Mandy squeezed my arm again, and I patted her hand. “I’m seriously going to be fine. I’ll feel better after I feed.”
Sergeant Sorano cut in with an insult to add to my injury. “First meal isn’t until midnight, cadet. Your enemies won’t wait until you’ve fed and feel better.” She scoffed at my grimace. “Sunset to midnight is the busiest shift for most Blood Vice agents. Our job here is to make sure you’re trained to handle yourself at a moment’s notice while keeping your bloodlust under control.”
“I’ll just go change then.” I stood and peeled off the wet towel Kai had draped over my shoulders. He took it from me with a tight smile, as if he knew my night would only get worse from here.
“That can wait, too,” Sorano said. “Afraid you’ve used up too much time as it is.”
“What?” I looked down at my wet clothes and bare feet before scowling at her.
“Get in line or go home.” She turned and marched off toward the vampire barrack where the rest of the vamp cadets were lining up outside, completely unfazed by my near-death experience.
To be fair, I wasn’t entirely sure a vampire could drown. But it had been really fucking unpleasant. And a quick bite would have made me feel better. Dry clothes, too. Or simply breaking Blair’s upturned nose. The image gave me the strength to take the first step in her direction.
I was going to pass this course, or I was going to die trying. The latter seemed more likely at this point.
Despite Kai’s good advice, I was the last cadet in line, taking up the empty spot beside Sonja. Sergeant Sorano didn’t seem surprised. Neither did anyone else. Even if Mic wasn’t responsible, he sure seemed willing to take credit for my close call. He stood to Sonja’s left and leaned back just enough to ogle me with a hateful sneer.
“Have a nice swim, green fang?” he whispered.
“Eyes up here,” Sorano snapped, drawing our attention ahead.
Six stacks of folded, black fatigues waited on the table. Before each stack rested a pair of boots and a black watch. Paper name cards noted who each set of gear belonged to.
Sergeant Sorano stood behind the table. “Gather your things, go change, and meet back here in ten minutes.” She glanced down at her watch, taking note of the time. “The last person to return will be running an extra mile today.”
And everyone was suddenly in motion, shoving past one another to collect their gear. I waited for the others to clear the table, and once they’d filtered through the barrack entrance, I stripped out of my soaked clothes. I disposed of them in a trash barrel next to the table before pulling on the remaining stack of fatigues.
Sergeant Sorano watched me with the closest thing I’d seen to a smile on her face. Impressing her couldn’t hurt, but more than that, I wasn’t interested in running an extra mile. Not today, Satan.
My bra and underwear were damp, but I’d survive. I slipped on the black boots and quickly laced them up. Then I buckled the watch around my wrist. I was back in line before the next dressed recruit emerged from the barrack.
Blair glowered at me as she took her place. The other four cadets followed soon after her, the last one being her spiteful sidekick.
“Novak,” Sergeant Sorano called. “Congratulations, you’ll be running nine miles today instead of eight.”
He huffed an indignant sound. “But I came out at the same time as everyone else.” His eyes migrated to me, and he frowned.
“Ten miles, Novak,” Sorano snapped. “Unless you have anything else to say?”
He threw up his hands in surrender and took his spot in line between Blair and Sonja.
After we’d stood for an uncomfortably long time with the Sergeant pacing in front of us, staring us down with her lethal gaze, she finally addressed us by holding up her arm and tapping the face of the watch on her wrist.
“These watches are now your keepers. They will track where you go at all times while you’re inside this facility,” she said, making eye contact with us one-by-one. She paused a bit longer on Blair, until the catty vampire’s cheeks colored, and then she moved on down the line. “They will open the doors to the crypt and harem, and clock your time when you train. They are waterproof. You will not take them off for any reason, whatsoever. If you do, you will be discharged from this program. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” we answered in unison.
I stood up taller as some of the dread dissipated from my psyche. This would make things significantly harder for the bitch’s human goons to screw with me during the day.
