“I am setting up some targets for you to practice on, I will place them at different distances, so that you can move on as you get used to the gun,” Petre was hefting huge bales of hay, placing them in groups of about six, piled two on top of two with different targets on them.
The nearest had the usual bulls-eye target placed in the center of the stack of hay. Then the next one had the outline of a body with red circles in different areas. The next again, which seemed miles away to her, had a body, but the circles were now a lot smaller and concentrated in two or three places and less than the previous one had.
She looked at all three and worried that she would never be able to shoot as accurately as that. She would bloody well try, though, and try hard. It could make the difference between life and death for her or Kyle. She gritted her teeth and stood a little taller, she was going to do this and do it well.
Kyle moved to stand a fair distance back from the first target, emptying the silver bullets and replacing them with what looked to be the ordinary ammo. She moved to stand a little behind him, as did Petre.
Kyle hefted the gun in his hand, as if feeling the weight of it, before lifting it very quickly and firing six rounds in quick succession. The first thing she did was put her hands up to her ears, the noise was far louder than she anticipated, then her eyes found the target, she didn’t see any hits at all.
She frowned, as she looked at Kyle, who was nodding his head slowly, “The bullets will do, as Boyd said, should’ve known he would be right.”
“I don’t see any hits,” she said, still trying to figure out how he had missed.
“I think you may be looking at the wrong target, Miss,” Petre said and she turned to look at him, she saw a twinkle in his eyes, as he pointed to the farthest away target.
Squinting her eyes, she looked harder, Christ, there were holes in the tiny circle in the center of the forehead of the last target. Every bullet had found its mark and there was now a little circle inside the red one, where the bullets had punched through into the hay.
“Bugger!” she exclaimed, and Kyle started laughing before coming over and handing her the gun.
“You will need to be able to do that, or near enough. If you have any hope of slowing him down or putting him on the ground, you will need to group at least six into either his head or heart.”
“I’ll never be able to do that,” she whispered, as she again took in the precise grouping that Kyle had achieved.
“Yes, you will. We’ll work every day, morning and afternoon, so that you know that gun as well as you know your own body. Just feel the gun, feel the weight of it, how it balances in your hand, get to know it well, because soon it’s gonna be your next best friend. We start tomorrow, Sabrina, bright and early.”
“I think I will need some more targets,” Petre chuckled, as he walked away.
“You really think I’ll be able to shoot like that?”
“Yes, all it takes is practice and knowing your weapon. You will have one weapon only, and you will be able to do this, baby.”
She wasn’t quite as sure as her mate seemed to be, but it wouldn’t be because of a lack of trying. She would work her little ass off to get as good as she possibly could. She needed to feel less of a victim in all of this, that wasn’t who she was, and it rankled her that this psycho was making her feel like one.
“Okay, we start tomorrow, I also want to start more training. I haven’t practiced martial arts in months. I need to get my skills up to par again,” she was already working through her moves in her head. Full contact martial arts used to be one of her specialities, but she had become complacent after bonding with Kyle, no time for complacency now. She needed to train and train hard to feel strong again.
“If that’s what you want to do, then we’ll do it, not every day for the martial arts, though, you’ll end up overdoing things that way, four or five days a week for that. I’ll train with you, we can swap tips,” his arm was now around her shoulders, and he gave her a little squeeze.
“Yeah, I’d like that, where will we practice?”
“I’m pretty sure Boyd has a gym somewhere in this place, come on, we’ll go see if we can find it.”
He took the gun from her hand, checked it over, flicked a switch, then placed it in his waistband underneath his t-shirt again. Taking her hand, he walked back towards the house.
The door they went in this time took them straight into a large kitchen area, which was outfitted with all modern conveniences. The room so different to the rest of the house, Cook was bustling around and stopped when she saw them.
“Hello, I’m making some lunch for you, chicken salad, if that’s okay, and I’m going to do you a lovely beef casserole for this evening. It’s such a pleasure being able to cook actual food, instead of just ensuring Master has his coffee. If there’s anything you don’t like let me know, I wouldn’t want to give you something you’re not keen on.”
The woman’s face was aglow, as if she took great pleasure from working in the kitchen and preparing meals. A nice chicken salad was something Sabrina thoroughly enjoyed, and she looked forward to it.
“I don’t like cheese or pasta, apart from that, I eat most things,” Sabrina told the woman, who nodded her head and continued with what she was doing.
“I add some of my blood to Sabrina’s food each week, if you have a suitable container, I can leave you some now to add to the beef,” Kyle looked around the kitchen and spied the dish with the beef already prepared inside.
“It’s okay, I'll just add it now,” he walked over and his fangs descended as he went, piercing his wrist, he let some of his Vampire blood drip into the dish.
“Of course, whenever I’m doing a red meat dish I’ll let you know, less chance of there being an after taste then,” Cook smiled and immediately started to stir the beef and gravy to mix in the blood.
Sabrina looked away, even though she knew Kyle did this at home, she hadn’t actually witnessed it, she really didn’t want to either. Knowing and seeing were two completely different things.
“Where’s the gym?” Kyle asked and Cook turned back towards them.
