Chapter 12

 

After Lucas left, the boys and I got to work on our new plan. Kyle lifted his walkie-talkie. “Shift change. Oliver, Jared, and Markus to Charlie’s apartment.”

We were on point now. Time to put the “Ryder rescue and escape from Hive plan” into motion. First step, we needed all hands on deck. There were so many different elements to the success of this plan, and if even one got messed up, it could screw the entire thing sideways.

Pushing through the boys, I threw both of them a towel. They were only a little damp in places but I needed to change. Stepping up to my closet, I pulled out clubbing gear. If I was going to play this part, I was going to do it right.

Waiting until Kyle and Sam had left, the boys closing the door behind them, I stripped off my soaked clothing and shimmied myself into new underwear and a short black dress, a dress I had been waiting for the perfect moment to wear.

I’d had this piece handcrafted by an ash who specialized in concealed weaponry. The material was soft, flowing, but still tight in the right places. I could run, climb, and kick ass in this thing without a problem. There were even little sewn-in booty shorts so I didn’t crotch flash anyone while laying a smackdown.

I added black tights and calf-high black boots, which had small side inserts for a few knives. I strapped on the thigh holster, and as I dropped the dress down I was more than pleased to see that it was invisible under the dress. That dressmaker ash was a freaking genius.

A few moments in the bathroom for dark makeup and sexy, tousled hair. We didn’t want anyone to think we were anything but party people tonight—stupid, drunk, and out-of-control.

By the time I stepped into the living area, six males were standing around, hulking out the place. I gave a bit of a wolf-whistle. “Well, don’t you boys clean up nice. I’m totally looking forward to a night of fun. I need a break from all the stress in my life.”

I was slipping into my role, hoping like hell that whomever was listening on the other side of the bugs in here was relaying this shit word for word. It pissed me off so bad that we were under constant surveillance and had to watch everything we said. Thank God we’d be long gone from here soon.

Jayden stepped out from the shadows and threaded his arm through mine. “I dressed them up. Poor things can’t seem to get out of enforcer black.” He kissed me soundly on the cheek. “And don’t you look gorgeous. Unlike them, you should wear this little black dress much more often.”

I grinned, my eyes shifting across the enforcers as I took much more notice of their clothing this time. Hot dayum, Jayden had done a fantastic job as the stylist tonight.

Jared was in a fitted, olive-green shirt. It clung to his honed muscles and brought out the real blond Aussie surfer thing he had going on. Markus wore green also, but it was a different shade, much lighter, and his beard was neatly trimmed, a perfect man-bun on top. He looked extra-bulked and tall tonight, his combat boots topping him out near six and half feet. Oliver was all Latino lover. He had on a dark gray dress shirt, and slacks, and I knew Jayden had drooled the entire time he was picking out that outfit. Sam was still pretty much in black, although I caught a peak of a white cotton shirt beneath his leather jacket. He was epitome of tall, dark and mysterious. The last of the sexy six, Kyle, wore a blue shirt which brought out the lighter highlights in his dirty-blond tousle of hair. As our eyes clashed, I could see how unhappy he was. Like me, he was not taking this thing with Ryder well. But we were going to sort it out tonight.

 

Our mood was falsely jovial as we made our way to the karaoke lounge. The Hive was pumping tonight, and there seemed to be a great mix of ash and vampires around. I liked that. More victims for us. In a sad way, I was really looking forward to the next hour. I was not only going to let loose in the club, but I was getting my Ryder back. Bastards had messed with the wrong unicorn ash.

I threw my head back and started to dance as I entered the room. The music was blaring, and as we stepped further into the dark room, the beat enveloped me. All of us headed straight to the bar. The plan was in motion, and the next thirty minutes were the most important. We had to be seen drinking. A lot.

There were ash behind the bar, even though vampire females were prowling the floor taking orders. Kyle leaned in and ordered our first round of shots, the special vampire moonshine ones, and also a chaser beer for each of us. The moonshine was potent; it would knock me on my ass, but I wasn’t planning on actually drinking it. The second the shot glasses and bottles were in front of us, we gathered our drinks closer. I grabbed my beer first, pretending just to take a sip, before discreetly gulping down half the bottle.

