Annihilate (Hive Trilogy Book 3) (18 page)

She surprised me by bursting into tears again. “Blake,” she said.

Fuck Blake. “He can’t come,” I ground out. That bastard wasn’t down in the pit with Lucas trying to help us, so I didn’t care about him anymore.

She nodded. “I know … he’s dead. Allistair got to him.”

Oh fuck. I was totally kidding before when I said he’d better be dead. Dammit. That explained a lot. That’s probably what got her thrown in the pit. A story for another time. I wouldn’t ask her about it now in front of everyone.

I just held her as the elevator doors opened. Kyle was waiting on the other side, and the sight of him made my heart soar. My family was okay. We could get through this. We could get through anything.

An hour later we were all back at Lincoln’s house. Sanctum had bailed right after the fight, but we’d see them again pretty soon. They already had a lot of their members stationed in the hospitals and blood stations. The others were heading off to join them.

The clock had started now, and we were on a three to four day countdown.

At the moment, Ryder, Kyle, and I were being interrogated as Tessa slept off her vampire hangover in the guest room. Tattooed chick’s name was Sasha and she was officially my woman crush Wednesday. She had already stitched up her own thigh wound and was now eye screwing Kyle every second she got.

It was definitely clear she had these boys by the balls. In the last fifteen minutes she had gone around to collect blood samples from all the SWAT team. I guess it was protocol after a bloody fight with the vampires to get checked and make sure no one was infected. She had some type of handheld machine, and she came over to Lincoln, who was mid-sentence.

“…I have about thirty minutes before I have to report everything that went down tonight. We lost a man—”

Sasha grabbed his finger and poked it, letting a few drops fall onto the wand before sticking it into the meter. Then she walked away as Lincoln sucked his finger, and I became very aware that I was thirsty as hell; we hadn’t had blood in a while.

Ryder shifted his stance. “Our plan all along was to have the help of the human government. We have no idea what will happen in the few hours after the plan goes into effect. The cure is not instant, and vampires can do a lot of damage in a short time. But it’s imperative they don’t find out before the plan goes into action, otherwise we’re all screwed.”

Lincoln seemed to consider me, staring at my forehead like it would unlock something.

“You really think you can cure them all? All of them?” He really stressed the last few words.

I sighed. “Well, obviously not every single one. But the vampires live in controlled little societies. The Hives. And they live on one thing, blood, so I’m pretty damn sure we will get 95% of them.”

He seemed pleased with that answer. “A vaccine you say?”

I nodded. “My blood is the cure. Once Tessa wakes up you’ll see.”

“Boss…” Sasha entered the room with the machine, and for the first time she looked out of control. Her hands even looked to be shaking. “You’ve been infected.”

Lincoln swayed on his feet, and now that she had said it, I noticed he was looking ashen, fine beads of sweat on his face. Shit.

“You know protocol. Call it in,” he stated, his expression calming as he managed to hide his shock.

Sasha reached for her phone, but before she could dial I threw both of my hands in her direction, waving like a crazy person. “Calm down, everyone. Let’s talk this through.” Sasha stalled, holding her phone. “You call this in and they will drop him off at the local Hive. The Hive he just helped slaughter.”

Sasha shook her head. “No, it’s standard procedure in our specialized units. We don’t go down the bloodsucker route. We sign waivers and documents stating this much. He’ll be…” She didn’t finish, but I heard her loud and clear.

My mouth popped open. “They KILL you?”

Lincoln nodded. “It’s what I want. I don’t want to be a bloodsucker. No offense.”

Been there. Got the shirt. And vamp was so much worse than ash.

“Then let me help you. I’m the cure, remember?”

Lincoln seemed to consider it. “You still have yet to prove that.” He gestured to the room where Tessa was recovering.

I levelled a glare on him. “Option one: you think I’m a liar and call this in and get yourself killed. Option two: you trust me, inject some of my blood in your arm, and have the rest of your life as a human. What do you have to lose by trusting me?”

He still hesitated, and I wanted to roll my eyes. Men. Seriously. Idiots.

I crossed my arms and looked at Sasha. This woman had power; she needed to use it. She met my steely gaze and gave me a curt nod before getting in her boss’s face.