Now if I could just keep House Novak’s pit bull from pissing on my bunk or chewing up my boots, I’d have it made.
Chapter Seven
My first week in the bat cave was…lonely. Kai had been right about how little I would get to see Mandy and Collins. Our paths crossed twice, and I do mean crossed.
The split-second encounter with Mandy had been just enough time for a high-five. Her optimistic smile led me to believe she was getting on better with her training than Collins—who merely grimaced in my direction as he exited the obstacle course the one time I’d spotted him. Of course, with all the mud in his eyes and matted in his hair, I couldn’t be sure he’d seen me at all.
The cadets in my own unit kept their distance. After the incident with the cave pool, no one was eager to draw the ire of whoever was gunning for me. And though the culprit was plenty obvious, none of the officials wanted to point fingers without concrete evidence—certainly not at such a noble, respected house. So I was on my own.
Since we were at the mercy of the sun, even this far underground, our schedule actually lengthened by a few minutes every day. The fancy watches we’d been issued were calibrated to count down the first twenty minutes after sunrise, at which time we were expected to be lined up in front of the pool—the cave pool I’d nearly drowned in.
After running eight miles, it was on to the obstacle course, climbing rock walls and ledges, crawling through mud, doing hundreds of pushup, situps, and pullups. And then swimming across that damned pool. The bathing suit Laura had suggested stayed in my bag. We were expected to swim the distance in full gear, while wearing concrete-filled backpacks. Only then were we allowed to shower and have our first meal.
The intensity of the training was such that we were expected to eat twice a day. I had to get used to my adopted harem rather quickly, feeding from the four humans in careful rotation. The days I had Natalie and Sampson were my favorite, and I’d often linger in the harem to visit with them about their otherwise normal lives and the airport drama that circulated through the terminal café where several of them worked part-time.
Kai’s law class began at 2:00 A.M., and at 4:00 A.M. we had combat training. For now, that meant hand-to-hand defense and arrest tactics, but as the weeks progressed, we’d be moving on to firearms. Sergeant Sorano kept a closer eye on me during the sessions in the sparring ring, though I couldn’t be sure if it was more for my protection or Blair’s.
We were neck and neck, always a hairbreadth away from mauling each other. The redhead had been through some martial arts training. I could tell in the way she moved, like a ninja ballerina catapulted up from the depths of hell. And while she’d been a vampire a few decades longer than I had, my advantage lay in the fact that I had real world experience. Practical training, thanks to the police academy and seven years on the streets of St. Louis. At least, that’s what I chalked up my resilience to, rather than confess my regal lineage. It was slowly killing me that I couldn’t rub my pedigree in her smug face. Oh, how I wanted to.
Mic was another story. He came at me fast and hard, twisting my arm up behind my back or planting my face on the ground within seconds every time. And he never called me by name, opting instead for vampling or green fang. The other three cadets were more of a mixed bag. Sometimes I won, and sometimes I lost. It was just the way of things. But I never, never laid down for Blair. And she never laid down for me. Sorano would eventually grow bored of our uneasy stalemate and force
us to persist until one or the other yielded, but until she did, we’d continue to play this game.
By the time Sunday rolled around and I was granted my first phone break, I was desperate to hear a friendly voice. So, for the life of me, I don’t know why my fingers instantly dialed Roman’s number. He answered on the second ring.
“Are you okay?” My heart thrummed at the concern in his voice.
“Yeah, I am,” I said. “Thanks to you.” I leaned against the side wall of the phone booth and pulled my legs up onto the seat beside me.
Roman released a tense breath. “I called Kai the second I…felt you.”
“Yeah, about that.” Where did I even begin? “Are we like, telepathically linked now or something?”
“It’s temporary,” he said, as if the thought relieved him. “And it’s probably already worn off by now. Hopefully.” Hopefully? Regret tightened my stomach, and I swallowed.
“Is that the only time you’ve felt me?”
He was quiet for a few seconds. I couldn’t tell if he was carefully considering the question or debating whether or not he wanted to tell me. “Yes,” he said tightly.