“Ready?” Kyle grinned, flashing those perfect teeth at me. I gave him a wink in return.

The seven of us lifted the clear glasses and took the shot. I made a face, managing to keep the disgusting contents in my mouth, before lifting the bottle and spitting it into the beer.

I shuddered a little. Hopefully these shots weren’t so potent that I’d still get drunk from just having it in my mouth, because I was pretty sure I could spit fire right now. We continued this for thirty minutes, ordering beers and shots like they were going out of fashion. The bit of alcohol I was getting was enough to loosen me up, and then it was easy to start acting drunk. We were drawing attention, the enforcers around me were both feared and revered amongst the ash, even tolerated by the vampires, sort of. Not to mention the rumors were running wild about why our security clearance had been revoked and where Ryder was. Vamps were gossiping bitches.

When a new song came on—this group of karaoke wannabes were a lot better than the last—I let out a shriek and grabbed Kyle’s hand, dragging him away from the bar and toward the dance floor.

“Wheee!” I squealed, pulling him into the fray, smashing against people as we went. I flailed my arms in a ridiculous version of dancing, even managing a couple of leg kicks which knocked down more than one vampire around me.

Kyle threw back his head and laughed. Somehow he’d managed to bury his anger deep enough to pretend with me. Both of us kept this up, creating more than a little ruckus on the dance floor. Kyle reached out and captured both of my hands, spinning me around. Ash and vamps were diving out of our way, but we made sure to extend our reach and still bump a lot of them. Aim of the game: annoyance. And we were on fire.

Finally, we nudged the wrong vampire. Knew it couldn’t be long before their arrogance kicked in and someone decided to put us stupid ash in our place. I anticipated the shove, but because I was supposed to be drunk as a skunk, I pretended to trip and I hit the ground hard. Kyle roared above me, in a pissed off cave-ash type of way. Then it was on.

The vampire I had nudged was now locked into a brawl with Kyle. I allowed myself one quick glance to the far wall and saw Lucas enjoying some blood wine before I jumped up and threw myself into the fight. Forcing my movements to remain staggered and clumsy, I swung around and cracked the vampire, who had Kyle in a headlock, in the back.

I let out a crazy sort of giggle. Everyone had to continue to believe we were hammered. One of the ash bartenders leapt over the bar and came at me full force.

“Break it up!” he yelled, reaching for me.

Sorry, buddy, you’re kinda cute, but you’re going down. I gave him a strong upper cut to the jaw and he flew back as I let out another fake cackle of drunken laughter. Another bartender flew over the bar, but Sam tripped him before he reached the dance floor.

Suddenly Lucas was stalking towards us with two meaty vampires at his side. I fell to the ground still laughing, making sure everyone got a good view of my bootyshorts. Drunk chicks did stupid shit like that all the time. I should know because … Tessa.

I gave a silent cheer as Kyle flipped the vampire over his shoulder and slammed him on the ground. The enforcer grabbed at his mouth and began to laugh as well.

Lucas shouted loud enough for all to hear: “Throw these idiots in the pit. They’re completely intoxicated.”

The vampire that Kyle had attacked stood to his full height now and glared at us. Suddenly meaty vampire #1 had my arms behind my back. I pretended to wobble and sway as he dragged me out of there with Kyle at my side.

“Screw you,” Kyle slurred as meaty #2 jabbed him hard in the back. Kyle and I let our heads drop and our words mumble as we shuffled our feet along to the elevator.

We were dragged over to the special red elevator, meaty #1 and #2 using their security clearance to call it up. Entering the elevator, I met Kyle’s eyes for a split second, and knew he was ready to rock and roll.

It had killed Sam and the rest of the crew to stay back and allow us to get our asses kicked, but the plan required just me and Kyle to get into the pit. The others were off doing their part now. My eyes flicked between the two meaty asshats. If I was being honest, I was a little nervous about taking my meathead down. I had never fought a full-blown vampire before. But we needed their access cards since ours were confiscated.