“Do it. If it doesn’t work by morning, I’ll kill you myself,” she said bluntly. They stared at each other for a painfully long amount of time. Finally, he nodded.

“Do it!” He outstretched his arm and I could see the beads of sweat on his brow were increasing. The fine veins in his eyes were already bloodshot.

The virus was brutal. No wonder more humans died than were turned. Sasha took my blood and transferred it into Lincoln’s arm. Here’s hoping the human part of him didn’t react to the different blood-type before the cure part got going on the virus. I’d never cured someone who wasn’t fully turned yet.

I guess we’d find out tomorrow. Not to mention that tomorrow was the day we’d meet up with the rest of the sexy six and kick our plan into action. The next few days would either be the final for us, or the vampires. I know who I had my money on. All five dollars of it.

Morning came around way too fast. It felt like by the time I did multiple checks on Tessa and Lincoln, the sun was already starting to rise. Sasha eventually kicked me out of the “sick room,” and barely conscious I showered off the debris from the last twenty-four hours and crawled into bed. Ryder’s warm body slid in beside me soon after.

I slept like the dead for a few hours, no dreams, just pure unconsciousness. Ryder’s alarm roused us around 9 A.M. We needed to get moving this morning, no time to sleep the day away. Of course, that didn’t mean we had no time at all for some activities to increase the pleasure of waking up. I found myself caged under Ryder as he held himself above me. His dark hair was tousled, tawny skin bare to my roving eyes. The silver in his eyes was light but swirling. Some of the agony and guilt over the death of his men had abated. He felt like my Ryder again.

We still had a lot to talk about, him taking off like that and everything that had happened yesterday, but right now I needed some us time. The last few weeks had been crap. I was taking this happiness while it was possible.

Lowering himself onto his left elbow, our bodies were now deliciously aligned, naked skin pressing together everywhere. I swear my eyes pretty much rolled back in my head. Could anything feel better than this? Doubtful. Ryder reached out and gently cupped my face before leaning down and pressing soft kisses to the line of my jaw “All healed,” he said between caresses. “Still thinking about killing Lincoln.”

I chuckled, starting to squirm beneath him. My body was on fire. I needed him to hurry this up, because as perfect as those kisses were, I needed more. I needed him. Lifting my legs up, I wrapped them around him and pulled him down into me. The movement shifted his face, and as his lips met mine I let out low groan. The kiss started soft but quickly turned into a blazing fire. His lips moved against mine, gently but also firm, his tongue sweeping into my mouth and caressing mine.

This was worth every second of being hunted as an ashpire. Ryder was worth everything that had happened. This one moment of being loved by him was worth more than a million as a human with someone else, and as he continued to touch me I banished all other thoughts from my mind. Right now was time for loving. The rest could wait for later.

Later arrived way too soon. Ryder and I showered together, which might have involved some more hot kisses, but eventually we had to face reality. Thankfully, reality was an awake bestie with familiar hazel eyes.

I ran to her room, skidding to a halt inside the door. She was propped up on some pillows, still thin and pale, but looking much better than yesterday. She’d brushed her hair and everything.

“Charlie!” she shrieked, flinging her arms wide.

I didn’t hesitate, diving onto her and pretty much crushing her spine as I hugged her tightly.

“I told you so,” I said into her hair, and there was a split second of silence before she cracked up laughing. It burst from her in a torrent as her body shook against mine.

“You’ve been waiting to say that since the day I turned vamp, haven’t you?”

I pulled back and met her laughing eyes. “Yes, you stupid biatch. I could kick your ass so badly, but you have no idea how happy I am to see you alive and human.”

She sobered up then, and something dark flittered across her eyes. Her weeks in the Hive had not been a happy time, and I knew it would be a long while before she was okay with what had happened.

“I’m sorry about Blake,” I said gently. “I’m so sorry.”

Her face crumpled; her hands clutched at my shirt and I could see by how white her knuckles were that she was holding on with everything she had. “I miss him. My heart literally aches just knowing I’ll never see him again … that he’ll never touch me again … that I won’t wake next to him one more time. I’m not ready to give him up.”

