Vampire Hunters, #1

by Trudie Collins

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means she has left.”

  “For good?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “We have to go after her.”

  “No.”

  “But−”

  “But nothing. She will come back if she wants to. Now if you want to do something useful, go and find Craig and send him to me.”

  JD was pleased when Scott left without further argument. He was tense and was barely keeping his anger under control. He was worried that Sarah wouldn’t return, very worried, but he didn’t want to admit that in front of anyone.

  It didn’t take long for Craig to arrive.

  “You wanted to see me.”

  “Come in and shut the door.” He did as instructed, his face full of concern. Usually they were only asked to close the office door when they were in trouble. “Sarah has left.”

  “What do you mean left?”

  “She quit.”

  “What did you do?” Under normal circumstances, JD wouldn’t have tolerated such an accusation, but these weren’t normal circumstances. Instead he ignored the question.

  “I was expecting this to happen. She has completely changed her life around. It was bound to become too much for her sooner or later.” He had actually expected it to happen months ago and when it hadn’t, he decided he had been worrying about nothing. Now it appeared he had been wrong.

  “I’ll go and talk to her. Persuade her to come back.”

  “And that is precisely why I wanted to see you. Don’t.”

  “What!” Craig exclaimed in surprise.

  “Don’t go and see her,” JD said in a stern voice. He had to make it clear that it was an order not a request. “Don’t talk her into coming back. This is something she needs to work out for herself. I won’t ban you from seeing her if she asks you to, but do not try to talk her round. Do you understand?”

  “I understand what you’re ordering me to do, but not why.”

  “It’s simple. If she comes back it has to be because she is sure it’s what she wants. If anyone talks her into it then she’s likely to walk out again and if she does I won’t take her back a second time. Her training will be over.” Craig knew JD meant what he was saying.

  “Will she come back?”

  “I hope so. She’s showing a lot of potential. She can become a good hunter if she puts her mind to it.”

  “How long will you give her to decide?”

  “As long as it takes.” Craig stood up to leave the room. “Please close the door behind you,” JD said, his attention seemingly already on a document he had been perusing when Craig had entered.

  He put the papers down as soon as he heard the door close. “Damn it,” he said to himself. “Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.” Something had been bothering Sarah and he should have tried to find out what instead of pushing her so hard. He had handled the situation badly and would never forgive himself if she didn’t come back.

  He slept badly that night and was irritable in the 5am session. Everyone was aware that Sarah had left and there was a tension in the air. He worked them hard, making sure they were too busy to ask any questions, not that any of them were brave enough to do so.

  At ten o’clock he was in his office, watching the clock. There was no sign of Sarah. He tried to work, but his mind was not on it. Twice he picked up his phone to call her, then put it down again.

  She hadn’t contacted Craig at all, well not that he would admit to anyway and JD doubted he would lie to him about that.

  He was about to give up on work when he heard the front door open and her familiar footsteps walk down the corridor. He breathed a sigh of relief. He had no idea if she was back to say she wanted to continue training or that she never wanted to see him again, but at least she was back.

  His door was open, but she knocked anyway and asked permission to enter. She closed the door behind her before taking a seat opposite him.

  “I’m sorry. I should never have walked out. You’re giving up a lot of your time for me and instead of being grateful I acted like a spoilt child. I took my frustrations out on you and I will understand if you don’t want anything more to do with me.”

  She was looking down at her hands instead of at him, as though she was deeply ashamed of her behaviour.

  “Why are you doing this?” he asked. “Why did you ask to be trained?”

  She thought about what to say for a moment, then raised her head, looking him straight in the eye as she spoke.

  “Ever since Alex died there has been this huge hole in me, a gap that I just can’t fill. It eats away at me constantly, especially at night. I needed something to do to keep me busy, keep my mind off it. I needed to do something meaningful with my life. I needed something I could aim for. You and Craig have given me that something.”

  “So what was up with you yesterday?” He wasn’t sure if she would tell him, but if she didn’t then her training would be over. She had to be able to trust him with anything.

  “It was that phone call with Mary, Alex’s mother. She sees me as her daughter-in-law and she called to let me know about a family get together that I had to attend. No matter what my plans, I had to drop them and do her bidding. I think she’s trying to set me up with Alex’s brother and, while he’s a nice guy, he isn’t Alex.” Her voice got louder as she spoke and her anger at Alex’s mother came out.

  She took a deep breath. “Sorry. She brings out the worst in me sometimes. Yesterday I was thinking about that, not the training, and I overreacted. All I could see was everyone around me trying to run my life with me having no say in it and I snapped.”

  JD appreciated her honesty and he tried to keep his voice as unemotional as he could. “You need to tell me these things. If ever something is bothering you, let me know. I don’t mean so I can try and fix it, I mean so I can take it into account while we’re training.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. All this takes a little getting used to. Does this mean you will forgive me?”

  “There’s nothing to forgive. But I do need you to do me a favour.”

  “Anything. Just name it.” There was so much he could reply to that, but he kept it professional.