Kyle straightened, and it was time to put part two of the plan in motion.

“Dood, I gutta piss,” Kyle slurred.

I nodded, slouching and swaying at the same time. “Just go … just let it go.”

Meaty #2 freaked, pushing Kyle away from him, which released the enforcer’s hands from behind his back.

“You will not piss in this elevator!”

Kyle, now hands free, grabbed at his zipper. “I can’t stop, dude, I’m too … too…”

He fumbled, getting the zipper down before reaching inside of his pants. I seriously wanted to laugh my ass off at how horrified both meaties looked right then, but I needed to use this distraction to my advantage. I pretended to fall forward, and was relieved when my hands were released.

Elevator fight in 3 … 2 … 1…

Slipping my hands into my boot I yanked out a blade. At the same time Kyle pulled one from a secret pocket right near his junk. Brave dude.

All fake drunkenness gone, we had the complete element of surprise. Gripping the knife tightly, I sprang up and whammed the hilt up into meaty #1’s nose, hearing the satisfying crunch of bone. As he leaned forward to grab his face I came down hard with the butt of my heavy blade and cracked at the base of the skull. The entire two-step maneuver had been fast and smooth. The sexy six would be proud of me. Those sergeant hardasses had been drilling this type of knock-out move into me over and over in training. Nice to know the boys riding my ass in the least sexy way was actually paying off.

Meaty #1 fell and I looked up just in time to see Kyle snap meaty #2’s neck. Okay, so I guess if you caught them off guard, fighting a vamp wasn’t so bad. Kyle gave me a fist bump and then I returned my knife to my boot, thankful I hadn’t had to use the pointy end. The elevator was three floors from reaching the Pit so I quickly slipped my hand inside my dress and came up with two stainless steel razor-wire zip ties.

Kyle raised his eyebrow. “Damn, girl.”

I winked, handing him one of the ties. We both made quick work of strapping the meaties’ hands behind their backs. Then, as the elevator dinged and the doors started to open, Kyle smoothed his hair and I checked myself for blood.

Before stepping out, I pulled the button to pause the elevator. We were definitely going to need to make a quick escape. Then we quickly dragged the meat twins out and deposited them off to the side of the main entrance.

Leaving them, we crossed the dank, underground area. I started praying Lucas had come through for us. Without him, the rest of the plan would sink. Moving toward the bright reception spot, we approached the old-looking guard, Marty, who basically lived down here and knew everything about this place.

My blood turned to ice when another figure stepped into the light and I realized Marty was talking to a member of the Quorum. A female. She was one of the more silent members but I remembered her making rude jokes when they drew my blood last. She was on my bitch list.

There was nowhere for Kyle and me to hide, and since the sound of our footsteps had already echoed through the tunnel, we were immediately spotted. As she took a step toward us, her eyes blazed in anger.

Shit. Not part of the plan. Marty was supposed to be alone and Sam was supposed to have wired a large sum of money into his human family’s bank account to ensure his cooperation. Lucas said Marty hated being relegated down here to the bowels of the Hive, hidden away. He had plenty of beef with vampires and therefore made the perfect ally.

With no other option, Kyle set off at a sprint, charging the Quorum member. Marty didn’t even hesitate to jump out of the way, so I was guessing he was still in on the plan. I pulled my knife out again and charged down the narrow and dark hall right behind Kyle.

Quorum bitch stood there dumbfounded, her jaw slack. The last thing she’d expected was that we’d attack her—lowly ash should only bow to vamps.

She took a step back, recovering enough to sneer at us. “You wouldn’t!”

Kyle slammed into her. They hit the ground as he threw out an elbow, cracking her in the throat. I used my height advantage to leap over them, landing on the other side of the grappling pair, turning back to try and find a way to help my friend.

The Quorum member was nailing Kyle—who was on top—with her red talon claws. The moment she had a good grip on his biceps, she threw him so hard into the air his back cracked into the ceiling. Oh hell to the no, bitch!

