“And I could have ended it in the process.”
“But you didn’t,” she reminded him. “I love you, Nathan, and I am grateful you reacted as you did.”
“That makes one of us,” he said, but she could hear a difference in his voice. “I love you, too, Gina, and I swear on my life, I will never harm you again.”
“I know you won’t.” she told him and tried raising up. When she felt woozy, she laid her head back against the pillows and sighed.
“Are you okay?” He asked. He could hear that her heart rate increased, and her breathing accelerated.
“No,” she said and grinned at the look that crossed his face. “I want to kiss you.”
Shaking his head, he leaned down and brushed his lips across hers before pulling away. “You’re injured, Gina.”
“Yes, but I am still alive,” she reminded him. “And with every breath I take, I love you more than I did before.”
Before he could respond, the door opened, and Malinda walked in.
“Hey Gina,” she greeted her with a smile. “I looked over your scans and everything seems to be clear. Just as soon as they can get the papers, you’ll be released into my care. I do, however, want you in the medical building at the compound tonight so I can keep an eye on you.”
“What about Zora?”
“She can stay with you,” Malinda answered. “And so can Agent Baxter if he wishes. I just want you close as a precaution.”
“Then she will be close,” Baxter answered for her.
“Did you happen to bring me a change of clothes?” Gina asked, knowing there would be no changing her mind.
“I did,” she answered and handed Baxter a small bag. “I will let him help you change, then we will get that leg braced. After that, you should be able to get out of here.”
“Thank you, Malinda,” Gina said and smiled at her.
“You’re welcome,” she responded and left the room.
“Here,” Baxter said and held out the bag to her. “Let me help you get changed.”
“Thank you, Nathan,” she said and smiled at him. “Not just for helping me with this, but for saving my life earlier.”
“I love you, Gina, and I am so unbelievably sorry you got hurt.”
“I’ll heal,” she told him and touched his cheek. “And I will be stronger for it. Now, help me get out of these clothes.”
His eyes popped for a second before he smiled and shook his head. He would help her with whatever she needed, but it would be a long time before he truly trusted himself with her again.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Over the next few days, Baxter didn’t leave Gina’s side for more than a few minutes. He’d talked to the Senate and discovered that he could let her drink small amounts of his blood without it creating any kind of permanent link. The first time he slit his wrist and let her taste his blood, he was overcome by the intensity of her arousal and had to walk away from her before he hurt her more than he already had.
Johnson and Maggie had arrived the day before, and Maggie was staying with Gina today so Baxter could meet with Johnson and Jensen. He needed his team back in place, and having Johnson here made him feel batter.
“I still have five days on my suspension,” Johnson reminded him when he walked into the room.
“I know, but not being able to actually go with us doesn’t mean you can’t help brainstorm,” Baxter pointed out and Jensen chuckled.
“We need all the help we can get. Since Gina got hurt, we’ve been kind of stalled,” Jensen said and looked at Baxter. “The female we captured that day wasn’t much help. All we got from her was that Crompton was their creator, but he created them before the new laws, and in different places throughout the country. He called them just after he took Caia and gave them that address. Told them to wait there until he contacted them again, then nothing.”
“What happened to her?” Johnson asked. He’d known about the raid, but he hadn’t talked to anyone here again until yesterday after they met with Maggie’s father.
“She’s being held in the vampire prison here in California. She will face trial, but seeing as she never did anything for Crompton other than wait at that house, I doubt she’ll be convicted of anything,” Baxter answered.
“She was young,” Jensen told him. “Less than a year as a vampire. She knew Crompton was her creator, but hadn’t spoken to him since right after she awoke from the change until he contacted her three weeks ago. She never worked for him, and she has obeyed vampire laws since they were instated. She’s a good vampire, and once we eliminate Crompton, she may even make a good agent.”
“Okay,” Johnson said and looked at the two men he thought of as brothers. “I owe you both an apology.”
“You don’t owe us anything,” Baxter told him. “Not everything from my past, or Jensen’s, is in our files. You’re entitled to your secrets, and the things you did before the laws were put in place cannot come in to play.”
“I still owe you both an apology. The things I was keeping to myself could have gotten people killed. Agents and Huntresses put their lives on the line to help me, and I let everyone, including Maggie, down. I will never make that mistake again, and from here on out, I will share things with you two, no matter how hard they are to talk about.”
“What kind of things?” Jensen asked. He knew there were still things from Johnson’s past he hadn’t shared, but there were things from his past that hadn’t been shared with anyone, too.
“Nothing major, and nothing that will put anyone else in danger,” Johnson answered. “And now isn’t the time for them. Right now, we need to be focusing on Caia. She’s out there somewhere, and we have to get her back.”
“Yes,” Baxter said and looked at Jensen. “Getting her back is our top priority now. Do we have anything new to go on?”
“A couple of addresses to check out, and a reported sighting, but nothing substantial,” Jensen answered. “Jackson is going as crazy as I am, but at least he can talk to others about it. You two are the only ones who know what she is to me.”
