The Recruiters

by Dara Nelson

  I nodded my head, held my breath, and let go of his hand long enough to get out and meet him by the trunk. I swallowed him up in my arms and began to kiss him with the frantic fervor usually reserved for military husbands/wives sending their spouses off to war. I paid no attention to time, only stopping when I heard the pilot politely clear his throat behind us. Matt looked at me, placed his hand on his heart, then moved it to my heart and whispered, “My heart is yours, my love.”

  I replied, “Mine is gone until you come back to me. I love you.”

  Then he kissed my forehead. “I’ll see you soon, sweetheart,” he said as he turned and walked onto the plane. I stood there, unable to move, as the door closed and the plane’s engines came to life and it slowly turned and headed out to the runway. I started to worry that I wasn’t going to be able to move at all, ever, until he came back, but suddenly I felt my scar tingling. I closed my eyes and felt the sensation spread throughout my body. It was giving me the strength I needed to go on. I smiled as I turned and climbed back into the car. And I drove home tracing my scar the whole way.

  Carlos was waiting for me on the porch when I got home. He took me into his arms and just held me for a long time. He knew when the time wasn’t right for his humor. It took me a while, but I finally pulled myself away and whispered, “Thanks.”

  “Anytime,” he said salaciously as his humor returned. He winked and grinned as we turned and walked inside. “Where to now?” he said.

  I shook my head. “No, not tonight hun. It’s too early to approach someone tonight. If Matt’s not successful, if the chief is gone, won’t come or won’t tell Matt how to do the ceremony, then there’s no point. We can’t change anybody without it. We have to have the scars. They have to match exactly. Let’s give it twenty four hours. Hopefully he’ll be able to contact one of us by then to give us an update.”

  “One of us?” Carlos said. “I’m pretty sure it’ll be you, Sarah.”

  I shook my head again. “I’m new at this remember? I have to keep my mind closed right now. If someone tries to come in, it’s harder for me to tell if it’s Matt or them. You can,” then I smiled and looked down.

  “What?” he said. “You gonna share?”

  I looked at my palm and smiled as I felt the tingle. “It’s Matt,” I smiled, tracing my scar. He’d been in the air a few hours now and I could still feel him, definitely a good sign.

  “Oh brother,” Carlos said as he rolled his eyes and walked to the couch. I followed him and we watched TV for a while. I kept turning and watching Carlos though.

  Finally he asked me, “What is it Sarah?”

  “Tell me about yourself,” I said.

  He slowly turned and stared at me. “Seriously?

  I nodded, “Yes. Tell me something about your past. Tell me who the real Carlos is.”

  He stared again then nodded. “Oh, I get it. You’ve finally jumped on board the Carlos love express. I knew it would happen eventually. The ladies just can’t keep the Carlos mojo away. Nobody’s immune, not even you,” he said, grinning.

  “Would you stop being such a dork. I’m serious, Carlos. I want to know the real you, the one who hides behind this mask of the ‘Carlos love express’. Tell me about some of the loves of your life.”

  He looked surprised for a moment. “The, the loves of my life? What do you mean?”

  “Well. You’re over two hundred years old. I’m sure you’ve been in love a few times. Tell me about them. Tell me what kind of woman grabs hold of your heart.”

  He got a sad look on his face and then turned and stared at the TV. He watched TV and I silently watched him until I couldn’t anymore. I gently put my hand on his arm. “You have been in love, haven’t you Carlos?” I whispered.

  I felt his arm tense up but he stayed silent. “Carlos?”

  “What? What do you want from me? No, Sarah. I’ve never been in love. I don’t roll that way. The ladies don’t own me, I own the ladies.”

  His anger shocked me for a second then the sadness took over. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder. “Oh Carlos. That’s so lonely,” I whispered as I put my head on his shoulder.

  “Don’t Sarah. Don’t feel sorry for me. I like my life this way.”

