“Orlando,” Johnson answered then snapped his head toward the door behind him.
“That isn’t our people,” Dylan said, and the other agents and Huntresses stilled as the door opened and three very large vampire walked in.
“What the fuck?” One of them asked when he saw the agents and Huntresses standing there looking at them.
“VEB, don’t move,” Johnson said and the three looked at each other before turning back to the door.
“Hello boys,” Karma said with a grin as she and Delanie blocked the exit. “Where ya going?”
“Fuck,” one of them said and charged at Delanie.
Before he made it to her, she had her Kunai out and used his forward motion to drive it deep into his chest.
As he fell, the other two charged, but Karma was ready. After stabbing one, she turned to the other, but he was already on the floor at her feet, one of Delanie’s Kunai sticking out of his chest.
“Good work,” Karma said and smiled at Delanie.
“Fuckers think just because I’m human, I can’t kill them,” she said and shrugged.
“Their mistake,” Karma responded then looked at Dylan. “What do we have here?”
“Humans,” he answered and looked around at the cages. “Blood slaves from the look of things.”
“Shit,” Karma replied and walked into the warehouse. “How many, would you say?”
“At least a hundred,” Johnson answered.
“Some look like they may need medical attention,” Delanie said as she walked around and looked into the cages. “We probably should call in the local authorities, so we can get medical personnel here.”
“On it,” Karma said and pulled her cell phone from her pocket.
“While she does that, let’s start unlocking these cages,” Martin said, and Johnson shook his head.
“We need the whole team here for that,” he said and nodded toward Maggie. “Maggie is alert, and told us the locks have alarms on them. If we break them, the vampire holding them will show up.”
“How many have you seen, Maggie?” Dylan asked, thinking they could probably take them out quickly.
“I’ve seen about thirty different ones,” she said, and Dylan frowned.
“That’s a big organization,” Johnson said and looked around the building. “I guess it has to be in order to pull this off, though.”
“Human authorities are on the way with EMTs,” Karma told them. “Nevaeh and Harrison are both almost here, too, so let’s start breaking the locks. Any vampire who show up will regret it.”
“Then let’s break them,” Delanie said and grinned at the thought of killing more vampire. With each one she killed, she released a little of the pent-up anger she’d felt since Jackson was taken, and letting that anger go was helping her to focus on what needed to be done.
“Okay then,” Martin said as he reached over and ripped the lock off the cage closest to him. “Let’s see what happens now.”
Following his lead, the other vampire in the room grabbed the lock on the cage closest to them and ripped it off. Within seconds, all the locks were off, but the humans remained inside their cages.
“Everyone be alert,” Karma yelled out.
“What are we watching for?” Nevaeh asked as she walked into the building.
“Vampire,” Karma answered. “Hopefully enough for us to play with.”
“Awesome,” Harrison said from behind them.
“Here they come,” Johnson said from where he was watching at the window.
“This way, too,” Martin called out and Baxter and Jensen nodded from where they were watching too.
“Let’s do this,” Delanie said with a grin as they spread out and readied to protect the humans in the cages.
When the vampire entered the building, the agents closed the doors behind them.
“What the hell?” One of them asked when they spotted the VEB and Huntresses.
“Welcome to the party,” Nevaeh said with a grin.
“Who the fuck are you?” Another asked. “And what the fuck are you doing here?”
“We’re VEB,” Baxter answered. “And we were looking for someone when we stumbled upon your warehouse.”
“You’ve no business here,” another said and snarled a little when he spotted Karma. “I know you.”
“Oh?” Karma asked with an arched eyebrow. “Interesting, because I would remember meeting scum such as yourself.”
“She’s the girl the boss is looking for,” another said and grinned. “He will be pleased when we bring you to him.”
“And how are you going to bring me to him?” She asked, grinning at them. “From what I can tell, you’re surrounded and have no way to escape.”
“Kill them,” he shouted, and the fight was on.
“Keep one alive,” Dylan yelled out as they battled.
“Don’t kill the girl,” one of the vampire they were fighting yelled just before Delanie buried a Kunai in his chest.
“Say goodnight,” Karma said as she broke the neck of the one she was fighting and grinned when he dropped to a heap at her feet.
As Delanie took out two more, Dylan bound the one Karma incapacitated, and then the battle was over.
“That was quick,” Karma said and shook her head.
“Wow,” Maggie said from her cage.
“Let me help you,” Johnson said as he opened the door to her cage. “I won’t hurt you.”
“Promise?” She asked, as her eyes met his.
“I promise,” he answered, and looked into her eyes. “I would never hurt a human.”
“Human authorities are here,” Karma said, breaking the moment between Johnson and Maggie just before the sirens filled the air. “Let’s start cleaning up our mess so they can get these people the help they need.”
Chapter Twelve
“What’s your name?” Maggie asked Johnson as he helped her from her cage.
“Leland Johnson,” he answered.
“And you’re a vampire,” she stated, looking away from him.
“I am,” he answered. “But I have never harmed a human, and I never will.”
