Anarchy (Hive Trilogy Book 2)(19)

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.                       
       
           



       





Chapter 7




The next morning as we made our way to the garage, I realized how damn quiet the Hive was in the early hours. Vampires were probably asleep in their coffins. Okay, I was pretty sure they slept in beds, but there was no denying that they were creepy enough for coffins. At least the enclosed building, locked down with heavy shutters, felt less oppressive without the bloodsuckers around.

There were two Humvees waiting for us. Ryder suggested this in case some of the boys were called back to the Hive. At this stage, all of the sexy six, plus Jayden, were coming to Thanksgiving. Ryder cleared it with Lucas and Lucas chose not to tell the rest of the Quorum. If anyone asked, we were out on a call.

Jayden was extra hyped today. Apparently Thanksgiving was his second favorite holiday. Easter was first. My BAFF loved fluffy bunnies. I ended up in SUV #1 with Ryder, Kyle, Silent Sam, and Jared. The Australian enforcer had never celebrated Thanksgiving. Apparently it wasn't a holiday in his home country. He'd been in America for years now. His Hive in Sydney transferred him out to the Portland Hive after the incident which will not be named, but vamps didn't celebrate human holidays, despite the fact that once upon a time they were human, unlike ash, who were never anything other than a hybrid. Funny which one of us had kept the most humanity intact.

The sun was bright as we exited. Spending so much time indoors made the sight of the rising sun extra beautiful. You don't realize how much you take some of these things for granted until they're gone. This was what I was trying to tell Tessa, but my stubborn, stinky-drunk friend refused to understand what I was saying.

Thoughts of evil vampires had my mind flittering back to the little girl. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her last night, even with Ryder and Kyle sprawled out on my couch eating all my snacks and keeping me entertained. The only way I could shut my mind off was when pure exhaustion knocked me out. I ended up crashing out between the boys, Ryder's warm arm holding me against him. We were back to no alone time or privacy, especially with the Quorum on the radar again.