Queen of Quarantine

by Caroline Peckham

  Saint’s knuckles were turning white where they were fisted on the arms of his chair, his face fixed in a steely mask. He stood abruptly, marching upstairs without a word and Kyan pushed out of his seat, looking ready to murder the next person who came close to him.

  “Is it the Justice Ninja?” I asked what everyone was surely thinking, my heart thrashing in my chest. How could they know I was here? We’d kept all the blinds closed. I hadn’t been outside. It wasn’t possible. And yet…

  Monroe took my hand, his jaw ticking furiously as he caught my attention. “You’re safe here, princess.”

  “I know,” I said earnestly, a dark, murderous energy filling me. “I just want to find them and make them pay.”

  “We will. And we’ll throw them in with Bait,” Kyan growled and I looked over at him.

  “What did you do with him?” I asked curiously and a psychotic look entered Kyan’s eyes.

  “He’s locked up in an unused classroom over in the Pine Auditorium. We toss the odd apple or bag of cooked rice in there occasionally. The stench is pretty rank though.” He smiled like that pleased him and it pleased me too.

  I was glad he was suffering after everything he’d done. He could have killed me with those bow and arrows, or worse, he could have killed one of my men.

  Saint came striding down the stairs looking at his phone. “The CCTV shows the Ninja in their mask outside The Temple not ten minutes ago. They headed down towards the sports hall.”

  “Well what are we fucking waiting for?” Blake growled, cracking his knuckles as he followed Kyan toward the door.

  Saint strode up to me, handing me his phone before walking over to the secret compartment in the floor where his safe was hidden. He tapped in a code, taking out a gun and giving that to me too.

  “What are these for?” I frowned.

  “You’re staying here. You can follow the others’ trackers on this app. If my phone locks, the passcode is one-seven-five-two-nine-seven.” He tapped the screen to open an app and three dots showed up on it for Kyan, Blake and Nash’s phones. “The gun is for any motherfucker who walks in that door who isn’t one of your Night Keepers.” He kissed my cheek, leaving a burning mark on it and Nash squeezed my fingers before heading after the others.

  I knew I couldn’t risk being seen around campus, but I still hated not being able to go with them.

  “Destroy them,” I commanded, my spine straightening as all of my boys nodded at me, their eyes glinting as they hungered to obey that order. “Make them goddamn suffer.”

  S omething about the time the other Night Keepers and I had spent working together to return Tatum to us had changed my outlook on this group of black hearted boys. I no longer saw three soulless demons born of entitlement and privilege into a world so bountiful that they had grown to have nothing but disdain for it. I now saw three men forged of different hurts and pains with different damage and different ghosts haunting them, but we had all come together for one, single dream. And that dream was more than just the girl we all so clearly loved, it was the family we had managed to build with one another, it was the determination to combine our strengths and use them to destroy our enemies.

  So as I raced across campus, my shoulders rubbing against Saint and Kyan's, instead of feeling like a man wearing a mask and playing pretend, I felt free for the first time in as long as I could remember.

  I wasn't lying to anyone anymore. They knew my story, every dark, rotten facet of it. They knew my birth name. They knew my grief. And instead of punishing me for it like I'd once believed would happen if they ever discovered my truth, they'd pulled me up onto their pedestal and crowned me right alongside them. I wasn't lost in memories of a past I couldn't reclaim anymore. And even with the prospect of making Troy Memphis suffer and pay for what he'd done to my family looming on the horizon, I found that I was living for so much more than that now too.

  Tatum had bound our wandering souls together and though I'd once wished to claim her for my own, I had grown to see that my relationships with each of the men she'd chosen were precious to me too. Even Saint fucking Memphis.

  We weren't four men hunting this Justice Ninja asshole through the trees. We were a single entity. A flock of ravens, a stampede of bison, a wolf pack, a family. Five souls, one unit. And we'd destroy any threat to the sanctity of that union - especially if they were dumb enough to come at our girl.

