Chapter 9

 

The next few days passed by agonizingly slow. I wasn’t allowed out on calls, and no matter how hard I snooped I couldn’t find out where they were keeping the little girl. For the most part I was back on “who is the mole?” duties, trying to figure out who in the Hive was a backstabbing, lying piece of shit. I had about eight thousand suspects, and no reason to wipe even one of them off the list. Every single vampire was there on principle now, except for Lucas. I would give him the benefit of the doubt until he did something which revoked that trust.

After dinner I was sprawled across my couch, about to die of boredom. Jayden, Oliver and Markus were in the kitchen, talking about something dude-like—cars, I think. Jayden was probably trying to figure out how to drag his man into his bedroom for some private time. As much as my BAFF loved my new bodyguard detail because Oliver was often in the apartment, it also sucked because the enforcers were always on duty. No time for fun.

At the knock on the door I sprang up and dashed across the room, flinging open the door to find Ryder standing there dressed in his gym clothes.

Boredom fled. Along with saliva in mouth and clever words in brain.

“Want to go for a rooftop run?” he asked.

Hells yeah I did. Wasting no time, I dragged on some sweats, laced up my shoes, and waved goodbye to the boys. Jayden was flashing me his eyebrow and hip waggle, so he was very happy about this change in circumstances.

It took five minutes, but then we were out of the building and on the roof. The second the cool night air hit me, clearing away some of the funk I’d been in, I knew this was a good idea.

Ryder took off down the track and I followed, focused on the large swollen moon. I’d always found something so mesmerizing about the moon, especially when it was full. Its light seemed to highlight the beauty around me, remind me to stop and take a second to appreciate everything.

After a few laps, I heard the doors open and nearly stumbled over my feet when I saw the little vampire girl walk out. Following her was a stern-looking redheaded vampire.

Ryder caught my arm and we slowed as the pair walked out on to the track. The girl had headphones on, but when she saw us she took them off.

The redheaded vamp found the closest wall and got to the really important business of relaxing against it. “You have ten minutes,” she told the girl with a thick Russian accent.

The young girl gave a single head nod and then began to jog. I sped up next her.

“No,” Ryder whispered.

I shot him a death glare that hopefully conveyed how closed my legs would be if he kept trying to order me around. He lifted both hands up in a placating manner, before backing off me a tad.

“You like running?” I asked, turning back to the girl.

I couldn’t halt the sadness and anger which welled inside of me. She looked depressed. Her alabaster skin was shining in the bright moon, but her eyes were downcast, stress lines fracturing her perfect features. No child should have stress lines.

Of course she was beautiful, with short brown hair naturally curled into tight ringlets, smooth skin, and a thin athletic build. The vampire virus was working in full effect. But it was still wrong somehow, like looking at a weird doll.

She wet her lips before answering me: “I used to run and like it but now I don’t know what I like.” Even her voice was low and sad. “You don’t smell like a vampire, but you’re a girl?” For the first time a sign of actual interest crossed her solemn face.

I nodded. “I’m an ash, a special one-of-a-kind girl ash … and I can help you.” From the corner of my eye I could see Ryder was reaching for me again. Clearly I was overstepping the safe boundaries he was trying to keep me in.

With a burst of speed, I moved out of his reach again. The girl kept pace, and as she stared longer at me, her eyes started the silver pulsing thing. “Your blood smells really good,” she whispered, blinking a few times, her face falling. “Which is totally gross.”

Dammit. I was curing this girl or I would die trying.

“What room number are you staying in?” I pressed her, knowing my time was short.

Her lashes fluttered at my question, as if she was trying to understand what I’d just said. There was something wrong with her cognitive functions; she was slower to think and was void of personality, almost as if she was stuck in some sort of robotic and depressed state.

“Katelynn, time’s up!” the redheaded Russian screamed at her. The lazy bitch had not moved from the wall, and it looked like she’d been on her phone the entire time. Great babysitting there.

Katelynn ground to a halt, all obedient-like.

Time to break out the big guns. The very thing I would have used on a daily basis if I had ever been a mom. Bribery. “Tell me your room number and I will bring you a present. A stuffed toy.” My heart started to hammer as footsteps sounded behind me. There was more movement, and I heard Ryder’s deep tones as he moved to intercept the redhead.

