Chapter 5
The sun was killing me right now. Why was everything so bright in this state? Seriously, it was amazing there was even a Hive in California; the vamps would be prisoners for the vast majority of the day in summer, and even right now, on the cusp of the Christmas season, it was still warm. Well, especially compared to Alaska.
“Don’t rub at your eyes, Charlie.”
The sun and hours of travel had left Markus cranky too. But he had a point. I kept dislodging my sunglasses by lifting them to rub my tired eyes. And of course that was really ruining my “not an ashpire” disguise. Me, Ryder, Kyle, and Markus were all perched against the railing of Santa Monica Muscle Beach. This was our rendezvous point with the other guys, who had taken a slightly different route down here.
“What time is it?” I asked. “Are they late? Should we be worried?”
There were a lot of people around, and despite the intense sun it was starting to lower in the perfect blue sky. So it was late afternoon or something. I had sort of gotten used to not having a cell phone attached to me at all times, but it still frustrated me when I wanted to know the time. Or check my horoscope.
“They’re not late yet. No need to worry, they’ll be here,” Ryder said, drawing a comforting arm down my side and pulling me into him. He was trying to keep me from stomping around. But all he did was make me worry more. Seriously though, I did need to chill out, because my agitated eye rubbing and pacing was surely going to draw attention. And that was the last thing we needed.
“What if they figured out the ID’s were fake?” My voice was muffled against Ryder’s side.
Kyle laughed then, his deep tones booming out across the beach. “Charlie, girl, you’re worrying for nothing. We made it here and the boys will too. If they knew our ID’s were fake, we would have been detained at the airport. Relax.”
As I pulled myself out of the very comfortable embrace of my enforcer, I noticed that people were starting to stare at our group. A lot of them were women. Scantily clad women. Didn’t they know it was winter? Damn. Still, it wasn’t a huge surprise. These three men commanded attention; they were tall, handsome, and had that extra something which my mom always called charisma.
“We should move,” Ryder said. “We’ve been standing in this spot for too long. Time to start blending in with the locals.”
Blending. Sure. We could do that. It wasn’t that long ago I was a human. So why did it feel as if it was years ago and they were suddenly this weird, alien species I couldn’t understand?
#ashpireproblems
The beach was calling us, so we left the path and made our way onto the golden sands. I loved the feel of the salty air and the rush of waves breaking against the shoreline. My leather boots were calf high and kept the majority of sand out, but I felt an urge to rip them off and sink barefoot into the white grains.
“Ryder!” The shout came when we were halfway to the water, and as a group we spun around to find Sam, Jared, and Oliver speed-walking our way. Thank God!
As I started stumbling across the sand toward them, I noted they were dressed the same as us. Glasses clad, and looking quite sophisticated. Jayden had outfitted us before we left, insisting that if we all wore our favorite black enforcer gear, we would stand out in Cali. So now we were in a mix of jeans, army-style pants and neutral-colored cotton shirts. Jared even sported a button-up Hawaiian number, which suited his surfer boy looks.
When I reached their side I threw myself at them. “Where the hell have you guys been? I’ve been worried sick!”
Arms wrapped around me as each of them gave me a hug.
“Sorry, Mum,” Jared said. “We got a little delayed at one of the airports. Apparently Sam forgot you can’t carry a pocket knife on a commercial flight.”
The silent enforcer grimaced. “It was one tiny little knife set. The way they freaked out you’d think I was trying to haul an AK-47 on board.”
Ryder pulled me out of Jared’s arms and deposited me at his side.
“Getting too used to traveling by private plane, Mr. Money Bags,” I teased Sam.
He surprised me by reaching out and ruffling my hair. Hmmm, someone had loosened up just in the short time we’d been in Alaska. Sharing that secret part of his world with us had fortified the bonds of our group. The trust was strong. No more secrets.
As the boys gathered closer, I knew it was time for part two of the plan to go into action. Sam pulled out a cell phone; he was the only one allowed to touch this high-tech, completely untraceable piece of technology. Sliding the screen, he pressed out a few numbers and lifted it to his ear.
