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and I don t need my little sister s permission to& take a shower. I couldn t say it, not to her.
I understand that. I just think it s a little irresponsible of both of you to be& taking
showers so soon. I know it s none of my business what the two of you do, or when you do it,
but I d like to know that you re still going to be alive when I get back.
Get back from where? I asked, confused at the turn the conversation had taken so
quickly. Where are you going?
I m leaving for Brazil in the morning, she said softly.
I sat in a chair across from her and looked from her to Jarrod. He didn t seem surprised,
so I assumed she had already told him what was going on.
What the hell are you going to Brazil for?
I can t tell you, she said, taking a deep breath. It s classified.
You didn t! I jumped to my feet, feeling one of the stitches tear as soon as I was
standing. But I didn t care. I was suddenly so angry at her, it didn t matter what else was
going on.
I was sworn in this morning. She looked over at Jarrod, but he wore his blank face.
He wasn t going to take sides in this mess.
What the fuck were you thinking? Before she could answer, I turned to look at Jarrod
too. And you. You knew about this, and you didn t tell me?
Don t yell at him! I told him not to tell you. I was thinking that I need to get the fuck
out of here for a while. School is practically done anyway, and I needed a job. Besides, it s
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what I ve always wanted to do. She had stood up and was walking towards me. Her voice
was growing softer with every step, and I realised she was looking at my stomach. Sit down
and let me look at that.
No, I m fine. I wasn t fine. It hurt like hell, and it had started bleeding pretty badly,
but I wasn t giving up the fight just yet. It didn t matter if it was a fight I d lost before it even
started. If she was sworn in it was too late for me to do anything. And she had known that
which was why she hadn t told me before.
You re not fine. Sit down and shut up. Reagan pushed me back into my chair as
gently as she could. Jarrod could you get me a washcloth, please?
Jarrod seemed only too happy to leave the room.
I m not done with you yet! I called after him.
Reagan punched my shoulder. Leave him alone. He only did what I asked him to do.
Reagan, why? I would think that after everything that has happened, this is the last
thing you would want to do.
Then you never really knew anything about me, Mitch. She blew out a sigh. She
glanced towards the hallway, but it looked as if Jarrod had chosen to escape instead of help.
Smart man.
She got up and grabbed my shirt from where I d left it on the living room floor before
the shower. She pressed the cloth against my chest and moved my hand to hold it there.
I have worshipped you since I was a little girl. I ve looked up to you. Hell, I ve wanted
to be you. I don t have any false notions about how hard and dangerous this life is. But it s all
I ve ever wanted to be. And after everything that happened with Skip, I really believe it s
what I m supposed to do. She kissed my cheek.
What about school? You re supposed to graduate in a month. I was grasping at
anything I could think of to try and get her to stay.
The Army took care of all of that. The school let me graduate early, and they will
forward my diploma to Mom. Can t you just be happy for me? Please? Just this one time try
to accept who I really am and what I want for myself? I can t just be Mitch Baine s baby sister
for the rest of my life. I m my own woman, and this is the life I choose for myself.
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I stared into my sister s eyes and realised she was right. Jarrod had been right. I didn t
really know her, but I loved her, If this was what she thought she wanted, then I could
support her decision. After all, that was what she d always done for me.
Reagan, if you get yourself killed, don t come crying to me, okay? Cause I don t want
to hear it.
She punched my shoulder again, and I faked an exaggerated wince.
Cry baby. You re fine. Let me see. She moved the shirt and nodded. It stopped.
Now, stop fucking your boyfriend long enough for that stuff to heal. Understood?
Yes ma am. I gave her a salute. Damn it, Reagan. I m going to miss you.
I ll miss you, too. And Jarrod! She yelled down the hall.
Jarrod walked back into the living room with the washcloth he had been sent for in his
hand and a sheepish grin on his face.
You re all right. We re done with the fighting. For now, I said, pulling Reagan into a
one-armed hug.
She looked at her watch and groaned. I ve gotta go.
She kissed my forehead then hugged and kissed Jarrod goodbye and left. I listened to
the elevator shake its descent to the warehouse below and sighed. My little sister was all
grown up and off to kill monsters in Brazil. I don t know if I could have been more proud of
her.
Reagan left this for you, Jarrod said, handing me a box wrapped in plain black
wrapping paper. She told me to wait til she was gone to give it to you.
I opened the paper to find a bright pink box decorated with hearts and flowers. Inside
the box was a little girl s makeup kit and a note that just said, I love you.
Jarrod looked at me with one eyebrow crooked. I shook my head and laughed, wincing
at the pain in my stomach but not really caring.
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Chapter Sixteen
The next afternoon, I woke up to the sound of someone banging on the bedroom door. I
looked over and saw Jarrod was still dead for the day. I reached into the bedside table to grab
my gun.
Mitch, my dad s voice called from the hallway. I need you to come out here.
I sighed and clicked the safety back on the gun. I grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor,
buttoning them into place before shoving the Glock into the waistband at the small of my
back.
I ll be right there, I called, listening for the sound of him walking back down the hall.
I sighed and looked down at my chest. All of the wounds there had healed and scarred
over. I knew that wasn t a good sign, but other than the rapid healing I hadn t had any
strange side effects since the fight with Skip, so I had no idea what it meant.
Dad was sitting on the couch when I finally walked out into the living room. I perched
myself on the arm of a chair across from him and waited for him to start talking.
Sorry to barge in on you, he said without looking up at me. I tried to call you, but
your cell went straight to voicemail.
Yeah, I don t have a charger here, sorry.
It s fine. I m just glad you were home. He looked up at me then, and for the first time,
I thought he looked old. He had dark circles under his eyes and more wrinkles than I
remembered him having a few days ago.
What s going on? Whether he was doing it on purpose or not, I don t know, but he
was scaring me.
We got back your test results this morning. You re positive for lycanthropy.
I sighed. It was upsetting, but I wasn t really surprised. I d known the rapid healing
was a bad sign, and I had been attacked by Skip while he was partially changed. It made
sense that I would be infected, but I didn t know what to say.
The Army notified the feds this morning, and you ll be getting notification of your job
termination soon.
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Fuck! I stood up and started pacing the room. What the hell am I going to do now?
This is the only thing I ve ever known. I m a hunter.
Well, no, you re not. You re a monster, and they can t keep you on the payroll.
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