Nevaeh's Secret (Vampire Huntress Saga Book 2)

by Christina Escue

  Listening carefully, and inhaling deeply, she held up four fingers and grinned.

  “There are four, maybe five, just ahead. We can take them or leave and come back. Your choice,” she mouthed almost silently against Nevaeh’s ear.

  Instead of saying anything, Nevaeh pulled her scimitars from their sheathes and grinned.

  Karma grinned back and pulled her Sai from her belt. Holding up three fingers she slowly lowered them one at time. When the last one fell, she and Nevaeh stepped from the alley, directly into the path of five male vampire.

  “Hello gentlemen,” Nevaeh said with a grin.

  “Well, well, well, what have we here?” The one in the front asked.

  “Seems we have some visitors, Bart,” another commented and grinned at the others.

  “They are mighty fine-looking ladies,” another said, and Karma cringed a little at his smell.

  “Think they wanna come back to the house and play?” A fourth asked.

  “No,” Karma said and grinned. “We wanna play right here.”

  “Okay, pretty lady,” the first one said again and grinned. “But you need to put those weapons away afore someone gets hurt.”

  “Umm, you mean before someone gets hurt,” Nevaeh corrected him and grinned.

  “Yeah, that,” he said and smiled. “Beautiful and smart.”

  “Don’t forget dangerous,” Nevaeh said as she leaped into the middle of the group, taking out two before any of them knew what was happening.

  Karma took out two more before the shock wore off and Nevaeh quickly took the other one down before he could make a sound.

  “Okay, we need to go now. The smell of these five will surely have others coming to check it out soon enough,” Karma said as she cleaned her Sai on the dead vampire’s shirt before sliding them back into her belt.

  “Good idea,” Nevaeh responded and followed Karma as they sprinted down the alley. They were out of the area in under two minutes, and back into the water just a little while later.

  The swim back to the boat was relaxing, and once they reached the side, they climbed aboard, and Karma immediately went to her bag without acknowledging anyone.

  “We have a situation,” she told Agent Baxter, second in command of the VEB. “Pick me up at the harbor and bring a full team. We have a group of rogue vampire about six miles East of the docks. Nevaeh and I encountered five of them and eliminated them, but there is a peaceful family in the area who are registered, and we want to make sure no harm comes to them.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Baxter replied without question. “Can you tell me what happened with Fuller?”

  “Fuller was found guilty of treason and has been executed. I will vote that the Senate appoint you the new leader of the VEB,” she told him.

  “Thank you, but let’s get this done before we think about that,” he told her. “I will be there in fifteen minutes.”

  “See you then, Baxter,” she replied and ended the call.

  “Karma, can we talk?” Dylan asked from behind her.

  “Later,” she said and grabbed several daggers from her bag. “Right now, I have vampire to kill and I don’t need you, or anyone else, second guessing me while I’m trying to do my fucking job.”

  “I was wrong, and you were right, okay,” he shouted. “Does that make you happy?”

  “Fuck no,” she answered and punched him. “And if you think that’s what this is about, you really don’t know me as well as I thought you did.”

  “Fuck, Karma,” he yelled as blood spewed from his nose. “Just fucking talk to me.”

  “Back the fuck off,” she told him and tried to shove past him, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

  “I love you, Karma, and that isn’t something I can back the fuck off from. No matter how pissed you are,” he told her and kissed her hard. “Now let’s go kill these vampire so we can talk.”

  “If you don’t let me go, I am going to take one of these daggers and stab you in the eye with it,” she told him through gritted teeth.

  “Fine, whatever,” he said and walked away.

  “Karma,” Nevaeh said calmly.

  “What?” Karma snapped her head up and Nevaeh saw the tears in her eyes.

  “You okay?” She asked.

  “No,” she replied and looked at her hands. “I’m not fucking okay.”

  Walking away from everyone, she stood on the back of the boat and slid her daggers into the hidden pockets in her pants and boots. When she was finished, she jumped into the water and swam toward the pier, not waiting for anyone to join her.