Unable to pace when I was smack bang in the center of the sexy six, I started to bounce from foot to foot, my nervous energy needing an outlet.
Sam’s voice jolted me. “Hello, I need to report an ash causing havoc on Santa Monica Pier. You need to get your enforcers down here immediately. He’s feeding on humans.”
My jaw dropped. Okay, way to stroll into Cali under the radar. But it was kind of genius, and since it was still daylight no vampires would be accompanying the enforcers. Now let’s just hope these enforcers were friendly.
Within five minutes, two lifted black SUV’s peeled around the corner to the pier.
“Let’s split up. If for some reason they aren’t friendly…” Sam didn’t need to finish.
Ryder tucked me close to him and started walking fast toward the vehicles, while Kyle and Sam took off after us. The other three boys disappeared, but I knew they were watching our backs from afar.
When we were ten feet from the SUV’s the doors opened and out stepped about eight hottie Californian enforcers. As they spilled out of the vehicles, every girl on the beach turned to stare. The enforcers paid no attention to the humans though, and I was both surprised and intrigued to see that they were almost as well trained and disciplined as my boys. They looked around with hard rapid glances, trying to identify the commotion that had prompted the call. Ryder whistled loud and the men looked at us. Then Ryder removed his glasses and one of the leaders stepped forward, gun drawn.
He was over six feet tall and had the stereotypical blond shaggy hair and surfer look, but in his eyes was a lethal predatory gaze. He was the alpha of this little posse. As he approached Ryder, I also took off my glasses. That’s when the leader sprang into action like I’d lit his ass on fire. Holstering his gun, he rushed forward.
“Put your glasses back on and follow me. They watch everything we do now.”
He calmly walked onto the sidewalk and hung a right; we followed with a few of his men trailing behind us. There was a cute mom and pop coffee shop and the enforcer slipped inside. Ryder waited, unsure, but I yanked his hand. If we couldn’t trust our own people, we were fucked. Sam, Ryder, and I entered the coffee shop just in time to hear the pretty blonde, wearing next to nothing, behind the coffee bar.
“Hey, Zack, your usual?” she called out to the enforcer, giving him bedroom eyes.
“Not this time, Angela. I need to use your office.” She looked past him at us for a second and then nodded.
We followed him back to the surprisingly large office, and as I looked at the green velvet couch in the corner I tried not to think about what this guy and Angela did on there.
He turned to face us. “I’m Zack.”
Ryder, Kyle, Sam and I were all in the office, with two of his men guarding the door. He was outnumbered if we wanted him dead. I liked having the upper hand in these situations, so I gave him a nod and pulled off my glasses.
“Charlie.” I shook his outstretched hand.
He grinned broadly. “Well, I’ll be damned. You’re real. The female ash. The cure.”
Hope sprang in my chest. If he knew, that meant the rumor mill had begun to spread. I nodded.
Ryder shook his hand next. “Ryder.”
This time Zack looked absolutely gobsmacked. “Ryder Angelson? As in the very ash who was instrumental in setting up the enforcer program?”
Ryder nodded. Zack’s impressed expression deepened. Kyle was next for the introductions. Sam didn’t bother with his name; that wasn’t my silent enforcer’s style. He said: “I need to find the Controller. We need access to the network.”
Zack’s friendliness disappeared and suspicion darkened his features.
I growled, “Come on, man. We came all the way out of hiding because we know his brother is in your Hive.”
He swallowed hard. “Why do you need to see him?”
I didn’t like his mannerisms; he was acting sketchy as fuck. Ryder noticed it too. I stepped closer, giving him my baddest staredown. “Because I’m going to cure all the vampire douchebags and I’m going to need help. Not to mention that all ash and enforcers across the Hives need to be warned. Shit is about to get real, and if you’re not prepared you’re going to end up dead.”
His mouth popped open and then something settled in his eyes as he gave a wry grin. “Well, since you put it that way … hi, I’m the Controller.”
Sam eyes narrowed, like he thought Zack was full of it. “I thought he was on the run and his brother was here?”
