“I needed you,” she gasped softly.
“You always have me,” he responded before he pressed his lips to her neck.
“And you always have me,” she responded and tilted her head a little, exposing her vein to him.
When he bit deep, she cried out and dug her nails into his shoulders.
When he released her neck, he looked into her eyes for a moment before nodding and shifting his head.
She struck quickly, and as her fangs sank deep, he cried out and emptied himself inside her.
“Fuck,” he said quietly as he held her under the hot spray.
“Mmm,” she moaned as she released his neck and watched the bite close.
“I love you, Karma.”
“And I love you,” she replied as she unwrapped her legs and slid out of his arms.
“Here, let me wash your hair,” he said and grabbed her shampoo.
As he washed her hair, he thought back to the first time they’d showered together and smiled.
“What are you thinking about?” She asked when his hands stilled in her hair.
“The first time we showered together,” he answered. “It seems like a lifetime ago.”
“That was also the first time we made love,” she reminded him.
“I will never forget that night,” he said and kissed her neck before turning her so the water could rinse the shampoo from her hair.
“Neither will I,” she responded once her hair was rinsed. “Now let’s finish showering before I attack you again.”
“As much as I would love nothing more than to have you wrapped around me again, we should get ready to meet with the others.”
“Yes,” she agreed.
After quickly finishing their shower, they dressed, and Dylan braided her hair before they headed downstairs.
****
“The team at the show grounds is in place,” Martin said and looked at Delanie, Karma, and Dylan. “Ready?”
“Let’s do this,” Delanie said with a grin.
Martin nodded, and radioed the other SUVs before opening his door and stepping out.
“Jensen will lead half the team around back, and I will take the others straight through the front,” Martin said and looked at Karma and Dylan. “Karma, you and Delanie are with me, and Dylan, you’re with Jensen.”
“Fast and silent,” Jensen told them all. “We have no idea who’s inside, so be alert at all times.”
Nodding, they split into two teams.
As Martin and Karma lead their half to the front door, Jensen and Dylan lead theirs to the back.
Once in place, Martin sent Jansen a quick text then nodded to Karma, who kicked down the solid steel door in front of her.
They were greeted by a horde of vampire as soon as they entered the house.
“Fuck,” Karma yelled out. “It’s a trap.”
“Fall back,” Martin yelled, and they started back out the door. “We’ll be able to move better in the yard.”
As they backed out the door, Karma and Martin were surrounded by at least a dozen vampire.
“Fuck,” Karma said again as she looked around them.
“Took the word right out of my mouth,” Martin said as he pulled two stakes from his belt.
“Let’s do this,” Karma said, sliding her Sai from their holsters on her thighs.
Before Karma could attack, two of the vampire around them fell, and she grinned when Delanie waved from behind the horde, before taking out another.
“Never underestimate a Huntress,” Delanie said as two of the vampire focused on her.
“Bitch,” one of them said before charging at her.
“Oh shit,” she barely had time to say before a large arm swept out and nearly knocked her from her feet.
“Watch it,” Karma yelled, as she shoved her Sai through the chest of the vampire in front of her. “Two more behind you.”
Delanie did a back-flip to avoid the four vampire surrounding her, and Karma grinned a little before focusing on the fight she was in.
“Martin, lookout,” Karma yelled, and Martin dropped to his knees just as she let a Sai fly. When it embedded into the chest of the vampire who was about to grab Martin from behind, Martin grinned at her.
“Thanks,” he called out before engaging two more vampire.
“Anytime,” she called back, then pulled a knife from her boot and decapitated the vampire in front of her before turning to help Delanie with the three she was fighting.
“Thanks,” Delanie said once they were dead.
“Anytime,” Karma repeated what she’d told Martin.
“Everyone okay here?” Dylan yelled out as he rounded the house.
“So far,” Karma answered, glancing around the yard at the fights still happening. Every one of the agents and Huntresses were still battling at least two vampire.
“Karma, watch out,” Martin yelled out and Karma turned just in time to stake the vampire who was behind her.
“Martin!” She yelled when she looked back up. He had four vampire surrounding him and it looked like he wasn’t doing too well.
Dashing to him, she staked two, and chopped the head off a third before she noticed the stake protruding from Martin’s chest.
“NO!” She yelled and caught a glimpse of the fleeing vampire before turning back to Martin.
“He got me,” Martin coughed before his eyes rolled back into his head.
“MARTIN! NO!” She yelled again, but he was already gone.
Rage filled her as she looked at the lifeless body of the agent she’d grown to love like a brother.
“Karma?” Dylan asked from behind her.
“He’s gone,” she said and looked at Martin again. “I wasn’t fast enough to save him.”
“It was Henderson,” Jensen said from behind them.
“I know,” Karma said, shaking with anger and hurt. “I saw him just after I killed the other three. He took off, and I didn’t go after him. I could have caught him. I still can.”
“No,” Dylan said and pulled her into his arms. “The rest are dead.”