“Good. Thanks,” I said again, feeling my face warm as my mind went blank and my tongue numb.
“You’re welcome.”
How many times had I wished our conversation after I’d saved his life had gone this way? I pictured his pained expression, the way his fingers had squeezed the steering wheel, right before he confessed that he wished I had let him die. That he would have risen as a vampire and been pardoned the remaining years on his contract.
The silence stretched for a moment before he cleared his throat again. “Was there…something else you called about?”
“No, I just wanted to thank you,” I blurted. “That’s all. It’s been a long week, and this is the first time I’ve been allowed to use the phone…” My voice trailed off.
“Oh.” He sounded about as uncomfortable as I felt. This polite middle ground wasn’t a place we were used to meeting each other.
“Well, then.” I took a deep breath. “I’ll let you go.”
“Jenna?” My shoulders trembled at the sound of my name on his lips.
“Yeah, Roman?”
“Puedes hacerlo.”
I grinned and pressed my chin into the palm of my free hand. “Gracias.”
With butterflies still swarming my stomach, I called to check in with Vin next.
“God, Jenna.” He hissed out an angry sigh. “I’ve been worried sick. I’ve left, like, a hundred voicemails. I was about to get in my car and drive to Denver.”
“There’s no cell service here, Vin. I told you that.” Annoyance stirred in my gut, and I waited for the usual tinge of guilt to dilute it. “I’m sorry,” I said in a more gentle voice. “Everything is fine. This is just the first time I’ve been allowed to use the phone. The training is pretty intense, so…”
“But you’re okay?” His tone downshifted with mine, sounding more meek and weepy.
“Absolutely.” There was no sense in telling him about the pool fiasco. He’d be a bigger wreck over it than I was. “I have to go.”
“When will I hear from you again?” he asked.
“Maybe in a few weeks? I don’t really know.” I suppressed a groan.
“Okay.” The dejected pout in his voice grated on me when it should have melted my heart. At least a little. I was steeling myself for what was to come, and that preparation felt selfish, as if I were dragging this out for my benefit and wasting Vin’s time. But I couldn’t bring myself to cut him loose just yet.
“Talk to you in two weeks,” I said and hung up before I changed my mind.
My last call went to Laura, though I knew she wouldn’t answer. Filming was keeping her busy all hours of the day and night. I left her a quick message, letting her know that I was alive and training was underway and going well. I left off the grittier details for her sake, too.
The single phone booth was set up near the base tunnel entrance. It was a five-minute walk from the vampire barrack. On my way back, I ran into Mandy and Collins. They’d been waiting for me at a picnic table set up in front of the cafeteria building situated halfway between the human and CAT barracks.
Mandy reclined on the edge of the table, her booted ankles crossed on the bench below. She wore a pair of the black fatigue pants everyone had been issued, paired with a black tank top. Her hair was pulled back in a French braid. It was how I’d kept my own hair all week, too.
Collins sat on the bench beside Mandy’s feet, wearing a long-sleeved, black undershirt like my own. He was hunched over, elbows on his knees and fingers laced together. A bruise circled the apple of his left cheek, and a tiny cut marred his chin. It wasn’t an unexpected sight, considering the training exercises, but I did feel sorry that he wasn’t able to heal as quickly as the vamp cadets. I’d had a black eye just yesterday, thanks to Mic, but after feeding, it was a distant memory.
Beyond the superficial bumps and scrapes, Collins looked ragged, like maybe he hadn’t slept well since we’d arrived. I wondered if the beds in his barrack were as cozy as the ones in mine. Then I wondered if maybe he was enjoying Blair’s half-sired compadre as much as I was enjoying her.
Cain Davis. He’d been one of the three men standing at the pool with her after I’d been hauled out of the water. The two others were run-of-the-mill humans, personal members of the House Hanson harem. Gavin and Omar. They didn’t even make eye contact with me in the barrack harem. Not since that first day. But Cain…
There was something about the way the half-sired looked at me that made my skin crawl. His pale gray eyes were unsettling enough as it was, but added on top of his ghastly complexion and the long, white hair he kept pulled back in a low ponytail, he was downright spooky.
