The Recruiters (6 page)

“
Nope. Sorry. No can do, kiddo. That was a hell of a show. Must have been some dream. It must have had me in it.”

He jumped out of the way when I threw the pillow at him. He stepped into the bathroom and said, “I better lock the door, just in case.” He winked at me as he closed the door.

“
What time is it?” I called to him through the door.

“
Ten a.m.,” he said.

“
Wow,” I said, “I haven’t slept this late in years. So… have you heard anything from him?”

“
Not yet, but it’s early Sarah, give him a little time,” he said as he came out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. I tried not to gape – his ego didn’t need that kind of boost – but I couldn’t help noticing how incredibly handsome and sexy he was.

“
I know I need to, it’s just so hard. You have no idea…” I began, then smiled at him and shook my head. “Scratch that, you know exactly how much I’m freaking out here.”

Carlos blew out the air from his lungs. “Yuh think?” he said.

“
I need to plan a seriously busy day so I don’t think about him being gone all the time,” I said.

“
Sarah, you’ve got me here. You won’t be thinking about anything or anyone else. Seriously, though, I’m going to take you and show you
my
New Orleans. The same way I showed you
my
Paris. We’ll have a blast, I promise.”

I smiled and picked up my cell phone, “Gimme a second, okay? I need to call Billy to see how things are going with Alison.”

I stepped out onto the porch and dialed his number. When I came back in a few minutes later to type my notes into his file, I noticed Carlos was sitting on the couch, completely still, with his eyes closed. I stood there silently and waited. Almost a full minute passed before he opened his eyes. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. I was afraid to ask, so I sat at the table and flicked on my laptop. Without turning his head, Carlos said, “I can feel you looking at me, you know.”

“
Well, what do you expect?” I replied.

“
He’s fine. He’s at the village. The chief is there. The Enforcers haven’t been. He’s going to sit down with the chief in a little while, okay?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Thanks Carlos,” I whispered, and began typing.

Of course if I tried to get in to Matthew’s mind myself I might have seen what Carlos had kept from me. No, things were not fine. The village was trashed, burned and the villagers were nowhere to be found. He didn’t smell or sense that it was the Enforcers, but he couldn’t be certain. He took to the treetops and found the villagers’ trail heading east, deeper into the jungle. He was following it, while staying hidden in the trees and keeping all of his senses alert to finding any indication of the Enforcers. He thought he was close but had to be sure it was safe before he revealed himself to them.

Carlos was right to keep this from me. He knew I would have insisted that Matt abandon the trip and return home. But he also knew that he couldn’t be around when Matt finally told me what really happened in Peru, because hell hath no fury like a vampire wife whose been lied to…

Chapter Eight

Matt spent the night in the top of the tree, along with a few parrots, and occasional visiting monkeys. He stared down at the village below him, studying it, watching for any indication that the Enforcers were around. He’d been in this tree for over twelve hours and nothing was suspicious, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, other than the fact that the villagers had moved. He silently climbed down and approached the village. The guards closed rank when he emerged from the jungle into the clearing, then parted when they saw it was him. He was led to the chief’s hut. His heart was pounding as he ducked his head and entered. In Spanish the chief spoke first, “Mi amigo,” he began, “No esperaba verte tan pronto (I did not expect to see you so soon).”

“
Ni yo le (nor I you),” Matt replied.

They continued in Spanish, “To answer your question, no they have not been here, nor to the other village. The crops required us to move east and we leave nothing behind when we move.”

“
That’s good to know, I was worried about you and the villagers, friend. I hope you know that I would never intentionally bring danger to you and yours,” Matt said.

The chief laughed, “HA! Our medicine man casts a spell over our village that prevents those who mean us harm from finding us. This spell has worked for centuries, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work now. Speaking of the medicine man, he tells me you have an unusual request.”

Matt nodded his head. “Yes, I’m afraid I do. Has he seen anything of what’s been going on with me and my loved one?”

The chief nodded. “I’m afraid, yes. It is tragic, a travesty. We have long thought they were wrong to be doing what they were doing, but we kept silent because they were right to control your population. But this, this is unacceptable and we will do anything we can to help.”

“
Are you certain you will be able to keep the village safe if you do?” Matt said.

“
Quite,” the chief replied. “But I’m not going to help you in the way you think I am.”

Matt’s heart pounded. He got nervous and wanted to say something, but he waited.

The chief continued, “I’m not going with you and I’m not going to show you how to do it yourself, that’s not possible.” The chief smiled and held up his hand when Matt opened his mouth to respond. “No, do not worry,” he said, “Everything will be fine. I have a cousin who used to be the medicine man in a nearby village, but he saw a very different future for himself one day. When he was certain that the young man he was training to be his eventual replacement was suitable, he slipped away one night and moved to Paradise Island in the Bahamas. He now runs a resort there and he knows the linking ceremony,” he smiled again at the surprised look on Matt’s face. “Aduviri is waiting for your call. He knows very well how to do the linking ceremony and he will travel with you, for a price of course,” he said as he handed Matt a piece of rolled up parchment with his cousin’s contact information.

“
Of course,” Matt said. “And we will do our best to keep his involvement to a minimum and to keep him safe.”

“
I know you will,” the chief replied, “Now, let us go and join the others for a good luck ceremony to help you along the way.”

“
Thank you friend,” Matt replied as he rose and followed him out the door.

Back in New Orleans, it was late Wednesday afternoon. I had spent an exhausting, fun-filled, and extremely busy day with Carlos – which included jazz clubs, cemeteries, and flying, lots and lots of flying. And tons of laughing. Carlos had obviously spent a lot of time here. Several of the club’s doormen recognized him. “Carlos! Long time, no see. Good to have you back, man. And who’s this flavor of the week you’ve brought?”

