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

Marshall answered the door and thanked a deliverywoman for a small box.


“Ah, good.” Albert turned to Neil. “How do you feel now?”


“Depends. Compared to yesterday morning, I feel amazing. Compared to two months ago, I’d be fixin’ to call in sick to work.”


Marshall smiled his approval of the accents Neil had applied to the sentence.


Albert chuckled. “Sounds about right. Our dinner just arrived. Last night was too early for you to feed, but you’re ready now. This should do the trick to help your body complete the healing process.”


The thought of drinking blood had sounded awful yesterday, but he sat straighter at Albert’s words today. “That’s what’s in the box?”


“I can’t believe how…good that sounds.” He glanced at Marshall. “I sure ’nuff could eat the ass end out of a dead rhinoceros. If that ain’t a fact, God’s a possum.”


Chapter 14