“They have me on the forty-ninth floor. Room sixteen. I like unicorns.” Her innocent voice shredded my heart.

Room 4916. Gotcha.

“Then I’ll bring a unicorn. Just don’t tell anyone or I can’t see you again.”

A small smile graced her mouth. “Okay.”

She turned and went to her Russian nanny, who was both conversing with my enforcer and glaring at me. I didn’t care. My eyes were glued to Katelynn as devastation at letting her go rocked through me. I just wanted to grab her up, hug her tight and keep her safe. Dammit!

Okay, I needed to focus on what I could do. She said she liked unicorns and she was going to get one. Or at least the blood of one. I might not be able to save her today, but it would not be long before I could.

After they went through the double doors, Ryder took a few long strides to stand before me. He took my face in his hands. “Sometimes I wonder if falling in love with you will be the death of me.”

My breath hitched at his use of the L word. That was a definite declaration, or a roundabout one anyway. Before I could reply, his lips fell on mine and we were locked in a kiss.

This wasn’t the first time we had kissed since our night together, but it was the first where heightened emotions and our fiery attraction merged into one cataclysmic event. I lost all sense of time, worry, fear, and regret. I lived in that moment with Ryder, and if I could have prolonged it forever I’d be signing on the dotted line. Unfortunately, as was the norm of late, all good things had to come to an end.

We mutually pulled apart, both of us a little out of breath, and a lot silver-eyed, I was sure.

I leaned in closer to him, which somehow was still not close enough. “Geeze, I’m so sweaty from that run. I really need a shower but I’m afraid of getting attacked.” My words were light, like I was just making idle conversation, but I was eye-screwing the hell out of him and he knew it.

Ryder’s laughter was so rare that it made it that much more enjoyable to hear; that low rumble warmed my belly. “Why, Charlie Anne, there’s no way I could leave a lady to shower alone in these sort of dangerous times. In fact I’m going to have to insist on this protective shower duty becoming a daily occurrence.”

I grinned, losing all sense of chill as our lips met again, but only briefly this time. It was not a good idea right now, our need out of control, to be kissing in any sort of hardcore fashion. Our bodies were too impatient to be together, so we’d hold back the lust until we got to that shower. It was moments like these that I wished ash had magic powers too. Instant transportation would be very useful right about now.

 

The next day I was in my living room playing cards with Ryder as Sam sat quietly on the couch, flipping through a magazine. We’d just come back from the rooftop, arguing about when was the right time for me to cure the girl. Ryder wanted to wait until we were ready to run, but I was afraid they would “transfer” her, or whatever bullshit they pretended to do to get rid of the children.

“Boom! Full house!” I slammed my cards down, showing off the three aces and two kings.

Ryder’s face was carved from stone, no smile, no hint of defeat.

“Shit,” I groaned, knowing he must have a better hand than me to be keeping that mask of calm.

Ryder placed his cards down and smiled. “Straight flush.”

I fake pouted. “Cheater.”

Before he could retort, a loud bang-bang-bang came at my door. Sam was up and across the room with his gun drawn in seconds.

“Who is it?” Ryder demanded from behind Sam, his own gun held in a strong grip.

“Oh God, Charlie, I’m so sorry.” The male voice came through clearly, familiar and sounding desperate.

“Blake?” I pushed past my guards and wrenched opened the door.

The vampire’s eyes were red-rimmed, blood crusted around his mouth. His hands were shaking almost uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry,” he said again.

My voice could have cut glass then. “What did you do?” This motherfucker better not mention my best friend.

“I changed Tessa and now she’s dying. It’s not working. Her body is rejecting the virus.” He dropped his head down, those shaking hands clutching at his Cabbage Patch Doll-like curls.

Using his distraction, I leaned forward and ran at him in a football tackle, slamming him against the far hallway wall and cracking the plaster. “I’m going to kill you!” I screamed in his face.

He didn’t flinch, didn’t fight. He looked desperate. “I love her.”

“Where is she?” The words sounded inhuman as they left my throat.

“Medical wing, room five.” Blake was crying, as I pushed him to the ground and took off.

