Anarchy (Hive Trilogy Book 2) (12 page)

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.”