“This conversation does not leave this office,” JD said, then told her.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she said. “They’re not going to agree to that surely.”
JD shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll let you know when I hear back from them.”
Are you having an affair
Gavin put down his phone, walked out of his office, went up to the gong and rang it. The phone call he had just received had been unexpected and he wanted to discuss it with those he lived with before acting on it.
It didn’t take long for most people to arrive. Paul and Helen were out, but Anna phoned her brother and put the phone on speaker so they could both hear what was said.
“Thanks for coming,” Gavin said when everyone was seated. “I’ve had a call from JD and I’m not sure what to do about it. The hunter society is run by a council. A couple of seats have become vacant. I won’t go into the details of how, but Gabriel knows in case anyone wants to know more. They have managed to fill one and I have been asked to fill the other.”
“What?” Luke asked. “Vampire hunters want a vampire on their council? That makes no sense.”
“It was JD’s suggestion. It took them a while to think it over, but they agree it’s a good idea. I’ve been given their number and I have to call them to discuss details if I am interested. What do you think I should do?”
“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation,” Brian said. “Of course you should do it. It will be beneficial to us as well as them.”
“I agree,” Gavin said. “But does anyone have any reservations? This will affect all of us.”
“Just one,” Gabriel said. “What is in this for them?”
“From what JD said, finding out about us shook them up more than a little. They thought they knew all there was to know about vampires and discovering that this was not true scared them. They think having me on the council will help them learn more and will guarantee our assistance should a rogue greater vampire come into the area that they need help dealing with.”
“We’d help anyway,” Cassy said. “A rogue greater vampire is as much a threat to us as he or she would be to them.”
“I agree,” Gavin said. “Does anyone else have any concerns? Helen? Paul?”
“No, we think you should do it,” Helen’s voice sounded from Anna’s phone.
“You’re not going to do anything stupid like suggest we start training with them are you?” Luke asked. “I’ve attended a couple of sessions and I can guarantee there will be mutiny here if you do.”
Gavin laughed. “Of course not.” He looked around him, giving everyone the opportunity to speak. Nobody took it. “If there are no further objections, I’ll give this Damon person a call.”
He was about to leave the room, then remembered something else he wanted to say.
“One more thing. This may come as a surprise to you, but one of the reasons the council members are asking me to join them is that Gabriel made a good impression when he went to their headquarters to help out JD and his father.”
“It sounds like miracles do happen,” Anna said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
————————————-∞————————————-
Shawn and Linda couldn’t believe the news when they got back from their trip. Never in a million years had they believed that a vampire would be sitting on the hunters’ council.
They also had some news of their own. They had decided not to look for their own house to buy and requested permission to stay at Sanctuary 14 until after their grandchild was born.
Silvia told them she was delighted to have them.
“Does this mean you have changed your mind about resigning as a trainer?” Jonathon asked his father.
“Not exactly,” Shawn said. “I’ll continue to be a hunter and will train under JD, if he lets me, but I will not go back to having my own team. Instead, Linda and I will be quitting our jobs and moving away.”
“You don’t need to do that,” Doc said. “You can move in here permanently. I’m sure JD and Sarah will want you around once the baby arrives.”
“Actually we have to leave the country,” Shawn said. “I’m being sent away to train trainers.”
“That’s great news,” JD said. Other than Shawn, he was the only one present who really understood what a hunter went through to become a trainer. “You will be a real asset. And I know that mum will enjoy living there.”
“Where exactly will you be going?” Jonathon asked. He made the question sound casual, but everyone knew it wasn’t. Other than trainers, nobody knew where the training academy that JD had attended was located. He hadn’t even told Sarah. The only reason Linda now knew was that Shawn had to tell her in order to get her to agree to accompany him.
“You know I can’t tell you that,” Shawn said.
“When do you go?” Sarah asked. “I was kind of hoping you would be around to help me out after I give birth. I can’t exactly rely on my own mother.”
“We’ve been given permission to stay here for up to three months after the little one arrives. And we’ll come and visit a couple of times each year. We can keep in regular contact. The students at the academy have to break all contact with their family and friends while they’re in training, but the instructors don’t.”
“I am so happy for you both,” Katie said. “Sanctuary 3 were hoping you would change your minds about leaving. Now it’s guaranteed that you won’t.”
“Speaking of Sanctuary 3,” Doc said. “I’ve been given some information that is now starting to make sense. It’s being shut down. The council hasn’t managed to find a trainer or leader willing to go there, not after how Shawn and Linda were treated. Some of the older hunters have quit, or should I say taken early retirement, and everyone else is being reassigned. I was asked if I would take any and somehow I managed to remain polite when I said no.”
“It’s a shame,” Shawn said. “They were a good team. It just goes to show that it only takes one bad apple to ruin things for everyone.”
