Annihilate (Hive Trilogy #3)(30)
Markus groaned. “That Sanctum spy in Alaska, he kept saying ‘ally’ to me.” I did remember the spy murmuring something. “So that’s what he was talking about. I thought he was faking, that it was a trap.”
Ryder seemed to relax a little. “I did wonder why they left Markus alive. That wasn’t their normal MO, and the scout could have easily taken him out. Still, why would we truce with the devil? Sanctum should never be trusted.”
Okay, it was clear Ryder didn’t think too highly of them. And since he was the one who knew them the best, I felt we needed to heed his warnings.
Kyle crossed the room to crash in next to me, his long arm slung around me. “This isn’t the worst thing that could have happened,” he said. “We’re wanted criminals within the Hives. Sanctum have stealth and the numbers to get around easily. They also have many more connections than we do. But why are they helping us?”
Ryder was the one to answer: “They’re elitists. They have always seen the humans as the bottom of the food chain and the ash on top.”
I nodded. “That’s pretty much what Laz said. He believes ash are superior even to vampires, and he hates the way they control us.” Ryder locked eyes with mine, and even from across the room the air practically sizzled between us. He was still furious about what happened, and only time was going to allow him to release the fury. “Sanctum has a man in Cellway. They’re going to get us in as workers and delivery drivers. So that part of the plan should go smoothly. Laz also assured me that his people can infiltrate the hospitals. They have the skills and numbers, and that was always the biggest risk in our plan, the part where failure was a true worry. Someone noticing the cure in the bottles and informing someone.”
Jared was uncharacteristically somber, standing near the board which detailed the last few hours of my life. “Can we trust something like this to mercenaries who can be bought off?”
I shook my head. “We trust no one, but it’s the best plan we have right now. And that’s also why I want us to be the ones to get the cure into the bottles and transport them to the blood banks. We can at least keep an eye on some aspects of the plan. Hopefully Sanctum can just be used to make it that much easier.”
“What’s your gut saying, Charlie?” This was from Oliver, the more intuitive and gentle of the enforcers. “You spent time with them. Heard them speak of a truce directly. Do you believe they are double-crossing us?”
I worried at my lip for a moment, wondering if my next words might be the downfall of us all. “I believe they’re legit. We have a common goal, and they have a multitude of very large reasons to want the same thing as us. Of course we’ll also be wiping out their largest predator from the food chain, so I think they’re going to be a problem for us in the future, but right now I think they’re honestly going to help us.”
Ryder finally crossed to me and I could tell he’d held out as long as he could. I was hauled up off the couch, Kyle’s arm falling as I found myself in Ryder’s lap. His warmth enveloped me, and on instinct I relaxed into him, our bodies fusing together in something that was both sexual and comforting.
His chest lifted beneath me as his low voice filled the room. “Charlie has good instincts on this, so for now we trust her. It’s time for us to get back to Alaska, pick up some vampires for testing, and get this cure ready to roll. This is the last time I want to worry about any one of you. It’s time to end it.”
Here’s hoping Becca was ready for us to deliver her an early Christmas present. Trussed up vampire was the perfect gift under the tree, right?
Chapter 7
“Uh, guys, I really don’t need this many test subjects.”
Becca stood out the front of her hidey-hole cabin. She looked thin and tired; her eyes had dark circles that would have been driving my BAFF insane. There was two things Jayden detested, and that was unkempt eyebrows and uneven skin tone. Poor Becca had probably lost her mind listening to him fuss over her for the past few days.
Sam’s eyes were locked on the ragged ashpire as he untethered the five vampires he had strapped to the roof of his snowmobile. As I jumped out of the buggy I’d shared with Ryder, I stretched my legs and back. We’d been traveling for at least a billion hours. Flights out of Cali, then a private plane, then vampire hunting – which I was annoyingly excluded from – and then finally the huge ass trip to this tiny speck of civilization.
Sam had not been kidding when he said his bugout place was isolated. We’d driven for a long time in our snowmobiles. Would have been quite the sight with five vampires strapped to the roof, but luckily there was nobody out here to see us.
“Better to have too many than too little,” Ryder said to her.
It was nearing midnight and the sauce that Jared and Sam had concocted to make the vamps groggy would be wearing off soon. Turns out AT20 could be home brewed. It involved blood wine, sinus decongestant, and some other weird shit I didn’t recognize. My hand went to my neck where the Sanctum had darted me and I shivered, thinking of that drugged feeling.
After helping the boys load the creepy vamps into the basement of the charming 1920s hunting cabin, I collapsed onto the couch.
“I could sleep for a week,” I moaned to Jayden.
All of the boys were downstairs securing the vamps with bolts and chains. Becca was in her makeshift lab making tiny final corrections to her formula.