The Recruit (Book Three) (16 page)

Jim, holding
Reuben in his arms, sauntered into the kitchen. “Nat? We’re – “

He stopped,
making a small grunt of pain when Tyrone ran into his back, and
stared wide-eyed at the blood and ash on the floor as Tyrone peered
around him.

“What the
fuck?” Tyrone said softly.

“Language,
dear.” Natalie replied calmly before bursting into tears.

* * *

“Selena! Behind
you!” Mallorie screamed.

Selena whirled
around and fired her gun at the vampire. It just grazed his
shoulder and he twitched before grinning at her. She cursed loudly
and raised her gun to fire again as a sword sliced the vampire in
half. Alex, sweating profusely, stabbed the fallen vampire in the
chest.

“Thanks.”
Selena panted.

“Don’t mention
it.” He ran toward a vampire attacking Paul as Selena scanned the
forest.

They were
winning. There were less than five vampires left and she watched as
Constance, her dark fur gleaming in the moonlight, leaped on to the
back of a vampire trying to crawl away and tore its head off.

There was
muffled shout and Selena twisted around to see a vampire grab Reid
and lift him in the air.

“Reid!” She
screamed as the vampire threw Reid as easily as a ragdoll into a
large tree. There was a sharp crack and the blond man bellowed with
pain.

Reid stared up
at the vampire towering over him. His gun had been knocked from his
hand and he groped frantically for it as the vampire reached for
him.

“Fool!” The
vampire hissed. “Do you really think you can defeat me? I – “

A gun pressed
against his temple and the leech turned to see Selena grinning
manically at him. “Fuck you, leech.”

She pulled the
trigger and the vampire’s head exploded in a spray of blood and
brains.

Selena hauled
Reid to his feet. “Are you alright?”

“I think my
arm’s broken.” His face was ashen and he cradled his arm against
his side as another vampire landed with a thud in front of
them.

Selena raised
her gun and fired. The vampire laughed at the dry click and clapped
his hands together delightedly. “Poor baby. Is your gun empty? Not
so tough now, are you?”

Before he could
reach for them, Mannie was standing behind him. He shoved a long
wooden stake into his back and grunted triumphantly when the
vampire exploded.

“You two
okay?”

“Reid’s broken
his arm.” Selena slipped her arm around Reid’s waist as Mannie
scanned the forest.

He studied the
bloody, sweating group of humans who were gathering together.
Nothing remained of the vampires and Mannie nodded to the others.
“Good job, everyone. Let’s get back.”

He smiled at
Selena and Reid. “Come on, Reid. Let’s get you to the
infirmary.”

* * *

“How is he?”
Hannah asked anxiously as she nearly ran in to the infirmary.
Jordan had insisted on a debriefing when the group had returned to
the facility and she had spent the entire time worrying about Chen.
Will and Selena were with her and Will rubbed her back soothingly
as Selena peered behind each of the drawn curtains. She disappeared
behind the third one as Hannah continued to stare nervously at
Barb.

“He’s okay. He
lost quite a bit of blood but he’ll live.” Barb gave her a tired
smile as she washed her hands. “It didn’t take long to re-suture
and I’ve given him some morphine for the pain. He’s pretty drowsy
at the moment.”

“I’ll stay with
him.” Hannah started forward as Barb shook her head.

“Andrew’s with
him and besides, Chen isn’t going to remember much of tonight. You
should check on your mom. She’s upset.”

Will frowned.
“Is Luther okay?”

“Oh, he’s
fine.” Barb replied. “The vampire sliced his arm open and he lost
some more blood when he was bitten but he’s young and healthy.
He’ll bounce back quickly. It was scary for Nat though and she was
pretty upset when I was suturing Luther’s arm.”

Barb scrubbed
her hand across her face. “I still need to set Reid’s broken arm,
Paul’s got a pretty nasty cut to the abdomen and Leanne was bitten
and needs the wound cleaned and disinfected.”

She sighed
heavily. “We really need to have more than just me. I’ll have to
talk to Jordan about bringing in a larger medical team. The
facility isn’t the same now, is it? More recruits, and talk of more
hunts. If Richard were alive, he would…”

She trailed off
and Will squeezed her arm gently. “You’re doing a great job.”

She smiled
faintly. “Thanks, Will.”

