Annihilate (Hive Trilogy #3)(40)

Go or stay? Go or stay? Ryder or Tessa? As if reading my mind, Ryder looked up for a fraction of a second and yelled. “Go! We’ll hold them off you.”

That’s all I needed. I was barreling down the hallway with this chick and a few Sanctum and SWAT on my ass. I’m coming, Tessa. There was only one way in and out of the pit, and luckily it was on a separate grid to the rest of the Hive power. So they couldn’t easily shut the elevator down. Here’s hoping they hadn’t figured out a way.

Using the hand signals Ryder taught me, I communicated with the others behind me about the potential for trouble as we passed the regular elevator and continued on to the gold-colored door. There seemed to be no vamps on this level. Either they hadn’t expected us to try and gain access to the pit … or it was a trap. Probably the second one knowing Fugly. He’d be expecting me to come for Tessa.

Power was still on at the elevator, but that also meant the security was too. Lucky for us, tattoo chick was not only a lethal weapon and lock picker, but she could hack too. Slipping some sort of electronic device from her pocket, she hovered it near the security keypad and within seconds we had access.

The elevator doors opened easily and I stepped inside with the six others. Which actually included Blue Eyes. I hadn’t noticed him until right now. Go observation skills. Our eyes met, and I was struck with the sudden suspicion that Ryder had sent Lincoln along to keep me out of trouble. I inclined my head slightly and he returned the gesture. We were allies in this moment. Badass chick remained close to my side and I was finding her presence as comforting as that of my enforcers. Once we were zooming down, I turned to the others.

“This elevator leads into the Hive prison system. It’s filled with hundreds of cells, so it’s going to be hard to find Tessa. Be on guard, there’ll probably be vampires down here waiting for us. I don’t like that they left this elevator unguarded.”

My plan was to kill any vamps protecting this place and then run through the cells as fast as I could, searching for my bestie. Worst case scenario, I’d scream Tessa’s name at the top of my lungs and hope she responded. I just hoped seven of us were enough to take on whomever was waiting in ambush.

As the doors chimed at the pit floor I fell into formation with the others. I sheathed my knife again and grabbed for the semi-automatic slung across my back. The doors slid open silently and my eyes flicked around the place, trying to determine where the vamps were hidden.

There was nothing.

“Clear,” Lincoln said, before flashing those blue eyes at me to confirm. He knew my senses were much stronger than his. I nodded to assure him it was clear.

Guns still at the ready, we stepped out two abreast. Taking no chances but also not wasting time, we rapidly crossed the stone area, past the front desk which was empty, and into the damp cell area. The smell of this place never left you; it was rank and depressing as fuck. The mumbling and moans coming from the cells as we passed gave me the chills. So far there was no sign of Tessa, and I was for sure thinking they had her stashed right at the back, the hardest place to retrieve her. Of course. With my recent luck I should have expected that.





Chapter 9


We crept along, no one speaking, all on high alert.

I slowed as we passed the third path that veered off the main. A rustle caught my attention a second before someone jumped out of a dim alcove. Without thinking, my arm struck out, slamming the person with an uppercut to the jaw. Around me were the sounds of weapons locked and loaded. It took me a split second to recognize the groan and familiar white coat. Okay, not so white at the moment; it was thoroughly streaked with blood and grime, but still the signature outerwear of the only vampire I trusted.

I threw myself forward in front of the male, holding my arms out as I shouted, “Don’t shoot. It’s Lucas!”

I didn’t relax until all of the team had lowered their weapons. Turning, I found Lucas still rubbing his jaw. His eyes roamed over my new haircut and then a smile graced his lips.

“Hello, Charlie.”

I couldn’t stop my own smile as I gave him a quick hug. It was so good to see him. I had feared that when I left him on the roof all that time ago, I’d never seen him alive again. He was one tough bastard to survive the Hive as an enemy for this long.

Lincoln shifted on the spot. His expression was hard and I could tell that good and bad vampires meant nothing to him. All vamps were the enemy. But for now they were following my lead and not attacking.

“Where’s Tessa?” I asked Lucas. There was no time for pleasantries.

He didn’t seem surprised at all, and with a nod he took off running. Okay, that worked for me. Please let her be alive and not mentally fucked up from being tortured. I was feeling good about this plan. It was going really well; there seemed to be no vampires down here. They must all be busy fighting Ryder and the rest of our crew. I was seconds from seeing my best friend. That’s when my thoughts jinxed me, because the moment we turned the corner a flashbang grenade went off right in front of my face. Cue deafness for the second fucking time.

I really needed to quit this job and work on a farm or some shit.

I hit the ground, grabbing my ringing ears and trying to orient myself. The fucking sound bomb had worked too damn well in disabling my backup soldiers; we were all on the ground, wincing in agony. The humans in our group would take longer to recover, which put us at a decided disadvantage. Of course, I should have known Wonder Woman wasn’t going to let a little sound grenade keep her down. She was up before everyone and was already spraying bullets at the onslaught of undead coming at us.