  “But why? Wouldn’t you like to share your life with somebody, at least for a while? To fall asleep in their arms and wake up in their arms and be there for each other? How could you possibly have not experienced that in all this time?”

  He turned and looked at me and there was something in his eyes that made my breath catch and my heart beat faster. “Because I haven’t met anybody that I’d like to do that with yet. At least this way I’ve never had a broken heart.”

  “Oh, honey. Being in love, truly in love is the most amazing feeling. You should really experience it, at least once in your life,” I said.

  “Why? Because that’s what you and Matt have? What are the chances of that happening to me, Sarah? What are the chances of me finding somebody, well, somebody like you?”

  “Carlos. You are an amazing guy. You’re handsome, friendly, funny and incredibly loving. If you open your heart to it, it will happen.”

  He turned to face me on the couch. “Really? It’s that easy? That’s all I have to do? Okay. With you as my witness, Sarah Pearl I hereby open my heart to being in love,” he said sarcastically as he placed my hand on his heart.

  I grinned and playfully smacked him. “Stop being such a smart ass,” I said then I yawned. I was exhausted from the last few days, we didn’t sleep when we were on the boat, but I really didn’t want to be alone. What if I traced my scar and he didn’t trace back? I would automatically start thinking the worst things… and I’d probably have another nightmare.

  Maybe I could just doze on the couch. Of course that wouldn’t be fair to Carlos, I’m sure he was pretty tired too. Carlos must have been thinking the same thing because he suddenly grabbed my hand and stood up, pulling me with him. “My ass isn’t just smart, it’s cute too. I’ll show you. Come darlin’,” he said, “Time for us to go to bed.”

  I thought he was planning on going to the guest room and my eyes showed my growing panic as we headed down the hall. “I’m afraid to be alone, Carlos,” I whispered. “I’ll have nightmares.”

  “You’re not gonna be alone Sarah,” he said.

  “Carlos,” I began, but stopped as he held his hand up.

  “Don’t get your hopes up,” he smiled. “I’m way too tired tonight anyway. But I don’t want your screams waking me up, so I’m staying by your side.”

  I opened my mouth again to protest but he said, “What? Don’t trust yourself near me? I understand. I get that a lot. I’ll sleep on top of the sheet, okay? But you can still peak at my ass if you want to.” Then he grinned a goofy Carlos grin.

  I smiled, nodded my head and put my arm around his waist, “That’s twice now… thanks again Carlos.” We started to turn into the bedroom, when I remembered that Matt and I hadn’t made the bed or changed the sheets since we were last in here. Carlos’ eyes went wide as he took in the mayhem. I turned to him and said, “The guest room?”

  He nodded, “Uh, YEAH, the guest room. Wow, Sarah. I gotta admit. I’m impressed. You’re a freaking insatiable animal. You’re a lot like me, you know.”

  “Stop,” I grinned and blushed as I ducked into the bathroom and put on one of Matt’s t-shirts and a pair of his sweats. I grabbed his pillow off my bed to have his scent with me and went to join Carlos.

  He took one look at me in the baggy clothes and said, “Gee, sexy. I might have a hard time controlling myself after seeing you in that.”

  “Down tiger,” I said, smiling, as I climbed into bed.

  I was asleep a minute after my head hit the pillow.

  I tried to stifle the scream before it came, but I still woke up Carlos. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled as I started to climb out of bed. “I’ll go to my room, you go back to sleep.”

  He grabbed my arm, pulled me back into bed and wrapped his ar
ms around me. He began gently caressing my forehead. “You’re not going anywhere, kiddo,” he said. “WE are going back to sleep now.”

  I relaxed slightly as I felt his soft fingers on my head. “My dad used to do that,” I said.

  “Yeah, well, if you tell anybody I did this, I’ll totally deny it,” he cracked. I smiled and held my hand up in the moonlight, staring at my palm. “Give it a try,” he said.

  “I’m afraid to,” I said. He gently grabbed both my hands and guided my finger to trace my scar, up and down a few times then he stopped… and we waited. Nothing happened.