She broke my heart; I felt every single word. If something happened to Ryder I would … lose my mind. I had no platitudes for her. Sometimes in these deep moments of grief, people wasted words, saying “Everything’s going to be okay,” and “You’re so strong, blah blah.” I wouldn’t do that to Tessa, I wouldn’t cheapen her pain. I knew what she needed and that was for me to listen. So I did.

I nodded and stroked her back and she cried and talked about Blake, and finally when she quieted I realized she had fallen back asleep. Kissing her forehead, I slipped out of the door to find out what had happened to Lincoln. Did he turn? Had Sasha killed him yet? Did my blood do something whack to him? Turn him into a zombie? As I turned the corner and made my way out into the living room, I was relieved to see him alive, drinking orange juice and giving Sasha his finger for her to prick and do another test.

She looked up when she heard me enter and graced me with a huge smile.

“He’s being annoying. It’s his third test in three hours. All clear!”

I grinned and stepped closer to Lincoln, meeting his gaze. Why not say it twice in one morning?

“I told you so.”

He chuckled. “Yes, you did.”

Before I could reply, Kyle came running inside from the backyard. He was holding a smart phone, one of Lincoln’s guys right on his tail.

“Turn on the TV, boss,” Lincoln’s boy said.

Kyle met my gaze and just shook his head. Oh fuck. What now? Did the Hive burn to the ground? Lucas dead? The rest of the ash dead too?

The TV blared to life and the emergency warning was going off, that high pitched blaring that the government reserved for times of nuclear war and shit. Then a newscaster came on. Her blond hair was pulled tight into a bun and she looked frazzled, but was smiling holding some papers in her shaking hands.

“The associated press received some startling information this morning.” My picture popped up on screen in the upper right hand corner, a place reserved for terrorist and murders. “There’s a cure for vampirism, a twenty-one-year-old Portland, Oregon, native, Charlene Bennett. We have confirmed blood results. We are asking for your help in finding this girl so we can work toward a cure for everyone.”

“Fuck!” Ryder’s loud curse scared me from my stupor. He never said fuck, that was my word. This was bad on a whole other level.

By the time I took a step toward him, Ryder had already hauled Lincoln up out of his chair and had him against the wall. Without missing a beat, Sasha pulled her gun, pointing it at the back of Ryder’s head.

“Stop it!” I yelled. “It wasn’t Lincoln. Think about it. Anyone could have spilled this information. Fugly might have organized for someone inside the Hive to send my blood results to the humans if he died, or if the Tessa plan didn’t work. Come on, this stinks of vampire. They want the humans’ help in finding me, and then they’ll take me out before anyone even realizes.”

Ryder took a steadying breath and set Lincoln down as Sasha removed the gun from his head. Yeah, we all had some trust issues to work on. Lincoln didn’t seem fazed though, he just started barking orders at his men, and Sasha came in closer to my side.

“We need to disguise you and you need to run.”

She was right. Lincoln would have to report to his superiors again soon. If I wasn’t still with him, it would be easier for him to skirt the truth of my whereabouts. Not to mention they’d be hitting every surveillance and CCTV footage in Portland trying to find me. The picture they’d showed on TV was from college, with my long hair, but I was still easily recognizable. The eyes were a dead giveaway.

Sasha pulled my hand and led me into the bathroom. She then retrieved a black makeup case with a skull on it, and after rummaging through she pulled out a small hoop earring the size of a dime.

I busted out laughing. “An earring? That’s your disguise? Might as well walk around naked in downtown Portland.” I hadn’t known her long, but I knew I could joke with her; she had that type of personality.

“Sometimes the best way to stay hidden is to stick out.” She messed with the earring and then slipped it between my nose like a septum ring. I sneezed as it scraped my skin, and then turned to look at the mirror. “I’m going goth?” I asked in disbelief. Jayden would shit himself. But if I was honest, this ring was kinda hot.

She smiled and nodded. “You’re going goth.”

The next fifteen minutes were spent giving me thick black eyeliner and dark purple lipstick, so dark it looked black in certain angles. Then she braided three small cornrows on one side of my hair and spiked up the back with gel.

I turned to look at myself in the mirror and gasped. Holy shit, I didn’t recognize myself! “You’re good,” I said, turning left and right to get the full view.