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

His first stop involved a large box. Not too heavy, but awkward. Also not a big deal. If the recipient was home, protocol was to either hand it to the person who answered the door, or set it down just inside. So it shouldn’thave been a problem.


Of course, it would be a little old lady who answered the door. He smiled. So far so good. But he could hardly hand that large unwieldy box to an eighty-something geriatric leaning on a cane, right?


She smiled back, which was a bonus because quite a few people just frowned or grunted something unintelligible. But then she did the unthinkable. Instead of allowing him to set it down inside the door, she asked him to come in and put the box on the kitchen table for her. She even said, “Please.”


What was he going to do, refuse? Of course not. “Yes, ma’am.”


Chapter 21