“Henderson is the one who set us up,” Jensen told them.
“How do you know?” Watson asked. “Jackson is the one who left the message for us to come here.”
“I left a couple of agents behind at the hotel when we left this morning,” Jensen told them. “Just after we left, they searched his room and found evidence he is working for Crompton.”
“We will find him, and I will kill him,” Karma told them. “He will pay for killing Martin.”
“Yes, he will,” Jensen responded.
“We found something,” Delanie said from behind them. “Well, someone actually.”
“Who?” Dylan asked as he turned around. When his eyes landed on the human man Gina and Sally were leading toward them, his jaw nearly hit the ground.
“Long time no see, Dylan,” the man said with a sneer.
“Not long enough, Jack,” Dylan responded, and everyone looked at the man. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Jack Murray, Jackson’s Father.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Where’s Jackson?” Delanie asked Jack once they were in the SUV and headed toward the house.
“Dunno,” he answered.
“Bullshit,” Karma responded from the front seat.
“Who the fuck are you to tell me what I do and don’t know?” Jack asked, glaring at Karma.
“Dylan’s girlfriend,” she answered and glanced at Dylan, who was driving. “And you’re lying about knowing where Jackson is, but that’s okay. We have ways of getting people to talk.”
“See me shaking?” Jack asked and looked around the SUV. “You can’t hurt me because that would be a violation of the new vampire laws, and you work for the government, so you wouldn’t violate your precious laws.”
“That’s true,” she said and looked back at the three Huntresses in the SUV with them. “For me and Dylan, and the VEB anyway. But the ladies who found you, they’re
human and don’t work for the government.”
“I doubt these three little girls can do enough damage to make me talk,” he responded, looking at Delanie, Gina, and Sally. “Besides, I don’t know anything anyway.”
“And again, with the lies,” Karma said and shook her head. “Guess we will find out when we get back to the house what you do and do not know.”
“You’re Karma, aren’t you?” Jack asked, looking at her through narrowed eyes.
“Yes,” she answered honestly. “But what does who I am matter?”
“Jackson said you’d find him. He kept telling that little bitch sister of his that you and Dylan would find him, but I didn’t believe him.”
“Guess you were wrong,” Dylan told him as he pulled to a stop in front of the house. “Because we will find him, and we will kill Crompton.”
“Good luck with that, boy,” Jack responded after Sally pulled him from the SUV. “He’s been around a very long time and no one has been able to kill him yet.”
“That’s because he’s never faced Karma,” Eduardo said from the door of the house. “She will be the one to eliminate him. She is the chosen one, after all.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Jack asked, looking at Eduardo.
“Eduardo,” he answered. “Second oldest vampire alive. And who might you be?”
“You’re here,” Karma said with a tired smile. “It’s been hell these past few days.”
“We’re all here,” Ramsey said from behind Eduardo. “You can tell us about it once this human answers Eduardo’s question.”
“This is Jack Murray,” Karma answered for him.
“He’s related to Jackson,” Constance said when they walked past them and into the house.
“He’s his Father,” Dylan answered.
“Oh my,” Aleyn said and looked at Jack. “And what part do you play in his disappearance?”
“None,” Jack answered.
“He keeps lying,” Karma told them and shrugged. “I guess he doesn’t have the mental capacity to realize I know he’s lying.”
“Guess not,” Dristen commented and grinned. “He’ll learn.”
“Doesn’t matter overly much,” Nevaeh told them. “I think we should let Sally question him. She needs the training.”
“Me?” Sally asked, looking from Karma to Nevaeh. “I’ve never questioned anyone before.”
“It’s time you learned,” Nevaeh said and smiled at one of her newest Huntresses. “We will be right there if you need help.”
“Okay,” she responded nervously.
Jack snickered at her when he passed her on the stairs, and annoyance came into her eyes.
“I’d not underestimate her if I were you,” Dristen said and looked at the human man. “She’s been well trained, and may be hesitant to question you, but she will not hesitate to kill you if you cross her.”
“Who the fuck are all you vampire?” He asked, looking at the members of the Senate.
“Vampire Senate,” Karma answered for them.
“No way,” Jack responded and shook his head. “Crompton said the Senate never leave their homes.”
“Crompton is a liar,” Langley said with a shrug. “I am Langley, and am the sixth oldest member of the Senate.”
“And we are the other members of the Senate,” Eduardo told him and looked at the others. “We leave our homes when necessary, and meeting Karma last year was necessary.”
“Enough of this,” Gina said and pushed Jack into the chair in the basement. “Delanie, secure him.”
Grinning, Delanie walked to the man who was looking around at the vampire surrounding him, and started securing him to the chair.
“Why haven’t you tried to get free?” She asked, as she secured the thick leather straps.
“It’d be pointless with the vampire around me,” he responded. “I wouldn’t get five feet before I was caught and brought back. Plus, Crompton will find me and rescue me.”
“You don’t really believe that,” Karma told him, and he snapped his head toward her.