She hugged
Hannah briefly before giving her a light push. “Go on. Go see your
mom.”

* * *

Selena sat on
the edge of the bed and stared worriedly at Reid. The blond man’s
eyes were closed and he was pale with dark circles under his eyes.
She stroked his left arm gently and his eyes popped open.

“Hi, Reid. How
are you feeling?”

“I feel great.”
He grinned at her. “Barb gave me morphine.”

She smiled as
he took her hand and squeezed it. “How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“Thanks for
saving my life, sweetheart.”

“You’re
welcome.”

“I was
thinking,” he said conversationally, “that after Barb sets my arm
you should climb in to this hospital bed and I’ll show you how
grateful I am.”

She laughed.
“That’s not a great idea, Reid.”

“Sure it is.
Even with only one good arm, I’ll rock your world.”

She laughed
again. “That’s the morphine talking.”

He snorted
loudly and glanced at his broken arm. “Trust me, sweetheart, I’ve
got moves in the sack you’ve only dreamed about.”

“I’m sure you
do, but after Barb sets your arm you’re going to need some rest.
Once that morphine wears off, it’s going to hurt like hell.”

“I think you’re
turning me down because you’re afraid you’ll have too much fun, and
get a little too attached to this smoking hot body of mine.” Reid
grinned at her.

She rolled her
eyes. “If anyone gets too attached, it’ll be you. You’re not the
only one with moves.”

Reid snickered
before stroking her hand lightly. “Don’t worry, Selena. I know
exactly what this is.”

“And what is
this?” She asked softly.

“We’re just two
people having some adult fun together. There’s nothing wrong with
that.

Before she
could reply, Barb hurried through the gap in the curtains. She was
pushing a small white cart that had an x-ray film balanced on top
and she smiled at Reid. “The break is bad but, all things
considered, pretty clean. I’m going to set the bone and then we’ll
cast it. How’s the morphine holding up?”

“It’s super!”
Reid said so enthusiastically that both Selena and Barb
laughed.

“Yes, well,
enjoy it while it lasts.” Barb said dryly. “Do you want Selena to
leave while I set your arm?”

“Nope.” Reid
winked at Barb. “After you set my arm, Selena’s going to crawl into
the bed with me and I’m going to rock her world.”

“Reid!”
Selena’s face turned bright red.

“Sorry, Reid.
The infirmary is a sex-free zone.” Barb said firmly before grinning
at Selena.

“What?” Reid
replied indignantly. “That’s ridiculous. Besides, Selena won’t be
able to resist jumping my bones so if you hear any strange noises
behind the curtain just ignore them.”

“Reid, be
quiet.” Selena gave him a pointed look before smiling nervously at
Barb. “He’s just high on the morphine. I don’t want to sleep with
him.”

“Sure you
don’t.” Barb winked at her before patting Reid’s leg. “Are you
ready, Reid?”

“Ready,
Freddie!” Reid wiggled his eyebrows at her before squeezing
Selena’s hand. “You’re going to stay with me, right?”

“Yes.” Selena
replied softly. “I’ll stay with you.”

* * *

Chen groaned
softly. His arm was throbbing, his head was swimming and he was
terribly thirsty. Keeping his eyes closed, he cleared his throat
painfully and croaked Barb’s name.

“Chen? What’s
wrong?” Andrew’s deep voice spoke in his ear and a wide ribbon of
relief washed over him. The fight in the farmhouse had ended in a
blur and he couldn’t remember if Andrew had lived or not.

“Thirsty.” He
croaked again.

“Okay. Hold on.
I’m going to raise the bed.” Andrew’s warm hand stroked across his
forehead and Chen swallowed down the nausea when there was a soft
whirring noise and the upper half of the bed began to rise.

“Okay?” Andrew
asked worriedly.

“Yeah. Just a
little nauseous.”

“That’s
probably from the morphine. Take small sips of water, okay?”

A straw was
held to his lips and he took a few sips of the cold water. It felt
wonderful against his parched throat and he made a low noise of
protest when Andrew took the cup away.

“Sorry.” He
soothed his hand across Chen’s forehead again. “You can have some
more in about ten minutes.”

Chen nodded and
stared blearily at Andrew. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Andrew
smiled at him. “Thanks to you. Do you remember what happened?”