“Does anyone know what Mark decided to do?” Linda asked. “Did he opt for exile along with his daughter or did he do the sensible thing and turn his back on her?”
“He’s still a hunter,” Doc said, “though he is no longer a council member. He and Shirley have moved into Sanctuary 2 and have announced their engagement. Allegedly he is no longer in contact with Sandra and claims to have no idea where she has gone.”
“Unlikely, but I won’t look into it,” JD said. “I think he has suffered enough.”
“Enough shop talk,” Silvia said. “I want to hear all about Shawn and Linda’s holiday.”
The next few hours were spent talking about things completely unrelated to hunters and vampires.
————————————-∞————————————-
A few days later, JD called Sarah to let her know he was working late again. She was in the TV room with some of the other hunters and saw the look that passed between Craig and Jonathon.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” Jonathon said hastily.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
Jonathon glanced at Craig and saw him nod. “Have you noticed that JD has been working late every Wednesday for the last couple of months?”
“And?” Of course she had noticed, but she hadn’t asked JD about it.
“And you don’t think it’s suspicious?” Craig said.
“No, I don’t. If JD is up to something, he will tell me when he is ready.”
She left the room before anyone could say anything else.
“What do you think is going on?” Katie asked. She, too, had noticed that JD always worked late on the same evening.
“I don’t know,” Jonathon said. “But I intend to find out.”
“How? You’re not going to outright accuse him of something I hope,” Craig said.
“That is precisely what I intend to do.”
As soon as JD arrived home, Jonathon grabbed his arm and steered him to his office.
“Sit down,” he ordered.
JD raised one eyebrow, but obeyed. It felt strange being ordered around in his own office, especially by one of his students.
JD looked at Jonathon carefully, noting his posture and the fact that he was fingering his wrist supports. He was nervous, but determined.
Jonathon looked JD straight in the eye and asked, “Are you and Sarah still having sex?”
JD didn’t know how to react to the question. He had no idea what was on Jonathon’s mind. “That is none of your business,” he said calmly.
“As your student, that statement is true. As your brother, it isn’t.”
JD could have refused to answer, but he didn’t. When he returned from his year away to study to become a trainer, his relationship with Jonathon broke down. He became his trainer and nothing more. Sarah helped them to mend that relationship and they were now closer than ever. If Jonathon was confronting him, he was seriously worried about something.
“Yes, we are. We’re taking it easy, for obvious reasons, but Sarah being pregnant isn’t enough to keep us from having our hands on each other. Why do you ask?”
Jonathon didn’t back down. “Are you having an affair?”
The first question had surprised JD. This one completely shocked him. “Of course I’m not. Whatever made you suggest such a thing?”
He worked out the answer before he had finished the sentence. “You want to know what I have been doing every Wednesday.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
JD considered doing so, then changed his mind. “No. I’ll show you instead. Meet me at this address at seven o’clock next week and make sure you eat first.” He wrote on a piece of paper and handed it over.
Jonathon looked at it. “You’re going to school?” he asked.
“Yes. You will see why when you turn up. But don’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t.”
Then something occurred to JD. “You haven’t mentioned your suspicions of me to Sarah have you?”
Jonathon looked away. “Not exactly.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“When you called her tonight to say that you were ‘working late’,” Jonathon said, using his fingers to put quotation marks around the last two words, “she saw the look that I gave Craig. We’ve both noticed that you always work late on the same night and were concerned.”
“And you told Sarah you thought I was cheating on her.” JD couldn’t believe his brother could be so stupid. If Jonathon had upset Sarah, he would make sure he paid for it.
“Of course I didn’t. I just said it was a little suspicious.”
“Do you really think that if I was having an affair I would make it so obvious? You really are dumb sometimes.”
Jonathon said nothing.
“Go,” JD said. “Say nothing of this to anyone, especially Sarah. You can assure Craig, and anyone else who is suspicious, that I’m not cheating on Sarah and that if anyone even suggests to her that I am, I’ll make them wish they were no longer alive.”
JD had made this kind of threat before, but everyone knew he would never go so far as to carry it out. This time, Jonathon was not so sure. JD had always been protective of Sarah. Now that she was expecting his child, he had taken this to the extreme. If anyone upset her, they would definitely be made to pay.
JD went straight from his office to the room he shared with Sarah. She was lying on the bed, reading. “Hi Sweetheart,” he said when she didn’t look up.
“Just let me finish my page.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes. She put her bookmark in the correct place, closed the book and placed it on her bedside table. “How was work?”
JD grimaced. He was about to admit that he had been lying to her and he wasn’t sure how she was going to react.
“I wasn’t at work.”
“I know.” JD looked across the bed at her. She didn’t look angry or upset.
“Jonathon has just accused me of having an affair. You don’t think I’m cheating on you, do you?”
