A Shade of Blood (A Shade of Vampire #2)(51)
Author: Bella Forrest

“You must be Ben Hudson!” she exclaimed. “We’re so excited that you’re finally here! I’m Zinnia Wolfe.”

I immediately noticed the small scar on her left cheek as we shook hands. I thought to ask about it, but decided not to. I was still somewhat bewildered by the warm welcome. Why are they expecting me? Why do they even know me? “I’d introduce myself, but it seems you already know me.”

“Well…” she shrugged one shoulder. “Who doesn’t?”

I motioned to get my bags but she shook her head and waved the notion off.

“Don’t worry about your luggage. We’ll have them brought to your room later.”

We began walking side by side out of the runway toward the ‘Hawk Headquarters’. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the responses I was getting from her.

“After Vivienne Novak was captured, you and Sofia have been the talk of the town.”

About a thousand internal warning alarms went off at that statement and I found myself stopping on my tracks before we could reach a block section of the estate. It had steel gray exteriors and large glass windows from floor to ceiling. I gave the building a wary glance, no longer certain if I wanted to be there.

Who are these people? What have I gotten myself into?

“How do you know about Sofia?” The mere mention of her name caused an inescapable ache to settle in my chest.

Zinnia smiled, long dark lashes fluttering over her big hazelnut brown eyes. “I think I’ve said too much…” Her pupils rolled to the edge of her upper eyelids as she chastised herself. “I do that a lot.”

“Well?” I asked, unwilling to let her off the hook.

“All I know is that you and Sofia Claremont have been on our watch list for quite some time now.” Her hip swayed to one side, her weight falling on one leg. “Especially after you disappeared and magically showed up again, some of our best hunters were deployed to keep you under surveillance twenty-four seven.”

“Why?” I stepped forward, fists balled, brows furrowed. I found the idea of being watched disturbing. “How did we even get on your watch list?”

“I honestly don’t know. Good thing you are both on the watch list though, because we never would’ve caught Vivienne Novak if you weren’t.” She had a way of talking about issues as if they didn’t matter and that the best way to tackle all of it was to laugh about it. She reminded me a lot of myself – my former self.

“So if you were keeping Sofia and me under your watch, you know where she is right now?”

She froze and shook her head. “Unfortunately, we were too preoccupied with getting Vivienne here. By the time we got hunters to go back to keep an eye on you, Sofia was gone and you were already driving for LAX…”

I gave her my most menacing stare, annoyed that she was unable to give me more of the information I needed to hear from her.

“Are you always so serious and intense?” She playfully chucked a fist over my jaw. “Relax, handsome. Reuben will answer all your questions later.”

Serious and intense. I never thought anyone would ever describe me that way. Ease up, Ben. You got this. “Fine,” I relented, one side of my lips curving up in a smile. “So when exactly will I meet Reuben? I get the impression he’s the hunters’ almighty leader?”

“I wouldn’t say almighty but yeah… he’s pretty close,” she chuckled. “And yes, he gets to call the shots. Here at US headquarters at least.”

“US headquarters?” I asked. “So there are other headquarters? Outside the country?”

Zinnia’s nose wrinkled as she gave some thought about answering my question. “I think I’m going to get myself in trouble if I keep on answering your questions, so please… stop asking them. I’ve already told you too much.”

“So what exactly are you for, Zinnia?”

“I’m your welcoming committee,” she said. “I’m going to take you to your room in the dormitories. And until Reuben’s ready to see you, I’m the person you go to in case you need anything.”

“Anything?” I squinted one eye suggestively at her as glass doors slid open in front of us, allowing us entrance to the large private estate.

She gave me a curious look as we headed for a door that required a key combination or a card swipe to unlock. She came up with a metallic card and swiped it over the lock. A beep followed and we were through. “Something tells me that you’re a lot of trouble, Hudson.”

“You have no idea.”

“Then we’re going to get along just fine.”

We took turns past several corridors before leading to one that showed a massive glass-covered atrium. From the ground floor, I could see several men and women wearing identical black jumpsuits undergoing martial arts training.

Judo.

“The atrium basically serves as one of the academy’s many training areas. Those are some of the new recruits.”

“Academy?”

“Everyone who wants to become a hunter has to go through the academy first. Aside from basic combat training, it’s the organization’s primary way of allocating recruits. Your skills are evaluated and after you go through at least a year’s training, you are assigned to a position within the organization.”

I was stunned at the level of organization the hunters had. At the back of my mind, I always pictured the hunters as some clandestine group of thugs who lived in dark underground basements, randomly hunting and killing off vampires. What I got instead was what seemed like a worldwide organization of highly trained vampire killers.

Zinnia and I stepped into an elevator, with large glass windows that still allowed us a view of the atrium. I held the metal banister that lined the walls of the elevator as it rose three floors above ground. We walked out of the lift and Zinnia led me through a maze of corridors and walkways connecting one building to another until we reached the dormitory.

She stopped in front of a door that had a brass number eight identifying the room.

“This is one of the suites. They’re for guests. Once you’re an official recruit, you’re going to be transferred to one of the regular dorm rooms.” She opened the door. “For now, you’ll just have to bear with this one.”

Stepping into the suite, I was quite impressed. The cool blue and white tones and the dark wood paneling gave the room a bright, airy feel, especially through the full-length glass windows that covered one side of the wall. A wide flat screen TV, a plush semi-circular couch, a great view of what looked like a sprawling vineyard outside, and modern art decorating the walls were only some of the amenities that gave a clear impression: Hunters have some filthy rich backers.