Agent Johnson Read online

  Agent Johnson

  Vampire Enforcement Bureau

  Book One

  Christina Escue

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2019 Christina Escue

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner. This is a work of fiction.

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to start by thanking each and every one of you who is reading this. If not for readers, authors would have no one to write for.

  I’d like to send out a very special thank you to my amazing beta team for taking the time to read, comment and correct. Y’all are invaluable to me. Thank you all so much for your feedback.

  Finally, I want to thank those lovely ladies who continue to support me and my writing no matter what. You know who you are, and you know, I love you all very deeply.

  Much love to all!!

  Chapter One

  Someone was coming Maggie realized as she woke in the cage she was being held in. When a group of people, people she was sure were vampire, entered the warehouse, she stiffened. These were new ones and she wondered if they were some more who’d come to sample their blood and see if they wanted to buy them. A few had been sold off already, and she was wondering if one of them was going to buy her this time. When she didn’t see any of the ones holding them, she started to wonder what was going on.

  “What the fuck?” The male with the mahogany colored hair asked quietly as they walked a little further into the warehouse.

  “Humans,” a male with the most beautiful milk chocolate skin she’d ever seen said as he sniffed the air around them. If any of them bought her, she kind of hoped it’d be him. She pushed that thought from her head before it could fully form, and focused on what they were saying.

  “Yeah,” the first male responded, and walked toward one of the other cages. “Blood slaves.”

  “What?” a very tiny female asked from behind him.

  “They’re blood slaves,” he told her. “I’m not sure if they’re being held here to be sold, or for another purpose, but they all have bite marks on their necks and wrists.”

  “Fuck,” the one who intrigued her said and a frown fell on his magnificent face. “We can’t leave them here.”

  “No,” the first agreed. “Call it in.”

  She watched as the tall one with the beautiful skin pulled a cell phone from the clip on his belt and pressed a couple of buttons as he waked away from where she was watching the group. There was something about these vampire that made her think they were different than any she’d encountered thus far, but she knew not to trust them. Vampire were evil, and she would never trust one again.

  As she watched the one who caught her attention, the first to speak approached her cage and kneeled before it.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” she said as she slid into the furthest corner of the cage.

  “I won’t,” he told her. “My name is Dylan, and I’m with the Vampire Enforcement Bureau. We’re going to get you, and everyone else, out of here.”

  “Vampire Enforcement Bureau?” She asked, still not relaxing any.

  “Yes,” He answered and motioned for the tiny female to join him. “We are a group of vampire who are working to keep other vampire from breaking our new laws.”

  “Who is she?” Maggie asked, looking at the female.

  “My name is Nikki, and I’m a Vampire Huntress,” she answered. “My sisters and I are working with the VEB to help keep things like what’s happening here from happening again.”

  “You’re human,” Maggie realized, and her eyes widened.

  “I am,” Nikki answered. “And Dylan here is half human.”

  “The others are on their way,” the one who was on the phone reported before walking to the others in the warehouse. “Let’s start unlocking these cages.”

  “Wait,” Maggie said and looked at him. “The locks have alarms on them. If one is opened without the keycode, the alarm will sound and the ones holding us will be here in just a few seconds.”

  “Let’s wait for the others to get here,” Dylan said and looked at her. “What’s your name?”

  “Maggie,” she answered.

  “How long have you been here, Maggie?” Nikki asked.

  “I don’t know,” she responded.

  “When were you taken?” Dylan asked her.

  “January,” she answered. “I was shopping with my Mom, then everything went black. When I woke up, I was here and have been here, or somewhere similar, since.”

  “How old are you?” Dylan asked.

  “Twenty,” she answered. “What month is it now?”

  “April,” Nikki answered. “Today is April third.”

  “Where are you from?” Dylan asked, trying to keep her talking while they waited for the others.

  “Miami,” she answered. “Where are we?”

  “Orlando,” the handsome one 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.

  Maggie watched as three of the ones holding them fell and was slightly shocked by the speed of the blonde who entered the warehouse with the tall female with nearly black hair.

  She listened as they talked for a moment, and watched the facial expressions of the one, one of the most beautiful creatures she’d ever seen.

  What is wrong with me? She thought as she shook herself a little. He was a vampire, and even though he was part of the Vampire Enforcement Bureau, she knew he had to drink blood in order to survive, and that made him a monster like the ones who’d taken her.

  When one of the new arrivals suggested they open the cages, the one she was watching 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 w
ill show up.”

  “How many have you seen, Maggie?” Dylan asked, and looked at the vampire and Huntresses with him.

  “I’ve seen about thirty different ones,” she said, and Dylan frowned.

  “That’s a big organization,” the agent who was standing in front of her cage 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,” the dark-haired female 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.”

  Everything from that point went very quickly, and before Maggie knew what was happening, it was over.

  “Wow,” she said from her cage, still a little afraid to come out.

  “Let me help you,” the intriguing one 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.”

  “What’s your name?” Maggie asked 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?”

  “Twenty-four.”

  “And how long have you been a vampire?”

  “I was changed in nineteen-eighty.”

  “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, and she heard something in his voice she couldn’t place. “Most of the people I have fed from never knew what was happening.”

  “Most?”

  “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?”

  “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?”

  “Yes, but let’s make sure you’re okay first.”

  Chapter Two

  “Leland?” Maggie asked as he drove her toward the nearest hospital. “What’s going to happen now?”

  “Right now, we’re going to get you checked out by a doctor. Then, like I told you back at the warehouse, we’re going to the house Karma and her family are staying,” he answered and glanced at her. “You will be safe there.”

  “I don’t know why, but I trust you.”

