Gina’s Passion
Vampire Huntress Saga
Book Four
Christina Escue
Table of Contents
Copyright
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Epilogue
About the Author
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Christina Escue
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner. This is a work of fiction.
Acknowledgements
First, I would like to say thank you to each and every one of you reading this. If not for readers, authors would have no one to write for.
Next, I’d like to send out a very special thank you to my amazing beta team for taking the time to read, comment and correct. You are all invaluable to me. Thank you all so much for your feedback.
Now, I want to send out a huge thank you to those who continue to support me and my writing no matter what. You know who you are, and you know, I love you all very deeply.
To my bestie, Gina, who the badass huntress in this book is named after, you mean more to me than words can ever say. I love you more than coffee!
Finally, I just want to say much love to all of you, and happy reading.
Dedication
To my friend, my sister from another mister, my partner in crime, and one of my biggest supporters, this one’s for you. Rest well, sweet friend, until I see you again.
Prologue
“What’s going to happen now?” Regina Whitecloud, Gina to those who knew her best, asked as she watched the men throwing dirt on the grave of the man she’d thought she’d spend the rest of her life with.
“We will make the best of what life has thrown at us,” her mother responded and looked at her lovely daughter. “Just as our people always have.”
“I’m not sure I can raise this baby on my own,” Gina replied and laid her hand over the small bump which concealed the next generation of Whitecloud warriors.
“You won’t be on your own,” Nevaeh said as she walked up behind Gina. “You will always have a family here.”
“Being a Huntress is all I have ever known,” Gina responded and looked at the woman who’d only been leader of the Huntresses for a couple of years. “But I was willing to walk away from it when I found out I was expecting. Then when Jaxon was murdered, I knew I could never leave my family.”
“And you’ll never have to,” Nevaeh responded. She’d known Gina for as long as she could remember, and had always considered her a sister.
“Thank you,” Gina responded and looked at the trees surrounding the cemetery. When she noticed someone standing in the shadows, her brow creased as she squinted to see the person better.
“What are you looking at?” Her mother asked and followed her line of sight. She gasped softly before taking Gina’s hand in hers and drawing her attention away from the vampire watching them. She knew who he was, she’d known him her entire life, and she knew he’d never harm them, but there was no way she could explain that to Gina right now. No way she could reveal the secret she held so close to her heart. “Let’s get you home so you can rest. Tomorrow, we will start hunting the ones who killed Jaxon, but tonight, we mourn the loss of a great hunter.”
“Yes,” Gina responded after a moment, then gently rubbed her baby bump again. Tonight, she would mourn the loss of her baby’s father. Tomorrow she would start tracking down every vampire who’d been there when he’d been killed, and she would make sure they suffered for every tear she’d shed.
Chapter One
Gina watched as Baxter talked to Johnson and memories from the past filled her mind. Since meeting Baxter, she’d always felt a familiarity toward him, but she couldn’t place where or when she’d met him in her life. For the past eight years, her life had been nothing but training and slaying those who’d had a part in upheaving her life, or the life of one of her sisters. But over the course of the past few months, her life’s goal had shifted. Working with the vampire was different, but she knew these vampire would do whatever was necessary to keep the human race safe.
When Baxter slapped Johnson on the back and turned toward the van she was standing beside, she was struck by the feeling of longing she felt nearly every time their eyes met. She was insane for being attracted to a vampire, even one such as Nathan Baxter, but she couldn’t seem to get a grip on things when her eyes landed on him. He was at least eight inches taller than her five-foot seven-inch frame. His shoulders were narrow, and his body was leaner than most of the vampire she’d encountered, but she knew what he looked like under his shirt. She’d seen him on more than one occasion shirtless, and her mouth went dry thinking about his smooth chest, ripped abs, and the tattoo that covered one shoulder. When she’d first seen it, she had to fight the urge to trace it with the tips of her fingers, then the tip of her tongue.
“What has that look on your face?” Lexie, one of the newer Huntresses asked as she stepped in front of Gina, blocking her view of Baxter as he climbed into one of the VEB SUVs.
“Nothing,” Gina responded and turned away. Getting back to California and Zora, her daughter, was what she needed to be focused on, not the leader of the Vampire Enforcement Bureau.
“Liar,” Karma said from beside her and grinned when Gina’s head snapped toward her. “We’ve all seen the way you look at Baxter, and most of us have seen how he looks at you.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Gina responded and turned away from Karma. “We need to head out.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Karma responded and walked to Dylan, her lifemate, and kissed him before climbing into the other van.