  Blake charged ahead of us while Kyan whooped excitedly, swinging his baseball bat at his side and promising swift punishment to our quarry once we caught them.

  The Acacia Sports Hall loomed ahead of us and Blake slowed just enough for the four of us to enter the building as one.

  We forced ourselves to walk as we moved down the long corridor which led towards the locker rooms and Kyan nudged me, pointing out the partially open door to the sports hall itself.

  Saint frowned as he looked that way too, seemingly unsure before shrugging one shoulder and indicating for us to check it out.

  "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Blake hollered as he pulled the door wide and we stepped into the hall.

  With the lights out, the huge space was dim and shadows hung behind the bleachers but there was no sign of anyone being in here.

  We stepped further into the space, glancing between ourselves and as we reached the middle of the sports hall, a prickle rose along my spine, making me whirl back around as I felt the presence of eyes on my skin.

  My gaze fell on a hooded figure in a bone white mask just as they threw a canister into the room with us, the shiny, silver tube emitting a strong smelling gas at an alarming rate.

  I yelled a string of curses as I ran back towards the double doors and a second canister was tossed in a moment before they were slammed shut.

  Saint cursed, yanking his shirt up to cover his mouth and nose as he barked orders at us to do the same and I staggered a step as the gas made my head spin.

  Kyan roared a challenge as he ran at the doors like a bull, his shoulder slamming into them and making them rattle, but they didn't give as something clearly held them closed from the outside.

  I made it to his side and started throwing my shoulder against the wood in time with him, determined to break out of here before that gas took full effect.

  Saint and Blake hurled the canisters away, but even in the huge room, the gas was thick and it seemed to stay low to the ground, the effects of it making me stumble as dizziness pushed into my mind.

  "What the fuck is this?" I asked, but my words were so slurred that I wasn't sure any of them could understand me.

  I slammed into the door again, but my muscles were losing power, and when I tried to move back to do it another time, my knees buckled and I slumped to the floor.

  I turned my head and the room spun so violently that it took me several long seconds to realise the thing I was looking at was Blake's unconscious body.

  I fought to stay upright on my knees, but I was losing the battle with my own limbs as they slipped out of control and I slumped to the wooden floor with a groan.

  Kyan tried to batter the door down one last time before dropping his bat, the sound of it rolling away echoing in my ears. He fell against the doors before sliding down them and falling onto his back beside me. The gas canister blew the drugged substance right into his face and he coughed as he was overwhelmed by it.

  He caught my gaze, the same fear reflected in his pupils as I was sure he could see in mine. With the four of us incapacitated, Tatum was vulnerable back at The Temple. Something we’d all sworn would never happen again.

  The Justice Ninja had laid out this trap knowing full well that Saint would see them on the cameras. They must have figured out that he was watching. Knowing we'd have to leave her behind when we hunted them here.

  And like a bunch of assholes who believed we were invincible, we'd walked right into it.

  I couldn't fight the effects of the gas anymore and my eyes fell closed as a groan escaped my lips which was meant to be a name
. But my girl was tougher than anyone I knew. And the last feeling that surged through me as unconsciousness tore me away, was hope. Because I had to hope that she could handle this asshole on her own, otherwise I had no idea what would become of us.

  M y pulse went haywire as I watched the Night Keepers’ location on the app on Saint’s phone, all of them at the Acacia Sports Hall. They’d been inside for almost ten minutes and hope filled me over the possibility that they’d finally caught the other Justice Ninja and were currently giving them hell. I just wished I could be there with them to dole out a little justice of my own. But showing my face on campus wasn’t worth the risk, so I just had to hope one of them was making a recording for me.

  The little dot marking Kyan began to move beyond the hall then started whizzing along down one of the paths faster than someone could easily run. I frowned, coming off of the app and finding my way onto Saint’s security cameras, tapping through the feeds from the ones he had set up all across campus. I paused on one showing a golf cart accelerating along the path and a breath got lodged in my throat.