  “I promised you I would not hurt you in any way. You can trust me, and you can trust Karma’s family.”

  “Tell me more about them, please.”

  “Karma is eighteen and suffered a loss like the one I had. Her mother, step-dad, and three younger brothers were murdered by her biological father. He was an evil vampire who wanted her to join him so he could hand her over to Crompton, the vampire we’re hunting, the vampire who owns that warehouse we found you in. She was injured pretty badly about two weeks ago and one of the Senate members turned her into a full vampire to keep her alive. Dylan, her lifemate, is twenty-four, and like Nikki told you, he’s a Halfling, which is half human, half vampire. He has all the speed and abilities of a full vampire without the restrictions of surviving on blood alone. Nevaeh was human until four weeks ago when she was nearly killed by vampire sent by the former VEB leader. She killed him a week later, and Harrison is Dylan’s father. I have no idea exactly how old he is, but I do know that in his human life he owned a whorehouse and wasn’t a very good person. He wasn’t a very good vampire either, until he met Mary, Dylan’s mother. Now he’s an agent, even though he refuses to take the title, and works to help keep the vampire community in check.”

  “You know a lot about them all,” she mused and glanced at him.

  “I’ve worked with them for the past seven months, Maggie. We’ve fought side by side, and back to back several times. Both Karma and Harrison have saved my life at least once, and Karma is the strongest and fastest vampire I’ve ever met, and I’ve met the seven members of the Vampire Senate.”

  “You like her,” Maggie said and looked back out the window as they pulled into the emergency room parking lot of the hospital.

  “I do, but not like you’re meaning,” he told her. “She reminds me of my younger sister.”

  “How many siblings do you have?”

  “I had five,” he answered. “Three older and two younger.”

  “Will you tell me about them?” She asked as they entered the hospital.

  “After you’re cleared, I will tell you anything you want.”

  “Thank you,” she said as she reached out and grabbed his hand.

  “You’re welcome,” he responded as he gave her hand a little squeeze before letting it go and walking to the nurses’ station. “Hello, I’m Agent Leland Johnson with the Vampire Enforcement Bureau, and I brought one of the people we rescued from the warehouse in to be checked out.”

  “Oh,” the nurse said and flashed him a smile before handing him a clipboard. “Just have them fill out these papers, and a doctor will be with you shortly.”

  “Thank you,” he responded with a small nod and took the clipboard from her hand.

  “You’re welcome, Agent,” she replied and winked at him. “I’ll be right here when you’re ready with the paperwork.”

  He nodded again before walking back to Maggie and handing her the clipboard.

  “She was awfully flirty,” Maggie commented, and Leland looked at her for a second before shrugging.

  “I didn’t notice,” he told her honestly and motioned for her to take a seat. “Once those papers are filled out you can be seen by a doctor.”

  “I don’t have any identification,” she told him as she sat in one of the chairs and started filling out the paperwork.

  “That won’t be an issue,” he responded and sat beside her.

  “But, how will I pay for this?”

  “Please just fill out the papers so you can be medically cleared by a doctor,” he said and looked at her sternly. “We can worry about everything else once you’re cleared.”

  “Okay,” she said nearly silently, and looked at the papers in her hand.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her again. “I would rather cut off my hands than hurt you.”

  “Okay,” she said and started writing again.

  “Margaret Torres,” he said softly as he looked at what she wrote.

  “Please never call me Margaret,” she responded as she filled in her birthdate.

  “It’s a lovely name,” he replied, and looked at her.

  “Maybe, but the one I was named after was not a lovely person, and I never use Margaret now.”

  “Okay, Maggie,” he said, and her smile brought one to his face.

  He watched her for a few minutes as she filled out the papers, and when she was done, he took the clipboard from her hands and carried it back to the nurses’ station.
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  “All done, Agent Johnson?”

  “Yes,” he responded and handed her the clipboard. “Please let the doctor know she does not like to be called Margaret. Her name is Maggie.”

  “Okay,” she said and looked over at where Maggie had risen to her feet and was walking toward them. “She looks like she’s been through hell.”

  “She has,” he responded. “And I’d like to get her somewhere safe before nightfall.”

  “I’ll hurry this along, but we have about fifteen others from the warehouse that are in bad condition so it could be a little while.”

  “We will be right here,” he responded and glanced at Maggie.

  “I’ll call her back when I can,” the nurse assured him.

  “Thank you,” he said and nodded before turning to Maggie. “Once we’re finished here, we will get you something to eat. I can hear your stomach rumbling, but I want to make sure it’s okay to let you eat before I get you food.”

  “They fed us in there,” she told him. “It wasn’t much or often, but they wanted to keep us alive.”

  “Yes, because they couldn’t make money off you if you were dead,” he said and reached out to run his fingers down her hair. “No one will ever harm you like that again.”

  “You can’t promise me that,” she told him and looked at her feet.

  “I will protect you,” he reminded her. “I will protect you with my life.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because you deserve to be protected,” he responded and motioned to the chairs they’d vacated. “Sit, and let me tell you a little about myself while we wait.”

  “Okay,” she replied and looked into his milk chocolate colored eyes for a second before turning back to the chairs. Once they were both seated, he started talking.

  “I was born on September eleventh nineteen fifty-six in Dallas Texas. My dad had been drafted to Vietnam about six months before I was born and was killed three weeks after I was born. I never knew him, but my mama always told me he was a good man, a hard-working man. When I was six my mama married again, and we moved to Miami. My step-dad wasn’t a good man.”

  “How so?”

  “He was abusive, very abusive, to my mom and us kids. When my oldest brother got big enough to finally defend us, my step-dad took off and we never heard from him again.”