  “Take a two week break. From training, from me, from this place. Even from Craig if you need to. Do whatever you need to to get your head back to where it should be.”

  “Is that an order?” She did not sound happy about it.

  “No, it’s a suggestion, but it’s one you would be wise to think about.” He hated himself for saying it, but it was what she needed.

  “Alright. I’ll think about it.” She stood up to leave. “Jason. Thank you. For being so understanding as well as for giving me a second chance.”

  He watched her leave, wondering when he was going to see her again.

  The days passed and he didn’t hear from her. Wednesday came and went with no word. Friday arrived and he could take it no longer.

  He found Katie, Scott and Jonathon in the games room. “Has anyone heard from Sarah?” he asked as he poked his head around the door.

  Katie shook her head. “She’s not answering my calls or returning my messages.”

  “Same here,” Scott said.

  “Jonathon?” His brother didn’t reply. “Jonathon?” he tried again.

  “She won’t let me know her number and for some stupid reason this lot are abiding by her wishes.”

  That made him feel good. “I’m pleased to hear it. Can you send Craig to my office when he gets back please.”

  It wasn’t long before Craig arrived home. “How’s Sarah?” JD asked as soon as he entered his office.

  “I don’t know.” He sounded stressed.

  “What do you mean you don’t know?”

  “I can’t get in contact with her and she has not been at work all week.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.” He then verbalised some of his doubts, something he had not done before in front of one of his students. “Did I do the wro
ng thing by telling her to take a break?”

  Craig smiled at him. “No, she has just taken it literally.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She has taken a break from everything. But don’t let it concern you. She will be in touch when she’s ready.”

  “What makes you think I’m concerned?”

  “Your demeanour, your words, your tone of voice. The fact you called me in here to ask me about her. Don’t worry; I won’t tell the others that you’re missing your favourite student.”

  “I would be the same if it was any of you, now get out of here before I decide to punish you for being insolent.” Craig was still smiling as he left the room.

  A few hours later, JD was working out in the arena when he heard the door to the balcony open. As soon as he saw Craig he stopped the music.

  “Sarah just called me. She wants me to go over to her place tomorrow.”

  “Well at least we know she’s still alive.” Craig looked like he wanted to say more, but was unsure whether he should or not. “And?” JD prompted.

  “She wants help packing up all of Alex’s stuff. I’m not sure what it means.”

  “It means she has spent the last few days thinking about moving forward with her life and she has decided to finally start doing it.”

  “But what does that mean in regard to her training?”

  JD had no idea. He hoped it was a good sign, but he had no way of knowing. “You know her better than I do. If you can’t answer that question, then you’ll have to ask her.”

  “It probably means I’ll miss the 5am session on Sunday.”

  “No problem.” He paused before adding, “Craig. Thank you for telling me.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  Saturday dragged on as JD got on with things he needed to do while waiting for Craig to call him. He hadn’t asked him to, but he was still hopeful that he would.

  He spent a lot of the day training with Katie, Scott, Simon and Jonathon, both individually and in groups. As Sarah wasn’t around, he pointed out that he had time to give them extra lessons and none of them had been brave enough to complain.

  He was alone in the arena with the music turned up loud when Craig arrived so he didn’t know that he had Sarah with him. She went straight to her room without speaking to anyone, so only Craig knew she was in the Sanctuary.

  JD was so surprised when she walked into the arena at 5am the next day that for a moment he thought he must be dreaming. “I told you to take two weeks off,” he said instead of welcoming her.

  “No, you advised me to, there’s a difference.” She was challenging him, but he was so pleased to see her he let it pass without comment.

  “Get your swords everyone,” he said. “Sarah has a week’s worth of lessons to make up so this morning is going to be a tough one.”

  So you are scared of me are you

  Things soon settled back into their routine. The only thing that seemed to have changed was Sarah’s commitment and dedication. She was a lot more focused and put more effort into every training session.

  One Friday night, just as Sarah was about to head out to the Sanctuary, Sally arrived home very upset. She sent Tommy to play in his room, then burst into tears.

  “Whatever is wrong?” Sarah asked as she put her arm around her friend.

  “Read this,” she said and handed over her phone.

  Sarah scanned through the text conversation between Sally and her soon-to-be-ex-husband, getting angrier and angrier the more she read.

  “That bastard. After everything he has put you through he’s now claiming you’re an unfit mother and is going for sole custody?”

  Sally nodded her head. “Have you seen who he has hired as his lawyer? How can I afford to get someone as good as that?”

  “I don’t know,” Sarah said as she dragged Sally into the lounge, pulled her onto the sofa next to her and gently rocked her comfortingly. “But we will find a way. I promise.”

  Sally continued to cry, then suddenly sat bolt upright. “You should be at training.”

  “Screw training. You’re more important right now.” Realising what she had just said, she amended her tone. “I had better call Craig though.”

  She dialled his number and he answered after the first ring. “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Hi Craig, how are you?” He recognised her tone of voice and guessed she was about to ask him a big favour.