The sound of the two enforcers’ footsteps close behind gave me strength. If the vampires thought they could take my best friend’s life, they were about to learn just how deadly I could be. I would burn this entire Hive to the ground before I let one undead asshole touch Tessa.

I kicked open the medical wing doors, hitting a nurse, who shrieked. Ignoring her, I bolted for room five. The frosted glass door was half open, and the second I saw the pale, emaciated form of my best friend limp in the bed, an animalistic wail ripped from my throat.

The vampire doctor tending to her turned to me, startled. “No ash allowed!” Same old story as the last time we’d been here. I felt a sick sense of satisfaction as Sam whipped out his gun, holding it to the vamp’s head. Asshole backed right off then.

“What’s happening to her?” I shouted at him as a few other medical staff crowded in behind us. Ryder was doing his best to use his bulk to hold them off. I couldn’t focus on anything but my best friend though—or, well, what was left of her. At that moment Tessa wasn’t Tessa. She was a shell of a human, a sack of pale skin with dead, white hair. Oh my God.

The doctor seemed annoyed with my question. “She was changed with permission. I have all of the proper signed forms. Her body is fighting the virus too aggressively and it’s killing her.” He shrugged. “It happens.”

Tears spilled onto my cheeks. “No! No! We have to save her. That’s my best friend.”

A flash of something crossed the doctor’s features. Surprisingly enough, it seemed like sympathy. “I have never understood why anyone would willingly want the virus. It’s dangerous. Many more humans die than become vampire.”

Sam moved to the side as I stumbled towards the doctor. “Does she need more blood? Antibiotics? What can we do?”

Because if he didn’t give me an answer in five seconds I was saving her with my blood and outing myself to this entire Hive. I could see now that over a dozen medical officials had crowded the doorway, watching, one of whom I recognized as a Quorum member—too many here to hide what I was, but for Tessa I would do it in a heartbeat.

The doctor shrugged again, and if the POS did it one more time, I was going to punch him in the throat. “There is an experimental vampire plasma that works in twenty percent of cases like these.”

Twenty percent wasn’t good enough. Tessa’s life was worth more than mine. I extended my arm. “Use my blood, it’s the—” Before I could say “cure,” Sam’s gun came out of nowhere and cracked me on the back of my head and blackness took me.

 

The moment consciousness returned, a sense of panic surged in strong waves through my body. I could feel the rapid beat of my heart, the pulsing of blood in my veins, but I didn’t remember why that was—for the first few moments anyway. Then all of reality came flooding back, and despite a raging headache and an incessant thirst, I forced my heavy eyelids open and wrenched my body up.

“Tessa!” My words were supposed to be strong, angry. The panicked rage inside of me needed a place to go. But my dry throat produced nothing more than a rasp of my best friend’s name.

I looked around, finding two enforcers up against the wall of my room in the hospital wing. No Ryder though. Kyle and Oliver were the stooges today.

I swung my legs off the side of the bed, relieved to see I was still fully dressed and didn’t appear to be hooked up to any machines.

“Where the fuck is my best friend?” My voice gained strength as I stalked forward, ignoring my blood hunger. Although, if someone didn’t start talking soon, I was going to let the red haze consume my mind.

Kyle straightened, taking a step toward me. As he stopped inches away, I flashed back to the hours we had sat and prayed here together when Ryder was injured. It reminded me there was a bond between us, and I did not want to hurt him.

“She’s okay, Charlie. They gave her the vampire plasma and it counteracted some of the virus long enough for her cells to start the transformation. Ryder and Jared stayed behind to make sure no one screwed anything up.”

My relief allowed some of the hot rage to die down. Of course that made way for the true sorrow. I turned to the boys. “How was this permitted? The Quorum rarely allows for new vampires, and with the young girl being turned…”

I rubbed at my temples, trying to relieve the pounding ache. I understood why Sam had hit me. I’d almost outed myself to every vamp in that room, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still painful.

Kyle’s golden features hardened. “Sam and Markus are investigating now, but we think that maybe this was allowed because of you. Somehow the vamps know how important Tessa is to you, and now they have her exactly where they want.”

Shit! I had never even thought about that, always just assuming and hoping that the normal rejections would happen with Blake’s request.

