Welcome back to Dark Waters, New York.
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RECAP OF CHAPTER 2:
Victoria is working at the library with her friend Sue. Sue wants Victoria to move on with her life and go out with Sue's friend Colin. but Victoria is not interested. Victoria wants to move on from Mark (her ex) but something is holding her back. Victoria is not able to use her superpower to sense the emotions of Sue. Hunt arrives at the library and Victoria is instantly drawn to him. He is sexy, kind, and totally into her. She is able to sense his emotions (kindness, desire, and a little frustration) and agrees to meet him the following day at the library. Marsha, another library employee, tells Victoria to be careful who she associates with. Sue doesn't want Victoria to go out with Hunt because Sue doesn't trust him and thinks he is out to use Victoria. The chapter ends with Victoria getting a text from Hunt: Nice talking with you beautiful. See you tomorrow. Hunt XOXO
*****
The library was a thirty minute walk through downtown to his home, the manor, he could have drove but he did his job better on foot. During his walk through Dark Waters's quaint New England downtown, Hunt's mind was not on his mission. Victoria was more beautiful and enchanting than her expected. This was not going to be easy. A recruit had never effect on him. When he walked into the library and saw her behind the counter his previous plan was lost in a haze of amazement; all he thought of was learning everything about her and being in her presence.
It took all his self-control not to kiss her full perfect lips. Burning guilt moved over him. He took a shaky breath and dug his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Hunt didn't want to hurt Kay, but Victoria awakened something powerful in him.
His phone buzzed. Messages from Kay asking when he would be back at The Manor. He stopped and considered turning back and sitting in one of the cafés for a few hours, but he couldn't avoid her forever.
A three-story Victorian home surrounded by colorful flowers and shrubs and pristine landscaping, a couple luxury vehicles sat in the wide driveway, and a wrought iron fence surrounded the property which sat on a double corner lot. The other homes in the neighborhood were grand, but the Luna Manor was the grandest. In addition to perfect landscaping the pain job was perfect, two balconies on the second level, and a wrap-around porch dotted with rocking chairs and two porch swings sat on either said of double oak doors. Maura Luna took great pride in the estate.
A tall slim man with smooth dark skin and sharp eyes that missed nothing sat on the porch with a mug and laptop perched on a chair in front of him. His clothes were only average to the untrained eye, Hunt knew the outfit including the sneakers cost at least a grand. "Hunt," Andre called beckoning him forward. He was Hunt's best friend for the last eight years. "What happened?"
Hunt waved his hand over the lock of the gate. It opened and closed behind him. "She has power, but there is a lot of pain as well." He walked up the stone garden path and took a seat next to his friend. "The combination is deadly."
"She is a bomb waiting to explode?"
"Absolutely, and once her powers surface who knows when that explosion will happen."
Andre pulled the computer on his lap and typed something. "How did she react to meeting you?"
"I can bring her to our side." He flexed his fists, the bones cracked aching to be set free from his human form. "I have no doubt about that."
"You must and by midnight on the 31st."
Andre didn't have the common stench that vampires had; mortals couldn't smell vampires or any non-mortal. If Hunt didn't know Andre was a vampire Hunt wouldn't have been able to tell. "You know the consequences of not bringing her to The Manor."
Hunt looked past the rose bushes and the trees that dotted the front lawn and watched a couple walk down the street hand-in-hand. He flung his head back and sniffed the air. They were mortal and he envied them. "I'm having doubts."
"About what?" Andre sat his laptop aside.
"About this life." He looked away from the couple and looked at his friend. "I don't want to force her to come to this life."
"You do not have a choice."
Hunt sighed. "We shouldn't allow the past to dictate what happens to potential recruits. People should be allowed to choose their path." He rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Perhaps I want to choose my path."
"Now is not the time to have doubts." Andre's sharp eyes scanned the street. "You have nowhere to go and neither does she."
Three crows landed in the tree in the yard across the street. Hunt knew they weren't ordinary birds. Their gazes were fixed on Hunt and Andre. A shiver ran over Hunt's muscular body.