He shrugged. “I like to start rumors to keep people off my trail. This way I get a real home, and ash can still find me if needed.”
“We need to organize a major undertaking,” Sam told him.
He nodded and eyed the doorway. “I’ll do everything in my power to help you, I promise, but not here and not now. The Hives have gone into complete lockdown except for emergency calls. If we don’t get back soon they’ll suspect something. I’ll have to tell them it was a crank call.”
“Who is your tech guy?” he asked me, and I nodded to Sam.
Zach pulled out his phone and handed it to Sam. “The picture of the pug in my photos is the back door into the network. I don’t have time right now to get the full story, so you’re going to have to figure out how to access the network and get your message into the world.”
Sam nodded staring at the phone like it was made of twenty-four carat gold.
Zack eyed the door and then spoke softer: “Some Hives are taking away all electronics, going back to the Dark Ages, and there’s talk about cutting the enforcer program altogether, in which case we’ll never be allowed outside again.”
Ryder groaned next to me. Shit.
“We need to get word to every Hive in record time,” I told him.
He nodded. “Put it on the network, but I’m telling you, nothing spreads faster than word of mouth. I was just in Seattle escorting my Quorum to a meeting when I heard about what happened to your enforcers. I’m sorry.” He directed that last comment at Ryder.
Ryder nodded solemnly.
“Use the phone. I’ll meet you here tomorrow at noon. If I don’t show, leave the phone in the top desk drawer. Angela can be trusted.”
We all nodded and he took another second to glance at me. “The cure…” He shook his head in disbelief and then left the room, leaving us all to stare at each other.
Ten minutes later we were all walking down a side road that paralleled the 3rd Street promenade.
“We need somewhere to lay low while I figure out this phone,” Sam said, still clutching it like it was the most precious thing in the world.
Jared spoke up: “I have an old surf buddy who used to live a few blocks over. He’d be in his sixties now if he’s still around. Total chill dude who’d never rat a brother out.”
Ryder didn’t look like he was immediately jumping on board with this plan. “You still trust a guy you haven’t spoken to in decades?”
Jared gave Ryder a bit of a glare. Unusual for the normally happy Aussie. The stress was getting to all of us. “Me and this guy went through a lot, okay. I trust him.
Ryder nodded; that was enough to placate him for the moment. We followed Jared down a side street. After a bit of getting lost, he finally recognized the small blue beach shack five blocks from the ocean. There were Tibetan peace flags hanging over the front door and a marijuana leaf sticker in the window. I raised an eyebrow at Jared, but he just chuckled.
“He’s still here. I knew he would never leave the beach.” Jared walked right up to the door like he owned the place and banged on it.
Sam, Oliver, and Markus hung back on the lawn while Ryder, Kyle, and I stood behind Jared. I heard some shuffling and then the door opened. Standing before us was a buff, graying old guy with surprising good looks for his sixty-plus years. He wore tan cutoff shorts and a tank-top, his skin leathery and dark from all the hours under the sun. He looked confused for a second, and then Jared dropped his shades. “Hey, mate.”
The guy broke into a grin and actually began tearing up. “Oh my God! Jared. Buddy.” He jumped out the front doorway and took Jared into a hug. Now that he was in the sunlight I saw that he was missing one of his legs but wore a cool, carbon-fiber prosthetic.
He pulled back. “I haven’t seen you in ages. I heard you were an ash and that was it. How you been?”
Jared smiled. “Good, man. I’m good. My buddies and I are kind of having a hard time. We need a place to crash…”
The man immediately stepped aside. “Mi Casa es su casa.”
Jared looked on the lawn. “There’s seven of us total…”
“The more the merrier, brother. I’ve got plenty of beer and I was just about to make some pasta. You guys eat, right?”
We all chuckled as he led us into the house. Ryder waved for the boys to come in off the lawn. I was glad to finally unclick these heavy camping backpacks and release the weight from my shoulders. I was grateful we would have a roof over our heads tonight.