  “Maybe he’s sleeping,” Carlos whispered. I nodded my head and tried not to cry as Carlos started caressing my forehead again. Carlos felt it at the same time I did, as I gasped and shivered when my scar came alive.

  “NOW can we sleep again, please?” he said.

  “Okay,” I said as relief flooded through me.

  This time I slept, REALLY slept. No nightmares, just blissful sleep. Unfortunately, though, just before dawn the dream began. And it was a doozy. It involved me, Matt and sex. Lots and lots of sex. I groaned in my sleep, which woke Carlos up. He shot up in bed, started to reach for me but something stopped him. He sat and watched me for a moment as he tried to determine if this was another nightmare. The louder groan, the arch of my back, the heavier breathing and my nipples poking into my shirt quickly told him that it wasn’t. Carlos started to get out of bed but stopped. He knew he should leave but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He knew it was wrong – this was his best friend’s girl. This was someone that he considered his best friend. This was too intimate for best friends, he knew that but he couldn’t make himself turn away.

  He started to get a smirk on his face as he began to realize that he was going to do something wrong, something very, very naughty. His smirk grew as he crossed his arms and sat back to watch the show. I squirmed in the bed next to him as the dream closed in on its climax. The moment I peaked in my dream, it woke me up and I instantly realized what was happening. I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out and rolled onto my side, hoping that I hadn’t woken Carlos up. I lay like that for a few minutes with my heart pounding in my chest praying that he hadn’t heard me. But I knew he had when I felt the bed move.

  He quietly walked out, down the hall and into the kitchen. I heard the microwave buzz to life then heard his footsteps as he walked back down the hall. I avoided looking at him as he handed me two warm pints. “Mmmm, thanks,” I mumbled as I tossed the empties in the garbage.

  “You’re welcome,” he said as he stood up and walked toward the bathroom. “Now I need to take a cold shower. I’ll be out in a few.” He looked back at me with that ridiculous grin pasted on his face.

  I blushed and tried not to smile. “Christ, Carlos. This is embarrassing enough as it is. Can’t you pretend that you didn’t see that?”

  “Nope. Sorry. No can do, kiddo. That was a hell of a show. Must have been some dream. It must have had me in it.”

  He jumped out of the way when I threw the pillow at him. He stepped into the bathroom and said, “I better lock the door, just in case.” He winked at me as he closed the door.

  “What time is it?” I called to him through the door.

  “Ten a.m.,” he said.

  “Wow,” I said, “I haven’t slept this late in years. So… have you heard anything from him?”

  “Not yet, but it’s early Sarah, give him a little time,” he said as he came out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. I tried not to gape – his ego didn’t need that kind of boost – but I couldn’t help noticing how incredibly handsome and sexy he was.

  “I know I need to, it’s just so hard. You have no idea…” I began, then smiled at him and shook my head. “Scratch that, you know exactly how much I’m freaking out here.”

  Carlos blew out the air from his lungs. “Yuh think?” he said.

  “I need to plan a seriously busy day so I don’t think about him being gone all the time,” I said.

  “Sarah, you’ve got me here. You won’t be thinking about anything or anyone else. Seriously, though, I’m going to take you and show you my New Orleans. The same way I showed you my Paris. We’ll have a blast, I promise.”

  I smiled and picked up my cell phone, “Gimme a second, okay? I need to call Billy to see how things are going with Alison.”

  I stepped out onto the porch and dialed his number. When I came back in a few minutes later to type my notes into his file, I noticed Carlos was sitting on the couch, completely still, with his eyes closed. I stood there silently and waited. Almost a full minute passed before he opened his eyes. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. I was afraid to ask, so I sat at the table and flicked on my laptop. Without turning his head, Carlos said, “I can feel you looking at me, you know.”

  “Well, what do you expect?” I replied.

  “He’s fine. He’s at the village. The chief is there. The Enforcers haven’t been. He’s going to sit down with the chief in a little while, okay?”

