“Some do, though,” Gina commented, and thought of the vampire who had met their copula. “And that leads me to a question. What’s going to happen in a few years when I start getting older?”
“I will love and cherish you as I do now,” he answered honestly.
“And if I’m killed?”
Rage filled him at the thought of her being killed, and he jerked her off the couch and into his lap. He would do whatever he had to do in order to keep her beside him.
“You will not be killed!” He snarled as he held her protectively against his chest.
“Nathan, I will eventually die though,” she reminded him.
“And I will have one of the others stake me when that time comes.”
“What? You cannot be serious!”
“I am completely serious,” he told her, and she could tell from his tone that he had thought this through. “I walked away from my copula once, and it was the hardest thing I have ever done. To lose you will break me. It will drive me insane and I will violate our laws because I won’t care anymore. I will have one of them stake me before I bring harm to an innocent. I had enough of that when I was still with my creator.”
“What if you turned me?” She asked, and his body eased at the thought of her being beside him for an eternity.
“What about Zora?”
“I’ve thought about that a lot over the past two weeks and decided she can make her decision when she’s old enough, but I would love to have an eternity loving you.”
“And I would love to have you beside me for the rest of time, but I need to know you’re sure about this. I won’t be the one to change you, either. I’ve never created a vampire, and I would be too afraid I’d accidently kill you.”
“Who would you ask?”
“Jensen or Harrison,” he responded without thought. “Jensen has changed a few humans over his vast existence, and we have a couple of Harrison’s creations working for us.”
“And Harrison changed Nevaeh,” Gina reminded him.
“Yes, he did,” he responded. “I keep forgetting that because I wasn’t there. I was still here in DC when she was changed. I joined y’all in Maryland just after she awakened.”
“I remember. I didn’t really meet you until we were in Boston, though. I was sent to protect Jackson just after Nevaeh was changed, and missed a lot of what happened. First time I saw you in Boston, you were walking away from Karma and Nevaeh. I couldn’t stop staring at your ass, and Nevaeh told me it was okay to fall for a vampire.”
“She was right,” he responded and kissed her forehead. “Now, I have a hearing to attend tomorrow morning, and should probably get some sleep. Join me in bed?”
“Definitely,” she responded, and he rose with her in his arms. “I can walk, you know?”
“I know, but I love the feel of you in my arms, and since you’re ovulating and we don’t have any condoms, we can’t make love tonight.”
“How?” She started to ask then stopped and shook her head. “You can smell it, can’t you?”
“Yes,” he responded. “And I will never take that kind of a chance with you. I shouldn’t have to this point, but I really didn’t think about it.”
“I can’t get pregnant,” she told him. “I mean, even if I wanted to, I can’t get pregnant. I had my tubes tied after Zora.”
“Still not taking that chance,” he told her as he sat her on her feet at the foot of the bed. “Now, let’s get ready for bed so I can hold you in my arms. Tomorrow is going to be a hell of a day, and I am going to hate not having you beside me.”
“Zora and I will be safe here,” she assured him. “We will not go anywhere until you’re back and can go with us.”
“Agent Harrington is coming to stay with you,” he told her. “I want you two to be able to go out if you’d like, and I know Harrington will keep you both safe.”
“And you know I won’t go anywhere unless I’m fully armed.”
“Exactly,” he said then flipped the blanket down. “Now, let’s get some sleep.”
“Sleep,” Gina repeated then licked her lips as her eyes landed on his chest. “Just sleep.”
“Come here, silly woman,” he said then climbed into bed and held his arms out.
She stripped off her clothes and threw on one of his t-shirts then crawled into his arms and snuggled against his chest.
“I love you, Nathan,” she said and kissed his smooth chest.
“And I love you, Gina,” he responded and kissed the top of her head.
Chapter Twenty
“Baxter, got a minute?” Karma asked when he walked into the room the hearing was being held.
“Just,” he answered and glanced at his watch. The Senate would be here any minute now.
“If Johnson is punished for the things he’s done, I am going to demand they disband the VEB,” she said bluntly, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because he was acting on his instincts as a vampire and an agent. He did what he felt he had to do for Maggie, and others, to be safe. If we, as agents, can’t do that without fear of punishment, then we have no business even being here.”
“If the VEB is disbanded there will be chaos,” he reminded her. “With vampire out of hiding and no one around to enforce the laws, millions of humans will die.”
“Then they better do the right thing,” she said then walked over to a chair in the corner beside Dylan and sat down. She may be young and hotheaded, but she stood up for what was just and fair, and she was tenacious as fuck when she decided on something.
Shaking his head, he walked to the end seat at the large desk, and sat down, He wanted to hear what everyone had to say. He just hoped neither he nor Karma had to put their plans into play.
When Johnson entered flanked by two agents, Baxter watched the vampire he’d viewed as a brother for the past few months. He looked exhausted, and broken. He knew it was because he didn’t have Maggie beside him, but he hoped that would change very soon.
When Eduardo started speaking, Baxter shifted his attention to the Senate.
“Training Agent Leland Johnson,” Eduardo started, and read off the charges against Johnson. “How do you plead?”
