Nevaeh's Secret (Vampire Huntress Saga Book 2)

by Christina Escue

  “Nothing is better than bacon,” she said and grinned. “But Dylan is a close second.”

  “Gee, thanks. I love you, too,” Dylan said, grinning.

  Their banter kept going as they ate and headed to New Jersey.

  When they pulled up to the harbor, a Customs agent met them at the dock.

  “Thanks for coming,” he said. “I’m Agent Bartlett. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you where the ship is.”

  “Thanks for contacting me,” Harrison told him. “We are trying to keep this as quiet as possible, so we don’t alert the group behind the smuggling ring.”

  “Not a problem. We don’t want illegal activity here anymore than you do and are happy to help. When I saw the log book, I recognized the ship number from the list you sent and I notified you immediately.”

  “What time did the ship come in?” Nevaeh asked.

  “It was logged in at six. I came in at seven and called as soon as I saw the ship number.”

  “It’s nearly nine now, so we need to get on board and check it out as soon as possible,” Harrison said as they followed Bartlett to the last dock.

  “Where’s the crew?” Karma asked.

  “They’re at our offices here. I made my men round them up and take them there until you could talk to them.”

  “Good,” she replied and looked at Nevaeh. “Dylan and I can go talk to the crew while you and Harrison check out the ship. If either encounters a problem, we should be able to yell loud enough to hear.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Bartlett said and motioned one of his men over. “Karma, Dylan, this is Agent Bradley. He will show you to the offices. Harrison, Nevaeh, follow me.”

  “Have any of your men been on the ship yet?” Nevaeh asked.

  “No. I told them not to board. They’re standing guard though,” Bartlett answered.

  “And when was the last time you checked on them?” Harrison asked.

  “They’ve been checking in every ten minutes,” he responded.

  “We’ve been here for ten minutes, and they haven’t checked in,” Nevaeh said and took off running.

  As they rounded the corner, they saw two of Bartlett’s men dead, and another five fighting off three vampire. Not pausing to think, Nevaeh and Harrison sprinted forward and joined the fight.

  Within seconds the vampire were dead, and Bartlett’s men were trying to catch their breath.

  “Thank you,” Bartlett said, and motioned to his men. “That could have been a massacre had you not been here.”

  “Whatever is on that ship is something very valuable to someone,” Nevaeh said and looked at Harrison.

  “Then, by all means, let’s have a look inside,” he responded and stepped back so she could board the ship.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “What was that?” Bradley asked as they entered the office building.

  “I’m not sure, but stay here and stay quiet,” Karma told him as she pulled her Sai from their holsters.

  Dylan pulled two daggers from his boot and followed her through the door leading to the room the ship’s crew was being held.

  The scene before them was both terrifying and encouraging.

  There were six vampire circling the group huddled in the middle of room, and two more were on the floor, dead.

  They looked at each other for a second before Karma smiled.

  “Hey, blood suckers. Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” Karma shouted and all six vampire turned their attention to her.

  “Oh, what fun. Two little Halflings have come to play,” one hissed and Karma’s grin grew wider.

  Before the vampire could move, Karma and Dylan had staked them all.

  “You all okay?” Karma asked the crew.

  “Yeah,” one of them answered.

  “Who killed these two?” Karma asked, and kicked one of the dead vampire.

  “I did,” someone spoke up and Karma grinned.

  “You’re not human,” she said, and he nodded.

  “No, and it’s a damn good thing I’m not,” he replied and shrugged. “The name’s Zach Martin.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Karma said and shook his hand. “I’m Karma Black and this is Dylan Collins, we’re with the VEB.”

  “I know who you are, and I know why you’re here. I can assure none of them know anything, but you can question them,” Zach said and nodded toward the rest of the crew. “I have keys to all areas of the ship if you want to check it out. I can tell you, though, that what you’re looking for is in the belly, port side.”

  “You’ve been a big help,” Dylan said and motioned for him to join them. “Let’s get you to our colleagues so you can help them, while we interview here.”

  ****

  “Who’s this?” Nevaeh asked Dylan as he walked up with Zach.

  “This is Zach Martin. He’s a crew member on the ship and said he could show you exactly what we’re looking for,” Dylan explained.

  “Great. That will save time,” Harrison said.

  “Looks like you had a little trouble here, too,” Dylan commented, looking at the three dead vampire.

  “Too?” Nevaeh asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “We had a few going after the crew. Zach took out two before we got there,” Dylan explained. “I’m going to head back and help Karma with the interviews. Yell if you need us.”

  “You, too,” Harrison said and watched his son walk away. Once Dylan was out of sight, he turned to Zach. “Lead the way.”

  “You’d have found it without me, but I have keys to every door, so it just makes it faster than picking locks or breaking doors down,” Zach said as he led them through the galley. “The stairs at the back of the galley lead to the belly. There are several sets, but these will put you the closest to the container you’re looking for.”

  “Sounds good,” Nevaeh said as Zach unlocked the door leading to the stairs. A faint noise drew her attention, and she pulled her scimitar from their holsters and looked around.

  “What else is down here?” Harrison asked as he pulled a few daggers from his belt.