“
Hey, Hank. It’s good to be back. This is Sarah. Believe it or not, she’s just a friend. One of my best friends.”

Hank looked me up and down. “Uh-huh. Sure she is. Like you could ever keep your hands off of someone as hot as this,” he said as he shook my hand and winked. This scene had repeated itself several times throughout the day and I laughed just as much as I had in Paris.

We were hoping Matt would have some news soon, so I thought the time was right to approach Stacy. I left Carlos at home. “Please don’t get into any trouble. I’ll be back in a little while,” I said.

He just smiled and shook his head. “I don’t need a babysitter, you know. Go Sarah, I’ll be fine.”

I walked down to the coffee shop just as Stacy’s shift was ending. I caught her on her way out the door. “Hi Stacy.”

“
Hey there, Sarah. What are you doing here? You’re not on the schedule for today, are you?” she said.

“
No, actually I was coming to see you,” I replied. “I was hoping you might have a few minutes for me.”

“
If you don’t mind going to my apartment while we talk, then sure. But I have to shower and get changed for my other job,” she said.

“
Not a problem, and what I need to talk to about kind of has to do with your other job,” I said.

She turned her confused face toward me, “Really? You? You need extra money or something? I mean, you definitely have the body for it, but Matt doesn’t seem like the type of guy who’d be okay with it, and you would be the last person I could see stripping.”

I smiled and shook my head. “No, not for me,” I replied. “But I have a proposition for you, and it could definitely help out with your future.”

“
Oh, let me guess. You two want to try out a threesome? I get requests for that all the time,” she said. “Or is it just you? Feel like experimenting?” she smiled.

“
Wrong again,” I smiled. “You’re really not going to guess what it is. Let’s just get into your apartment and I’ll explain there.”

“
Okay,” she said, eyeing me, trying to figure it out, but she was running out of ideas.

We talked about Billy and Alison while walking the last two blocks to her apartment. “Boy, are they hooked,” she said. “The only two people I’ve ever seen more meant for each other were you and Matt. It’s weird. Almost like you bring that with you somehow. It kinda freaks me out to hang out with you, cause that’s sooooo not my thing.”

“
Another reason I’m here to talk to you,” I said as we climbed the stairs and went inside.

“
Gimme two minutes to shower,” she said as she started pulling off her clothes. I loved how comfortable she was with her sexuality and her body. It showed me that she was strong enough to handle what I was going to ask her.

“
Sure, no problem,” I replied as I sat at the kitchen table.

She emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later and came and sat down at the table with me, completely naked, while towel-drying her hair. “So, what’s up?” she said.

I took a deep breath and jumped right in. “First of all. How old are you?”

“
Twenty-three,” she replied. “Why?”

“
How would you like to have that body and be twenty-three forever?” I said, trying not to show how nervous I was.

“
You’re joking right?” she said. “I mean, if that were possible then, heck yeah, but it’s not.”

“
Yes, it is,” I said and I watched as she tilted her confused face to the side. I slid my hand across the table. “Take my hand,” I said and as she did I continued, “Does it feel different from yours? Colder? Smoother?”

“
Yes,” she replied, staring down at it, “and it’s a different color. Your skin isn’t as pink as mine. It’s porcelain but it almost seems to be the same color as my veins, like it has a bluish tinge.” She looked up at me and touched my cheek. “And your face too. You should really go tanning or something, Sarah.”

I ignored her suggestion, smiled and continued. “It is,” I went on, “And have you ever seen me drink a coffee or eat anything at the shop, or at your club when I went to see you there?”

“
No,” she said. “But I just thought you were as obsessed about your body as I am.”

I smiled. “I used to be, but my body now will never change. It will stay like this forever.”

She shifted forward in her chair. A good sign, it meant she was curious. “But…. how?”

“
Because I’m not human anymore,” I replied.

She laughed nervously. “Now I know you’re pulling my leg. What do you mean you’re not human?”

“
I’m not,” I said. “I’m a vampire.”

She dropped my hand, leaned back in her chair and stared at me. “You are not,” she whispered.

“
Yes, I am,” I replied.

“
Prove it,” she said. “Let me see your fangs.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t work that way, they only drop down if someone evil is nearby… or during sex.”

“
You can still have sex?” she said. Now I was on a subject that really piqued her interest.

“
Better sex than I ever had as a human,” I smiled. “And much more of it because we don’t tire as easily.”

“
Really? That’s awesome,” she said, then she frowned. “But do you kill people?”

I dropped my eyes to the table. “I have, once,” I said. “But only to help Matt. We don’t need to kill. There’s a huge network of prison doctors around the world that supply us with donated blood from prisoners.”

“
Why prisoners?” she said. “Couldn’t you just go rob a blood bank or something?”

“
No,” I replied. “Our fangs don’t respond to all blood. Only blood from evil, bad people. That’s why I can’t show them to you and why I could never bite you. You’re a good person.”

She blew out from her lips. “Wow,” she said. “Wait… this really is some kind of joke, right? Did someone put you up to this? This isn’t for real, is it?”

I glanced out the window, saw that it was dark outside and smiled. “You’re gonna be late for work, aren’t you?”

“
Oh crap!” she said as she glanced at the clock.

“
Go get dressed and I’ll prove it to you,” I said.

“
Really?” she replied as she headed down the hall to her room.

“
Really,” I said as I went and locked her front door – we wouldn’t be leaving that way.