A Hunter Within Read online

  “Sorry, did I disturb you?” I said, standing suddenly. I had my back to him as a few teardrops fell, and I pretended to start making the bed in an effort to hide my face.

  “Jules.” Seeley touched my shoulder, and I turned my head slightly in his direction.

  I composed myself enough to turn around. “I’m fine,” I said. “I should go. I have to get to work.”

  “I’ll drive you home.”

  “I need to be alone, Seeley,” I said, finally looking into his eyes.

  They held sadness as he watched me. I hoped mine didn’t show I was about to break down. I didn’t want to cry, not in front of him.

  “You don’t know how to get home from here. I don’t have to talk if you don’t want me to. Please just, let me take you.”

  I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat.

  At some point, the vampires must have gotten Seeley’s car, because it was sitting outside of the house again. He opened the door for me, not saying a word, as he had said. I got in and picked at my fingernails absentmindedly.

  My phone went off and showed a text message from my aunt. Call me as soon as you can.

  I hadn’t talked to her in a few days, and she probably just wanted to catch up. I’d call her on my break today.

  We got to my apartment complex, and I went to get out of the car. Seeley reached out and grabbed my hand.

  He held it tightly before speaking. “I know I might be part of the problem, but I’m here and you can talk to me. Whatever this started as, something changed for me. I have no right to ask for your trust, but I can work to earn it.”

  “You’re not a problem.” I smiled, putting my other hand on top of our interlocked fingers. “Maybe my feelings for you are.” I blushed as I said the words, not really meaning to say them out loud.

  “Well that makes two of us, then.”

  He brought his hand up to the side of my face and caressed his thumb along my cheek. “I don’t know what this is, Jules. I don’t know why I feel like this with you. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you what I was. What I am isn’t normal to you, and I was scared I’d lose you before we even saw where this might go. I should have been honest, but we were, we still are so new that I just… I just wanted to make sure. I don’t even know what I’m trying to say.”

  I watched him trying to explain himself, and he looked so nervous, looking back and forth between my lips and my eyes.

  “I didn’t think I’d ever meet anyone, let alone you.” He brought his forehead to mine, gripping the back of my neck gently.

  I drew in a deep breath and took in everything about him. He had this incredible scent that surrounded him. I’d noticed it a few times now that we had been close. It was one that reminded me of being curled up with a sweatshirt and blanket on a crisp fall day. My heart tightened at his words, words that melted the entire madness around me and brought me into a world where it was only the two of us.

  “What do we do?” I asked, almost in a whisper.

  “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “We’ll figure it out. Please be safe today.” His voice was laced with a twinge of anxiety, and I knew what he was talking about.

  I smiled slightly and gave a nod. “It’s just another day of work. I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything odd. Thanks for the ride.” I shut the door and walked away, glancing once over my shoulder to see him smile before driving off.

  I needed to be quick if I was going to make it to work on time. As much as I was confused about my emotions revolving around Seeley and what he had told me, the fact was Falcone Industries had taken Gabriel. I needed to find out what I could while there. And to do that I needed to stay my course and continue doing my job.

  As difficult as it was to think I was working for someone that could potentially be so evil, it’s not like I’d have to change anything about myself to do the job at the moment. I was already one of the top interns in my group and could easily continue to ride that out and stay under the radar. Perhaps soon, Marissa would appear again.

  I opened the door, expecting an empty house, but instead saw Henry sitting in my living room with Abbey and Vanessa. They were all drinking coffee and laughing about something, like it was any other day. Henry was acting completely himself.

  I glared at him fiercely when I walked in. “What are you doing here?”

  “I need to talk to you,” he said, standing up from the table suddenly.

  I angrily stormed past the table and two shocked roommates. “I have nothing to say to you,” I bellowed as I ran down the hall to my room, slamming the door behind me. Why the hell would he have stayed after that phone call?

  The door to my room opened, and Henry came inside, not even bothering to knock.

  “Henry, what aren’t you getting? I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to see you.” I slammed some things around my room in sheer frustration, things I didn’t even need to pick up. “I need to get dressed and get to work, and you need to go.”

  “Stop throwing a temper tantrum and listen to me. There are more important things right now than your feelings being hurt,” he said in a voice I’d never heard from him before.

  I stared at him, not recognizing the man in front of me anymore. I didn’t see Henry, I saw someone else entirely. Someone strong, granted rude at the moment, but there was something on his mind. He looked as if something was weighing on him more than anything ever had in the years I’d known him.

  “I know you have questions. I can’t tell you everything, or really anything just yet. But I’m asking that you trust me right now,” he said, softening back to himself, his tone pleading.

  I scoffed. “After the way you’ve acted today? And why would I do that? You think I’m just jumping into bed with people and throwing tantrums,” I jeered.

  “It’s still me. I’m your friend, and I was worried about you, that’s all. I’m sorry for what I said. It was uncalled for, inexcusable, and came from a place of fear and anger. I would never do anything to hurt you, Jules.” His voice was calmer now.