“Why?” She asked, thinking about the vampire who’d held her captive for the past three months.
“Because I watched my entire family die and couldn’t do a damn thing about it,” he answered and sighed. “Let’s get you to the EMTs so you can be checked out.”
“How old are you?” She asked as he led her from the warehouse to one of the waiting ambulances.
“Twenty-four,” he answered without hesitation.
“And how long have you been a vampire?” She asked, knowing vampire were immortal.
“I was changed in nineteen-eighty,” he responded.
“So, over thirty years,” she stated, and he nodded. “And you’ve never killed a human? How did you stay alive?”
“You can feed from humans without killing them,” he told her and looked at the marks on her neck.
“Yes,” she said and covered her neck with her hands. “But it hurts.”
“It doesn’t have to hurt,” he told her. “Most of the people I have fed from never knew what was happening.”
“Most?” She asked, catching how he’d phrased that.
“Yes, most,” he responded and sighed again. “There were a few who figured out what I was and wanted me to feed from them. I did, but I never hurt any of them.”
“And now?” She asked, not looking at him.
“Now I visit the donation centers,” he told her. “I haven’t drunk from a vein since the new laws were written and I joined the VEB.”
“Oh,” she said shyly.
“Maggie, I promised you I wouldn’t hurt you, and I won’t,” he told her gently. “Let’s get you checked out.”
“Will you stay with me?” She asked as she looked at all the people and vampire surrounding the warehouse.
“For as long as you want,” he answered.
“And will you help me find my Mom?�
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“Yes, but let’s make sure you’re okay first,” he said as he motioned for one of the EMTs over.
“Hello, there,” the EMT greeted Maggie with a smile.
“Hello,” she responded shyly.
“My name’s Max, and I’m just going to check you out before we take you to the hospital,” he said and winked at her. “I do have to say, you’re the prettiest I’ve seen today.”
His comment earned him a low warning growl from Johnson, and Maggie’s eyes grew wide.
“Just do your job,” Johnson told Max before shifting his gaze to Maggie. The fear in her eyes calmed him a little, and he ran a gentle hand down her hair. “I will never hurt you.”
“Yeah, okay,” she said, but he could still hear the fear in her voice.
“I’ll be right back,” he told her and squeezed her hand gently. “I have to tell Baxter where I’m going. Do not leave this spot until I’m back.”
“Okay,” she responded quietly.
“And you,” he said, looking at the EMT. “Do not leave her until I am back.”
“Yes, Sir,” he responded before noting Maggie’s blood pressure on the chart he was filling out.
“I’ll be right back,” he assured Maggie again before he walked away.
“He’s a little moody,” the EMT said with a chuckle once Johnson was gone.
“Him and his team just saved over a hundred lives and killed more than thirty vampire who had us in cages and were getting ready to auction us off to the highest bidder. I’d be moody too,” Maggie snapped to Johnson’s defense.
“Yeah,” Max responded and shook his head. “I suppose I would be too.”
As Max continued checking her vitals, she focused on the vampire who had rescued her.
“All done,” Max said and stepped away from her. “Your vitals are good, and it looks like you’re in very good condition compared to some of the others here. You need to go to the hospital and get checked out by a doctor, but I don’t think you’re in any immediate danger.”
“Thank you,” Maggie responded, not taking her eyes off Johnson. He was talking to two of the female vampire who had come into the warehouse after the group he was with found them. When he laughed at something the one with nearly black hair said, she felt a wave of something she couldn’t explain wash through her.
“You okay?” Max asked, and she looked at him. “You just got really pale.”
“I’m fine,” she answered, looking back at Johnson, who was walking back toward them.
“Everything okay?” He asked, noticing she’d paled since he’d walked away.
“Yes,” she lied.
“Why are you lying?” The female vampire with the dark hair asked from behind her.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Maggie said, and Johnson chuckled.
“Don’t mind Karma,” he told her. “She’s like a walking, talking lie detector test.”
“Karma?” Maggie asked, and looked at the female beside her. “Interesting name.”
“Thank you,” Karma said and smiled at her. “What’s bothering you?”
“I don’t know,” Maggie answered, and Karma looked at her for a second before shrugging.
“Okay,” Karma said and looked at Max. “They need a couple more EMTs inside. There are a few still in cages and we were afraid to move them before they were checked out.”
“On it,” he responded and walked away.
Once he was gone, Karma looked at Maggie once again. “Do you think you could answer a couple questions for us?”
“Sure,” Maggie answered, and Johnson growled softly.
“Hush, you’re scaring her,” Karma chastised him.
“She’s been through hell, Karma,” he said, the tone of his voice telling Karma more than his words ever could.
“I know that, Leland,” Karma responded, calmly. “But she may be able to help us find Jackson.”
“Jackson?” She asked, looking between the two. “Who is Jackson?”
“My brother-in-law,” Karma answered. “He’s human and was taken nearly a week ago.”
