Chapter 6

 

Ten minutes later we were in a room full of filing cabinets. Jayden had told me plenty of times about this secret little room. Since he had to constantly log in blood donations and keep records of blood types and schedules of feeders, he knew the administrative side of the Hive. My fancy badge got us into the room and hopefully no one would pay attention to the security log, because while Jayden had a legitimate reason to come in here on occasion, I had none.

We were alone. The ten-foot-high rows of filing cabinets were menacing, casting shadows on the cement floors, making me paranoid. The room was small, maybe fifteen feet long and ten feet wide.

As we crept along one row Jayden whispered: “I overheard one of the ash saying that a few years ago the vampires were hacked and lost a lot of precious info. Since then they have printed everything and kept it in hard copy form.”

Everything? Holy shit. Could it be that easy? Their paranoia was going to make our snooping on the vamps that much easier. Not to mention, so many of the vamps were older than dirt, and found it hard to assimilate into the twenty-first century. Here’s hoping that we would just open one of these cabinets and find the dark secrets of the Hive. Why hadn’t Ryder and his boys done this before? Probably something to do with pit-style punishment if they were caught.

Eek, we’d better not get caught.

Knowing time was short, I began scanning the cabinet labels: Blood Types, Feeder Data, Hive Construction Permits…

“Boring,” I murmured, before moving on to the next one. It was equally as useless. As I rounded the first row I noticed that Jayden had stopped dead in front of a cabinet that looked different from the others. It was sturdier and had a key lock on the front, while the others had a simple push-button to open. Moving in behind him I read the label. Classified. And there we had the perfect example of the arrogance of vampires. Jayden jiggled the locking mechanism, and it was solid. Thick.

Dammit! Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. One of the Quorum members probably had the key. Oh well, we would just have to find another way to get the Hive’s dirty little secrets. Turning to leave, I did a double take as my bestie reached into his pocket and pulled out two bobby pins. He then started tinkering with them, straightening one and twisting the other.

He flipped up his head and gave me a sheepish look. “Don’t judge me for what you are about to see.”

I just stared at him, mystified, until he inserted both pins into the lock and began to twist them around. No way! My sassy BAFF knew how to break and enter with the skill of a master thief.

“Dude! Where did you learn to pick locks?” He’d told me he was a Portland native, and lock-picking was not a big skill around these parts.

“Girl, you don’t want to know. Growing up … the struggle was real.” He quipped and I laughed, stepping forward to give him a hug from behind.

Suddenly I heard a click and Jayden opened the drawer in one smooth move. Holy crap, we were going to be in serious shit if we got caught. Looking left and right to make sure we were still alone, I began to riffle through the folders. Names, dates, and businesses were labeled at the top. I picked one at random.

Jeff Burns, CEO of Global Oil, the label read. Popping the folder open, I scanned the contents. Holy hell on steroids. There were multiple payments issued from Global Oil to Portland Hive. In the back of the folder was a series of photographs showing who I assumed was Jeff Burns wearing a gag ball and leather bondage outfit, posing half naked on a bed. Okay, that shit was going to be burned into my brain for a really long time. Jayden, who was pressed close to my back, was reading over my shoulder. I had the uncomfortable feeling he was taking mental notes. Ugh. Just no. I had to draw the line at ball gags. Putting the folder back, I grabbed another.

Union Blood Bank, it read. Scanning the folder, I began to seethe. My mom worked for the local hospital. I recognized Union Blood Bank as one of the main donation centers for humans to give blood to save other humans. But no, according to this file, Union Blood Bank only gave twenty percent of their blood from humans to the hospitals. The rest was funneled to the Hive, against the humans’ knowledge or wishes.

These files were like crack. I needed more. Looking at Jayden, who was now on his own set of files, I saw he was open-mouthed staring hard.

“What? Another bondage scene?” My laughter died as I leaned over and saw a photo of an absolute bloodbath, a massacre I didn’t even want to describe or ever see again—pooling of blood, decapitated heads, entrails, organs. The victims had been torn to pieces.