She didn’t even see me coming. My hand flew down hard, jamming the knife into her eye. A scream ripped from her as Kyle landed on all fours next to her. He stumbled a little from the fall, but recovered in an instant to dive across her and wrap his hands around her neck. She missed his movements, distracted by the blade still lodged in her eye.

As he choked her out, I leaned down, full of rage, and whispered in her ear, “Welcome to the culling.”

Kyle snapped her neck. I knew enough about vampires to know this would only keep her down for a little while. She would heal in a few hours. And we so didn’t have time to kill the bitch. Plus, our escape would already have enough of the vamp world gunning for us. No need to increase our list of offences.

My eyes were surely blazing as I straightened and locked Marty in my gaze. He was still flat against the wall, looking very pale and shaky. Before I could start demanding, the vamp extended his hand. Cradled in his palm was a set of keys. “Ryder’s in cell one-thirty-eight. Always respected him. Was a pleasure to work with.”

Marty was turning out to be one of the least stupid and evil of the vamps.

Kyle took the key and nodded at him. “Shit’s going to get rough around here. Do you have anyone you can stay with?” The enforcer didn’t want repercussions of our actions befalling the poor vampire that the Hive thought was too old to do anything but sit in the pit guarding criminals.

Marty nodded. “My granddaughter has a cabin on Mount Hood.”

Kyle clapped him on the shoulder. “Take care.”

We wasted no more time, both of us dashing through the halls. I tried my best to ignore the screams and pleas which could be heard through so many of the doors. I wondered for a brief moment how many prisoners were actually in here, and what the ratio of ash to vampires was. Bet the ash were on the higher end; they were always a target. Though maybe they just killed ash when they screwed up too badly. Grr. I really had to stop thinking about that. Ryder was the priority.

I let Kyle lead us to cell one-thirty-eight. It took about eight minutes of winding through the underground prison system. Holy shit balls, I’d had no idea there were so many cells down here—they could seriously hold thousands. When we finally reached the right section and door, I lifted a shaking hand to the lock. It took me more than a few attempts but I managed to click it across. Kyle slammed a flat palm against the metal frame and my breath caught as we looked into the small, dingy, damp-scented room.

“Ryder,” I said in a rush, my feet moving before I could think twice. I closed the distance, dropping to his side, the key falling from my hand as I reached for him lying stomach down on the cold, dirty floor. He was naked from the waist up and his back was a mass of red welts, as if he’d just been whipped or something. WTAF?

I swung my head around to find Kyle’s furious face above mine. “He needs blood. They’ve starved him and that’s why he’s not healing,” he said, letting out an enraged snarl. With a whoosh of air he was gone. Whoa, he was totally going to kill someone right now. Hopefully he remembered to grab some blood too.

Turning back to Ryder, I was startled to see his head had shifted to the side and his eyes were now open.

“Charlie?” His words were hoarse, and I could see him swallowing hard as if trying to find some moisture. “You can’t be here … too dangerous.”

He started to push himself up, fatigue and pain racking his features. I flapped around for a bit, trying to find a place to put my hands that wouldn’t hurt him, before finally managing to slip in under his arms to help him into a sitting position.

I leaned in closer, my heart hurting to see him like this. Of course, he was still a big toughie, trying to stand up in case anyone came for us. I held him down, leaning in to whisper. “Kyle’s gone to find you some blood, then we have to get out of here. The Quorum is coming for me, for all of us, and it’s not safe here any longer. Once you can walk, we have to cure the little girl, and then get the hell out of Dodge.”

His eyes were a big swirl of silver as they examined my face, and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning forward and resting my forehead against his. “Shit, I’m so glad to see you alive, even though the vampires need to all die for throwing you into this asshole pit.”

Ryder breathed deeply against my cheek. “Been worried about you. Knew the boys would have your back, but the Quorum … tortured me … wanted to know everything about you.”

Dammit. They were totally coming after me and targeting all of my loved ones in the process. I tried to keep my anger from bubbling over. There was no time for the major meltdown, hissy-fit I wanted to throw. Ryder and I both reacted at the scraping sound from behind us. I was up and crouched in front of him, another knife from my boot in my hand, when Kyle dashed around the corner.