“Guilty with extenuating circumstances, sir,” Johnson answered. “I would like for you to hear those circumstances and allow me to tell you everything from my past, before you hand down a sentence, please.”
“As an agent of the Vampire Enforcement Bureau, we can allow that,” Ramsey responded and looked over at Karma.
Karma smiled at him and rose to her feet.
“Agent Johnson,” she greeted him with a nod and smile.
“Karma,” he returned her smile.
“I’m here to listen and observe,” she said, and his smile turned to a frown.
“You’re here to tell if I’m lying or not,” he stated, and Baxter had to stop the chuckle that rose into this throat. Johnson may look exhausted, but his mind was sharp as ever.
“Yes, but I’m also your friend,” she said and laid her hand on his arm. “And I brought a few more friends with me.”
“Who?” He asked, and looked around the room.
“You will see in a minute,” she answered and turned to the Senate. “Members of the Senate, there are some in the building who wish to speak on behalf of Agent Johnson. Are you willing to listen to them, as well as Agent Johnson, before handing your sentence down?”
“We are,” Ramsey answered after looking at the others. “We will hear the testimony of anyone who wishes to speak on Agent Johnson’s behalf.”
“Thank you,” Karma said and pulled out her cell phone. After sending a quick text, she walked to the chair beside Constance, and sat down.
“What’s going on?” Johnson asked, and narrowed his eyes at Karma. “Who else is here?”
Before anyone could answer, the doors in the back of the room opened, and Baxter looked up to see Agent Watson, Nikki, and Maggie walk through the
m. When his eyes focused on Maggie, he was struck by how much she looked like she had the day they rescued her. She needed Johnson as badly as he needed her.
“Members of the Senate, thank you for letting us join you for this hearing today,” Watson said as she walked to Johnson’s side. “We hope you’ll hear our take on the events that happened in Miami.”
“We will,” Constance responded and turned her attention to Maggie. “Young Maggie, we are happy to see you are okay.”
“Thank you,” Maggie responded and returned her smile. “And thank you for giving me the chance to speak here today.”
“Maggie,” Johnson said and looked at her. Baxter could hear the turmoil in his voice, and it made him want to punch Johnson for being stubborn about this. “I asked you to forget about me and move on with your life.”
“No, you told me to find my happiness,” she corrected him. “And that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“Well said,” Ramsey said and looked at Johnson. “Agent Johnson, you may take a seat while we hear what the others have to say.”
“Yes, sir,” Johnson said, not taking his eyes off Maggie.
“Who would like to start?” Ramsey asked, and looked at the group standing at the table beside Johnson.
“I will,” Nikki said and took a step forward.
“Young Nikki,” Holbrook greeted her. “Tell us what happened in Miami.”
Nikki started talking and gave a full account of what happened in Miami. When she was finished, she stepped back, and Watson stepped forward.
“I’d like to add something to what Nikki said. We didn’t have a way of knowing if someone was lying to us, which is something we’re going to have to learn to work without, so we had to rely on ourselves, and our own instincts. When Johnson got the call from Maggie’s mother, all he had to go on was his instincts. As vampire, as Agents of the United States government, we must be allowed to use those instincts when we have nothing else to use. If not, we may as well disband the VEB, and let the evil vampire take over.”
Baxter looked from Watson to Karma and grinned. Watson had said nearly exactly the same thing Karma had told him earlier.
“Young Watson, if you’d been the one who’d gotten that call, would you have reacted in the same manner?” Aleyn asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know how I would have reacted seeing as I haven’t met my lifemate,” she answered and looked at Maggie. “If I felt my lifemate were in danger, I’m certain I would be unpredictable.”
“I would have probably been worse had it been Dylan in danger,” Karma spoke up and Ramsey looked at her. “What? You all know I would have been.”
“Yes,” Eduardo said and rolled his eyes at her before looking back at Watson. “When the copula bond comes into play, a vampire can become volatile when their lifemate is in danger. That being said, maybe we should hear from young Maggie now.”
“Maggie, you don’t have to do this,” Johnson said from his seat and Baxter picked up on the sheer terror in the other vampire’s voice.
“Yes, I do,” she responded and stepped forward.
“Young Maggie, tell us what happened,” Constance said in a soft voice and Baxter leaned back in his seat to listen.
“When I first met Leland, I was terrified he’d hurt me like the other vampire I’d come in contact with. I was frightened, and every little change in his mood scared me. The day everything happened in Miami, I’d just staked my fiancé, who had killed Ashtyn and kidnapped me the night before. I was scared, and I was a little on edge. When Morgan kidnapped me, he bit me and drank enough of my blood for me to pass out. Leland saw the marks and was very upset about them. He vowed to rip the heart out of anyone who ever hurt me again, and when he said that his eyes changed from their usual color to black. The change frightened me, even though I knew he’d never hurt me, and my fear hurt him. He took off, and a while later Watson got a call from Jensen, who was out looking for Leland. Leland had called Woods, and had her trace a phone number. It led him to the house Ashtyn was killed at and I was taken from.”
