Albert Manlii has walked this earth for more than two thousand years, but survival on his own was never easy. Now he leads a faction of highly organized vampires who carefully guard the secret of their existence. Unlike the old days, potential recruits are carefully selected and presented with an offer.<br><br>Phillip Brewer has weeks to live -- if he lets his disease run its course. He doesn’t want to die, but given a choice, will his desire to live outweigh his concerns about the vampires’ ethics?<br><br>When the new recruit’s missteps are cause for concern, can Albert control the fallout, or will Phillip’s life once again be torn apart?

The Recruit

“Fantastic.” Eunice directed a cheeky wink at Albert. “He’s been taking an early afternoon walk in the park every day.”


“Carson, can you have Plan B backup in place by then?” Albert cringed at the thought of it. He wanted this recruit to accept them in a way that he’d never felt before.


“Of course,” Carson replied. Depending on the layout, he would have three to five of his operatives positioned around the rendezvous point. They’d each wear a pair of special eyeglasses. Not unusual in their outward appearance, of course, but in the built-in technology they’d developed that was incorporated into them. Without appearing to do anything more than gaze in the direction of their target, Carson’s team members could activate a special beam directly at the subject’s heart. That heart would stop instantly, and the reason for it would be utterly undetectable in an autopsy.


Chapter 5