“Oh,” she responded and frowned. “I haven’t been outside this warehouse in weeks, but it isn’t the first place I was held.”
“Have you seen him?” Karma asked, holding out her phone. When Maggie looked at the picture she had pulled up, she shook her head.
“No,” she answered. “But I know the vampire who were holding us have at least two other places just like this one.”
“Do you know where they are?” Johnson asked.
“No,” she answered. “I was held in both of them, but they drug us before moving us, so I have no idea where they are.”
“Can you recall hearing anything while you were there? Boats, cars, trains; anything?” Karma asked, and Maggie closed her eyes.
“Yes,” she responded, not opening her eyes. “The first place I was held, there was a train that went by just after sunrise, and just before sunset. I was only there for a few days though.”
“Thank you,” Karma said and looked at Johnson. “Take care of her. I’m going to get Dylan, and head back to the house. We have a few other areas mapped out, and I think one of them had train tracks that ran through it.”
“Okay,” he responded.
“When she’s done at the hospital, bring her to the house. She will be safe there,” Karma added before walking off to find Dylan.
“What is she talking about?” Maggie asked once Karma was gone.
“Karma and her family rented a house here in the area,” he answered. “It’s safer than a hotel because vampire cannot enter a house unless invited in. She wants you to stay there while we hunt the ones who kidnapped Jackson because it will be safest for you. Other than Karma and her family, there are only four of us who know where the house is.”
“And who are those four?” She asked, looking at the thirty of so agents around them.
“Myself, Baxter, who is head of the VEB, Jensen, who is second in command, and Martin, who is a training agent like I am. We have been with the agency since it started, and have had each other’s back many times.”
“And Karma’s family, can they be trusted?” She asked, and he chuckled.
“Karma and Dylan helped write the vampire laws, and have been working closely with the President as well as the vampire Senate since before vampire came out of hiding. Nevaeh is the leader of the Huntresses, and was only turned because she was nearly killed by some vampire a few weeks ago, and Harrison is Dylan’s Father, and Nevaeh’s lifemate. As for the others, they’re human,” he explained. “And I would trust any of them with my life.”
“Okay,” she said and looked around at the agents again. “And the agents here with you? What about them?”
“Most I would stand beside in battle,” he told her honestly. “But we have a few agents in training that I don’t know well yet. I cannot say with complete certainty that all of them are on our side.”
“That’s good to know,” she said and stepped closer to him.
“I will not let anyone hurt you again,” he promised her, and she could hear the truth in his words. “Now, let’s get you checked out, so we can go to the house and see what our next move is.”
“Okay,” she said again.
“And once we find Jackson, I promise to take you to Miami and help you find your Mom.”
“What if she’s dead, or doesn’t want me around anymore?” She asked, fear filling her voice.
“Then I will protect you. I will always protect you,” he told her, and she nodded, not fully understanding the meaning behind his words.
Chapter Thirteen
“Karma,” Dylan said as they looked over the maps in front of them.
“Yes?” She responded, looking at him for a second before looking back at the map.
“Do you think Jackson is still alive?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Crompton isn’t going to risk him getting killed until he’s ready to end this sadistic game of chess
he’s playing.”
“Do you think he’s still human?”
“No,” she answered honestly, and he dropped into the chair behind him. “If he’s not, we will be here to help him. We will not let him turn into a monster.”
“She’s right,” Harrison said from behind them. “Jackson is your brother, and as such he has been around the vampire life since he was born.”
“Yes, but Crompton is evil,” Dylan commented. “And he may influence Jackson.”
“So, you think your brother is that weak minded?” Delanie snapped at him. “Do you think he is so weak he will give in to the will of that sadistic bastard just because said bastard changed him?”
“No, but from what Eduardo said, Crompton is the oldest vampire in existence, and we don’t know what he’s capable of,” Dylan responded.
“You really don’t know Jackson as well as you think you do if you think he wouldn’t fight with everything inside him to keep that son of a bitch from controlling him,” Delanie snapped again then turned for the door. “And if that’s what you think, and how you feel, then why the fuck are you even looking for him at all?”
“Wait just a damn minute,” Dylan said and jumped to his feet. “Jackson is my brother and from the time he was seven years old I helped Mom raise him. I know him better than anyone.”
“Really?” Delanie asked with a slight chuckle. “Then you know he’d never give in to Crompton without a fight.”
“You spent a fucking week with him and think you know him better than I do?” Dylan asked, getting in the Huntress’ face. “You don’t know shit about me or my brother, so you can take your little Miss Know-it-all attitude and shove it up your ass.”
“Enough,” Karma said and stepped between them. “Delanie, we know you’re upset about Jackson being taken, we all are, but you cannot stand there and say things like that.”
“He’s the one saying stupid shit,” Delanie snapped, and Karma hissed at her.
“He knows Jackson better than any of us, and he’s scared of losing his brother. I’m scared too,” Karma admitted. “But if we have any chance of finding him, we have to work together and not fight like little children.”
“Fine, whatever,” Delanie said and turned to walk away.
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