  Two masked people were on the cart with Kyan perched in the back seat, his head lolling, eyes shut, hands bound. What the hell were they doing with him??

  “No,” I gasped, panic igniting in my chest as the cart closed in on the outer gate.

  There was only one place beyond there. The parking lot. What if they got him in a vehicle? What if they took him somewhere and hurt him?

  I ran for the door as I shoved the gun into my waistband, snatching up Blake’s keys and kicking my feet into my sneakers. I grabbed my coat as I went, tugging it on as I sprinted outside, pulling the hood up around my face to try and keep my identity hidden as I stuffed the key into my pocket and felt my tactical knife kissing my palm.

  I took strength from that. My dad had taught me all I needed to know to survive any situation to the point where I was almost hunting shadows for some unknown threat. He’d seen the inner warrior in me and encouraged it to thrive. I could do anything if I set my mind to it. And I would reach Kyan before the Justice Ninjas did anything to him.

  I raced along the path, Saint’s phone still locked in my grip as I brought up Monroe’s number and hit dial. The call rang and rang and I cursed as no one answered, calling Blake instead. I had to keep my panic from clouding my vision and summoned the strength my training had instilled in me as the call continued to ring.

  And then it went dead.

  What the hell has happened to them? Why aren’t they picking up?

  Something seriously fucked up was going on here, but I had no time to try and puzzle it out as I just focused on the task at hand. My husband needed me and I wouldn’t let him down.

  My pulse thrashed wildly as I accepted I was going this alone. I couldn’t stop. I had to get to Kyan.

  The CCTV feed was empty, but as I made it beyond Aspen Halls, I saw the golf cart disappearing beyond the gate. I pushed myself to my limits, tearing toward the huge iron gate and finding no guards manning it. I didn’t have time to wonder why as I shoved it open and turned right just as the cart rounded into the parking lot far ahead. I ran flat out toward the turning that led beyond the tall bushes to my left, my breaths coming heavily as I took the gun from my waistband and prepared to destroy anyone who stood between me and my Night Keeper. They were fools to believe they could take on my kings and get away with it, but it looked like they didn’t know their queen was home.

  A car engine revved as I made it to the turning and I stumbled back just in time as a huge Land Rover accelerated out of it. The masked driver didn’t seem to see me as I hit the ground on my ass. The vehicle banked hard and sped away from me, picking up pace along the road.

  I couldn’t hesitate, pushing to my feet with a burst of adrenaline and running into the parking lot, realising I didn’t even know what car Blake had. I pressed the button on the key fob and a flashy, dark grey sports car’s lights blinked. The thing was an inch off of the ground and souped up to the fucking max. Of course he had to have the world’s most impractical, ostentatious car. The door opened like something out of Back to the Future and I dropped into the seat, adjusting it so my feet could reach the pedals as I struggled to get the door closed after me.

  When I finally managed it, I hit the on button and the whole dash lit up in an array of colourful lights and gadgets that made the interior look like a damn spaceship.

  “For fuck’s sake, Blake,” I snarled as I turned off the handbrake and slammed my foot to the gas.

  The whole thing jerked forward and took off at an alarming pace, kicking up gravel so that it pinged off of the paintwork. I gasped, scrambling to click my seatbelt into place as I got control of the sports car and zoomed out of the parking lot, placing my phone in the cupholder as I followed the tracker on Kyan’s phone.

  My heart thudded manically as I tore furiously after them, my fingers wrapped tightly around the steering wheel as the engine roared.

  The roads were winding as they led through the thick forest and I cursed at how far ahead they were already. But I wasn’t going to stop until I had my monster back in my arms.

  The two assholes who’d taken him had better be prepared for a fight. Because there was a wolf hunting them in the night. And she was coming for her mate.

  T he first thing to come back to me was a slight sensation in my toes which slowly spread to the rest of my body as the sorely tempting urge to vomit consumed me, but I found myself unable to even retch.