  “Can you stay out here with Matthews?” Nevaeh asked the Senate.

  “Of course,” Ramsey answered. “You three just keep her safe.”

  “We will if she lets us,” Harrison promised.

  “That’s all we can ask,” Holbrook replied and watched as Nevaeh, Dylan, and Harrison followed Karma into the water.

  “Let’s see what Matthews has to say now,” Ramsey said and grinned. “I want to try out a few of Karma’s creations.”

  They all chuckled at Ramsey’s glee and decided to see what Matthews would tell them with a little persuasion.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “Why are y’all wet?” Baxter asked, his Southern drawl thick with humor.

  “Because we decided to go for a swim,” Harrison responded sarcastically.

  “We needed to get here from our boat, and didn’t want to bring the boat to port, yet,” Karma explained and grinned. “We have a special guest on the boat and don’t want him to get away.”

  “Awesome,” Baxter said and winked at Karma. “I got some towels in the back if y’all wanna dry off a bit before we get going.”

  “That’d be great, thanks,” Dylan responded, barely controlling his temper.

  “Tell us a little about yourself, Baxter,” Harrison said as he dried his hair.

  “I was born in Alabama in nineteen fourteen and lived there until I went into the army in nineteen thirty-two. I was stationed in Pearl Harbor when it was bombed, and was medically discharged because my skull was fractured. Once I was back home, I lost myself in whiskey. On the night I turned thirty, I was at a whore house and was attacked by the whore I was with. She was a vampire and, instead of killing me, she decided to change me and train me as her pet. I was with her for a decade before she was killed, and I was freed. Since then, I’ve worked to protect humans from vampire like her.”

  “And that’s why you were chosen to join the VEB,” Karma told him and smiled. “As soon as I read your file, I knew you’d be great for the job. Had the decision been mine, you’d have been leader instead of Fuller.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Baxter said and grinned at her, causing Dylan to growl softly.

  “Let’s get on the road and get these vampire off the streets before they hurt more people,” Nevaeh said, noticing the expression on Dylan’s face.

  “Sure thing, ma’am,” Baxter said and turned his grin to Nevaeh.

  “I’ll ride with Baxter and direct him where we need to go. Dylan can ride with us, and Nevaeh and Harrison can ride a few SUV’s back. They can start at one end, and us at the other, and we can meet in the middle,” Karma said and smiled at Nevaeh.

  “I’ll keep my group away from the allies of the registered vampire unless the unregistered flee to that area,” Nevaeh assured her.

  “And I will do the same,” Karma said. “Let’s get this done so we can grab food before heading back to the boat.”

  Everyone nodded and climbed into the SUV’s. Once on the road, Karma navigated Baxter to the area they’d killed the five vampire earlier and grinned when she noticed the bodies gone.

  “Their friends have cleaned them up,” she commented and directed Baxter to pull the SUV down an alley and stop. “We can leave the SUV’s here and search on foot. Make sure you lock them, though. We’d hate for them to be stolen.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Baxter said and radioed the other SUV’s before g
etting out and grabbing the gear from the back. Once everyone was out, he locked the SUV and the group followed Karma down the alley.

  “They’re in position,” Nevaeh told the team she was guiding after she received a text from Karma. “They’re moving North, and we’re going to move South. We should meet up with them in about half an hour. Fan out and search, but stay as quiet as possible.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Agent Martin said and grinned.

  “You’re as bad as Baxter,” she commented, and his grin grew wider.

  “Military and a strict Mama, ma’am,” he said quietly. “Lead the way.”

  Silently they walked through the allies until they came across a small band of vampire stalking an unsuspecting group of humans walking from shop to shop on the main street.

  Nevaeh held up three fingers and Martin nodded. She lowered them one at a time, and when the last one dropped, each one in their group snagged one of the rogues and pulled them into the alley without the humans even knowing they were in danger.

  “Let me go,” the one Nevaeh was holding said through clenched teeth.

  “Not gonna happen,” she replied almost silently as she slid a dagger from her belt and drove it deep into his heart.