“Got the blood,” he said, lifting two bottles up. “Marty was gone, but there is a little fridge beneath his desk. Lucky he drinks the same as Ryder.”

Kyle must have noticed then that his best friend was partially up off the floor. He dived down to kneel beside him. “Fuck, man!”

Somehow everything this dude needed to say was in those two words, his fear, worry, pain, anger, relief—two goddamn words.

Ryder’s arm was steady as he took the first bottle and downed it in seconds. He’d be extra thirsty with his body trying to heal those injuries. Blood really was a miracle cure for us.

The change started instantly. Already his tawny color was returning, strength clear in his body. The second bottle disappeared just as fast, and Ryder was able to stand without any assistance from us. Kyle reached over his head and pulled his shirt off. He was wearing a white muscle tee underneath. He handed the button dress shirt to Ryder.

“Throw this on. We have to get out of here. I’m not sure how much longer we have. Quorum bitch was still out when I got the blood, but she could come around at any point.”

Ryder nodded, and barely even winced as he slid into the blue shirt. It was a little tight around the chest and arms but it would do for now. Wasting no more time, we took off through the pit. Ryder seemed to be gaining strength in leaps and bounds. Reaching out, he captured my hand, his eyes expressing a plethora of emotions.

“Thank you for rescuing me.”

Damn, I wanted to kiss him so bad, even smelling like dirty-ass pit floor. I loved that he didn’t carry on about me putting myself in danger to come down here, or go all cave-man. He just thanked me with sincerity and respect.

“You too, bud.” He turned to Kyle for a split second before his focus was back on me.

“We aren’t rescued yet. Let’s get the hell out of here before there’s a thousand vamps gunning for our ass,” Kyle said.

Shit! Gun … right. Might be time to switch out the knives for a weapon that could actually put a bloodsucker down. I slipped the blade into my boot and yanked out the pistol, even while on the run. That was how badass my clothes and accessories were. If I had time, I would have had that ash make me fifty of these outfits. One in every damn color.

We made it through the pit and back to Marty’s desk without anyone stopping us. Quorum bitch was still on the floor; the elevator was still open and waiting for us. I wondered how Marty had gotten out—maybe Kyle had called it back down when he got the blood. Either way, I hoped it was a sign that luck was on our side.

We passed the still unconscious meaties and dashed inside. As soon as the doors closed we were zooming up. Kyle immediately turned to fill Ryder in on the rest of the plan.

“So by now Oliver and Jayden should be at the first safe point. They took one of the vehicles loaded up with the blood and supplies. Jared is in the other car, waiting outside of the grounds for the rest of us. Markus and Sam were going to stage the breakout for the little girl, so all that’s left is for Charlie to cure her, then we can get her ferried away to the one of the compounds. Sam has a contact in line to pick her up.”

Sam had been working his ass off making sure the plan with the child went off without a hitch. Just like with me, she had struck a real nerve with the silent enforcer.

“How did they get out of the compound without their access cards?” Ryder asked. “And where do we find the girl now?” The lead enforcer’s eyes shifted toward the elevator panel. We were almost at the top.

“Sam rigged them to open without setting off the alarm. We timed their departure for guard shift change. Since we were in the pit, we have no idea if they made it out without alerting the vamps. Hopefully they did though. We had to get the cars out, otherwise we’ll be screwed trying to escape on foot.”

It hurt my heart to think about leaving here without Tessa. I wanted so badly to try and find her one last time, tell her that I loved her, but I couldn’t risk the rest of my family because of her stubborn single-mindedness. I just had to hope Blake and Lucas would keep her safe, especially since something told me that when the Quorum found out I’d escaped, they would be all over my friends like a bad rash.

Ryder interrupted my morbid thoughts. “You didn’t tell me where we find the girl.”

“She should be stashed in that laundry room which opens to the outside. We figured it was the easiest place to escape from with her. Sam left us a trail to follow. There’s supposed to be a space in the fence line which will be free from alarms.”

Ryder gave a chuckle as the elevator dinged to let us know we were at the top. “What would we do without Sam?”