After handing out water and beer, the old timer introduced himself: “I’m Brian, but my buddies call me Shark Bait.” He smiled and Jared shook his head, chuckling.
“How do you guys know each other?” I asked, trying to make small talk.
Brian gave the Aussie enforcer a somber look. “Jared saved my life when a shark in Australia took my leg clean off.”
Okay, so “sexy surfer hero” was totally my new nickname for Jared. Always knew he was a brave one.
Brian nodded. “I heard Queensland had some killer waves, so I sold my VW van and bought a one-way ticket to Gold Coast in the ‘80s. Met Jared and his mates on the water. Barely knew him six hours, and when the shark pulled me under Jared swam after me like he had known me all his life.”
Jared raised his beer. “Surfer code, bro.”
Brian clinked his beer. I had a feeling we were going to be hearing lots of bros over the next twenty-four hours.
“What happened?”
Brian shrugged. “The second I got dragged under and felt that crunch, I passed out. Woke up with Jared hovering over me, tying off my leg.”
Jared looked haunted at the memory. “You still surf?”
Brian smirked. “What do you think? I’m the best damn one-legged surfer in the Pacific. No shark’s going to take surfing from me.”
It hit me then, how you had these moments with people, these bonding moments that could literally tie you to someone for a whole lifetime. Jared and Brian had one. And I’d had more than one with each of these enforcers. I’d known them only a few months and would die for each one of them, no questions asked.
Over the next few hours I helped Brian cook, and except for the silver gray hair, forgot about his age. He had this contagious personality, always happy and chill – probably the marijuana. I learned that he’d had a live-in girlfriend of thirty years, but she’d died a few years ago of breast cancer. Now it was just him and the waves and he was more than happy to help Jared out in any way.
After buttering the garlic bread and popping it in the oven, I went in search of the boys to see if they needed a beer refill. I heard their voices outside. Stepping into the back yard for the first time, I was completely struck by the scene. Ryder was on the hammock napping, Oliver and Sam hunched over the phone, Markus coloring in his book, and Kyle and Jared sitting on the grass having a nice chat. Just like a normal family, no evidence that we were about to rain hell on the vampires.
I inhaled the salty air and decided then that if we survived this whole thing, I wanted this life. A small blue beach house with white picket fence and a hammock, preferably with Ryder inside. When I had first heard I was an ash, it’d dashed all of my domestic dreams. But we had a chance to change all of that. We didn’t have to be slaves to the Hive. We could live among humans again. At least I hoped.
Long after dinner was done and Brian had retired for the night, Sam finally cracked the code into the underground network. I was impressed. It had only taken him a few hours to maneuver through what he referred to as one of the most insanely encrypted paths he’d ever encountered. He, of course, was annoyed it had taken him that long. Think it gave him an entirely new level of respect for Zack though.
All of us waited, tense and silent, as he started to shift his way through the information. After some time I couldn’t stand the waiting.
“So anyone can access the network to receive information, but how do other ash or enforcers normally put information on there?” I asked.
Sam was busy, so it was Markus who answered me. “Either they do what we did and track the Controller down via the clues to his whereabouts. Or the other option is to send a letter. Snail mail is pretty much untraceable. There’s a mailbox which is monitored by someone. Then that letter is posted again to someone else, who then posts it to a final, secret, destination. It’s slow as hell. But everything else was always being interrupted by the vamps. Then the Controller is supposed to assess the importance of your information and post it up on the forum.”
Well, that explained why we needed to come out here in person. We did not have time for that weird runabout way of getting information out to everyone.
“What about the network that Sam was using to figure out the Quorum hired Sanctum to kidnap me? Looked like anyone could post on it.”
“They can.” Sam said tense. “But it’s not a network for ash, it’s one for all the Hives and it’s the dark web. You don’t want to know what other stuff is on there. It’s not a place we can post this sort of information. The vamps would have it in seconds and they would rain blood down on the world. Zack’s network is for ash only, very separate, very secure. This is what I’m accessing right now.”
I liked that. Always have a backup plan. Except we didn’t really have one for our “annihilate vampires from the face of the Earth” plan. Oh well, if it failed I’d think of a plan B. I always did.