“Go out into the corridor, it’s the fourth door on the left, there’s also a sauna at the rear,” she smiled, and got back to preparing the food.
“Great, we’re going to work out a little, then we’ll shower and be down for lunch,” Kyle pulled her after him, and her heart picked up at the thought of working out with her man. Seeing him all sweaty and hot and bothered - yum.
“Enough, we won’t get anything done, if you keep that up,” he chuckled, and tried for a stern face, but failed.
They went into the gym and found a very large room with a couple of treadmills, rowing machines, some weights, a very hi-tech spin-bike, and a few other items. A large flat screen television was up on one wall, obviously Boyd liked some entertainment as he worked out. There was also a large area set up with mats on the floor and that’s where they headed.
Kyle removed the gun and placed it on a chair off to the side before slipping his shoes and t-shirt off. She removed her sandals and went to the middle of the mat, doing some easy warm-up exercises to loosen her muscles. Kyle was doing something similar, but his movements were far quicker than hers, and she carried on while sneaking peeks at his naked chest and back.
After a few minutes, they started in earnest and she worked the hardest she had in a long time. All of her years of training kicked in and she blocked, attacked…blocked, attacked until she could barely breathe. It didn’t take her long to figure out that Kyle was very good at this, too, though, his style was more of a street fighter than anything she had come across before.
He also knew some moves she had never seen before and hoped he would teach her. At the moment, though, she was only trying to stay on her feet and parry his punches and kicks. He was obviously holding back on his speed and strength and she was glad of that. The blows t
hat made it through and landed had her yelping in pain at times, but he didn’t let up in his attacks, coming at her again and again.
The strangest thing popped into her mind, even with her mate pushing her to her limits and landing blows on her, she had never loved him more. If he had gone easy, it would be a complete and utter waste of time, but he was working her hard and she loved it. A smile crept onto her face and she saw him stop and cock his head to one side, looking at her intently. She took advantage of his momentary lapse and dropped down and did a side sweep of her leg, bringing him crashing to the ground with a loud ‘oomph.’
He moved with his Vampire speed and brought her down on top of him, holding her in place tightly, “That’s a bit weird, you love me because I’m hitting you?”
“No, silly,” she gave him a little punch. “You’re pushing me hard. Let’s be honest, if that Vamp gets anywhere near me, he is going to try and hurt me. I need to be prepared. I need to get stronger than I am now, I need to be ready. You just putting me through my paces won’t help. You have to keep taking me further and further. That shows me you respect and love me,” she knew she had a silly smile on her face, it did kinda sound weird.
“Oh, I see, so it’s okay if I do this?” He flipped her onto her back and pinned her down with his body.
“Or this?” He moved his legs to open hers.
“Or this?” His head lowered, and his lips covered hers. She opened her mouth and took his tongue in, closing her eyes, and letting her excitement grow at what she knew he would do next.
Only it didn’t come, what did come was – “Oh, for goodness sake you two. You do have a suite of rooms for that.”
Boyd’s voice broke in on their love play and her face blushed scarlet, as Kyle laughed and stood up, pulling her up after him.
“Sorry,” she said quietly, as Kyle grabbed his gun, picked her up, and ran out of the gym and towards their room, both of their shoes still lying on the gym floor.
Chapter 14
Kyle kept her in the bedroom until lunchtime, only letting her leave the bed, when he heard her stomach rumbling. They showered together and she already felt soreness in some of her muscles from the workout. She knew she would feel worse tomorrow, but it was a good pain, it meant she had worked hard and was already getting stronger.
As they descended the stairs, Boyd appeared from their right. His office was at the end of that hallway. She blushed, as she remembered him walking in on them in the gym, and she heard a small laugh from Kyle.
“Ah, all ready for lunch?” Boyd asked her, with a smile, no hint of the earlier embarrassment on his face.
“Yes, I’m hungry,” she said quietly, as they joined him at the foot of the stairs.
“Well, I’m sure Cook has prepared you something nice.”
“Chicken salad,” she answered, as they moved towards the room she had found them arguing in earlier.
As soon as they entered, she could see the table set up for one, there were several platters on the table with a mesh cover over them. She had expected a plate of chicken salad, but the table was laden with food, only two of which were chicken and salad. There were various fresh breads, some of which she had never seen before, pickled beets, salad aplenty, chicken - two kinds done in different sauces, breadsticks and dips and some other stuff she had never seen before.
A jug of fresh juice was also there, and before she could reach for it herself Kyle had it in his hand and was pouring her a large glass. She took a sip before reaching for some of the food. Once more, she worried at the waste that she was causing. She would never be able to eat all this.
Shrugging her shoulders, she decided to eat what she wanted and not worry about the rest. Placing salad, beetroot, chicken, and some bread on her plate, she started to eat. The chicken was lovely and she ‘hmmd’ a couple of times, to smiles from both of the Vampires in the room.
“I wish I could still eat food. I used to enjoy eating, didn’t you?” Boyd said, as she shovelled more food into her mouth.
“I used to crave food before meeting Sabrina, now, not so much. Her blood is so...perfect. It’s the only thing I crave now.”