  “Nothing else was as of six this morning when we docked,” Zach said and frowned. “Let’s go, but quietly.”

  Both Harrison and Nevaeh nodded as Zach led them down the stairs and into the dark belly of the ship. Nevaeh readied her scimitar as they rounded the corner. Outside a large container were four vampire. They looked like they were standing guard for someone rather than trying to get into the container.

  Neveah looked at Harrison and grinned when he nodded.

  Without making a sound, Nevaeh sprinted to the closest vampire and had him dead before anyone even knew she was there. Harrison had dispatched one, as well, and Zach took out the other two before Harrison and Nevaeh could.

  “Impressive,” Harrison said and grinned.

  “Thanks. When I was human, I was an MMA fighter. Now I use what I learned in the ring to survive,” he told them.

  “How long have you been a vampire?” Nevaeh asked with a tilt of her head.

  “Almost two years,” he answered and frowned. “I was attacked after a fight one night and left for dead. I’m not sure what the process is for changing, but it hurt worse than anything I had ever felt. When it was finally over, I was this and couldn’t go back to my life before.”

  “Glad you survived,” Nevaeh said and looked at Harrison. “Let’s open this up and see what’s inside.”

  Harrison broke the seal and they opened the doors. Inside was at least a hundred people of different ages and genders.

  “Oh my God,” Zach said at the sight before him. “I knew there were humans in there, but didn’t suspect that many.”

  “Crompton is going to be very angry,” Nevaeh said and grinned. “Let’s see what his next move will be.”

  “Crompton?” Zach said and frowned. “I’ve heard that name before, or rather, I saw it.”

  “Where?” Nevaeh asked as she pulled her cell from her pocket.

  “On
one of the invoices in the manifest. I’ll show you,” he replied and turned to leave.

  “We need to get Customs here before we leave so they can take care of everyone here,” Nevaeh told him and called Bartlett.

  After a brief conversation, she ended the call and walked to the entrance of the container. “Anyone speak English?”

  “Yes,” a male voice called from somewhere within.

  “Good. Come forward and when the Customs agents get here, you can tell them what you remember,” she said as the young man who couldn’t have been over twenty walked forward. “What’s your name?”

  “Fernando,” he answered. “We have been in that container for many days.”

  “Okay, Fernando, when the agents get here, you can tell them anything you remember,” Harrison told him. “You’re all safe now.”

  “Thank you,” Fernando said and looked from Harrison to Nevaeh and Zach. “Thank you all.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “How many?” Karma asked and nodded toward the people filing off the ship.

  “Hundred and twelve,” Harrison answered. “Alive, and three dead.”

  “How long were they in there?” Dylan asked.

  “According to Fernando,” Nevaeh said and pointed to the young man who’d been helping them. “Six days.”

  “Surprised there weren’t more dead,” Karma mused and looked at the people again.

  “There were shelves of food and water in the container. Crompton wanted his delivery to be profitable once received,” Harrison said and looked at Fernando again. “Fernando said the three who died, died within the first two days.”

  “Okay. What else do we know?” Dylan asked.

  “Zach is going through the manifests right now. He remembered seeing Crompton’s name on one and is pulling it for us,” Nevaeh said. “Here he comes now.”

  “Hey,” he said as he approached. “I found it. It wasn’t from this shipment, but one from a couple weeks ago. We hauled a crate like that one to Boston.”

  He handed the manifest to Harrison and Harrison smiled. “This has an address on it.”

  “Well, hell, how convenient,” Karma said and grinned. “We need to get back to Baltimore now though. Fuller will get suspicious if we aren’t back soon.”

  “Yikes, it’s almost noon,” Harrison said and grinned. “I’m surprised he hasn’t called yet.”

  “Fuller?” Zach asked, looking at them in confusion.

  “He’s technically the one in charge of the VEB, but he’s a tool so we go around him whenever possible,” Karma answered and grinned. “He has his head up his ass more often than not.”

  “Sounds like someone I’d want to kill,” Zach commented, and they all laughed.

  “Karma almost has a couple times,” Dylan said between chuckles. “And I’m pretty sure we’ve all pictured it in our minds.”

  “Why don’t you come back with us, Zach?” Karma asked. “We can always use more good vampire helping with keeping things peaceful.”

  “I’d love to, but I still have three months on my contract. Once it’s up, I’ll look you up and see if the offer still stands,” he answered. “I think I would enjoy working with you four.”

  “The offer will still stand,” Harrison assured him and smiled. “We have to get going, and if anyone asks, we were never here.”

  “Who are you again?” Zach asked and grinned. “I can keep my mouth shut.”

  “Good,” Nevaeh said and smiled. “Here are our numbers. When your contract is up give one of us a call and we will get you in touch with the Senate. We will make sure you have a place with us.”

  “Sounds great. I will see you all in a few months. And if I’m on any more ships with crates like this one, I will call one of you with all the information. I can’t stand seeing innocent people harmed.”

  “Thank you,” Karma said and smiled. He winked flirtatiously before walking back toward the office building where the other crew members were being held.

  Dylan watched him as he walked away and once he was out of sight her turned to Karma, “I like him, but I’ll stake him if he does that too much.”