Jayden spoke with a hollow voice: “Operation Freedom …when they killed all of the Originals.”

I gasped, opening and closing my mouth, trying to make sense of that carnage.

The sound of a slamming door jarred me out of it. Shit! Footsteps and voices could be heard coming towards us. Frickity frak! Jayden and I both shoved our files in the cabinet, uncaring where they ended up, before slamming the door shut. There was no sneaking out of this room. Every sound echoed off of the walls and there was only one exit. Trying to alleviate suspicion, we crept away from the classified cabinet, moving toward the more boring stuff.

“Who’s there?” a deep male voice called out.

We froze, and Jayden looked at me as if waiting for me to do something. Time to improvise. I quickly yanked off my shirt, exposing my bra. Jayden gave me a solid WTF look, before raising his brows like I was a crazy person who had just escaped from a padded room.

“Kiss me!” I whispered. His you’re insane look quickly morphed in one of disgust.

I smooshed my body against his and pressed my lips to the corner of his mouth. The footsteps stomped closer and with a faked gasp I pulled back from Jayden, feigning a caught expression and covering my chest.

It was a bit of a relief to see that it wasn’t a vampire, but Jose, the ash who had given me my first Hive tour. Another ash was close behind him. Jose looked at me, shocked. His eyes went from my shirt on the ground, to Jayden and then back to me.

“I … what…?” Jose started. The other ash looked just as confused. “I thought you were…”

Jayden smirked. “Sometimes I like to bat for both teams. Plus, it’s Charlie. Everyone wants a piece of unicorn ass once in their life.”

Luckily no one mentioned the fact that we were roommates, and could have just made out in our living area if we wanted to. I think the shock had fried their brains. I grabbed my shirt, throwing it on, already making plans to beat on Jayden later for calling me a piece of ass.

Jose recovered first, and started flapping his hands in an agitated manner. “Get out of here, you’re not supposed to be in here,” he said. Jayden grabbed my hand and we booked it out of there. The second we were far enough away, we broke into laughter.

Jayden shook his head back and forth. “I’m totally telling Oliver I kissed a girl. He will get a kick out of that.”

I chuckled, but then my face darkened at the memory of what we found. How deep did the Hive’s control go? We had spent five minutes looking through those files. What would we have found if we had more time? Was there a file on me in there? Shit, I should have looked for that first.

Each new piece of knowledge only cemented my feelings that I needed to do something to change the Hive world, to shake up the evil little vampire leaders. Not yet, but very soon. For now I would bide my time and suppress all that shit I’d just read.

Jayden and I wordlessly went back to my apartment. I decided that next time we were up on the roof together I would tell the boys what we’d discovered. I wondered if it would surprise them how deep the corruption ran. Probably not. They were already suspicious by nature.

 

The next day passed slowly, and by the afternoon I still hadn’t seen Ryder and was feeling bummed. We hadn’t really hung out since our kind of intense and emotional conversation and I was feeling insecure.

After visiting Jayden at the feeding center, I made it back to my apartment with Oliver and Kyle at my side. As my door came into view I couldn’t help the broad smile which broke across my face. Ryder was leaning against my door, one hand in his pocket, looking all kinds of sexy.

Ryder nodded to the boys. “I’ll take over watch now.”

The pair exchanged a glance, all smirks and raised eyebrows. Kyle gave me a wink as they walked away. I swallowed hard, and my belly heated at the thought of alone time with Ryder.

Dear God, please let this very hot ash badass finally take advantage of me. Love, Charlie.

After letting us inside, I realized there was no one else waiting for us. No other enforcers. Jayden wouldn’t be back for hours. He was working the late shift at the feeding center. I wondered why Ryder had relaxed the two guards at all times rule. It was the first time in days we’d been alone in my apartment.

“Wanna watch a movie?” I set the keys on the counter and turned around to find Ryder a few inches from my face, silver-black eyes scanning my body.

