Nevaeh's Secret (Vampire Huntress Saga Book 2)

by Christina Escue

  “I know. It’s mine. I had a run-in with a misplaced fist a little while ago.”

  “Oh, that’s unfortunate,” she said and smiled. “I guess it’s a good thing you heal fast, especially if you have run-ins with fists often.”

  “Fists are a direct side-effect of my wit and humor,” he told her, and she chuckled.

  “Wit and humor can sometimes be seen as smartass-ness. I bet that’s why you run in to so many fists.”

  “Some people just don’t get my jokes. Sucks for me, but what can I do?”

  “Nothing I suppose,” she said and grinned at him again. “I guess I need to get back to patrol. Be careful and don’t get so lost in your own wit and humor that you let someone sneak up on you.”

  “I’ll stay alert, and you do the same,” he told her and watched as she walked back the way she’d came.

  Once she was gone, he continued his journey down the harbor, toward the pier the container was on. If he couldn’t sleep, he may as well get some work done.

  “Hey, Harrison,” Karma greeted him as he walked onto the pier. “What the hell happened to you?”

  “Had a run-in with a fist. It’s healed already, so no big deal.”

  “Who’s fist?” Dylan asked cautiously.

  “Nevaeh’s,” he answered honestly and shrugged at Karma’s gasp. “I baited her, so I take full blame.”

  “Baited how?” Karma asked suspiciously.

  “She’s been uptight since your meeting with Eduardo earlier today, and I was trying to figure out why. I may have pushed it too far. It’s my own fault, though.”

  “May have?” Dylan asked and chuckled. “You’d think you’d have better reflexes, being a vampire and all.”

  “You’d think, but in my defense, I was intentionally baiting her and not really paying attention. I don’t think she meant to hit me.”

  “If she hit you, it was because she meant to,” Karma said and shrugged. “I have known her for almost four years and have never known her to do anything accidently.”

  “Maybe she isn’t the person you thought you knew,” Harrison suggested and shrugged at Karma’s glare. “Tell me something, has she ever treated you like she did earlier today?”

  “No, and she seems overly stressed today, too,” Karma replied.

  “That’s my point. You are one person she always trusts, but she’s keeping something from you, from all of us, and it’s stressing her out.”

  “I know, but I can’t force her to tell me, and I wouldn’t if I could,” she replied and sighed. “I can try talking to her again, though, and not give up this time.”

  “That’s not a bad idea, but I’d wait until morning. She was fuming when I left her, so now may not be the time to talk to her.”

  “Actually, when she’s pissed off is the best time to talk to her,” Karma said and smiled. “I think a sparring match is in my very near future.”

  After hugging Harrison, and kissing Dylan, Karma took off toward the hotel at full speed. She knew how to get Nevaeh to open up, and she knew she didn’t have a moment to waste.

  Chapter Three

  “What now?” Nevaeh called out as she heard the gym door open.

  “You and I need to chat,” Karma answered, and Nevaeh sighed.

  “I thought it was Harrison again,” she said and started kicking the bag again.

  “Nope, he’s at the docks with Dylan,” she replied. “You and I need to talk.”

  “Can’t it wait? If you can’t tell, I’m in the middle of a workout.”

  “No, it can’t wait, and you’re not working out, you’re burning off irritation. We can do that, together, as we talk.”

  “Why, Karma?”

  “Because, in the nearly four years I have known you, you have never kept anything from me and I’m not going to let you start now. You can tell me, or we can beat the hell out of each other until you’re too tired to fight me anymore, your choice.”

  “You are one very stubborn bitch,” Nevaeh said, and shifted into her fighting stance.

  “I learned from the best,” Karma replied and motioned for Nevaeh to make the first move. “Let’s see how far I’ve come since we last sparred.”

  “This is gonna hurt,” Nevaeh commented and lunged.

  “I’ll be gentle,” Karma replied as she sidestepped and tripped Nevaeh with a leg sweep. “But not too gentle.”