  “I have to go away for a few days,” he continued, and I looked up at him, surprised. Henry had never gone anywhere. In fact, he had grown up in this town, and from what he had always told me, he never really left, save for a few visits to my hometown nearby.

  “Falcone Industries is throwing their Annual Charity Gala at the end of the week. The interns are being notified today. I need you to promise me that you will be extremely careful at work until then.”

  I continued watching him. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, seeing my shock.

  “Wait, how do you know what Falcone is doing?” I asked.

  “I swear to you that I will tell you everything, and there is a lot to tell. Please, give me a few days, and I promise I will talk for as long as you’d like. There are just some things I need to work through. But, I need you to keep your head down there. Promise me?”

  I rubbed my forehead, even more confused than I had been waking up with all the information the vampires had given me the night before.

  “I don’t understand, Henry,” I said. It was all I could think of at the moment.

  He paused, sitting down on my bed and watching me cautiously. He chewed his bottom lip for a moment and then said, “My father works for Falcone Industries.”

  My jaw dropped. “Your father… I’m sorry, what? Your father works for Falcone? Why are you just telling me this now? You’ve known me for almost five years, and I’ve been talking about them since we met. You never thought to mention that?”

  “I know you,” he countered immediately. “You would have thought I gave you an in, or an advantage instead of earning a spot for yourself. He’s not even on the intern selection committee. I didn’t think it was relevant at the time, but I should have told you when you got the job.”

  I shook my head at him, flustered at the information being thrown my way. “This is a weird secret to keep, Henry,”

  He raised his eyebrows, almost to himself. “L
ike I said, there’s a lot we need to discuss. I’ll explain everything when I’m back. Trust me. Just please remember, I would never do anything that would hurt you.”

  My mind was racing. Before any of the revelations from last night, all I would have thought about was that Henry kept this from me because yes, I would have thought he had gotten me the job and that I hadn’t earned it. I hated myself for what I was thinking now. Because at this moment, I was thinking Henry could be lying. That the person who was standing in front of me might be protecting Falcone and whatever it was they were doing.

  But Henry had refused to work there. I asked him about it when I had first applied last year, and he hated them—with a passion. I had thought it was a strange amount of passion in fact, for a company he had no ties to. Obviously he did have ties if his father worked there. But why the secrecy?

  “I don’t know,” I murmured and stared at my feet. My gut told me that Henry meant well. This was Henry after all. The Henry who befriended three women and acted like our older brother whenever anything got hard. He’d never be part of something cruel. Although I never would have thought he would have spoken to me like he had today either. But getting angry and spitting out something hateful was a lot different than physically hurting people to the extent that Falcone might be.

  “Everything will make sense, just give me the week,” he said, standing and walking over to me.

  I looked at him and saw the desperation on his face.

  “Okay,” I sighed. I brought my fingers to the temple of my forehead, as another headache came on. Another weird thing happening to me. These were becoming more frequent. I winced at the pain.

  Henry frowned at me and looked concerned. “Have you been drinking the coffee I’ve been giving you?”

  I looked up at him, thinking that was an extremely random and strange question for this conversation. “I think so? Honestly, Henry I’m not worried about coffee right now.” I shook my head. “I’m going to be late.”

  He walked out of the room without a word. I watched the door for a minute, and in a snotty voice muttered, “Okay, bye.”

  I had just gotten dressed when he appeared again.

  “Here, drink some coffee. You look like you need it.” He handed me a to-go cup, and I set it on my desk.

  “Thanks.”

  “We’ll talk soon and I’ll see you Friday.” He smiled at me.

  “Not until Friday? I thought you were leaving for a few days?” I said, surprised.

  “You care now?” he teased, winking. He seemed to be back to his old self.

  “Go before I change my mind.” I easily smiled back at him because it was Henry, and it was near impossible to stay mad at him.

  “Oh, and one more thing,” he said.

  I raised my eyebrows at him.

  “I’m going with you to the event.”

  “I’m sure interns won’t be allowed a plus one to some gala,” I said.

  “Yes, but my father invites me every year. I always say no, but this time is different. I’m going with you. That is if you don’t mind me as a dance partner.” He posed with his finger in the air in a terrible disco move, and I snorted into the coffee before I could even take a sip.

  I laughed. “Good gosh, if you promise me not to ever do that again, we can go together.”

  “As you wish.” He gave me a tight hug. “I’m sorry for what I said.”

  I wrapped my arms around him, unable to even pretend I was still upset. Something in me had a growing need to hold onto the people I had, especially with the insanity that was unfolding around me. “You’re forgiven. But you owe me,” I said, hitting at his side.

  He bowed out of the room and left me shaking my head.

  I took small sip out of the mug Henry had handed me and shook my head in disgust. I’d just grab something at work. Henry’s coffee had tasted bitter lately, after my obsession with the mochas at work, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him I didn’t like his anymore.

  I walked out, preparing for a day back to the grind and hopefully out of trouble.