Blake! “I’m ripping that bastard’s throat out. What the hell was Blake thinking? He almost killed her.”

The rage was back. I didn’t even care that he said he loved her, you don’t do things like that to people you love. Blake was a vampire. He should know that it’s not all perfect nighttime strolls and blood milkshakes. His emotions had blinded him and he put his own needs before Tessa’s. Not good enough for me, and not good enough for my BFF.

No one tried to stop me as I stormed from the room. In the hallway I glanced around, trying to orient myself. I’d been spending enough time here lately that this place was becoming way too familiar. I was pretty sure I was at the far end from where Tessa had been. Ryder probably stashed me there in the chaos and told the boys to keep an eye on me. By the time I made it to room five again, Kyle and Oliver were right on my heels. Both of them had their hands resting close to their guns.

“Is there something else I need to know?” My words were hard. I was at the limit of my niceness today.

Kyle’s eyes flicked to Oliver for a second, and I was just about to scream some more when they both met my flinty gaze.

“The vampires want to test your blood again. They want to know why you think your blood would help Tessa when the doctor clearly said they needed vampire plasma, not ash.” Kyle sounded sympathetic and a little pissed on my behalf as he explained.

Shit. Damn. Shit.

Okay, I totally didn’t regret trying to save my best friend. I would have cut my arm off if that was what it took. Though now that she was going to survive all on her own, all I had done was raise suspicions about my blood and cast attention back on me and the enforcers.

“Is it safe for me to walk into this room?” The hallway was empty. If we had to run, I could do it, but we’d be grabbing Tessa and bringing her too.

Oliver nodded, lowering his voice. “So far there were just some comments, but Ryder shut them down pretty fast. Hopefully once the excitement dies off, they’ll forget about your little slip.”

Sure, because that sort of luck just happened for me. Sucking in a deep breath, I clicked the door open and stepped inside. The room was a lot emptier now, just a few nurses scattered around. Ryder and Jared were standing vigil either side of Tessa’s bed, and it kind of warmed my heart to see how much they cared, how much diligence they were putting into her safety. That was for me. I knew without any doubt the boys thought of me as one of their team now, and since I loved Tessa, they protected her for me.

I jerked as I realized Lucas was also in the room. He was sans his usual white trench coat, wearing just a dark shirt and slacks. I almost hadn’t recognized him. He rose from his chair and crossed to my side.

“Charlie, I’m so sorry about your friend. I tried to dissuade Blake, but he … he couldn’t see the situation clearly. I voted against it on our council, but was in the minority.”

His silver eyes were swirling at me and I felt he was trying to tell me so much more than what those few words were saying. Was this entire freaking Hive bugged?

“I thought it was very rare for the council to approve something like this. I was sort of wondering why they jumped on board?” My voice was low and casual. There were way too many witnesses around for me to lose my shit like I wanted to. We were laying low now apparently. I knew what that actually meant: more days of being locked in the damn Hive.

“I don’t know for sure. There must be something in the files.”

Again, Lucas was telling me shit with just his eyes, and again I was having trouble speaking silver swirl. He dropped his head and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll leave you in the capable hands of your enforcers.” As he pulled back, I heard the barest of whispers: “Be prepared to run.”

I blinked a few times as he left in a swirl of vampire energy. Pulling myself together as best I could, I crossed to where the four guys were waiting. As far as I could tell, Lucas was telling me the Quorum was acting very out of character, and that he was worried for my safety, which meant time was running out for us to decide what to do. My eyes fell on Tessa, who thankfully was back to looking like my beautiful bestie … more beautiful actually, if that was even possible. The virus was working through her body, making her strong and immortal—not to mention evil and bloodsucking. Shit. Forget first world problems, we now had Hive world problems.

Her timing really couldn’t have been worse. These Quorum problems were going to be tenfold once she woke up. Tessa was about to find herself right in the midst of vamp politics. And possibly a war.

When I reached Ryder, I found myself snuggling into his side. “Thank you.”

He didn’t say anything, but as his warm hand ran across my lower back in a comforting gesture, I realized how much he meant to me, how far he’d wiggled into my life and my heart. He was the first man I’d been comfortable with since my attack, and I was the first woman he’d cared for since his fiancée. Were we perfect? Nope, but together I was hoping we would find something perfect to hold on to in all this chaos.