“Let’s move out,” Nevaeh said as Harrison, her lifemate, climbed behind the wheel of the van they were riding in.
It was going to be a long journey back to California, but with the vampire driving, it wouldn’t take as long as it would with a human leading the way.
“Yeah,” Gina responded and buckled her seat belt. “I’m read
y to be home.”
“We have a lot to do when we get there,” Nevaeh said and thought about the compound and everything they had to pack up so they could relocate. “But we also have a teenage girl to find.”
“Yes,” Gina responded, and her mind drifted to Caia and Crompton. “And we will find her.”
“Yes, we will,” Harrison responded as he turned onto the highway.
“But before we do, we have to visit the compound,” Lexie commented. “We need all the Huntresses for this, right?”
“We need more Huntresses, but not all,” Nevaeh responded. “Like always, we will leave some behind to protect our home, and the families we have there.”
“Families?” Harrison asked. He didn’t know much about the Huntresses aside from the ones who were always with them.
“Yes,” Nevaeh replied and looked over her shoulder at Gina.
“My daughter, as well as a few other Huntress children, are at the compound,” Gina told him. The Huntresses knew about the five children at the compound, but most of the vampire did not. They’d learn soon enough, so what was the harm in sharing the information?
“You have a daughter?” Harrison asked, not hiding the shock in his voice.
“Her name is Zora, and she’s seven,” Gina responded and locked eyes with him through the mirror.
“Where’s her father?” He asked.
“Dead,” she answered and looked at Nevaeh.
“I’ll explain everything later,” Nevaeh intervened. “For now, let’s just focus on getting there safely.”
“Okay,” Harrison responded and glanced at Gina before focusing on the road again.
As they drove west, Gina thought about the last time she’d talked to Zora and she smiled. Her daughter was starting to develop a spirit that reminded her of her mother, and she couldn’t wait to see what Zora’s future held for her.
****
“What’s wrong?” Jensen asked when he answered his phone. They’d been on the road for nearly five hours, and were making good time.
“I need a small surveillance team sent to this address,” Johnson answered and rattled off a Miami address. “As soon as we landed, I knew something was off and I want to know exactly what’s going on before I take Maggie to her mother.”
“They’ll be in place before sunset,” Jensen told him. “Just be safe.”
“I always am,” Johnson responded and hung up before he could respond.
“Baxter,” Jensen said into the radio. “We need to pull off so we can talk.”
“Take the next exit,” Baxter responded, and everyone followed as he switched lanes and took the off ramp headed toward Davenport, Iowa.
“What’s going on?” Karma asked as soon as they pulled into the parking lot of what looked like an abandoned strip mall.
“Johnson has run into some trouble in Miami,” Jensen said and relayed what Johnson had told him. “I’m thinking we only need to send a couple of agents to watch the place. Any more than two or three would be too easily noticed.”
“I’ll go,” Agent Trenton Cook spoke up and grinned when Sally looked at him.
“I’ll go, too,” Agent Kameron Larson added when Jensen looked around at the younger agents with them.
“Okay,” Baxter said and looked at Gina for a second before focusing on Larson and Cook. “I will make a couple of calls and see about getting you on a plane asap.”
“There’s an airport about ten miles from here,” Karma said as she looked at her phone screen. “It’s a small one, but maybe we can charter a plane to take them. Shouldn’t be too hard, and we’ll be using the government’s dime.”
“I like the way you think,” Baxter said and grinned at her. “Let’s head that way and see what we can get done.”
“I’ll lead the way,” Karma told him. “It shouldn’t take long to get them in the air.”
Once they were loaded back into the vehicles, Karma pulled out of the parking lot and the others followed her. A few minutes later, she pulled into a small airport, and stopped the van she drove.
“This place is small,” Baxter said as he looked around.
“I told you it was,” Karma said and walked inside the small office.
“She’s a take charge, get shit done kinda person, isn’t she,” Larson observed as Neveah followed Karma.
“Yeah, she is,” Baxter responded and walked to the door of the office. “I’m just glad she doesn’t want my job. Let’s see about getting you two to Miami.”
Chapter Two
“Can we get something to eat before getting back on the road?” Sally asked as they loaded into the van.
“Of course,” Karma answered. She knew the humans needed food, and most of the vampire didn’t stop to think about that need.
“Thank you,” Sally responded and sat back in the seat.
“I was human once, too,” Karma reminded her. “Well, mostly human anyway.”