I stopped in front of the picnic table, and Mandy threw herself at me, her arms squeezing around my neck in a bone-crushing hug.
“I get to go camping in the woods with a real pack next full moon,” she squealed in my ear.
Collins rolled his eyes. “They’ll probably sniff each other’s butts and everything.”
Mandy let me go so she could slug him in the arm. “You’re just jealous.”
“I am,” he said. “Happy? Now quit rubbing it in my face.”
I glanced down at my watch. “I have to be in class in ten minutes, so give me the shorthand version of your first week.”
Mandy ticked off her highlights on the fingers of one hand. “The wolf division of Blood Vice is referred to as the Cadaver Dogs; I’ll be initiated into their pack once training is done; I still get to work with you and Mr. Poutypants here afterwards; And this has been the best week of my life,” she finished in a single breath.
Collins stared at her and swallowed hard as I looked to him. “Maybe I should have let her bite me instead of bleeding for you.”
I winced apologetically. “If it makes you feel any better, my week hasn’t been so great either.”
“Someone tried to drown you.” He snorted. “So I should think not.”
“I wish we could all go camping together,” Mandy said, more to herself than to us. A dreamy haze clouded her eyes. “There are some really great spots the girls in Spero Heights have told me about.”
“Maybe when we get back.” I gave her shoulder a squeeze and turned to Collins again, expectantly. He sighed and ticked off his highlights with less enthusiasm than Mandy had.
“The half-sired assfaces should have their own program; Humans are apparently self-sufficient chattel; I miss the sun; I miss my husband; This job better be fucking worth it.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I guess I should head to class.”
“Wait, what about you?” Mandy asked, grabbing my arm before I could leave. “We deserve a rundown, too, you know.”
“Right.” I grimaced, knowing the only pleasant thing I could share with them would probably go over as well as my snack time with Stella had. “Nobody likes me; Everybody hates me; Guess I’ll g
o eat worms.”
Mandy’s cheeks puffed out as she blew a raspberry at me. I skipped a step back before she could slug my arm like she had Collins and winked at her.
“I’ll catch up with you guys later,” I called over my shoulder. “Hang in there. We can do this.”
I believed it, too.
Because so did Roman.
Chapter Eight
The lengthening nights in the bat cave were relentless, but as the minutes accrued on our training sessions, they also drew out our harem breaks. And each time I met with Natalie, I picked up something new. Our visits were even more illuminating than Kai’s law class.
From Sergeant Sorano addressing the cadets, I learned that the two mystery vampires in my unit were named Emma and Andre, from House Kincade and House Freeman. And from the bits of gossip I’d gathered in the harem, I quickly discerned the pecking order of the households currently training on base.
I was disappointed to discover that House Zajalvo was barely a blip on the radar. Of course, that wasn’t much of a shocker, considering the way I’d been treated so far. I’d wanted to believe my orphan status was to blame, but Zajalvo had been a reclusive and modest vampire. There were no others in his household, and he wasn’t a member of the Vampiric High Council—the supreme court of supernatural society that Roman briefly mentioned in his notes.
Cadets like Blair, Mic, and Sonja came from families with a dozen or more vampires to their name. And while they were higher-ranking households, the three recruits were low on the scion totem pole at home. For them, training to join Blood Vice was like a rite of passage—a hurdle they need cross if they wanted to advance within the family hierarchy. Each household with a seat on the high council was expected to pledge at least one scion to Blood Vice every century.
The lowbred vampire houses without council seats, like those Andre and Emma were from, were not required to supply Blood Vice with fresh recruits, but many of them did for the simple fact that it provided discipline for restless scions and a steady, decent paycheck to help support their households.
Blood in the Water (Blood Vice Book 3) Page 6