  “That’s six,” Harrison said and grinned. “With the five you and Karma took out earlier, how many more could there be?”

  “I have no idea, but the vampire we spoke with earlier said there was a gang of them. We will keep searching until we meet up with the others.”

  “Okay, ma’am,” Martin answered and motioned for the other agents to follow them as they continued walking.

  Coming across another small group a few minutes later, they tried taking them out as quietly as the first, but this group wasn’t as easily dealt with.

  “I think these boys want to fight,” Nevaeh said and pulled a scimitar from its sheath.

  “You’re the bitch who killed our friends earlier today,” one of them growled, his eyes fixed on her scimitar.

  “I’m one of them,” she replied and grinned. “My name’s Nevaeh, in case you’re wondering who the bitch is who’s going to kill you.”

  “Bring it, bitch,” he spat, and her grin grew wider.

  “Gladly,” she replied and jumped over his head, landing behind him and tapping him on the shoulder.

  When he turned around she punched him in the nose with a satisfying crunch.

  “Bitch!” He shouted and lunged for her.

  Bringing her blade up, she slid it between his ribs and pierced his heart without any effort.

  “Very nice,” Harrison said and grinned. “While you played with him, we took out his buddies.”

  “Bite me,” she told him and grinned.

  “Maybe later,” he responded and brushed his lips across the pulsating vein in her neck.

  She shivered and stepped back before shaking her head to clear it of the thoughts running through it.

  “Let’s get this done,” she said and bit her lip. “Then we will discuss that in more detail.”

  “Deal,” he said, and she could see the heat in his eyes.

  They started moving again just as Nevaeh’s phone let out a beep, signaling an incoming text.

  Checking it, tears filled her eyes, before she looked up at Harrison.

  “Karma’s been hurt, severely hurt!”

  ****

  “Why hasn’t she healed yet?” Dylan asked again as he looked at the gaping wound in her shoulder.

  “I don’t know,” Baxter answered and looked over his shoulder at the sound of screeching tires. “The others are here, maybe Harrison knows why she isn’t healing.”

  “What the fuck happened?” Nevaeh asked as soon as she jumped out of the SUV.

  “We split into two groups when we hit a split in the allies. About halfway down the second alley, we ran into a group of about thirty or so vampire. We were all fighting, and we heard Karma scream. I looked over and she was on the ground bleeding, and a vampire was kneeling over her, about to sink his fangs in again. Dylan staked him before he could, but where he’d already bitten her isn’t healing,” Baxter explained.

  “Shit,” Harrison said and looked at her. “She could be having a reaction to his venom.”

  “But she’s been bitten before and healed just fine,” Dylan countered.

  “Yes, by Vincent, her Father,” Harrison said and frowned. “I can’t be sure, but I think she may be immune to his venom.”

  “But she’s a vampire and vampire venom doesn’t hurt us,” Baxter said, confused.

  “She’s a Halfling,” Harrison countered. “We have no idea what venom does to them.”

  “Then find the fuck out!” Dylan yelled.

  “I’ll call Eduardo,” Nevaeh said and stepped away from the group.

  “Let’s get her back to the hotel, and if the Senators need to come back, I’ll send a team to the boat to watch over your prisoner there,” Baxter said, and Dylan growled at him when he reached to move her.

  “Do not fucking touch her,” Dylan told him through gritted teeth. “I’ll carry her.”

  Baxter took a step back with his hands in the air and watched Dylan gently lift Karma into his arms.

  “I’ll get the door for you,” one of the other agents said and moved past them to open the back door of the SUV.

  “Don’t mind him, Baxter,” Harrison told him. “He’s acting on instinct and is in protective mode because his lifemate is injured.”

  “I understand. If she were mine, I’d be the same way,” he said and walked to the SUV. “What will happen if she doesn’t make it?”

  “He will die, too,” Harrison said and frowned. He wasn’t ready to lose them.

  “Eduardo wants to see her,” Nevaeh said and looked at Harrison.

  “I’ll swim back out to the boat,” he said, and Nevaeh shook her head.