  “Wouldn’t expect anything else,” Nevaeh told her and jumped, landing behind Karma and punching her between the shoulder blades before she had a chance to turn around. “You let me get that hit.”

  “I’m sparring, not trying to kill you,” Karma said and snorted. “I need you alive for questioning, after all.”

  Nevaeh sneered at Karma and crouched down. “You wanna play?”

  “Nope, I want the woman I’ve always viewed as an older sister to actually treat me like I’m someone she knows and trusts, rather than someone she met on the street yesterday,” Karma shot back and the hurt in her voice stopped Nevaeh in her tracks.

  “What?” She asked, bewildered by Karma’s words.

  “Since the meeting with Eduardo earlier, you have been distracted and extremely edgy, and you won’t tell me what’s gotten you to that point.”

  “That’s because it’s not something I want to think about, much less talk about,” she said and sighed. “Listen, I didn’t mean to brush you off, but something from the past, from before I knew you, has resurfaced, and it’s something I have to deal with alone.”

  “I understand about the need to deal with things alone, I was in that same place a few months ago, but I trusted you with everything, even if I didn’t think I needed your help. Guess what, I was wrong, and your help probably saved my life,” Karma reminded her. “You have an entire team of Huntresses, the Bureau, and the Senate standing with you, not to mention Dylan and I, and you don’t have to do this alone. Until you decide to tell us, we can’t help you.”

  “I can’t tell you, not yet anyway,” she responded and sighed.

  “Fine, have it your way,” Karma told her and turned to leave, only to turn back and push Nevaeh hard enough she landed on her ass on the mat. “But know this, by the time you’re ready to talk, I may not be around to listen. We have a job to do, in case you forgot, and that job cannot be done without complete trust and honesty.”

  Before Nevaeh could respond, Karma was gone and the silence in the room was louder than a stadium at a rock concert.

  Twenty minutes later, Nevaeh was still sitting where Karma had left her. Her thoughts had been replaying the scene like a movie reel, over and over, until she had the words Karma said embedded in her mind.

  Rising to her feet, she grabbed her bag from the corner, and headed to the parking lot. She needed to get away from here and clear her mind.

  Tossing her bag in the van, she grabbed her jacket and a set of keys, made sure it was locked, and headed to where they’d parked the bikes. Climbing on her favorite and securing her helmet, she started it with a roar and peeled out of the parking lot as fast as it would carry her.

  At the sound of the bike starting, Aaren looked out his window and sighed as he watched Nevaeh peel out of the parking lot at top speed.

  Grabbing his cell from the table, he dialed Karma’s number as he headed down the stairs. Human speed was a bitch when you were in a hurry, and he was glad he didn’t have to hide what he was anymore, especially under these circumstances.

  “Hello?” Karma answered, not knowing who was calling.

  “It’s Agent Weldon, with the Bureau,” he told her. “Nevaeh just pulled out of the hotel parking lot like the hounds from hell were on her ass. Any idea what’s up?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “She has a stick up her ass and is keeping something from everyone. I reminded her we have a job to do, and that we cannot do it without complete trust and honesty.”

  “Shit,” he spat out as he searched for her by scent.

  “What?” Karma asked, not really understanding his reac
tion.

  “I know what’s wrong with her, and I know why she left and where she’s going,” he answered.

  “Wait, how do you know what’s wrong with her?” Karma asked, confused as to why Nevaeh would confide in a stranger rather than a friend.

  “I know because I’m part of it. I can’t explain now, and I won’t without Nevaeh, but as soon as I can, I will.”

  “I don’t know who you think you are, but if you know what’s going on with her you need to tell me.”

  “I don’t need to tell you, and it’s not who I think I am, it’s who I know I am,” he replied as he headed toward the only place he was confident she would go.

  “And who the fuck is that?” Karma asked, anger evident in her words.

  “I’m her husband,” he replied and ended the call.

  ****

  “Son of a bitch,” Karma said quietly as she sat on the ground and crossed her legs.

  “What’s going on,” Dylan asked, and dropped to his knees beside her.