Sabrina looked between the two men, what a strange conversation…what a strange life she now led, she never could have imagined that her life would one day include these men and this world.
“I assume you are training Sabrina? That was why you were in the gym earlier?” Boyd looked between them, as he spoke, and her face flushed again at the thought of him walking in and finding them passionately kissing on the floor.
“Sort of, she is already well versed in various martial arts. I’m just making sure she hasn’t forgotten any of it and honing her skills and speed.” Kyle sounded proud, as he spoke, and she gave him a little smile.
“Oh, I wasn’t aware of that, did you use it in your previous work?” Boyd now directed his question to her.
She nodded her head, as she chewed and then swallowed, “Yes, I started when I was a teenager, my father was...not so nice. I wanted to get strong and be able to defend myself, if the need arose. Then when I joined the force, it came in handy, especially in my undercover work.”
“I would think it would, and your father? You are still in contact with him?”
“No,” was all she said.
“Ah, I see, well, it’s always good to be able to defend yourself, no matter the circumstances. I would just like you to know that I use the gym most mornings for about an hour, around ten a.m.”
Her eyes flicked to Boyd’s face, and she saw a smile there, she flushed red - again.
“Good to know,” Kyle said, with a little chuckle.
“I heard gunshots earlier, too, are the bullets suitable?”
“Yes, I took a box of standard and silver, if that's okay?” Kyle asked, though, he knew the answer.
“Of course.”
“Oh and your code, for the safe, thanks for that. Now Sabrina knows how old I am.” Kyle tried to look put out, but the twinkle in his eyes and the slight smile betrayed his true feelings.
“I thought you might like that, I’ve used that code for a long time now, makes it much easier for me to remember. So how does it feel to have a mate that is so very old?” Boyd said, with a very straight face.
“Weird,” she said, as she put more of the succulent chicken in her mouth.
“I suppose it would be, to a human...” Boyd stopped, as her eyes locked on his, the way he had said human made her feel...inferior.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to insult you, I’m not used to having humans around.” His voice seemed a little contrite, as he spoke.
“It’s okay,” her tone was a little annoyed, and she knew he would be aware of her spurt of anger. She may be human, but she was not inferior to anyone...Vampire or otherwise.
“I see you have your hands full with your mate, she doesn’t suffer fools gladly, and she has more than a little spunk in her.” Boyd was now smiling while he reappraised her.
“No, I don’t,” she answered before Kyle could.
“Good, you will need to be strong for what may be coming our way. Ronan called, I was a little taken aback. I don’t normally get personal calls from the Director of the SEB. He advised me he has a photo of Raige. He sent me a copy, but it’s not very good.” Boyd reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, setting it down in the middle of the table.
Kyle reached out and grabbed it, unfolding the paper and staring at the image. It was only a head shot and drawn in pencil or charcoal, showing a face that looked very nondescript. It could be just about anyone, apart from one thing, the face had a scar, like a crescent moon, on the lower left jaw. The scar was quite large and he wondered how the Vampire got it. After all, they healed from just about any wounds inflicted on them.
Sabrina could see the confusion on his face, he raised it, and looked at Boyd, “What’s the scar about?”
“I am not sure, but magic can leave scars. I can only assume he has been in a battle with a powerful Witch or Mage at some point, but as he is still alive, I assume he won. Although the picture doesn’t help too much, knowing about the scar does. It’s rather distinctive, so we can be on the lookout for him.”
As Boyd finished, Kyle handed the paper to her, she took it and stared at the face of the Vampire that was hunting her. Pretty average, if this picture was a true likeness, but the scar was a good giveaway, you couldn’t miss it. She stared and stared until she had the details locked into her mind and then gave the picture back to Boyd.
“I have already shown this to Cook and Petre. Our gardener is human and has some flu or something or other, so he won’t be in for at least a week or two, but when he comes back, I’ll show it to him, too. I’m not sure that will do any good, he’s fairly old and his eyesight isn’t the best, and don’t get me started on his memory.” Boyd sounded exasperated, and she wondered why he kept the man on, if he was that bad.
“He’s worked here since he was a young lad, since the end of WWII. He is now in his eighties and was living in the small cottage on the outskirts of the property with his father, when I bought it. I kept him on after his father died. He’s worked here for me for more than thirty years, even after his wife died some years ago. He wouldn't leave, didn't want to live with his daughter, he said. It would not be...moral, if I let him go. He has nowhere else he wants to live, so we put up with him, his illnesses, and eccentricities. I’ve decided to take on a new one, but let the old man stay where he is and live out the rest of his life in familiar surroundings. Cook checks on him each day and takes him food, far too much food. She always makes far too much.”
“She seems to enjoy cooking for people,” Sabrina stated the obvious, motioning to the many plates that still held food in front of her.
“Yes, she does,” Boyd nodded his head, smiling.
“So, what are your plans for this afternoon?”
“We’ll go for a walk around the grounds and then I was wondering if you would let me use your computer? I want to try and find out more on this Raige.”
Sabrina's Vampire Series Boxed Set Page 33