  “They’re bringing it in,” she said, and he looked at her in confusion. “Matthews finally talked, and Ramsey executed him. Baxter, we need a team to clean up Fuller and Matthews’ bodies, but that can wait for now.”

  “I’ll have a team meet them at the pier,” he said and climbed into the SUV. “See you at the hotel.”

  “We will be right behind you,” Harrison assured him and walked to the waiting SUV.

  “She’s going to be okay,” Nevaeh told him and grasped his hand. “She has to be.”

  “If we lose her, we lose him, too,” Harrison said, and Nevaeh frowned.

  “We would lose him without the blood link if we lost her,” she told him, and he sighed.

  “I know,” he agreed. “Did Eduardo give any indication that he knew what was happening?”

  “He said something about venom and blood and I don’t know what else. He started talking in that mumbled whisper he talks in when he’s thinking.”

  Harrison chuckled, knowing exactly what she was talking about. “Then he probably has a couple of ideas.”

  “I’m pretty sure he does,” she said as they pulled in front of the hotel. “Guess we will see.”

  “Dylan, let me help,” Harrison said and held open the doors for his son.

  Dylan growled when Harrison’s hand brushed over Karma’s arm, and Harrison locked eyes with his son.

  “I will not hurt her,” Harrison told him calmly.

  Breaking eye contact, Dylan pushed past him and headed toward the stairs without a word.

  Harrison sighed, and darted ahead to open the door.

  Once in the room, Harrison stepped back and let Dylan lay Karma on the bed before stepping to his side and laying a hand on his shoulder.

  Dylan’s hiss filled the room, but Harrison didn’t move his hand. “Dylan, son, you know I’m not going to harm her. Listen to my voice, and come back to yourself. No one here is going to harm her.”

  “The Senate will be here soon, and they will want to check her out, Dylan,” Nevaeh said calmly. “No one here will harm her.”

  Nevaeh’s soothing voice seemed to cut through some of the fog su
rrounding Dylan, so she kept talking to him calmly.

  “We are all here to help her, Dylan. You know us, and you know we all care about her. Let us help her so she can heal.”

  Shaking his head, Dylan looked up from Karma and locked eyes with Nevaeh.

  “She can’t leave me,” he said as tears streamed down his face.

  “She’s not going to, son,” Harrison told him, hoping he wasn’t making a promise he would break. “But you have to let Eduardo help her when he gets here.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Dylan said as he sat on the edge of the bed and held Karma’s hand. “In the time I’ve known her, she has never been this still.”

  “It’s the venom,” Constance said from the door. “We can help her, but you may not like what we have to do.”

  “How is the venom affecting her like this?” Nevaeh asked, confused.

  “She’s a Halfling, so she’s still partially human. When Vincent bit her last year, she wasn’t affected because he is her biological Father, and she has his vampire DNA in her blood. The vampire who bit her today must have been very powerful, because his venom is mixing with her human DNA and is weakening her,” Eduardo said from the door. There is a way we can save her, but she may not like it.”

  “What do you suggest we do?” Dylan asked, not knowing what to do.

  “I suggest we change her, but that means feeding her pure vampire blood. Old vampire blood,” Ramsey said, and Dylan snarled.

  “She can have my blood,” Harrison spoke up, hoping it would calm Dylan.

  “That may work, but the older the vampire, the quicker the change will happen,” Eduardo said and frowned.

  “Which one of you is the oldest?” Nevaeh asked.

  “I am,” Eduardo answered and looked at the others. “But I feel Ramsey should be the one. He is stronger than I am, and his creator wasn’t a killer.”

  Dylan looked at them for a moment, then looked back at Karma and shook himself.

  “Do it,” he said and really hoped he was making the right decision.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ramsey sat on the bed beside of Karma and bit into his own wrist. Opening her mouth, he let the drops drip onto her tongue and slide down her throat. After a moment, he pressed his wrist to her lips and grinned when she started sucking. When her fangs extended and bit in, he flinched, but didn’t pull away.