“Not really,” he said, his eyes falling to my lips.

Oh my gawd.

Ryder reached out and brushed my cheek. “Since becoming an ash I’ve barely slept more than a few hours straight. Until that night I slept next to you.” He paused, his expression turning playful. “Could have been the drugs, but I know in my gut that it was you. You have bewitched me, and now I can’t stay away from you.”

I grinned. “I thought I snored.”

He palmed the back of my neck. “You do, like a little kitten.”

I laughed and met his gaze as something intense built between us. We stayed locked in that stare for what seemed like forever.

“Charlie…” He stepped closer, and my hands found their way to his hips and the tight muscles there.

“Yes?” I panted in anticipation.

His lips brushed close to me. “You drive me crazy. I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you.”

He pulled back just in time for my lips to crash into his. He didn’t hesitate, gripping under my butt and lifting me up so I could straddle him. Our kiss deepened as he walked us back to my bedroom. I wrenched myself from him long enough to peel off my shirt, exposing my red lace bra. His hooded stare, as his gaze devoured my body, nearly sent me over the edge. Thank God Jayden had picked out my clothes today. Yep, even my underwear.

Ryder carefully laid me down on the bed, before kneeling between my legs. Pulling his shirt over his head, the entire time I was mentally chanting slower, slower, slower. Okay, I actually couldn’t wait to see him naked, but the show was so freaking good that I also wanted to draw it out. When he was finally naked from the waist up, I reached out a hand and dragged it across his hard abdomen. It was perfect again now, no marks or scarring from his surgery.

And holy lord of all things sexy, Ryder was a piece of work. Tan tight skin wrapped around rock hard muscle, swirling silvery eyes and twenty-four hours of stubble—he was so fine that my insides were constricting in pure need. Ryder seemed to be enjoying my perusal, but eventually our gravity grew too strong to ignore. Our lips met again, and the taste of him was like a shot of orgasm right to my girly parts. Somehow we got naked, magically, because I don’t even remember that part happening, but I sure as hell was glad that it did.

Ryder’s lips left mine as he started to kiss down my cheek and along the ridge of my jaw. My eyes rolled back in my head as he made his way along my neck. “You are insanely beautiful,” he murmured between kisses.

Perfect. Of all the shitty relationships I’d had, and there were more than a few on that list, Ryder and I had started off the rockiest and ended up the most perfect. I never in a million years would have imagined that this scary, military, badass ash enforcer who had electrocuted me my first day at the Hive, would end up loving me like this, with just the right amount of tenderness and passion. You know what they say? Don’t judge a book by its cover? Well, I had Ryder all figured out now; all bark and the hottest bite ever. He was mine and I was keeping him.

There was no stopping us now. I had been dreaming about touching him like this for so long. As he kissed his way to my stomach he lifted his head and our eyes met.

“You okay, Charlie?” There was lust in those eyes, but also concern.

I reached out and linked my hand through his. “You treat me right, Ryder, so don’t worry. I’ll let you know if I need more time.”

A low, rumbly growl rocked his chest, and he shifted up so our faces were even again. His strong arms framed either side of my body as he lowered himself down to me. “I will never hurt you. My every need is to protect you from whatever storm is coming. Just know you are always safe with me.”

I never realized love was strong enough to actually cripple an organ, but right then it felt as if my heart was going to explode. I laced my hands behind his neck and yanked hard enough to pull his weight onto me. Our kisses were frantic as we moved past any doubts or fears. Now was time for loving. Tomorrow we would worry about the storm.

 

The next morning, I rolled over to see Ryder asleep on his back, one arm behind his head, sheet pulled down to his waist. I took the second to stare, because he was yum. Holy yum. Last night had brought the relief we both needed, uh twice, and hopefully moved our relationship out of the hot and cold weird zone and into the solid steady zone. Something told me I was going to be using the B-word more frequently now.