“Sam will be the first ash, beside the Controller, to be allowed a backdoor access into the network,” Ryder said. “Zack gave us much more than we expected. I thought we’d have to try and get the message to him and hope he would load some of the information. Instead—”
“He’s allowing us to post our own message and information,” Sam said, cutting him off. “He’s giving us full access.”
Sam’s fingers were flying over the phone’s keypad then, and I knew he was posting now. “I’m warning all Hives that the vampires are killing ash. Locking them down. I’ve told them that we are planning to wage war on the vamps, that we will infect their blood and donors with the cure, and that war will probably ensue after this and to be ready to fight.”
All of us knew we wouldn’t get every vamp. It just wasn’t feasible. Some would have old blood. Some might be out of the Hive for the delivery, and by the time they made it back others would be cured, and no one would touch any blood then.
“Tell them we’re relying on them to help us finish this job, to remain with the Hives and take down any vamps who are not cured. Because they will seek out humans,” Ryder added to Sam’s post.
“Shit!” I exclaimed. “We need to let the humans know too. The government or something.”
Ryder nodded. “Yes, I’ve already considered this. Do you remember Lincoln, the SWAT boys who took on Deliverance with us?”
Oh yeah, I remembered Blue Eyes. Bastard told me to stand down.
Ryder gave me that sexy, half-grin. Guess my thoughts were clear across my face again. He continued: “I can easily get word to him, and he has plenty of contacts in the higher levels of the US government. Secretary of state, etc. At this stage I’m trying to figure out how to do this but keep the information secret. I’m ninety percent sure the humans will be on board with a vampire-free world.”
Jared gave a dry laugh, not really sounding amused. “The humans have been looking for a way to get rid of vampires for a long time. This will appeal to them, because firstly the plan is to cure them, not kill, so it won’t look like a mass slaughter. This is something which has always hindered governments trying to take down vampires before, the fact that they were once human. They’re people’s family members, and the humans would revolt against a mass slaughter.”
Oliver leaned up from where he was slouched against the step. He missed Jayden terribly when they were apart, leaving him quiet and introspective. “There’s no doubt the leaders will jump at this. They’re sick of being stuck under the control of vamps. I have a few contacts in Washington and they keep me updated.”
I shifted closer to him. “When should we tell the humans?”
Kyle, who had been half-asleep in another hammock, rolled over then and landed flat on his butt. His “oomph” broke the tension and all of us had a good laugh at the confused enforcer. “Dammit, how do people sleep in those things? Roll over to swat a fly and fall on my ass.”
Ryder leaned over and punched his best friend on the arm. “Man, you should be awake. We’re only planning the end of the world as we know it.”
Kyle returned the punch before swiping a hand across his eyes. “Shit, I know. I’ve been so tired lately. Think I need a good dose of blood from the source.”
That reminded me that all of us were going to need some blood soon. I could now go a day with no worries, and the boys even longer, but we had to make sure this was all finalized before I started to lose my mind. Luckily, we had those devices from Becca, but even that supply was limited.
Sam got to his feet then, the small phone clutched tightly in his right hand. “Okay, it’s all live on the network. There’s no way for ash to post replies, but there is a button for them to acknowledge they’ve received the information, and I’m already getting positive acknowledgements across the country.”
“Are we sure that none of these enforcers are in the pocket of the Quorum?” I asked, suddenly nervous that our plan could be easily derailed by simple betrayal.
None of the boys looked worried. “Never,” Kyle said. “Ash are oppressed and murdered daily by vampires. There’s not a single one who wouldn’t jump at the chance to take them down. They don’t even pay us well.”
Oliver agreed. “Yep, and not to mention that anyone who brought this information to the Quorum would not only get themselves killed, but all ash. The vamps would start systematically wiping out all of us in a bid to maintain power.”
True. So very true. And the ash knew it. Vampires had treated us like expendable possessions for long enough. We were taking our freedom back.