  “Nevaeh took off and I have no idea where she’s going, but apparently Agent Weldon does. And there’s something else,” she said and looked at Harrison. “He told me he’s her husband.”

  “Her what?” Harrison asked, wide eyed.

  “Husband,” Karma repeated, unnecessarily. “In the four years I’ve known her, I’ve never seen her with anyone other than the Huntresses, until we joined forces with the Bureau. I had no idea she was married, hell I had no idea she was even interested in men.”

  “She’s interested in men,” Dylan said and looked at Harrison. “I just thought it was one man in particular.”

  “Wait, you’re telling me she’s married? But you trained with her daily for nearly four years, and never knew, right?” Harrison asked. When Karma nodded he continued. “Maybe she’s married still, but there is no way in hell they’re together. If they were, you’d have known.”

  “She’s always been pretty vague about her life before the Huntresses, but I just assumed that was because of who her grandmother was.”

  “Who was her grandmother?” Dylan asked, realizing there was a lot he didn’t know about Nevaeh.

  “The last Amazonian queen,” Karma answered and looked up at the stars. “Nevaeh’s mother was set to take the throne when their village was raided. She was pregnant with Nevaeh, so she fled. When she returned a few days later, the village was destroyed, and no one was left alive. Instead of staying home, she left for the US immediately, and made a home for herself here. Nevaeh was told the stories of her heritage and found the Huntresses, a band of others who were descended from Amazons, when she was twenty, and was leader by twenty-nine.”

  “How old is she?” Dylan asked, realizing he didn’t even know that.

  “Thirty-five,” she answered. “She looks closer to twenty-five, though. It’s the Amazon bloodline.”

  “She’s also paler than you,” Harrison commented. “I’d have thought she was one hundred percent American.”

  “She always joked she was the white Amazon,” she said and frowned. “We have to find her.”

  “Fuller and the Senate aren’t going to like this,” Harrison commented and shrugged. “Not that they have any say, but still.”

  “Fuller and the Senate can get the fuck over it. Nevaeh is my closest friend, and I’m going to find her whether they like it or not,” Karma said and rose in a fluid motion. “We need to go talk to the Senate. I need to tell them about Nevaeh’s background and see if they can help. We also need to let Fuller know that Weldon has gone AWOL.”

  “Wait a sec, you said Amazons, right? Like the Amazons from Greek mythology?” Dylan asked.

  “Yes,” Karma looked at him and had to swallow a laugh at his look of bewilderment. “We’re half vampire, Dylan. Why is it so hard to believe that other mythological stories we’ve heard aren’t real?”

  “True,” he responded and shrugged. “Okay, let’s call the Senate and Fuller and get this show on the road.”

  Twenty minutes later, they were all sitting in the hotel conference room. It was nearly midnight, but they were all as alert as they had been at noon.

  “What’s going on, Karma?” Dristen asked.

  “Nevaeh is gone,” she announced and looked at Gina. “For the moment, you’re going to have to take over command of the Huntresses.”

  “I’m not ready,” Gina said.

  “You have to be. My focus will be on finding Nevaeh, and someone is going to need to keep the Huntresses together and operating smoothly. Nevaeh appointed you second in command because she trusted you to lead if she ever couldn’t. She can’t at the moment, so it falls to you,” Karma told her flatly.

  “I’ll do my best, but find her soon,” Gina responded and locked eyes with Karma.

  “Thank you,” Karma replied and moved on. “Also, Fuller, Agent Weldon called me just after Nevaeh left and told me something very interesting.”

  “Weldon? He only came on board a couple of weeks ago. He was checked out and was found to be well suited for the Bureau.,” Fuller told her, picturing the young agent in his mind.

  “What did he tell you, Karma?” Ramsey asked, wondering if Weldon was the agent Nevaeh had an issue with.

  “He said he knew what Nevaeh was keeping from us, and he knew where she was going. When I asked him how, he told me he’s her husband.”

  “That explains it,” Ramsey said and sighed.