“Not all of it.
I remember killing the vampire that was attacking you.”

“Not bad for a
man with a missing hand.” Andrew said quietly.

Chen closed his
eyes. “Before I would have easily killed all three of them.”

Andrew touched
his shoulder hesitantly. “You saved my life, Chen.”

“What happened
after that?” Chen asked wearily.

“Well, the
second vampire grabbed you by the throat and by your arm. I
panicked and started punching him because, you know, that’s
effective technique against a leech.”

Chen smiled
faintly and Andrew grinned at him. “Then Hannah and Will showed up
and killed the leeches.”

“Chen?” Andrew
squeezed his arm and Chen opened his eyes.

“Is Hannah a
Lycan?”

“Yes.”

Andrew didn’t
reply and Chen frowned at him. “What?”

“Nothing. I
just – it seems strange that a Lycan would learn to use
swords.”

“She wasn’t
always a Lycan. When the vampires attached the facility she managed
to kill Samuel, the head vampire, but he stabbed her in the chest.
Will turned her to save her life.”

“Wow.” Andrew
breathed lightly.

“They didn’t
tell you she was a Lycan before you came here?”

“No. I knew
that they had three Lycans as instructors but I didn’t know she was
one.”

“How did you
find out?” Chen suddenly asked.

“Hannah was
kind of freaking out after she killed the leeches. She thought you
were dying and her eyes were glowing and I think she was about to
shift. She doesn’t seem to have much control over it.” Andrew
replied.

“She doesn’t.
Not yet, anyway. Will is teaching her how to control the shift.”
Chen cleared his throat. “Can I have some more water?”

Andrew held the
straw to his mouth and Chen took a few sips before sighing softly.
“How much has this set me back?”

“Not as much as
you think. Your sutures were torn when the leech grabbed your arm
but it shouldn’t take long to start healing again.”

“Right.”

“It’ll be okay,
Chen. I promise.” Andrew hesitated and then gently rubbed Chen’s
chest. “You should try and get some rest, alright?”

“Yeah.” Chen
closed his eyes. “Are you leaving now?” His cheeks reddened
slightly.

“Only if you
want me to.”

“I don’t.”

“Then I’ll
stay.” Andrew replied quickly. “Get some sleep, Chen. I’ll be right
here.”

Chapter 13

“Reid, let me
in.” Selena knocked on his apartment door for a third time and
waited patiently.

After a few
minutes, the door opened a crack. “What, Selena?’

“Let me
in.”

“I’m tired and
in pain. Can we talk later?”

“No.” She
shoved on the door and he sighed irritably and opened it. She
blinked at him. He was shirtless and wearing just a pair of gym
shorts. His usual clean-shaven face was covered in blond stubble
and his short hair was sticking up everywhere.

“God,
Reid.”

“What?” He
glared at her as she looked around the apartment.

“You haven’t
left your apartment in three days.”

He shrugged,
wincing a little, before cradling his arm against his chest.

“So.”

“So, everyone
wants to sign your cast.”

He rolled his
eyes and walked back toward the bed. “I’m going back to bed.”

“No, you’re
not. You’re going to shave, have a shower and go to the cafeteria
with me to get something to eat.” She said firmly.

“Like hell I
am.”

“Like hell
you’re not.” She took his arm and dragged him toward the small
bathroom. “Get in there, Reid.”

“I’m
right-handed, Selena. I’ll cut my own throat if I try and shave
with my left hand.” He scowled.

“I’ll help
you.” She put the lid of the toilet seat down and pushed him into a
sitting position before filling the sink with hot water.

He realized he
was too tired to argue plus his face really was itchy as hell. He
scratched at it as she rummaged through the medicine cabinet for
his razor and shaving cream. She put some shaving cream in her hand
and tilted his head back with her other one before slathering the
cream on his face and neck.

After rinsing
her hands, she picked up the razor and grinned at him. “Ready?”

“Have you done
this before?” He gave her a suspicious look.

“No, but how
hard can it be?”

“Great.” He
grunted. “I’ll be back in the infirmary having my face sewn back
together.”

“Oh please.”
She scoffed. “If I can shave my girlie bits without drawing blood,
I can shave your face.”

His eyes
dropped to her crotch and she blushed a little before tugging
lightly on his hair. “Lift your head and hold still.”