Sarah burst out laughing. “If you ever cheated on me you would make sure that I never even suspected let alone found out. Besides, I trust you. The only way I would believe you were being unfaithful is if you told me you were.”
“Never going to happen,” he said and leaned forward to kiss her. “Don’t you want to know what I’ve been up to?”
“Yes, but I’m not going to ask. You will tell me when you’re ready.”
“I love you,” he said. “Just a couple more weeks and you will find out. I want it to be a surprise.”
————————————-∞————————————-
The two weeks passed quickly. Jonathon, as requested, had shown up at the school JD had given him the address for and had been surprised to find out what his brother had been doing. He turned up again the following week, but this time he borrowed Doc’s Range Rover instead of driving his own car.
Before heading home, JD called Craig and asked him to distract Sarah. Craig asked why, but JD refused to tell him, saying he would soon find out.
Craig spoke to Natalie, then they found Sarah and asked if she could help them with Natalie’s training. Before she and Craig became an item, he had been teaching her how to defend herself. She had no desire to become a hunter, but the time she had been held prisoner by a vampire had terrified her and she was determined that it would never happen again.
She didn’t have lessons very often, and was a slow learner, but she was now confident that if she was attacked by a human, she would be able to fight them off. A vampire, however, was another matter.
Sarah wasn’t suspicious about the request. She thought they were trying to keep her occupied while JD was supposedly working late again. Most of those living at Sanctuary 14 knew he was lying, but nobody talked about it. Jonathon had given them all JD’s warning, including his parents, and they all took it seriously.
Craig turned the music up loud as soon as he entered the arena. Natalie didn’t usually train to music, but this time she would, just so Sarah couldn’t hear JD arriving home.
Between them, JD and Jonathon emptied the back of Doc’s car, taking everything to the room which would be used as a nursery.
“Help me put this thing together, then go and get her,” JD said. Fifteen minutes later, Jonathon walked onto the balcony. Craig looked up and saw him make a cutting motion across his throat with his finger. He stopped the music and looked up at Jonathon.
“Sarah, JD wants to see you in the nursery.”
Sarah frowned, but left the room.
“What’s going on?” Craig called up to Jonathon.
“Give them some time alone, then you can go and see.”
JD was standing outside the room when Sarah arrived. He was looking very pleased with himself.
“I’ve been taking woodwork classes,” he said. “I hope you are pleased with the results.”
He opened the door and signalled that she should enter the room.
She took two steps in then stopped. Standing in front of her was a cot.
“You made this?” she asked. JD nodded. “It’s beautiful.”
She walked up to it and ran her hand over the smooth wood. A design of two crossed swords had been carved into the headboard. Her fingers traced their outline.
“The teacher did query whether that was really appropriate, but I said you would like it so he didn’t make me change it.”
“Like it?” she said. “I love it.” When she turned around to look at him, tears where flowing down her cheeks.
JD wrapped his arms around her. “I take it I’m forgiven for lying to you.”
“There was nothing to forgive.” She pulled away from him so she could look at his creation once more. “This is perfect.”
“I know it’s early, but I want to go shopping this w
eekend for bedding. And we need to paint this room. What colour do you want?”
A voice sounded behind them. “That discussion will have to wait,” Shawn said. “Right now there are a lot of people who want to know what you have been up to.”
JD invited everyone in and they were all impressed with his handiwork. They all knew he was a brilliant lawyer and a highly skilled trainer, but none had imagined he would have other talents.
“I never realised JD was so good with his hands,” Jane said, causing Sarah to burst out laughing.
“Why do you think Sarah married him?” Jonathon said, earning him a slap round the head from Katie.
“And I think that is our cue to leave these two alone,” Shawn said and ushered everyone from the room.
“Do you really like it?” JD asked when they were alone.
“Come next door and I’ll show you just how much I like it,” Sarah said and took his hand.
You should have told them
Gavin was in his study when his phone rang.
“There has been another attack by a greater vampire,” Patrick said. Now that Gavin was on the council, he was being contacted directly rather than through JD. The leaders of each Sanctuary had been given his number, but not his address or full name. Everyone wanted to keep the location of the greater vampires secret in order to keep inquisitive hunters away.
“Where?”
He was given the address, then told that the hunters involved had been sent to Sanctuary 14, in case he wished to question them. He thanked Patrick then went in search of Cassy and Brian.
He found them in one of the lounges, told them what had happened and they immediately headed out. Gabriel was with them and volunteered to accompany Gavin to Sanctuary 14. He had been spending a lot of time there in recent weeks. Now that there was no animosity between them, he and Jonathon found they enjoyed spending time together.
“This is Gavin,” he said when he reached the gates of Sanctuary 14. He didn’t need to say anything more. Now he was on the council, every hunter knew who he was. He neglected to mention that he had Gabriel with him. That information was of no importance in regard to gaining entry.
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