Hunt said, "You're right as usual."
"If you choose to leave you will not have the Luna Manor to protect you."
"I need no one's protection."
"Hunt, I do not mean to insult you. I am your truest friend and only speak the truth. I have walked this earth for one-hundred and fifty years. You do not want to be without the protection of a group. The Luna clan is your best option."
"I know."
"So please take heed to what I say. If you leave our protection you will be very vulnerable and survival will be difficult." Andre placed his hand on Hunt's shoulder. "You know I will always be your friend and help you in any way that I can."
"Thanks. I need one true friend." Hunt looked harder at the crows. "What do you think?" Hunt asked.
Andre sniffed. "Charlotte's coven. They only mean to spy, but she lacks the ability to attack us."
"Does Charlotte wish to attack?"
"Absolutely." Andre retrieved the laptop. "One of her people work at the library with Victoria."
"Impossible." Hunt looked at his friend. "I was just there and I smelled no trace of a vampire."
"There is one within Charlotte's coven who has a special ability to mask their scent." He began typing. "Much like me."
Andre was the eyes and ears in the vampire society for the Luna Manor, and Hunt knew he loved his job but it also caused him great pain to see how so many of his kind had turned evil. "If you went to the library do you think you'd be able to sniff the vampire out?"
"I have tired, but he or she is conveniently not there when I am or their skills are beyond mine." He smiled revealing starling white teeth. "Don't worry I will find out who it is. Especially since Victoria also works there. We can't risk Charlotte convincing such a powerful person to join her."
They wouldn't turn her into a Vampire, but they would align her soul with their cause and then there would be little hope of saving her.
"Keep me updated."
Andre nodded eyes trained on the screen, fingers flying across the keyboard. "Do you want me to take over Victoria?"
"No." A slow burn formed underneath his skin. "I can handle her."
His friend arched a brow. "As you wish." He chuckled. "I need to send Charlotte a little message." He smiled, slammed the computer, and stood. His eyes gleamed and his form transformed into a swirling cloud of black and red birds. They flew across the street.
Hunt left Andre to handle the vampires and entered the house. Sunlight filtered through the stained glass transom sending a multitude of colors across the mahogany foyer. A coat rack, small bench, vase of roses, and a silver framed mirror occupied the foyer.
Heels clicked across the hardwood floor. Hunt didn't need to look to his left to know who was approaching him.
"How was Victoria? Will she be moving in soon?" Kay, a thin blond with a heart-shaped face, walked up to him. Tight jeans and a low cut top was her usual look.
"Things are progressing well," he said.
"I see. So this mission will be completed soon?" She arched a brow.
"Why do you care?"
"What's your problem?"
"I don't mean to snap."
Kay touched his arm. "I've missed you and ever since you started researching this possible recruit a couple months ago you've been distant."
It wasn't until Kay pointed it out that he realized his fascination with Victoria begun before meeting her. Reading about her life fascinated him, but there was so much unknown information about her early years and that concerned Hunt.
He said, "I've had a lot to do."
"I can get your mind off her." She leaned in for a kiss but took a step back. Her eyes narrowed. "What's wrong with you?" Hunt knew Kay was unfamiliar with rejection. "You didn't have a problem with my touch before you took this assignment."
"It's complicated."
She huffed. "I think the complication is named Victoria. A pathetic woman who works at a library and lives in a closet."
"Don't judge her." He clenched his fists.
"Your interests in her go beyond a regular recruit. Don't think I haven't noticed all the hours you've spent watching her from afar." She swallowed hard. "Don't think it hasn't hurt me."
"I'm just doing my job. She is essential to—"
"Shut up," Kay snapped.
"Kay listen I just can't right now. I would like some time apart." His gut twisted at the lie. "No." He shook his head. "Can we talk?" he gestured down the hall where the parlor room was.
"Say what you have to say here." She narrowed her eyes.
"I think it will be best if we--"
"Just say it!"