  Henry had been right about the gala. I walked into work and found we had a staff meeting first thing. All of the interns were gathered together in one of the larger auditorium rooms.

  “I wonder what this is about,” Angie said excitedly, leaning over toward me from her chair.

  I shrugged and feigned ignorance. “No idea.”

  We sat, facing the presentation stage and started hearing applause from farther up front. Marissa Malcovey made her way onto the stage and up to the podium.

  “Hello, brilliant young minds! Good Morning!” she shouted, full of energy and with that billion-dollar smile.

  Angie clapped her hands and hollered, “Good Morning” along with the rest of the auditorium. I plastered on my own fake smile and watched her dive into a talk about how she wanted to empower us to become the future of Falcone and pharmaceutical industries all around the country.

  “Finally, this year we are once again hosting our Annual Charity Gala, right here at our headquarters building.”

  She was met with some tentative applause from the interns.

  “And of course, you’re all invited!” she said, giggling and clapping her own hands. “Each of you will get a formal invitation today with all the details. It will take place this coming Friday.”

  That brought on some louder cheers from the crowd.

  “This is such a wonderful evening, and we like to not only allow you all to get dressed up and mingle with other members of our Falcone family, but it also allows you to meet some of our key benefactors and supporters throughout the country. People from all over come out to this fantastic event. This year, we are supporting a charitable foundation that Falcone Industries is starting up ourselves to aid families in need right here in our own community. We hope that in time, we’ll be able to expand nationally!”

  I wondered if Seeley knew about this new charitable venture. I’m sure it was just another way to get money flowing right back into the company itself.

  “I know I said finally, but I do have one more thing.” She held her hands up to quiet everyone who had erupted into an excited chattering at her announcements.

  “Each year, I select interns who have demonstrated themselves to be students who go above and beyond. The top two candidates from each class are hand selected by me to help with a Falcone Industries initiative that is very personal to me. I’ll be letting those interns know who they are by the end of the day today. So keep your eyes peeled for me, because I just may be looking for you!” she said and pointed out to the crowd. She started clapping again, and the room was filled with excitement. She really knew how to work a crowd.

  We all filed out of the auditorium and back to our cubicles. As promised, the invitations were waiting for us at our seats. The gala would be quite an interesting night, I imagined. But I had more important things to worry about. The announcement for Marissa’s special project made me anxious. I was hoping she remembered me, and that my work thus far had been good enough to get noticed for that spot. I was sure it would bring me closer to the information I needed to help Seeley’s brother. I glanced at the pile of work on my desk and decided it could be the best way to distract myself for the next few hours, or at least until I found out if I had captured one of those two coveted spots.

  By lunch time, I still hadn’t heard anything. I was starting to get worried. Not that there was much more I could have done.

  “I wonder if we’ll know who gets selected!” Angie gossiped excitedly at the table. I nodded along, enthusiastically interjecting my “ohs” and nods when it seemed appropriate.

  By four o’clock, I was really starting to waiver in my confidence. I was usually one of the last to leave, and over the course of the next forty minutes, I became the only person left in my cube farm. I sighed in frustration. So much for being on the inside, I thought and flipped through the stack of papers next to me. Might as well finish up and head home. I wasn’t sure what
the plan would be next. I’d find a way, though. I wasn’t good at letting barriers stand in front of what I wanted.

  I heard the soft clicking of high heels on the tile floor outside the door and was surprised to find Marissa herself walk in.

  “Ms. Parker, we meet again.” Her sing-song voice rang out in the nearly empty corridor as she opened the door.

  “Ms. Malcovey.” I stood upon her entrance.

  “Oh, sit down. There’s no need to be so formal.” She smiled. “We have a lot to talk about.”

  I smiled tentatively at her and waited for her to continue.

  “You must have guessed you’d get one of the spots, after our first meeting, of course,” she said. “But your work here truly is above and beyond. I can’t imagine you sitting in this cube farm doing this menial data entry work one more day. You were made for much more I think, am I right?”

  I looked down, trying to get my disgust in check. I had to play the long game, and that meant acting as I had been the first day around her. I was the nervous intern, eager for a job at the best company in the country. Eager for a job with Marissa Malcovey.

  “I would like to think so.” I smiled, timidly.

  “Come with me,” she said, tilting her head toward the door.

  We walked back where I had headed when we were going to her office. My stomach lurched as I got excited to see more of the building.

  “I’ve been at this company since I was your age. I started out as an intern and worked my way up. It took a very long time to get where I am now.” She sighed as if she was reminiscing. Perhaps on those deaths she had arranged to get her slot.

  “I’m working on a very important project that not everyone is ready for. But I think you might be.”

  “I’m truly honored you think so highly of me,” I said.

  She pinched her lips into a smile and led me into a large conference room, ushering me to sit down as she pulled out a seat at the table.

  “Tell me, Jules. Why do you want to be a research scientist?”

  “Well, I’ve wanted it my whole life. My parents died when I was very young, and it’s what they were passionate about. I want to help people, and I believe I have been blessed with talents that allow me to do that,” I answered.