan could say anything else.

She could still remember the dismay that
had filled her body when she saw Will’s truck pull up behind them.  They had parked
at a pullout in the road, a few miles from the bar, to go over the final
plans.  She had looked away when Will and Constance had gotten out of the
truck, Constance linking her arm through Will’s as they walked towards the
others already gathered together.  The Lycan was wearing a short red dress.  It
clung to her like a second skin and Hannah, standing between Reid and Jeremy,
felt more than heard their mutual sharp inhales.

“How can she even walk in those things, let
alone hunt in them?”  Mallorie had squeezed in between her and Jeremy and was
staring at the Lycan with awe. 

Constance was wearing red shoes, their
heels easily five inches, and Hannah knew without a doubt that if she had tried
wearing shoes like that she would have fallen flat on her face after only a few
wobbling steps.  The Lycan however, moved confidently as she smiled up at Will
and squeezed his arm.

Hannah glanced down at her own dress.  She
was wearing a knee-length green dress with an empire-waist cut.  It hugged her
breasts but flared out around her hips and legs.  A pair of leather boots with
a short sensible heel clung to her calves, ending just below her knees.  She
had chosen the outfit because the loose fit of the dress provided easy movement
and there was no chance of tripping in the boots.  Until Constance had shown up
she was feeling good about how she looked, not failing to notice the way Reid’s
eyes had lingered on her breasts or the curve of her ass under the soft cotton
material of her dress.

Of course, now he couldn’t seem to take his
eyes off the Lycan and feeling spiteful, she leaned over and whispered into his
ear.  “You have some drool on your chin, Romeo.”

Before he could respond she turned away and
walked to Chen who was leaning against the SUV.

“What are they doing here?”  She muttered.

“Hunting.”

She snorted.  “Yeah, I can see that.  Do we
really need this many people?”

Chen shrugged.  “Safety in numbers.”

“I’d feel much better if I was wearing my
swords.”  She suddenly grumbled.

He smiled a little.  “You’re trying to lure
them in, Hannah.  Wearing a long trench coat that you refuse to take off won’t
exactly work in your favour.”

“What are you implying, Master?  That I
cannot entice them with my personality alone?”  She said cheekily, receiving a
rare grin in return.

“Once you entice them with your
personality,” Chen said, “and get them to leave the bar with you, I’ll have
your swords waiting for you.”

“And if they try to kill us before we can
get them to the designated area?”  Hannah arched her eyebrow at him.

“Reid will be giving you a gun.”  He
pointed out.

“I’m better with my swords.”

He nodded.  “True.  Reid has mentioned a
few times that you should work on your gun training and I agree with him. 
Learning multiple ways to kill vampires is a good thing.  Swords aren’t
always,” he paused, “convenient.”

“I’ll think about it.”  She said.

“Reid is one of the best.  I think you
should do more than consider it.”  Chen said gravely.

She gave him a contemplative look before bowing
briefly.  “As you wish, Master.”

There was a soft whistle and she looked
behind her to see Reid beckoning her over. 

Will watched as Hannah bowed to Chen and
then walked back to Reid.  She was wearing a dark green dress; the bodice of it
clung to her breasts and was so low cut he could see the lace edge of her bra
peeking out.  She had left her hair down tonight.  It was sleek and shiny and
he could still remember how soft it had felt against his thighs when she was
using her mouth to – he swallowed hard, forcing that particular memory out of
his head.

He looked to his right.  Constance was
speaking with Jeremy and Ryan and he could almost see their tongues hanging out
as they stared at her.  He shook his head.  The Lycan was well aware of her
effect on men and she used it to her advantage on a regular basis. 

“Tell me the truth, man.  Are you hitting
that?”  Mannie was suddenly standing next to him.

Will gave him a disgusted look.  “Her name
is Constance and no, I’m not sleeping with her.”

Mannie shrugged.  “Just checking.  I
assumed you weren’t thanks to your unrequited love for Hannah but there seems
to be a lot of hatred being projected your way, and I thought maybe you might
have turned to Constance for consoling.  She certainly seems rather fond of
you.”

“What hatred?”

“Are you kidding me?  I hate to tell you
this but ever since that hot she-wolf showed up, when Hannah isn’t actively
avoiding you she appears to be trying to kill you with her stare alone.”

When Will didn’t respond, Mannie shrugged.  “I
know you love her but since you seem unwilling to not give a fuck about what
other people think of a Lycan and a human shacking up together, maybe you
should do both of you a favour and let her go.  You’ve got a hot Lycan
practically drooling on you, and we both know Reid’s got it bad for Hannah.”

“She’s not interested in that asshole.”  Will
muttered.

“No, of course she isn’t.  Why would she?  He’s
only handsome and funny and super-smart and – “

“Why does everyone keep insisting on
telling me how funny and smart he is?”  Will scowled.  “It’s like you’re trying
to convince
me
to date him.”

Before Mannie could respond, Will suddenly
stiffened, his hands clenching into fists as Reid kneeled at Hannah’s feet. 

“Show me your gams, sweetheart.”  He winked
at her and Hannah lifted her skirt up to the top of her thighs. 

Reid held a holster with a gun in it in one
hand and ran his other up the smooth skin of one thigh.  “Left or right?”

“Right.”

He placed the holster on the outside of her
right thigh and looked up at her.  “You’re going to have to spread them just a
little more for me, sweetheart.”

Hannah blushed, her lips curling up into a
small smile as she shifted her legs apart and Reid slipped the straps around
her thigh. 