Kyle also laughed. “Funny thing is, he has really pulled out all of his skills since Charlie arrived. Methinks he has a little soft spot for our unicorn ash.”

Ryder nodded, and looked at me. “Who doesn’t?”

I batted my eyelashes at him. “If Kyle weren’t here and we weren’t running for our lives, I would totally—”

The elevator dinged again, cutting me off, and the boys laughed. Comic relief was like my nervous tic. As the doors to the ground level opened, we sobered immediately.

Uh oh. We had a big problem. Four hulking vamps were waiting for us, and a ton of people were running in the background.

“Plan B!” I shouted, simultaneously smashing the close and down buttons.

The four vamps rushed at the closing doors, but they had been just too far away to make it before we were cut off.

“Shit!” Ryder said, and since he didn’t swear much I knew we were extra screwed.

As the steel box made its rapid descent, Kyle looked at Ryder. “We haven’t been rock climbing in forever.”

Ryder shook his head. “No, it’s too dangerous.”

Kyle leaned around us to pull the stop button. “I don’t see any other way. This elevator only goes to two places—ground and pit. They’re clearly waiting for us on ground. It’s just lucky these shaft systems all connect between the different elevators.”

Ryder took this moment to fully check me out, from my hair down to my feet. “Can you climb in those boots, Charlie?”

I put a hand on my hip, giving him my sassiest look.

Kyle grinned. “That’s a yes.”

Ryder exhaled loudly, lacing his hands together and forming a step. Kyle moved closer and inserted his foot into the handhold and pushed off hard. This pit elevator was larger than most, with ceilings almost fifteen feet high. The enforcer managed to knock out the ceiling access panel. It clattered to the side, leaving a large gaping hole in the ceiling. As Kyle landed, he wasted no time stepping into Ryder’s hands again.

This time the lead enforcer crouched low and with an impressive display of strength, launched his best friend up through the hole. With a whoosh of air, Kyle disappeared, his mess of dirty-blond hair appearing seconds later as he stared down at us from the top of the metal box. He crooked a finger at me and I knew that meant it was my turn.

FYI, plan B sucked. This was like stupid shit they did in the movies that ended badly for everyone.

“Charlie…” Ryder motioned for me to jump up. Never one to expose my weakness, I swallowed hard and shoved my left boot in his hands. With far more power than I expected, he tossed me up into the air. My shriek got lodged in my throat as I forced my eyes to remain open, which was a big help as I grasped onto Kyle’s outstretched hands. The enforcer’s strong arms easily held my weight and he dragged me up. I chanced a quick glance down, knowing my booty-shorts-clad butt was all up in Ryder’s face.

“Enjoying the view?” I called down to him as Kyle finished pulling me through the hole. I lost sight of my dark-haired enforcer when Kyle shifted me across to balance on the metal slats beside him. He then turned back to lean through the hole.

I could hear Ryder chuckling. Then somehow he made the leap up to grasp onto Kyle’s forearms. Dude could jump like a freaking NBA superstar. It was moments like these that I realized how incredibly sexy and strong these boys were. Of course, Kyle most likely had a hernia now after pulling big-ass Ryder up, but at least he could be secure in how sexy and strong he looked.

“What now?”

I was pretty sure the muted siren had just started to blare. The Quorum would be figuring out how to break into the elevator system soon.

Ryder motioned for us to follow him as he moved across to the large cables which were keeping us from plunging to our death. “The sirens mean lockdown,” he said “All members of the Hive will be urged to go to their living quarters. All doors will be sealed, all hallways monitored by cameras, and the people hunting us will most likely have shoot to kill orders.”

“Awesome,” I said, heavy on the sarcasm.

A loud rumble rocked the floor, and I used the cables to anchor myself as another elevator passed next to us. I tried really hard not to squeal, but holy scary.

Once the metal box passed and we could talk again, Ryder said, “That’s the other system, which goes the full length of the Hive. We need to make our way across to it.”

Kyle gestured to his wristwatch. “Sam put a tracker on me, so wherever we end up the boys will be there.”

Ryder’s face was now firmly looking like that of a man with a plan. “Alright, follow me.”