by Leia Stone
I was sitting in the kitchen watching Jayden. He was busy cooking banana nut muffins to see us off with.
When the true darkness of night washed away the twilight it was time to say goodbye to Jayden and Becca. They were heading to the secluded cabin now; the sexy six and I would sleep one more night here and then take the chopper to Canada at the break of day tomorrow. Or whatever sprinkle of low light was masquerading as daybreak in this part of the world. Alaska was not only freezing, it was perpetually dark. Jayden was all packed up, his bags taking up the majority of the space in their snowmobile.
I was really just grateful that they would be safe there and that Becca would have the company of my best friend.
Jared, Markus, and Kyle said goodbye and then set out to patrol with the night vision goggles – scout around to make sure Becca and Jayden weren’t followed. Sam, Ryder, and I helped with their final bags, and Oliver and Jayden shared a sweet kiss in the corner of the outbuilding, saying goodbye.
Becca entered the room then, dragging a cooler behind her, and Sam met my eyes. Kiss her, you fucking idiot! I wanted to shout at him. But he just pursed his lips and then stalked over to take the cooler off her hands, barely making eye contact with her. Ryder was fiddling with his walkie-talkie as I crossed the large area and stood next to him.
“What’s Sam’s deal?” I whispered.
Ryder glanced over his shoulder at Sam, who was strapping down the water cooler, Becca watching him with sad eyes.
Ryder looked back at me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “He was a prisoner of war. They tortured him within an inch of his life, trying to ferret out secrets. Sam’s always been good at keeping secrets. He never broke, not even once.”
Oh fuck. I knew Sam had issues but I didn’t know it was that bad. Jesus.
Ryder looked proud of his friend. “He held out through the worst torture you can imagine. They were just about to kill him when the war ended and he was rescued. But it was already too late. He was a changed man and soon after turned ash. Now, even more so, he keeps secrets and is afraid to care too deeply. He would die if someone took Becca or targeted her just because of their relationship. The thing with Lupita’s family was a huge reminder of that.”
Shit. Knowing how loyal and honorable Sam was, he was never going to act on his feelings for Becca. He would protect her forever, when it was clear all she really wanted was his love.
Jayden was strapping himself into the driver’s seat of the snowmobile, so we walked over to say final goodbyes.
Sam awkwardly held up his hand in a fist bump. “Later, Becks.”
Becca’s whole face lit up at the nickname. “Bye, Samuel.”
They had hundreds of inside jokes after a lifetime of memories together. I suddenly felt it was my moral duty to crash their two heads together and force them to recognize the blazing love and adoration they had for each other, because we all saw it. Ah, but as always, the timing wasn’t right. So I walked over and gave Jayden a long hug. “I love you, bitch,” I told him.
Becca’s mouth quirked a little, but I could see she was getting immune to our cussing.
“Love you too, bitch,” he replied, and Becca just shook her head.
“You should try it sometime. It’s freeing,” I said to her.
She just smiled and waved goodbye as they drove out of the outbuilding and into the snowy grounds. Twenty feet from us the snowmobile ground to a halt. Sam stepped forward, pausing when Becca’s head popped up and she turned, facing us.
“Bye, bitches!” she shouted, and held on to the roof bar as Jayden peeled out. I could hear his laughter echoing through the night.
Sam’s mouth was gaping open. “Jayden is a bad influence on her.”
I busted out laughing. “Jayden will make her fabulous. One month locked in a cabin with him and she’ll be wearing push-up bras and giving you lap dances.”
Well, hello. Was that a little interest I saw there on Sam’s face? Not to mention the slight grin.
Ryder laced our hands together then and started leading me toward the house. “I’m tired. I think we should go to bed.” His voice was low, like a caress. Heat curled through my belly. Bed was definitely code for sex.
There was no more leading after that. Ryder had to haul butt to keep up with me. This was our last night in this snowy wilderness and I was going to take full advantage.
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 eac
h 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?”