"We need to end things between us." I have strong feelings for Victoria and have had since I first saw her, and the only right thing to do is end it with Kay. Hunt didn't say that it would cause way too much conflict in the manor.
"Really." She clicked her tongue. "Is there someone else?"
He reached for her but she stepped back. "Kay, I don't think we are suited for each other." he placed his hand on his chest. "I don't feel the connection to you that I should. I've been in love and I know what it feels like, but I don't have that feeling with you. It's wrong to keep seeing you when--"
She slapped him. His face stung. Tears filled her eyes. "I don't understand why things have to be so difficult with us." She crossed her arms over her chest. "You know I always thought your emotional distance from me was because of...your past and I was willing to be patient, but now I'm starting to think that you don't care about me."
"Kay, I do care and that is why I don't want to hurt you." He reached for her again but she jerked away.
"Don't touch me." She left the house with a slam that shook the windows.
With a heavy sigh, he walked up the steps to the third floor where he lived. Smells of vanilla clung to the air from the scented candles Kay constantly burned. He should have removed his shoes, the plush carpet runner cost three thousand dollars, but he didn't care.
He was halfway down the hall when he felt eyes on his back. "What?" He said without turning.
"Were you successful?" A light voice asked.
He turned and faced Maura. Her black hair was streaked with grey, she wore jeans and a blouse, and her dark eyes surveyed him. "Yes, she will trust me."
"Then where is she? Why is she not here?"
"I couldn't tell her everything on the first meeting. These things take time."
Maura shook her head. "We need her on our side before they try to convert her."
"She needs more time."
"We don't have it. Use force if necessary."
"I prefer not to."
"Why? You've done it before."
He swallowed hard. "This time is different."
Her eyes bore into his and he could feel her reading his emotions. Coldness moved through him and his stomach knotted. He hated her ability to read emotions. She said, "You have to understand I've been at this a long time and sometimes...you have to do distasteful things for the greater good."
A firetruck roared down the street. The sirens of emergency vehicles haunted him and took him to a dark place. No matter how many years pass that day will forever be with him. Sometimes Hunt wondered if the sirens were real or just his mind.
"Hunt."
Maura's voice brought him back to the present. "I'm doing this my way," Hunt said.
"If she doesn't come here in two days, she's dead."
His voice deepened. "What?"
"I can't risk her power falling into the wrong hands. I'm sorry, but I have to choose what is best for everyone."
"You mean what is best for her."
A school bus drove down the street. Hunt and Maura looked out the window and watched the children get off the voice. Maura's eyes met Hunt's and she said, "The anniversary was yesterday."
He took a sharp breath.
"I'm sorry Hunt. I'll ask Nicolette or Andre to take over Victoria. I feel the past is clouding your judgment and affecting your feelings."
"I'm twenty-eight, I know my own mind."
She shook her head. "When you are faced with the pain of a terrible past coupled with a flood of new and strong emotions, you are incapable of knowing your own mind."
The tug in his gut increased, she was trying to delve further into his mind. Mentally Hunt built a wall around his most private thoughts. Maura sighed.
"Stay out of my head." He took a deep breath to control his anger. "I can handle the memories of my past and Victoria."
She arched a dark brow. "We shall see."
Once she had disappeared around the corner he entered his room and leaned against the closed door. Thirty people lived in the manor and the house grew to accommodate them; the outside never betrayed the growth. His room was circular with a queen sized bed, fireplace, desk cluttered with a computer and papers, and a love seat sat in front of the fireplace. The hardwood floors were a little creaky and the window occasionally let in cold air, but overall Hunt was satisfied with his housing.
Inside his top drawer underneath a folded baby blue blanket was a picture. He only looked at it three times in the last two years. His hand quivered over the handle and he choked back a sob and hated himself for not having the strength to look at her face. Planting both hands on the drawer, he leaned forward attempting to catch his breath.
Silent tears rolled down his face.
Copyright © 2018 by Holly Starkey
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Thanks for reaching chapter 3!
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