“Maybe you should talk to Jackson and Karma. You know both would understand,” Johnson suggested. “Seeing as both have met their copula, they have no reason to be upset with you.”
“Caia is only sixteen, and I am nineteen in human years,” Jensen reminded them.
“Yes, and when Karma and Dylan realized what they were to each other, Karma was only seventeen and Dylan was twenty-four. What’s your point?” Baxter asked.
“I keep forgetting Karma is only eighteen,” Johnson said and shook his head.
“We all do,” Baxter responded with a chuckle. “But, seriously, Zyne, talk to Karma and Jackson. They need to know what Caia is to you. They will understand.”
“Yeah, okay,” Jensen said and sighed. “I’ll talk to them, but I want you both there too.”
“Not a problem,” Johnson responded.
“No time like the present,” Baxter said and pulled his phone from the clip on his side. After sending both Karma and Jackson a text asking them to meet him here, he snapped it back in place and grinned.
“Asshole,” Jensen said and shook his head.
“Yes, well,” Baxter responded and shrugged.
Jensen sneered a little, but knew Baxter was only looking out for him.
When Karma and Dylan walked in a moment later, with Jackson and Delanie, and Nevaeh and Harrison on their heels, Jensen walked to the far corner of the room and leaned against the wall. This wasn’t a small room, but with this many vampire in it, this much sheer strength, he was starting to feel crowded.
“What’s going on?” Jackson asked as he looked at the top three agents.
“Jensen has something he needs to discuss with you and Karma,” Baxter answered, and everyone’s attention turned to Jensen.
“Just Jackson and I?” Karma asked and narrowed her eyes at Jensen.
“Yes, but I know you two will tell the others, so they can stay,” Jensen said and look
ed at the vampire he trusted with his life. If he could trust them to guard his ass during a fight, he could trust them with this, too. “It’s about Caia.”
“What about my sister?” Jackson asked and took a step toward Jensen.
“Jackson, let him talk,” Karma said calmly, and Jackson stopped. “Zyan, what’s going on? What have you found out?”
“Nothing,” he answered and ran his hands through his hair. “And her location isn’t what I need to talk to you about.”
“Just spit it out,” Jackson snarled, and Delanie stepped in front of him.
“Calm down, baby,” she said and laid her hand on his cheek. “You know Jensen would never do anything to hurt Caia, or any of us.”
Jackson visibly relaxed at her touch, and a blot of jealously shot through Jensen. He needed Caia, and he needed her soon or he would snap.
“Before Caia was taken, I realized something,” Jensen told them. “I recognized the signs then, but pushed them aside. Her age, and the need to focus on Jackson made it impossible for me to say anything to anyone other than Baxter and Johnson. But, I know I need to tell you all before this goes any further. Caia is my copula.”
“She’s only sixteen,” Jackson said, and Jensen could hear the protectiveness in his voice.
“Yes, and I am only nineteen,” Jensen reminded him.
“Jacks, you know age doesn’t play a factor in the bond,” Dylan said calmly. “Karma was only seventeen when I knew what she was to me. Yes, she was a halfling, but that doesn’t change that I am six years older than her.”
“I have lived as a vampire since before anyone else in this room, aside from Harrison, was even born, and I have never encountered someone who made me feel the way Caia does. She is my copula, but until she ages more, I will not claim her,” Jensen told them all.
“That explains it,” Karma said and frowned.
“Explains what?” Jackson asked, not having a clue what she was talking about.
“Why Jensen’s mood keeps shifting,” she answered and walked to where Jensen was standing. “You’re reaching your breaking point, and if we don’t get her back soon, things may unravel. The not knowing is starting to wear on you, and the lack of contact with her is fraying your composure. I noticed some little things over the past three weeks, but I didn’t realize why they were happening. Not until now.”
“I’m still in control,” Jensen told them.
“Yes, but barely,” Karma responded.
“We will get her back before I lose it,” Jensen told them and walked from the room.
“I hope so,” Karma said, and looked at Baxter. “What’s the plan?”
“We will get her back before we lose him,” Baxter told them. “Or we will secure him somewhere so he cannot hurt himself or others. I will not risk losing an agent.”
“He’ll be okay,” Harrison told them. “His age will help, but we do need her back as soon as possible.”
“Yes,” Jackson said and thought of the sister he barely knew. “We will get her back.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“We have a location to search,” Baxter said as he walked into the cafeteria. Johnson’s suspension had just lifted, and for that he was grateful. They needed the entire team for this.
“Where?” Johnson asked. “I am ready to be back in the field.”
“I thought you liked spending all your time with me,” Maggie said. Baxter thought she was teasing, but he wasn’t completely sure.
“I love spending as much time as possible with you, but I am an agent,” he responded.
“I know that,” she told him and rolled her eyes. “I was teasing, silly.”
“Oh,” he said and shook his head before grinning at her. “We’ll discuss teasing later, but right now, I have a job to do.”
“And I have training to do,” she responded. “I’m going to start by training with some of the Huntresses here while you’re all gone.”
“Who is going to be with Gina?” Baxter asked, not liking the idea of her being left alone.