“How’s that feel?”  He ran his finger
between the leather strap and Hannah’s thigh.  “Too tight?  Too loose?”

She frowned.  “A little loose I think.”

He undid the straps, holding them between
his fingers, and then paused.  “It might be too low.  Let your dress down.”

Hannah dropped her dress obediently, trying
to stare around Reid’s head to see if any part of the holster was showing. 

Reid pursed his lips.  “A little higher I
think.  We wouldn’t want it to show when you sit down.” 

Hannah went to lift her dress and he shook
his head.  “Don’t bother.  I can do this with my eyes closed.” 

Will watched suspiciously as Reid shifted
the holster higher, his hands hidden under the material of Hannah’s dress. 
Reid’s face was directly in front of Hannah’s pelvis, his nose almost buried in
the juncture of her thighs, and Will’s spine stiffened with anger when Reid
inhaled deeply before looking up at Hannah. 

“How does that feel?”

“Good.  Not too loose this time.”

He started to rise to his feet, keeping one
hand under Hannah’s skirt.  “My personal motto is that tighter is always
better.”  He grinned delightedly when Hannah blushed again.

“Hey!”  She suddenly reached behind her and
pushed his hand out from under her skirt.  “That’s not my leg, cowboy.”

Will made a choked sound and started
forward.  Mannie grabbed his arm and yanked him back.  “Cool it.” He muttered. 
“We’re killing vampires tonight, not each other.”

Now, Will watched as Hannah picked her way
across the bar to the bathroom.  She slipped inside, shutting the door behind
her and he took a swallow of the beer in front of him, ignoring the tension he
felt when she disappeared from his sight.  He was sitting with Chen at a small
table close to the bar.  Reid and Mannie were across the room, near the front
door and they were casually studying each person that entered the bar.

The women had chosen a high table right in
the middle of the bar.  They had climbed onto the bar stools, ordering drinks
and talking and giggling.  It hadn’t taken long, not with Constance in her red
dress, for them to attract plenty of attention.  They smiled and flirted with
each man or group of men who approached them, but they had been here for nearly
three hours without a single sign of vampires.

“Perhaps we’ve chosen the wrong spot.”  Chen
said softly, as though reading Will’s mind.

Will shook his head.  “The highest
concentration of missing people has been in this area of town.  In fact, nearly
half of them went missing after a night at this bar.  We’re in the right
place.  Maybe they’re just taking a night off.”

Chen took a sip of beer.  “Maybe.”

* * *

“Selena?”  Hannah called out for her as she
smiled at the woman washing her hands at the sink.  The woman returned her
smile before drying her hands and slipping back into the bar.  The music
swelled and then returned to a distant hum as the door swung shut.

“Selena?”  Hannah said again, her stomach
tightening when there was still no response.  She cocked her head and
listened.  There were muffled sobs coming from the last stall and she ran down
to it and pounded on the door.

“Selena, let me in.  Right now.”

“Go away, Hannah.”  Selena’s voice drifted
wearily through the door.

“No!  Open the door.  Dammit, Selena!  I
will break the damn thing down if I have to.”  She pounded on the door again.

After a moment, the lock turned and Selena
opened the door.  “I’m fine.”  She said sourly.

“You’re not fine.”  Hannah reached out and
cupped Selena’s shoulders, pulling her out of the stall.  “And it’s okay that
you’re not fine.  What happened to us – it was awful and scary and – “

“Spare me, Hannah.”  Selena took a deep
hitching breath.  “You didn’t panic.  You didn’t worry about dying that night. 
You did what you needed to do and saved our lives.”

“Selena.”  Hannah squeezed her shoulders
softly.  “It doesn’t mean I wasn’t terri-“

“You should have let me die!”  Selena
suddenly shouted at her.  Tears were beginning to flow down her face.  “I
watched Tyler die and I couldn’t do anything about it.  Why didn’t you let me
die?”

She began to sob brokenly and Hannah tried
to gather her into a hug.  “Honey - it gets better.  I promise you that.  I
know how badly it hurts right now but – “

“Do you?  You think because you lost your sister
to the vampires you’re an expert on grieving over loved ones?”  Selena pulled
back and gave her a scornful look.

“The man you love is sitting in the bar
right now.  You didn’t lose him that night.  You could hug him, kiss him,
listen to his laughter – “ she paused, “oh wait, that’s right.  Your Lycan
lover dropped you like a hot potato.  What?  He finally get tired of worrying
that he might kill you while he was fucking you? ”

Hannah’s face went deathly pale as Selena
glared at her.  “Thank God he’s got that new Lycan bitch to keep him warm.  I
imagine she’s more than capable of handling his – “

Hannah slapped her hard across the face. 
Selena’s head rocked back and she placed one hand on her cheek, staring at
Hannah with wide eyes.

“Listen to me, Selena.”  Hannah pushed her
against the stall door and held her shoulders tightly.  “I know you’re
hurting.  I know you miss Tyler and honey, I’m so sorry you had to watch him
die like that.  But you didn’t die that night.  Mourn him, grieve him, but
figure out what the fuck you want.  If you want to take that grief and that
sorrow and let it turn you into something you’re not then go ahead, it’s your
fucking life, but stop blaming me for saving your life.  I’m sick and tired of
listening to your bullshit.  If you’re half the person that I believe you are,
you’ll take your grief and channel it into killing the goddamn bloodsuckers who
took Tyler from you.”