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Thanks Carlos,” I whispered, and began typing.

  Of course if I tried to get in to Matthew’s mind myself I might have seen what Carlos had kept from me. No, things were not fine. The village was trashed, burned and the villagers were nowhere to be found. He didn’t smell or sense that it was the Enforcers, but he couldn’t be certain. He took to the treetops and found the villagers’ trail heading east, deeper into the jungle. He was following it, while staying hidden in the trees and keeping all of his senses alert to finding any indication of the Enforcers. He thought he was close but had to be sure it was safe before he revealed himself to them.

  Carlos was right to keep this from me. He knew I would have insisted that Matt abandon the trip and return home. But he also knew that he couldn’t be around when Matt finally told me what really happened in Peru, because hell hath no fury like a vampire wife whose been lied to…

  Chapter Eight

  Matt spent the night in the top of the tree, along with a few parrots, and occasional visiting monkeys. He stared down at the village below him, studying it, watching for any indication that the Enforcers were around. He’d been in this tree for over twelve hours and nothing was suspicious, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, other than the fact that the villagers had moved. He silently climbed down and approached the village. The guards closed rank when he emerged from the jungle into the clearing, then parted when they saw it was him. He was led to the chief’s hut. His heart was pounding as he ducked his head and entered. In Spanish the chief spoke first, “Mi amigo,” he began, “No esperaba verte tan pronto (I did not expect to see you so soon).”

  “Ni yo le (nor I you),” Matt replied.

  They continued in Spanish, “To answer your question, no they have not been here, nor to the other village. The crops required us to move east and we leave nothing behind when we move.”

  “That’s good to know, I was worried about you and the villagers, friend. I hope you know that I would never intentionally bring danger to you and yours,” Matt said.

  The chief laughed, “HA! Our medicine man casts a spell over our village that prevents those who mean us harm from finding us. This spell has worked for centuries, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work now. Speaking of the medicine man, he tells me you have an unusual request.”

  Matt nodded his head. “Yes, I’m afraid I do. Has he seen anything of what’s been going on with me and my loved one?”

  The chief nodded. “I’m afraid, yes. It is tragic, a travesty. We have long thought they were wrong to be doing what they were doing, but we kept silent because they were right to control your population. But this, this is unacceptable and we will do anything we can to help.”

  “Are you certain you will be able to keep the village safe if you do?” Matt said.

  “Quite,” the chief replied. “But I’m not going to help you in the way you think I am.
”

  Matt’s heart pounded. He got nervous and wanted to say something, but he waited.

  The chief continued, “I’m not going with you and I’m not going to show you how to do it yourself, that’s not possible.” The chief smiled and held up his hand when Matt opened his mouth to respond. “No, do not worry,” he said, “Everything will be fine. I have a cousin who used to be the medicine man in a nearby village, but he saw a very different future for himself one day. When he was certain that the young man he was training to be his eventual replacement was suitable, he slipped away one night and moved to Paradise Island in the Bahamas. He now runs a resort there and he knows the linking ceremony,” he smiled again at the surprised look on Matt’s face. “Aduviri is waiting for your call. He knows very well how to do the linking ceremony and he will travel with you, for a price of course,” he said as he handed Matt a piece of rolled up parchment with his cousin’s contact information.

  “Of course,” Matt said. “And we will do our best to keep his involvement to a minimum and to keep him safe.”

  “I know you will,” the chief replied, “Now, let us go and join the others for a good luck ceremony to help you along the way.”

  “Thank you friend,” Matt replied as he rose and followed him out the door.

  Back in New Orleans, it was late Wednesday afternoon. I had spent an exhausting, fun-filled, and extremely busy day with Carlos – which included jazz clubs, cemeteries, and flying, lots and lots of flying. And tons of laughing. Carlos had obviously spent a lot of time here. Several of the club’s doormen recognized him. “Carlos! Long time, no see. Good to have you back, man. And who’s this flavor of the week you’ve brought?”