  “Explains what?” Karma asked suspiciously.

  “Her mood this afternoon,” he replied. “She hinted that not all of the agents could be trusted. I didn’t think it was a safety thing, though. She would never put you or Dylan into danger. Her feelings felt more personal at the time, and now I know they were.”

  “So, you believe he’s telling the truth?” Fuller asked.

  “What reason would he have to lie?” Karma asked. “Lying to me is one of the best ways to end up with a Sai through your heart.”

  “Lying to you, pissing you off, hurting someone you care about, or just generally being a douche, will earn someone a Sai through their heart,” Harrison countered and grinned at his future daughter.

  “Point,” she said and chuckled. “Now, what do we do about finding Nevaeh?”

  “We don’t,” Fuller answered before anyone else could. “We have a job to do and finding her will take us away from the task assigned.”

  “Excuse me?” Karma said, trying to control her temper.

  “Uh oh,” Dylan said and laid a hand on Karma’s shoulder. “Why don’t Karma, Harrison, and I take a few of the Huntresses and look for Nevaeh and Weldon, while everyone else stays behind to sort out the cargo ship and try to track down Crompton?”

  “Sounds like a reasonable solution,” Constance agreed, noticing Karma’s expression.

  “You have three days,” Fuller said and rose from his seat.

  “We have as long as it takes,” Karma countered and rose from hers as well. Even at five nine, she barely came to his shoulders. It wasn’t often she felt small.

  “If you aren’t back in three days, I will call the President, and have you removed from the team,” he threatened, and Karma hissed.

  “Are you forgetting who helped write the new vampire laws and who the vampire human liaisons are?” Dylan asked and grinned at the immediate change in Fuller’s expression. “We will be back when we’re back.”

  “I’ll keep my phone on, and if you need me, call,” Karma told Ramsey then walked out the door.

  Once Dylan, Harrison, and Gina followed her out, Dristen looked at Fuller and grinned. “You know she could have staked you before you could have moved, right?”

  “At her age and size? Doubtful,” he replied, shaking his head.

  “She’s the one who captured Demetri and killed Vincent. Don’t let her youth and size fool you. She is a formidable opponent and a loyal ally,” Aleyn told him.

  “I hope so, because if she is killed on this wild goose chase, you’re the ones taking the heat from Washington
, not me.”

  The Senate members all laughed at his comment and left the conference room without another word.

  Chapter Four

  “Fuller needs to watch his fucking mouth,” Karma said as she, Dylan, and Harrison loaded one of the Huntresses’ vans.

  “I seriously thought you were going to stake him,” Harrison said and chuckled. “I don’t think he realizes just how much stronger you are then him, and that’s probably because you’re a Halfling, and not a full vampire.”

  “His idiocy almost got him staked. He’s seen me fight, and has been briefed multiple times, but still seems to think he can push me around,” she said and shrugged. “Maybe he needs to see my torture techniques.”

  “That would certainly make him question himself before pissing you off,” Holbrook said as he walked up behind them. “Fuller underestimates you because of your youth. His over confidence in his own abilities will get him killed someday.”

  “Possibly by Karma,” Ramsey added. “When are you leaving?”

  “First light,” Karma answered. “I need all the information I can on Weldon before we leave. Can you get his file for me?”

  “I’ve already emailed it to you,” Constance told her. “I assumed you’d want to know about him.”

  “Thanks,” Karma responded with a grin. “We are taking four Huntresses with us, but Gina will be staying here. If you leave Baltimore, send me a message so we know where you’re going, and I will update at least daily with our location.”

  “Good,” Langley said and smiled. “We will let you get some rest, or whatever you have planned before you leave, and see you when you return.”

  “Thank you,” Karma responded again. “It’s nice talking to people who actually know me and know not to try to stop me when I set my mind on something.”

  “Most of us are scared you’ll kill us,” Constance told her seriously.

  “I only kill when necessary,” Karma said, and Harrison chuckled. “What?”

  “You only kill when necessary, or when someone really pisses you off,” he countered.