I found myself grinning like a loved-up idiot, and despite that I wanted nothing more than to go for round three, I slipped out of the bed to brush my teeth and get ready.

When I came out of the bathroom, Ryder was standing next to my bed, wearing just his unbuttoned enforcer cargo pants, looking sleepy and sexy as hell.

Uh, round three please.

“If you’re not in the bed, then I’m going to need coffee,” he grumbled.

I laughed. “Aww, are you not a morning person?”

Some of the tired faded from his eyes, and I almost blushed as he took a slow leisurely inspection of my body. “I can be if you want me to be.”

Well, hello man of my dreams. I grinned. “Go shower. I’ll make coffee with a shot of blood.”

He smiled, before prowling across to me. “Perfect,” he said as he captured my mouth in a devastatingly sexy kiss on his way into the bathroom.

I needed a few moments after that to pull myself together. And to walk without my legs collapsing. Finally able to move, I strode out into the kitchen and saw Jayden was already at the table. He was wearing a big-ass grin, coffee mug in his hands. When I got near him, he squealed before dropping his cup and flapping his overly-excited hands.

“Shh, Ryder is in the shower,” I said, snorting out my laughter at his manic expression.

Jayden leaned forward, eyes wide. “Oh my God, tell me everything.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

Jayden’s face quickly turned deadly. His pointer finger came up in my face. “Bitch, I have been waiting months for this to happen. Like a soap opera, I’ve hung on every drama. You need to give me something.”

I chuckled again. He grabbed my hand and pulled me close, whispering, “Did you, ya know?”

I humored him. “Yes.”

Jayden’s mouth dropped open. “And? Is he like a dominatrix in the sack? I picture him tying you up and giving orders.”

“Oh my God, no. He’s a weirdly perfect mix of strong and sweet.”

Jayden looked disgusted. He let go of me. “Sweet? How boring.”

I shook my head. “Remind me never to ask about you and Oliver. I don’t even want to know what goes on behind those closed doors.”

Jayden batted his long eyelashes at me. “It’s anything but sweet, I’ll tell you that.”

Before I could retort, Ryder flung open my bedroom door looking pissed. The swirls of silver in his eyes were practically glowing. Unfortunately he was already dressed, wearing his clothes from last night. They looked slightly wet, like he had thrown them on without drying.

Shit.

I was on my feet, coffee forgotten. “What’s wrong?” My heart was racing. My hand went to my hip where I should have been wearing my walkie-talkie. I’d left it in the bedroom. Double shit!

“We got a call.” His voice was clipped as he ran through my kitchen, “A vampire infected a little girl … on purpose.”

“Oh hell no,” I breathed, and took off after him.

The more shit I heard about the vampires, the more I was sure I hated them.

 

Kyle and the boys were waiting for us at the Humvee. Thankfully one of them had the foresight to bring coffee and a few bottles of blood. Oliver looked as smug as Jayden when he scanned Ryder’s outfit and saw it was the one from the night before. He gave me the same knowing smartass smile as his boyfriend. Nosy ash.

The second we jumped into the car, Kyle gunned it.

“Give me a report,” Ryder ordered while chugging the coffee in one go.

Kyle’s face looked thunderous, his eyes black as night, and I was pretty sure he was flashing fang. “A fucking vampire infected a twelve year old girl. He attacked her.”

“God damn vampires!” Sam was the surprising owner of the angry voice. “They should all be eliminated.” There was that darkness which simmered under the surface of our normally silent enforcer.

“Where is the girl?” My heart was hammering. This was so not okay.

Kyle gritted his teeth. “That’s the really messed up part. She’s in the medical wing, recovering with the permission of the Quorum. They’re acting like this isn’t a big deal.”

Ryder’s face took on a stone cold deadly look. “What? Then where are we going?”

Kyle pointed to the road. “The humans found out and there’s a riot outside the gates. Our orders are to disperse the crowd.”

As we neared the gate to exit the Hive, I saw a bunch of picketers wearing masks. They had signs with Don’t touch our children! and Monsters! written on them.