“All the vampire fed this morning before the sun was up, but humans eat more often than vampire,” Jackson said and looked at the three Huntresses with them. “I was human until a couple weeks ago, remember?”
“I’ll radio Baxter and let him know we’re stopping before getting back on the highway,” Dylan said and picked up the radio. After relaying what they were doing to Baxter, he looked at Sally. “All the vampire in this van had human needs until recently.”
“It’s hard to process that, having seen you all fight,” Ashtyn said and looked at Lexie and Sally. “I mean, the Huntresses are all pretty tough, but watching you two, and Harrison and Nevaeh, makes us look weak.”
“Not weak, human,” Karma reminded her. “The Huntresses wouldn’t have survived this long without being strong fighters. I’ve trained with most of you, and if I wasn’t family, I would be afraid of you.”
The rest of the short trip to the small collection of fast food places was silent as the Huntresses thought about what Karma had said.
When she stopped in front of her favorite fast food place, she grinned at Dylan.
“I want some fries,” she said as they all filed out.
“How long will we be here?” Baxter asked as he watched Gina walk into the restaurant with Nikki.
“An hour at the most,” Nevaeh answered and followed his gaze.
“Okay,” he responded and walked back to this SUV and leaned against the driver’s door.
“Something is up with him,” Harrison said as he watched Baxter. “And I think it has something to do with your second-in-command.”
“He was excessively pissed when she volunteered to go up to that house back in Cleveland,” Dylan stated. “And he watches her when he doesn’t think anyone else is looking.”
“When we were still in Orlando, he mentioned having tasted his copula, remember?” Karma asked them.
“Yes, but I know he’s never tasted Gina’s blood. Before the new laws, she’d have staked him had he gotten close enough, and he wouldn’t violate the new laws to taste her blood now,” Nevaeh commented.
“Something has him uptight,” Harrison said and looked through the front windows of the restaurant. “And he’s watching her again.”
“Let’s leave him to whatever he’s thinking about,” Karma said and looked at the Huntresses. “I really do want some fries.”
The others chuckled as she walked toward the restaurant.
“I guess we’re getting some fries,” Dylan commented and followed her.
****
“She’s okay in there,” Jensen said as he leaned against the SUV beside Baxter.
“I know,” Baxter responded, but didn’t take his eyes off Gina as she sat with Nikki and ate. “I just can’t shake the image of seeing those vampire stalking toward her back at that house.”
“She can handle herself,” Jensen reminded him. “She’s an amazing fighter, and trains closely with Karma and Nevaeh.”
“I know,” he responded again and finally looked away from her. “But so was her grandmother, and her mother,
and both were killed by vampire.”
“You mentioned once that you tasted your copula,” Jensen commented, and Baxter nodded. “Was it her?”
“Her grandmother,” Baxter answered. “I knew the moment I tasted her that she was meant to be mine, but she was a human, and a Huntress, and I knew she and I could never be together. Not with my creator still alive. When she was killed by the group I was with, I knew I could never stay with them, but had no idea how to leave. Then, a couple months after she was killed, my creator was killed, and I was free.”
“I wonder if the copula bond transferred to Gina when her grandmother was killed,” Jensen mused, and Baxter’s head snapped up.
“Is that even possible? She wasn’t even born yet.”
“I have no idea, but I know someone who could possibly answer that,” Jensen answered and nodded to where the Senate were still sitting in the SUV Aleyn was driving. “Eduardo and Ramsey seem to know just about everything there is to know about the bond.”
“Maybe after we get to California, I’ll talk to one of them,” Baxter responded and looked back into the restaurant. “But, for now anyway, we have more important things to take care of.”
“Finding Caia,” Jensen said, and Baxter heard the low simmering fury Jensen kept tightly leashed.
“She’s your copula, isn’t she?”
“I’m certain of it,” Jensen responded. “And before you say anything, I know she’s too young, but she will age, and when she does, I will claim her. Until then, I will be fine once we find her and I know she’s safely away from that demented son-of-a-bitch.”
“I wasn’t going to say she’s too young,” Baxter admitted. “I was going to tell you that I think you’re a good match, and I really hope, for your sake, we can get her back before she’s harmed.”
“I’ll rip his balls off and shove them up his ass if he hurts her,” Jensen growled, and his hands turned into claws as he thought about someone harming Caia. “We will get her back, and she will be protected.”
Gina's Passion (Vampire Huntress Sage Book 4) Page 1