“You’re annoying as fuck with your comments,” he told her, and she grinned.
“Well, I am a bitch,” she said and shrugged before sitting and looking at Sally. “Let’s see what he knows.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Sally responded and walked up to Jack.
“You look like a scared little girl,” Jack commented when Sally stepped in front of him. “How old are you?”
“I’m the one asking the questions,” she said and smiled sweetly at him. “Tell us where Jackson is.”
“Dunno,” he responded the same way he had in the SUV.
“He’s lying,” Karma said and nodded at Sally.
“Why are you lying? Do you think it will help you to lie to us?”
“Oh, little one, I’m just bidding my time until I can get out of here,” he said and looked around him. “Crompton will come for me.”
“Crompton left your ass at that house for us to find,” Sally responded to him. “Now tell us where Jackson is.”
“Dunno,” he responded again.
“Do you really want to keep with that answer?” Delanie asked, and handed Sally a small glass bottle.
“I don’t know where Jackson is,” he lied smoothly.
“He’s going to continue to lie until you do something to make him stop,” Nevaeh told Sally. “Do what it takes to get the truth from him.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Sally said and look a deep breath.
“Nervous?” Jack asked her softly.
“No,” Sally responded.
“Good, because neither am I.”
“You should be,” Delanie told him and walked toward him with a knife.
“Going to stab me?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m human, and stabbing me may kill me before you have your answers.”
“No, I’m not going to stab you,” Delanie replied before quickly cutting his shirt from his body and turning to Sally. “A clean canvas. Have fun.”
“Canvas?” Jack asked as Sally took two steps toward him.
“Oh yes,” she responded then opened the little bottle in her hand and pulled out a glass dropper. “Feel free to scream.”
He watched the dropper as she held it above his nipple and let one drop fall.
When it landed on his nipple, he looked at her like she was crazy.
“What’s that supposed to do?” He asked, and looked back at his chest. When he saw the drop start to eat away at his skin, he looked at her again.
“Sulfuric Acid,” she told him before letting another drop fall. When it hit his stomach, he sucked in a harsh breath. “Hurt a little?”
“No,” he hissed out.
“Liar,” Sally said with a grin. “Let’s see how you like this.”
She held the dropper over his leg, and emptied what was left onto his pants, just above his knee.
“Fuck!” He yelled as the acid ate through the thin fabric and straight to his skin.
“Wanna tell me where Jackson is now?” She asked.
“Fuck you,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Sorry, you aren’t my type,” she responded and held the full dropper over his other leg. When she let four drops fall, he sucked in a breath. “Wanna tell me now?”
“Never,” he hissed.
“Okay then,” she replied and dropped more acid across his chest.
“I don’t know where he is,” Jack screeched out as the acid burned through his skin.
“Liar,” Sally said again.
“I don’t,” he insisted.
“Let’s see if this makes you change your mind,” she grinned as she let a few drops drip from the dropper over his crotch.
“For fuck’s sakes!” He yelled as the acid ate through his pants.
“Tell me where Jackson is,” she told him. “I’ll stop if you tell me.”
“Never,” he responded, and she let a few more drops land in his lap.
“At least he isn’t saying he d
oesn’t know,” Karma said and grinned.
“Okay, I know,” he yelped out when the acid made contact with the soft flesh around his penis.
“Tell me,” Sally said.
“Crompton will kill me,” he responded.
“Honey, I’m going to kill you,” Sally pointed out. “It’s up to you to decide if it will be fast or slow though.”
When he hissed through his teeth, she let a few more drops fall, hitting the holes already in his pants.
“Fuck,” he cried out.
“Tell me and I’ll stop,” she reminded him. “All you have to do is tell me where Jackson is.”
“Just kill me!” He yelled.
“Not until you tell me,” she said and dropped more acid into his lap, this time directly over his penis.
He panted and cried out when the acid hit him, and his eyes started to roll back into his head.
“Oh no you don’t,” she said and tossed a cup of icy water in his face. “Tell me where Jackson is.”
“Cleveland,” he hissed, and she smiled.
“He’s not lying,” Karma said and nodded to Sally.
“Now was that so hard?” She asked as she reached between his legs and grabbed his cock. When she let another drop slip from the dropper, it slid into the tiny opening, and he screamed.
“Enough,” Nevaeh told her. “Put the poor bastard out of his misery.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Sally responded and pulled a knife from her boot. She hesitated for a moment before she brought the knife around and severed his head from his shoulders.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Caia,” Dylan said as he walked into the living room.
“He’s dead now, isn’t he?” She asked, not looking up from the game of solitaire she was playing.
“He is,” Dylan answered. “And you’re safe.”
“Did he know where Jackson is?”
“He did,” Dylan told her. “And we’re leaving as soon as possible, but I wanted to ask you something first.”
“What?”
“Do you want us to find your Mother for you before we leave?”
“I don’t think she’s still alive,” she answered.
“I can find out,” Karma said from the kitchen. “What’s her name?”
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