“Stop the car!” Ryder ordered, and Kyle screeched the Humvee to a halt.

Ryder turned to all of us, staring each in the eyes. “We no longer take orders from the Quorum. I’m not doing this kind of dirty work any longer. If the vampires want this crowd gone, they can do it themselves.”

“That’s the sexiest thing you’ve ever said,” I told him, and he graced me with a rare grin.

“I reckon we head back in and mess up every vamp we find. What do you think, mates?” Jared called out.

The Aussie was growing on me. He was hot, he was lethal, and he was not taking shit from the Quorum any longer.

Ryder turned to Kyle. “I want you guys to go back to the locker room and wait for me. I’m going to see the Quorum. Alone.”

“I’m going with you,” I stated as Kyle turned the car around.

Ryder glared at me. “No way. The Quorum already has it out for you.”

I crossed my arms. “Yes way. Lucas won’t let them hurt me.”

I knew the second it came out of my mouth that it was the wrong thing to say.

Ryder’s features hardened, but there was a wounded look in his eyes. “I won’t let anyone hurt you either, Charlie.”

My face fell as the guys all started to stare with great focus out the window.

“I know,” I squeaked. I hadn’t meant to imply that Ryder couldn’t protect me. I just did my usual speak before thinking thing.

Thankfully a distraction arrived in the form of Kyle parking the Humvee back in the garage. None of us wasted time exiting the vehicle and dashing through the Hive. I stayed right by Ryder, even after we left the other five guys at the locker room. I could tell he still wasn’t happy about me coming along, but he was learning not to argue with my stubborn butt. Of course, I had no doubt that if he’d felt that strongly about me staying behind, I’d probably be tied up next to Kyle right about now.

We made our way to the medical wing. Before using his key card to open the door, Ryder turned to look at me. “Don’t do anything stupid.” His tone was serious, but there was a spark of humor across his eyes.

I feigned an innocent look. “Who, me?”

He pressed a quick kiss on my lips. “I didn’t get a chance to say good morning.”

Grinning further, I nodded. “It was a good morning … could have been even better.”

Hello, round three…

Damn the vampires for ruining our morning afterglow. Another reason to hate the child-turning evil fuckers.

Upon entering the medical wing it was immediately obvious something major was happening. The staff was running around with bags of blood in their hands, all wearing flustered looks.

Out of nowhere, a big tall male vampire zoomed into Ryder’s space and placed a hand on his chest. Ryder looked down at the hand and I saw his jaw clench.

“I want to see the girl.” Ryder’s voice was clipped and deadly. I knew him well enough to know he was three seconds from ripping this asshole’s hand off.

“No. Your orders are to disperse the mob outside the gates,” the man said in an equally deadly voice.

Ryder flicked the man’s hand out of his way and pushed forward. “I don’t take orders until I speak with the Quorum.” His voice was so cold I was pretty sure I now had frostbite on my cheeks.

We kept moving, and the vampire seemed unsure about stopping the deadly enforcer again. Smart move, asshole. The next hall we crossed into was one I hadn’t been before. Each door was frosted glass. Ugh, this place gave me the creeps. I heard a strangled noise from behind and turned to find the bodyguard vampire bolting after Ryder. Dude must have found a pair of balls after all. He barely even glanced at me, so it was easy to stick my foot out and trip him. He stumbled forward but caught himself, turning to give me a deadly look.

“Oops!” I put my hand over my mouth and batted my eyelashes. Dick.

Before this shit could escalate and I no doubt got my ass kicked, Lucas and a few other Quorum members trickled out into the hallway. From the room they exited I could hear a young girl’s voice: “I want to go home! I want more blood!”

The Quorum member known as fugly, the hideous dude with slicked-back hair and a bent nose, was my least favorite of any living creature. He was the leader of the fourth house, and a total pain in my ass.