She paused and took a sip of the water Watson handed her before she continued. “When we got there, we found several dead vampire, but no sign of Leland, so Jensen had Woods trace his cellphone. He was in a warehouse, and when we got there, Ron Booker was dead, and Leland was just sitting in the middle of the floor. He looked so lost, but he wasn’t a danger to anyone anymore because the threat to me had been eliminated. Leland Johnson is a dedicated agent, and a wonderful vampire. If he’d never met me, he would have never done the things he did. I should be the one on trial, not him.”
“NO!” Johnson yelled and jumped to his feet. “You should be as far away from this place, from me, as possible.”
“Why?” Maggie asked, and looked at him. “Why don’t you want me here? I’m your lifemate, aren’t I?”
“You know you are,” he responded. His voice was broken, and Baxter could see he was starting to crumble.
“Then why don’t you want me beside you?”
“Because I am tainted. My creator,” he said and looked at the Senate. “Ron Booker knew who my creator was and used that to get me to work for him. I was under his thumb, and doing his bidding, for a decade before I broke away from him.”
“What did you do for him?” Baxter asked and leaned forward. This is what he’d been waiting to hear.
“I killed the vampire who stood in his way of having what he wanted. I left him when he wanted me to kill a human. I wouldn’t do that, no matter what information he had. I’ve never killed a human.”
“He isn’t lying,” Karma spoke up and smiled at Johnson. “But even if he’d killed a human, most in this room have, too. What happened before the vampire laws were written cannot play into this hearing.”
“Agreed,” Holbrook said and looked at the other Senate members. “Agent Johnson, other than the events that happened in Miami, have you killed a vampire outside of your duties as a VEB agent?”
“No,” he answered and looked at Karma. “And I feel the vampire I killed at the house in Miami were killed while I was acting as an agent. They were working for Ron Booker, and holding humans and other vampire captive.”
“That’s not a lie either,” she said, and Baxter nodded. He knew he’d do the same for Gina.
“Agent Johnson,” Dristen spoke up. “Who is your creator?”
“My creator is dead. Nevaeh killed him the day of the press conference letting the world know vampire were real.”
“Demetri,” Karma whispered.
“Yes,” Johnson said and looked at the table again.
“Are you sure Booker wasn’t lying to you?” Langley asked.
“No, but he whispered the name with his last breath just before I crushed his heart.”
“You crushed his heart?” Maggie asked, shocked.
“Yes,” he answered without looking at her. “I am no good for you, Maggie.”
“That’s my decision,” she told him.
“That can be discussed later,” Baxter said and looked at his agent.
“Yes,” Eduardo said and looked at Johnson. “If everyone would please step out, we have a sentence to hand down.”
“I want to stay, please,” Maggie spoke up. “What happens to Leland impacts me, too, and I feel I have the right to hear what’s said.”
“Fair enough,” Aleyn said and smiled at her.
“No,” Johnson said and looked at Maggie. “I don’t want you here.”
“Well, tough shit,” she said and walked over to him. “You don’t get a choice in this. I don’t give a flying fuck who created you or what you’ve done in the past. I love you, Leland, and nothing you can say or do will change that.”
“Please, Maggie,” he said and looked at her pleadingly. “I am tainted, and I will not pass that to you.”
“We are not who our creators are,” Eduardo spoke up. “If we were, all of us Senate members would be evil vampire. I was created by Crompton, remember?”
; “Yes,” Johnson answered, but didn’t look up.
“And my biological father was Vincent,” Karma reminded him. “I share his fucking DNA, and am nothing like him.”
“Leland,” Maggie said softly and touched his cheek. “I don’t care who turned you nearly forty years ago. All I care about is who you are now. Who you are when we’re together.”
“Maggie,” he breathed, and Baxter knew with that one word that Johnson would be okay. He had his brother back.
“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Thank you,” he said then turned to kiss the palm of her hand before he took a deep breath and looked at the Senate. “I’m ready.”
“Agent Leland Johnson, after hearing the statements from those involved, and taking into consideration the extenuating circumstances, it is the ruling of the Senate that you be suspended for two weeks, then reinstated into your position with the VEB. You are a valuable agent, and to lose you would impact the Bureau as a whole,” Eduardo said, and the others nodded. “This incident will be in your file, but will not play a part when it comes to promotions. Do you understand the sentence we are handing you for the crimes you committed?”
“Yes, sir,” he said and smiled at Eduardo. “And thank you.”
As the others continued to talk, Baxter slipped from the room. After that he needed his girls, and he wasn’t waiting any longer to be with them.
Chapter Twenty-One
“I am so glad to be going back to California,” Karma said as they boarded the plane. With the trials over, they were heading back to the compound to follow a couple of leads they had on Caia. They were loose threads, but they could lead somewhere.
“I’m glad everything worked out the way it did,” Baxter said, and Karma grinned at him. She’d had a few words with the Senate and President Isaac after the hearing, and an agent would have to do something completely unforgivable from now on to be brought to trial. Johnson violated a couple of laws, but he didn’t do anything any other vampire would have done in order to protect their copula.
Gina's Passion (Vampire Huntress Sage Book 4) Page 10