  If I'd been the kind to panic then the fact that I couldn't move might have been enough to make me freak the fuck out. But as I was more inclined towards blind violence, my most pressing thought was about how I was going to make the person responsible for this bullshit bleed.

  As I tried to figure out how to make so much as a single finger twitch, the echoing sound of a voice reached me and though my eyes were still closed, I focused all of my attention on listening to it.

  "Are you sure about this, Ashlynn?" a guy said from somewhere in front of me and it took me a beat to realise that that was Bait's voice. "He's going to wake up. Shit, he's going to wake up and then he'll beast the fuck out and get free and then he'll fucking kill us."

  "He won't hurt me," a girl snapped in reply, her voice closer to me than his, somewhere to my left. "Kyan loves me."

  Now I had some serious fucking questions because there was only one girl I loved and she did not have that whiney, nasally voice. In fact, I was almost certain I recognised the person speaking, but my brain was so foggy that it was hard to focus on more than just listening to their words.

  "I dunno, man, I dunno," Bait said nervously. "You're a chick. He probably won't beat the shit out of you, but I've been on the receiving end of his fists way too often. I think we should just cut our losses while he's still out of it. I dunno why I let you talk me into this insanity in the first place."

  "It's not insanity!" the girl shrieked. "And you'd better not forget that I could have just left you to rot in that school. You should be thanking me for breaking you out-"

  "You should be thanking me for never giving up your name," he spat back.

  "You don't even have a car, Jeremiah," the girl snarked and her words made me realise that we were in fact moving, the hum of an engine underlying their conversation. "And you were more than up for getting back at them under my terms when I laid them out. You always knew this was the plan, so don't try to pussy out on me now or you'll be the one left on the side of the road."

  "Jesus fucking Christ, we're going to die," Bait muttered, almost to himself.

  "I'm gonna tie you up in your grandma's pantyhose and choke you on the crotch of them," I mumbled, not even really meaning to speak but losing control of my tongue as consciousness drew closer.

  Bait shrieked in alarm and the car swerved violently, making the girl curse him. My head crashed into the window beside me as I was thrown by the motion, unable to stop myself from going with it and a moment later a weight settled onto my lap as someo
ne straddled me.

  "Shh, shh, baby, I'm here," the girl cooed, her fingers tracing down the side of my cheek as her breath washed over my mouth. "We're together now. Finally. Just like we were always meant to be."

  "Is he awake?" Bait demanded.

  My eyes were still sealed shut and though more sensation was creeping into my limbs, I couldn't move. I realised my wrists were secured at the base of my spine, my arms crushed behind me where they'd placed me in the car and I cursed them internally.

  The girl in my lap tugged a seatbelt over me, buckling it up to make sure I wouldn't get thrown around again before stroking my face once more.

  "He's still sleeping," she said after a few moments. "Just concentrate on the road. Once we get to my family's summer estate you can take the car and go anyway. Me and Kyan are overdue some alone time."

  "Don't worry, I wasn't planning on sticking around once that psycho wakes up," Bait replied and he would be fucking lucky if he really did manage to escape before I could pay him back for this. But even if he did, we’d hunt him down eventually.

  The girl didn't seem to care about him though, her hands touching my face again before the stroke of her hair fell against my shoulder and her lips brushed against my ear.

  "Have you been waiting for me, big boy?" she asked and for the first time, my heart lurched as the sound of those words on her lips tossed me back into a memory of her speaking them just like that before. On a night when she'd slipped something into my drink and taken me back to her room.

  It was like being back there again, helpless, caught in the confines of my own body and unable to move. But that time I'd managed to fight back. This time I couldn't move anything more than my big toe.

  The kiss of cold, sharp metal slid across my collarbone a moment before she used the knife to slit my shirt in half straight down the centre and a grunt escaped me as I tried with all I had to fight my way up out of the dark.