“To answer your question from before, the human government is going to be a bit more difficult,” Ryder said. “Plenty of them are in the pocket of vampires. I trust Lincoln. Maybe he’ll have a thought about how to do this.”
It didn’t sit right with me that we might bring this war down on humans and never give them a heads up. I had human friends and family. I wasn’t close to any of them, but they didn’t deserve to die at the hands of a vampire.
“Maybe we wait until all the blood is done and delivered,” I said. “That way this information only has a small window of chance to be spread. The bad humans won’t have enough time to tip off their vampire allies, but the good ones can help us and warn their law enforcement agencies around the world.”
All of the boys exchanged a glance, and I didn’t love the look of it. Despite Ryder’s earlier thought of sharing with Lincoln, it now looked like he had mentally axed that idea.
“I think we play it by ear,” Markus finally said. “The ash will help us, and with some luck the humans will not be affected. I’m not sure it’s a great idea to even tell them at all.”
The other boys’ hard expressions did not change and I realized all of them felt the same way.
I stood up. “Have you forgotten who feeds you? Have you forgotten who will be looking at us once the smoke settles? The humans are everything in this plan. We need them to know that we acted with them in mind so after the vampires are gone or cured, we can settle into an easy alliance and pray that they still donate blood to feed all the ash.”
Ryder was nodding now. “She has a point. It’s good PR to let them in. We’ll always need them.”
Sam was looking at me in a calculated way.
“What?” I growled at him.
“The crooked government officials would spill our plan and ruin it…”
I began to protest but he shut me up.
“BUT … you have a point. We need to get the humans on our side. So, I have a plan…”
Sam with the plan. Always. He stared at the grass for a minute and I could see the wheels turning in his head. Then he grinned.
“Out with it!” I prodded him.
“We get a hold of the blackmail files and start making the crooked politicians work for us. Just until this battle is over. Then we send it all to the press.”
My mouth hung open. “You want to blackmail people?”
Oliver and Markus were nodding. Sam even smiled. “I do. It’s the only way to ensure their silence.”
Shit, those photos of that guy with the gag ball in his mouth, that stuff was awful. I didn’t want the bad karma of dealing with that. But … we needed all the help we could get.
“How do we get the files?” I asked. Last time I checked they were in the basement of Portland Hive.
“Lucas,” Ryder said. Our man on the inside.
My sweet vampire that had a major ashpire crush would do anything to help us.
Sam busted out his secure laptop. “I’ll get word to him. If he can scan the files and upload them to my secret server, then burn the originals, we would be in business.”
That was a lot to ask my vampire ally. We had already asked enough of him, but this could really seal the deal with the humans. If we could cut off all outside help and control the Hives fully, we had a shot at taking them all out.
“Okay let’s do it.”
We barely slept, Sam was up all night counting responses from the Hives on the network and communicating back and forth with Lucas on a secure server. Lucas had agreed to do it. He was going to have a trusted ash infiltrate the filing room so that it couldn’t be traced back to him. He said things were getting rough in the Hive and that Fugly was getting closer to Tessa. I didn’t like that shit. At all. I wanted to drive down there and get her ass out of the Hive, but obviously that wouldn’t work.
Jared’s buddy had already left to catch the morning waves, and as much as the golden-haired enforcer wanted to join him, he stayed with us so we could plan our next move.
“I think we should split up,” Ryder said. “A few of us will meet with Zack, give him back the phone and make sure their Hive is up to date with the plan. Meanwhile, Charlie and some of the guys pack up our stuff here so we’re ready to move out.”
I glared, hoping he didn’t think I was too stupid to realize what he was doing. Making sure he kept me safe in the beach house. Whatever.
“Move out where?” I asked. What was our next move?
Ryder’s expression was calm, but his eyes were swirling. “While we wait for Lucas to get the files to us, we need to get a vampire or two to Becca so she can test the cure serum. We have to be ready to distribute it through the hospital systems before the Christmas shipments go out.”
Sam nodded. “Becca tells me she has a few batches ready to go. But she does need some test subjects.”
Well, that should be easy. Just kidnap a vamp or two and hope for the best.
When did this become my life?