When fugly saw us, his eyes went all silver swirl and he charged straight into a faceoff with Ryder. I was about to interfere when Lucas gave me a stern look.

“Since when do you defy our orders?” Fugly sneered at us. “We keep you fed and employed, don’t forget that.”

With clenched fists, Ryder stepped closer to him. “I work for you willingly, to help save ash from making the same mistake I did. I do not help you animals infect children and cover the evidence up. Or PR goodwill to the humans. I’m thinking about joining their picket line actually.”

Holy shit. He wasn’t holding back at all. For the first time I feared for Ryder. If they wanted him dead, we were vastly outnumbered.

Fugly sneered again, which made his nose look even more crooked. “It was an accident, enforcer, calm down! The animal is in the pit.”

Ryder didn’t seem pleased with that answer. “Not good enough. I want him dead.”

Fugly barked out a laugh, which died off as his arm snaked out and he wrapped his hand around Ryder’s neck. “Who do you think you are? Demanding such things? How about I kill you and make the other robots do as I say.”

Oh hell no.

I stepped forward. “If you kill him, the other enforcers will revolt. They won’t work for you. They take orders only from him. Look outside. Do you see any enforcers breaking up that mob? No. Because Ryder told them to stand down.”

All eyes were on me now, and Ryder chose that moment to use himself as a distraction. He knocked the vamp’s hand, and despite the fact that the evil suckers were so much stronger than us, it took him barely any effort to free himself. There was anger brewing in the enforcer’s eyes, but the way they flicked between me and the Quorum, I could tell he was afraid to start anything while I was down here too.

Ryder and I remained side by side, neither of us backing down, the child’s cry in the background. The Quorum members exchanged looks then, looks I didn’t particularly like, because they were very much on the evil and calculating side. Something more than this little girl was up with them.

Finally, when the tension was almost unbearable, fugly turned to us and said, “You ash are so sensitive. Fine, we will kill the vampire. Now get back to work.”

That was much too easy, which only increased the bad feeling in my gut. They were planning something. No way would they let Ryder get away with this shit otherwise. He might be important in the ash and enforcer world, he might have a token seat on the Quorum, but their arrogance ensured they did not allow others, especially ash, to question their orders.

Ryder was a statue beside me. Something told me he was as suspicious as I was. He was a better actor though. His next words were friendly, offhand even: “I appreciate your support in this matter. I’m going to go now—not feeling so well—think I’m coming down with something. I’m going to take a few days off.”

Before they had a chance to retort, he captured my hand and we both hauled ass out of the creepy medical wing. As soon as we were back in the elevator, I leaned forward, and speaking as low as I could asked: “What’s the few days off for?”

The tumult of emotions was strong in his eyes. “Remember that storm I mentioned last night, well, I’m pretty sure it’s on its way. The Quorum is up to something, and I have no idea when the hurricane will hit. You deserve to have the holiday with your family, but there’s no way you can go without me and a few of the boys. I was on duty, but now I’ll be able to keep you safe.”

I grinned. “So what you’re saying is that you’re coming to my house for Thanksgiving?”

Ryder gave me a sexy side glance. “If that’s okay?”

“It’s perfect.”

We both leaned back against the elevator, silent again. There was no safe place to speak in the Hive. That didn’t stop the multitude of questions, worries and fears which were as much a part of me now as my heart and lungs.

 

The next day Jayden, the sexy six, and I sat clustered around the laptop on the roof, our unofficial hide out place.

Leaning forward, Ryder motioned to Jayden and Oliver: “Can you two go run some laps? We should probably make our meetings a little less obvious.”

Jayden nodded, springing to his feet. “If he can keep up with me.”

Oliver gave him a look which was a combination of exasperation and adoration. These two dudes were seriously the cutest couple ever. They both took off.

Markus chuckled. “Jayden is a good match for Oliver. He loves a challenge, and I can tell our unicorn’s BAFF is definitely keeping him challenged.”