  “What do you want this time?” he asked in a resigned tone. They both knew he would do whatever it was she needed.

  “I can’t make it to training tonight. Sally needs me. I can’t leave her. Can you let Jason know?”

  “Why can’t you?”

  “I’m too scared to.”

  “And you think I’m not? He might end up shooting the messenger you know.”

  “Please,” she pleaded. “Sally really is in a bad way.”

  “Alright,” he said. “But I’m doing this for her not you.”

  “Thanks Craig.” She hung up. “Well that went better than expected. Now I’m going to make some tea. My grandmother said it always makes you feel better no matter what is happening, so I think now is a good time to put the theory to the test.”

  They were both sipping tea when Sarah’s phone rang. The beverage hadn’t made Sally feel any better, but at least she had stopped crying.

  Sarah looked at the caller ID. “Oh Shit.” She quickly pressed the answer button before it went to voicemail. Not taking this call would be a serious mistake. “Hi Jason.”

  “So you are scared of me are you?” He didn’t sound angry; if it had been anyone else she would have said he sounded amused.

  “No, just of letting you down.”

  “You haven’t. From the very beginning I told you that family commitments come first and Sally classes as family. How is she? Is there anything any of us can do to help?”

  “Thanks, but I don’t think so. She just needs...” Sarah paused midsentence as her brain synapses began to work. “Hold on. What type of lawyer are you?”

  “Why?”

  “You might be just what she needs.”

  “Alright, I’m on my way.”

  How he managed to make the half hour journey in under twenty minutes she did not want to know. She made quick introductions and started to explain the situation, but JD stopped her.

  “Sarah, go make coffee while Sally gives me full details.” He paused, as though remembering something. “On second thoughts, better make that tea; I have tasted your coffee.”

  “And Craig says he has no sense of humour,” Sarah mumbled under her breath as she went into the kitchen.

  Sally showed JD into the dining area and they took seats at the table. ‘This is where it all started,’ JD thought to himself as his mind drifted back to when he had interrogated Sarah before agreeing to train her. Then he forced his mind back to the present and began to make notes as Sally spoke.

  “I’m not a family lawyer,” he said when she was finished, “but I have a good friend who is. Let me give her a ring.”

  Sarah listened as he made the call.

  “Gemma. JD. I need a favour.” Pause. “No, not that sort of favour. The only part of your body I’m interested in right now is your brain. I’m with a friend who needs a lawyer to fight a custody battle with a pretty nasty ex.” Pause. “Thanks. Can you come over straight away? One more thing. I need you to do this one for free.” Sarah turned away as he gave the address, concentrating on adding pasta to a pot of boiling water.

  Sarah was in the lounge, trying to convince Tommy to eat his dinner, when the doorbell rang. She was taken aback when she opened it and found herself staring at the most gorgeous woman she had ever met. Long blonde hair flowed down her back, sparkling blue eyes shone in the porchlight and a smile radiated from her perfect face. She had a figure most women would die for and a chest that made Sarah feel inadequate.

  “Hi, I’m Gemma,” she said, ho
lding out her hand to Sarah. Even her voice had a musical quality to it. “I think I am expected.”

  Sarah shook the hand, which had a surprisingly strong grip for such a feminine body, then introduced herself. “I’m Sarah. Come in. Jason and Sally are through here.”

  “Jason?” Gemma asked in surprise. “There is actually someone in this universe who doesn’t call him JD?”

  “It’s a long story,” Sarah said as she led her to the dining area. “Can I get you tea or coffee or anything?”

  Sarah didn’t notice JD shake his head in warning. “Just some water will be good thanks,” Gemma said.

  JD stood up and let Gemma take his seat. “I’ll get it. Sarah has a child to look after.”

  Sarah wasn’t sure how she felt about JD making himself at home in her kitchen, but he was right about her needing to look after Tommy, so she left the three of them to it.

  As soon as she had managed to get most of his meal inside him, she put on one of his favourite TV shows and escaped to the kitchen.

  JD had been looking through her cupboards and had a jar of coffee in his hand. “This explains a lot,” he said as she approached.

  “Ha bloody ha.”

  “You think I’m kidding? I really have to speak to Craig about restocking your cupboards.”

  Sarah took the jar from his hand, placed it back in the cupboard and shut the door. “Keep your nose out. Now, have you eaten?”

  “Funny you should ask that. I told Silvia that you would be cooking for me.”

  “It’s not going to be great I’m afraid. I had to do something that was quick and easy and could be reheated as I had no idea when any of us was going to be able to eat.”

  As she spoke, she dished some of the pasta bolognaise into a bowl and placed it in the microwave. Three minutes later she put the steaming bowl in front of JD and filled another one.

  “Already raided my fridge I see,” she said as she waited for her food to heat up.

  JD took a sip from his glass of coke. “I didn’t think you would mind.” He then pointed to his bowl of food. “This isn’t that bad.”

  When the microwave pinged and a steaming bowl was in front of her, Sarah turned serious. “Thanks for doing this. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”