  Karma laughed and wrapped her hand around his. “You’re my one and only.”

  “Damn right,” he told her and kissed her deeply.

  “Okay, you two. Let’s get back to Baltimore so we can get Karma’s wood and meet with Fuller,’ Harrison said, and everyone cracked up.

  “Pretty sure Karma’s wood is in Dylan’s pants,” Nevaeh said and another round of laughed ensued.

  “Hahaha,” Harrison said and grinned. “She can play with that wood later, but right now, we need to go.”

  “There’s a lumber yard between here and there that has the wood we need to make us some new weapons,” Karma said as they climbed into the van. “I Googled it on the way here.”

  “Beautiful and brilliant,” Dylan said and grinned when Karma snorted.

  “Biased,” she replied, and he snorted.

  “I can only be biased if everyone didn’t see it too, but they do, so you are,” he countered and laughed at the look she gave him. “What? Ask anyone and they’ll tell you the same.”

  “You’re crazy,” she told him, and Nevaeh laughed.

  “You two sound like a couple of teenagers,” Harrison told them.

  “Umm, hello. I am a teenager,” Karma reminded him, and he frowned.

  “I forget that at times,” he confessed and glanced back at her. “You’re always so focused on the job we do, that you rarely act like an eighteen-year-old.”

  “I rarely feel like an eighteen-year-old,” she told him and sighed. “Okay, let’s get serious. We have to decide what we’re sharing with Fuller and what we aren’t.”

  “As little as possible,” Nevaeh answered and frowned. “If we’re right, he will know about the shipment interception soon enough.”

  “Oh, we’re right, we just have to get proof before taking it to President Isaac,” Karma said and thought a moment. “Okay, we don’t tell him anything. If he asks what took so long, we can tell him it took a while to find the wood I need for the weapons I’m making. We do, however, need to tell the Senate and put Gina on alert so she can keep her eyes open for anything odd going on around the house.”

  “I will call her while you’re looking for your wood,” Nevaeh assured her. “Their number one priority is Jackson’s safety.”

  “I’m just ready for this to be over. I miss Jackson,” Karma said and grinned at Dylan. “And I know Dylan misses him.”

  “We will be done here soon, and when we are, things with the VEB will be so much better,” Harrison assured her.

  “I know. Just missing home,” Karma said and frowned. “Our home in Virginia feels as much like home as my home in California did, and that feels very odd to me.”

  “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” Nevaeh said and looked over her shoulder at Karma. “I’ve thought about moving the Huntress compound to Virginia.”

  “That would be fantastic!” Karma said and shifted her attention to Harrison. “The lumber yard is at the next exit.”

  “Okay, let’s get what we need and head back,” he said as he exited off the highway. “The quicker this is finished, the quicker we can focus on the future.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “Where the fuck have you been?” Fuller asked as Karma and Nevaeh walked into the hotel.

  “One, that’s none of your business, and two, since I don’t work for, or answer to, you, refer back to one,” Nevaeh said and moved to walk past him.

  He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

  Snarling, she flipped him and had a dagger to his heart before he could blink.

  “If you ever grab me like that again, I will stake you and I don’t give a flying fuck who gets pissed off about it. You have absolutely no right to grab anyone like that, you stupid jackass,” she told him and pressed the dagger a bit harder before releasing him and jumping to her feet.

 
; “What’s going on?” Harrison asked as he and Dylan entered the lobby carrying the wood Karma had bought.

  “Fuller thinks that just because he’s head of the VEB it’s his business where we go,” Nevaeh answered and glared at Fuller. “And he feels he has the right to put his hands on people.”

  “I apologize. I have just been waiting half the day to discuss what our next steps will be,” Fuller said as he rose to his feet.

  “If you’re in that big of a hurry, then discuss it with your team and the Senate. We are working with you, not for you, and you do not need to know where we are at all times,” Nevaeh told him and moved to walk past him again. “Furthermore, if you ever decide to follow us when we leave in a Huntress van again, I will stake you without hesitation.”

  “When you get a chance, we do need to have a meeting,” Fuller said and looked at them all.

  “Can you talk while we work?” Karma asked.

  “Yes,” he answered and looked at the wood Dylan and Harrison were carrying.

  “Then let’s go,” she said and walked to the back of the lobby to the smallest conference room. “You can tell us what you need to while we carve our weapons.”

  “Okay,” Fuller said, and he started talking. “Since that warehouse is empty, and it seems Crompton has moved his base of operations, I was thinking we should leave Baltimore and head South.”

  “Why South?” Nevaeh asked as she pulled tools from the bag she carried.

  “I don’t know. Just a feeling, I guess,” he responded, and Karma looked at him.

  “A feeling?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. “Nothing pointing us in that direction other than your gut?”

  “Well, no, but I have learned to trust my instincts and they are saying South. Maybe North Carolina coast,” he replied, and Harrison shook his head.

  “I disagree,” Harrison said and looked at the others. “We were thinking North, maybe Boston.”

  Fuller’s head snapped up and the look on his face was pure fear. “Boston? Why?”

  “Because that’s where Crompton was last spotted,” Karma lied smoothly.