One of my favorite things about this group was that there was never one ounce of awkward about the boys’ love, and I for one thought that said everything about how absolutely secure and awesome they were.

Sam’s fingers suddenly went into super-fast mode. “Our Deliverance window is open! Kyle, tether with me.”

Kyle hunched over his laptop and began to type rapidly. We were all frozen with anticipation. This was it. We were bankrupting Deliverance.

“We’re completely untraceable now, and I’ve got all of the bank accounts online,” Kyle said.

Sam nodded. “Sending virus.” His finger punched a key before he sat back, relaxed—well, relaxed for him anyway.

Ryder opened his hands. “That’s it?”

Sam nodded, his eyes half-closed. Kyle was still monitoring his screen closely and I could see his pupils rapidly darting across the computer. Finally he broke into a huge grin. “Our selected charities are now a couple hundred million dollars richer.”

Markus gave an excited shout, followed by a groan. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that the needy will benefit from a corrupt bunch of assholes, but I’d have liked it if we’d taken just a wee bit of that money and bought a little something for ourselves. I’ve had my eye on this Audi R8 for a while now.”

Ryder clapped his shoulder in sympathy. Most of these boys were car enthusiasts. Poor babies were stuck with vampire-issued, probably bugged Hummers.

Sam slammed his laptop shut and handed it to Kyle. “Incinerate them.”

Kyle nodded, and jumping to his feet dashed away with the two slim-line computers. Movement caught my eye and I was laughing again as Jayden playfully fell behind Oliver, just so he could smack him on the butt. My friend, seriously, you just could not take him anywhere.

Ryder leaned forward. “Okay, now what are we doing about the little girl?”

My attention instantly focused. I had not stopped worrying about her for a moment and I needed to hear what the plan was. I was worried everyone would forget as all the drama died down.

The riots were slowing down outside the Hive, and the vampires were doing what they did best, covering their tracks and creating positive publicity. Publically, the Quorum had paid the girl’s family a large, undisclosed, sum of money, and the human media was having a field day with this information. In the end, the girl’s family accepted that vampires were the only ones who could now properly care for their daughter and did not press charges, so the humans couldn’t do much legally.

The men kind of fell silent. Clearly there was no plan forthcoming, so I blurted out what I had been thinking all along. “I want to cure her.” I managed to keep my voice low and still convey every ounce of my determination.

Kyle was back now from the incinerator and he froze mid-stride. Ryder shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

Aww, poor thing. Ryder thought that because he was sleeping with me, he could tell me what to do.

I crossed my arms. “Let me put this a simpler way so you all can understand it. I am going to cure her and you can either help me or get out of my way.”

I gave Ryder my serious big girl face and was rewarded with the slightest twitch of his lips before he exhaled. “Do you have a death wish?”

“If it means giving an innocent twelve-year-old her life back, then yeah I do.”

I could see the vein in his neck throbbing and I had to push down the memory of the time I drank from him to confuse the Quorum’s blood results.

Sam stood, distracting our standoff. “There will be a time for that, Charlie, but it isn’t now. Be patient.”

Then he walked away.

What the hell? “What’s with Yoda? He’s been acting weird since he came back from ‘fishing.’” I did air quotes.

I could see the concern on the enforcers’ faces as they watched Sam leave. No one said anything. I knew they had all long ago decided to let Sam keep his secrets.

Ryder held a hand out to me. “Just put a pause on your aspirations to heal the world until after Thanksgiving, okay?”

I shrugged. “Fair enough. But I’ll bet this little girl is going to cry her eyes out knowing she can’t spend the holiday eating turkey with her family.” Never hurts to remind them what our delay was costing her.

The gravity of the situation hit us all then. The boys’ faces were somber. Life in the Hive wasn’t just affecting us, it affected all of society. When an ash was brought in or a new vampire infected, that was a family member taken away, a gaping hole left in the hearts of those people. Maybe there was a greater reason for why I was the cure. Maybe I shouldn’t be hiding it. Maybe it was time to do something.