“How long will she be unconscious for?” I asked, not having a clue how long it had even been since I was knocked out by Sam.

“It generally takes a full day for the transformation once it has started.” Jared’s accent was strong at the moment, which usually meant he was upset. “Since the plasma, which was four hours ago, she’s already well into the change. She’ll be screaming for blood in another four or so hours.”

Okay, so that meant we had time to get to the roof for a team meeting. Ryder must have seen the determination in my eyes, and somehow knew what I wanted. “Jared, you okay to stay here and keep an eye on Tessa while the rest of us check in with the enforcers?”

The Australian nodded once, before settling into the chair which Lucas had just vacated. I leaned down and kissed the smooth, porcelain cheek of the unconscious girl in the bed. “I’ll be back for you soon, Tess,” I whispered, turning to exit with the boys.

No one spoke as we made our way to the elevators, and the silence remained even after we reached the rooftop. It was daylight again, which was a relief; it felt as if the sun was my friend now, the big baddie that kept the vampires away.

Ryder led the way, his stride strong, face locked in the pissed-off range of emotions. He must have had this already planned, because as we rounded the corner, out of the doorway line-of-sight, Markus and Sam came into view. They were camped out, laptops in front of them, a cooler at their side.

My dry mouth increased then, and I sensed eyes on me as I pretty much drooled. Markus had the lid up and bottle in his hand before I even made it to his side.

“Thought you might be thirsty. Grabbed you some O-negative.” The Scottish enforcer was as serious as I’d ever seen him, and his accent was strong. Emotions deepened their accents, and right now we were at our emotional peak.

“Sorry about … your head.” Sam’s low words sounded quite emotional too, for him anyway.

I waved. “All good. I know why you did it. But if Tessa hadn’t made it, you and I would be having a completely different conversation.”

Sam just gave me a single nod, as if to say he’d have been okay with that too. I knew that even at the time, in the heat of that highly emotional moment, he’d weighed up the risks and had decided my life was worth more than hers—which was sweet, but not his call to make.

I wasted no more time as the burn in my gums signaled my fangs descending, and as they pierced the top of the bottle I chugged down the blood; relief to my parched throat and mouth was instant. It annoyed me that we were so reliant on this now. Sure, even as a human I’d needed water and food, but for the most part I could get that from anywhere. We would never easily find enough blood for us all to leave. The Hive had us trapped.

Wiping my mouth, I discarded the empty bottle, reaching for another. “How much blood will we need if we run? It would have to be what … a pint a day, each?” I expressed my concerns to the enforcers, shifting the icy bottle. “Lucas pretty much just told me that the Quorum is acting strange and we need to be ready to run, but how the hell can we?” My brows pinched together as the pure enormity of the situation crashed into me. I couldn’t drag the boys into this.

“Charlie, get that damn look off your face.” Ryder towered over me; his eyes were almost pure silver. “We will have no sacrifices, no martyrs, and no heroes running off on their own.”

I jabbed my finger at him. “Get out of my head. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe, and being around me is not safe.”

Sam stood then, and because he was such a presence—he had badass down almost as well as Ryder—we all turned and stared at him.

“I have a plan. You need to trust me.”

He sat back down then, and I gave Ryder the side-eye. What the eff?

“You have twenty humans willing to travel with us to a safe place and go on a rotation of donating blood?” I asked.

The silent enforcer was up to something and “trust me” was alien to my controlling take-charge personality.

Sam didn’t answer me. He just looked at Ryder. Something passed between them, something without words. What was with all these people speaking with no more than a few exchanged looks. Words, use them. They existed for a reason.

Ryder eventually gave a nod. “We are going to trust Sam on this one. I have no doubt his plan is solid. When are you ready for us to move out?”

“I’m going to need at least a week to get everything sorted. Especially if Charlie plans on curing the little girl.”

Oh, I planned on doing that.

“I want to bring Tess and Jayden,” I said. “I promised my BAFF that I’d never leave him behind, and he’d be the first victim of the Quorum if I did.”