“I am going to be supervising Maggie’s training,” Gina answered as she came into the room. “I have been in bed for eight days now, and I think it’s time I’m useful around here again.”
“You’re supposed to be taking it easy until you see the doctor again,” Baxter reminded her.
“Malinda checked my knee a little while ago, and said I was perfectly okay to get out of bed and sit in a chair,” she snapped at him. She was sick of his babying, and tired of being treated like she was made of glass.
“I don’t want you hurting yourself,” he told her and started toward her. When she held up her crutch, he hesitated for a second.
“Stay over there. You have a job to do, and I will NOT let you push that aside any longer because you’re more worried about me than about it. Yes, you aided in me getting hurt, but it’s time for you build a bridge and get the fuck over it,” she said, and everyone looked at her in shock. Gina was one of the least confrontational Huntresses in the compound, but she looked like she was ready to go toe-to-toe with a very powerful vampire. “I am NOT made of glass, and I will not be treated like a child. In human years, I am older than you, and I think it’s time you remember I am a Huntress, and I will be treated as such.”
“Gina,” he said softly. and she heard something in his voice that nearly made her cave into whatever he wanted, but she knew that would make things worse.
“Nathan,” she countered. “I love you, and I know you’re only trying to keep me safe while I heal, but I cannot be sheltered any longer. It’s not who I am, it’s not how I want to be.”
“Gina,” he said again and started to take a step toward her. Stopping, he shook his head and turned away from her. “As you wish.”
When he walked out the door, tears filled her eyes. She’d hurt him with her words, but she couldn’t take being treated like an invalid anymore.
“Fuck,” she said softly and started toward the door. She didn’t make it two steps before Baxter was in front of her again.
When he pulled her against him and pressed his lips to hers, she melted in his arms. His kiss was unlike any they’d shared before. It was filled with the fear, the hurt, he was feeling, and told her more than his words ever could.
Letting her crutches fall to the floor, she ran her fingers into his hair and let the kiss consume her. She wanted him to know exactly what she was thinking, what she was feeling.
When he broke the kiss and trailed his lips across her jaw to her ear, she shuddered a little.
“I love you, Gina,” he whispered softly into her ear. “And I never want to see you injured again.”
“Then change me,” she whispered back and felt him stiffen a little before he kissed the vein in her neck and lifted his head.
“Soon,” he told her and pressed his lips to hers again in a quick kiss. “Very soon.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” she told him and smiled at him. “Now, you need to go take care of business. I will be fine here. Zora will be right there with me, and Maggie and Lexie will be close, too.”
“Please just be careful,” he said and kissed her again before stepping back. When Karma handed her crutches to her, Gina’s face reddened.
“You be careful, too,” she told him then took the crutches from Karma and hobbled away.
“We’ll look out for her,” Lexie told him before she followed Gina out.
“And we will look out for him,” Johnson told Maggie. “You be safe training, baby, and I will be safe on our mission.”
“Always,” she told him, and he kissed her softly then stepped back.
“Let’s do this,” Jensen said and walked out the door behind them.
“Yes, let’s do this,” Baxter said and nodded to the others before following Jensen out. He was ready to get this over with and be back home with his girls.
****
“We move in fast and silent,” Baxter said through his com. The entire team wore them now, and would
be in communication the whole time.
“I’ll take point,” Jensen told them and moved into position. When he nodded, they moved quickly to the back of the warehouse, and entered silently.
The moment they entered, Baxter knew something wasn’t right.
“What the fuck?” Karma said and covered her nose. The walls were covered in blood, and the remains of several humans and vampire littered the floor.
“Crompton,” Analia whispered, and Jackson nodded.
“I can smell him. He was here, recently,” Jackson told them.
“This way,” Karma said and led them through the front of the building. As soon as they exited, they were greeted by a couple dozen vampire.
“We don’t want trouble,” a large male said when his eyes landed on the badges they all carried.
“Good, because we don’t either,” Jensen responded. “Tell us where Crompton went, and we will let you live.”
“I can’t do that,” the vampire replied.
“Then we have a problem,” Baxter told him.
“We don’t want to fight you,” another male told them.
“Then tell us where the fuck Crompton went,” Jensen snapped.
“We can’t do that,” a female said, and Jensen snarled.
“Then die,” Karma responded and threw one of her Sai. When it hit it’s mark, the vampire around them roared, and Karma grinned. “I think I pissed them off.”
“You have a knack for that,” Baxter said and grinned.
“Bitch!” The female shouted and charged at Karma.
“Damn right,” Karma said and stepped to the side just as the female reached her.
When she crashed into the side of the building, she howled in pain and fell to the ground.
“They’re new and untrained,” Harrison said and shook his head. “It seems almost unfair to them. Crompton left them here to delay us, and knew they would all die.”
“Crompton loves all his creations,” another female said and snarled at Jackson. “You’re one of his creations, you should know that.”
“Crompton loves himself,” Jackson said and shook his head at her. “He left you here to die. He’s a bastard, and a fool if he thinks we will let him live much longer.”
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