“I second that,” Oliver said. “I won’t leave without Jayden.”

“Already counted him,” was all Sam said.

“And Tessa?”

The enforcers exchanged a single look. It was fast, almost unnoticeable, but I freaking noticed. My anger was at boiling point again, and I was wondering if my hair might be smoking from all of the heat in my head.

Kyle was the first to try to reason with me. “Charlie, you have to understand that a vampire is a massive liability for us to carry around. She can’t travel in the sunlight, she needs a ton more blood than we do, and she’s going to be pretty hard to control for the first few months. If we take Tessa, we are pretty much signing our own death warrants.”

No. Just … no. I couldn’t leave her here to the mercy of vampires.

Still, he made some really valid points.

Ryder had a look of sympathy on his face, which immediately told me I was going to be pissed by what he was about to say.

“How do you even know she’ll want to run with you, Charlie? She’s been going full-throttle for the last couple of months to get into the vamp world, and according to you, she was obsessed with them for most of your lives. She also loves Blake, so I think she’ll resist you. There’s nothing you can do but let her learn the hard way that this is not the world for her.”

Fuck! Dammit, why did he have to be attractive and intelligent? Really, was it just too much to ask that he blindly agreed with everything I said?

“Well, I’m at least going to give her the option to leave with me. She always said her main reason for being in here was so that we would be together.”

Markus snorted. “Vampires and ash are rarely encouraged to be together. She’ll be part of the elite, and all too soon will start thinking of herself in the same way that all vampires do. As the superior race.”

My bestie was not shallow like that, but there was a part of her that had always wanted to belong somewhere. She had that with me and my mom, but once I was gone that had all fallen apart for her. Maybe what the vamps would offer her, a large and secure family, would trump me. This reminded me of something else I hadn’t had a chance to tell the boys yet. It was time they knew what we were up against, if they didn’t already.

“I have a confession,” I squeaked, and suddenly every enforcer stopped what they were doing and all eyes were on me. Shit, I hadn’t meant to make it sound that serious. Taking a deep breath, I rambled:

“Jayden overheard some rumors about the vampires being big assholes, so I used my keycard to get into the file room. Jayden picked a lock with a bobby pin because he’s like MacGyver or something, and then we read some crazy shit then got caught and pretended to make out as a cover for being in the room and then we ran.”

Whew. Got it all out in two sentences and I felt better already. I’d been meaning to tell them for ages. There should be no lies between us all.

Ryder and Oliver shared a look, no doubt reflecting on the fact that I said Jayden and I made out. To my surprise it was Sam who spoke. I could see the thoughts churning through him.

“What did you find?”

I explained in detail the blackmail files, the oil industry payments, the blood bank, the photos of the Original bloodbath. As I went into detail about each, Sam’s face darkened, until he exploded:

“I’ve been searching for this information for a long time, but never guessed it would be in paper form, in plain sight in the damn middle of the Hive.”

Yep, that was why simple minds worked best. Like Jayden’s and mine. With a grimace, Sam dropped his gaze and began typing away on his computer. I started to tell the enforcers a few more things about that day, before Sam growled, interrupting me.

Stepping over, I dropped down next to him. “What? What happened?”

The others also crowded closer. “Your discovery gave me an idea about where I’ve been going wrong in my search for information. I was going too deep, and needed to step back to the simple and old ways. There used to be this site which was almost like a notice board for the underworld. Jobs of an unscrupulous nature would be posted there, and people would apply for them. I never would have thought that this would be how Sanctum was hired. But looks like I was wrong. They tried to cover it up. They seem to have use of a technology expert with a skill-set almost as good as mine. Almost as good.” He did not sound boastful, just factual. “I’ve found encoded messages for the hit on Portland Hive, and Charlie. Tracing those back leads me to…”

He paused, his fingers flying across the keys again, and I was about to punch him in the arm when he finally continued: “Shit, traced it twice now, and both times leads back to our Hive. The hit was ordered by someone in here, someone with a high level clearance. They’re punching about twenty levels above Ryder’s security pass. And they have a lot of cash.”

Well, damn, we all knew who had the most money and clearance in this place. The Quorum. Those sneaky bastards had been behind it the entire time. But what was their end game?