Annihilate (Hive Trilogy #3)(48)



Tessa swung her legs off the side of the bed and slumped forward. She looked pale, frail, and worn out, almost like her skin was a few layers lighter than it used to be.

“I’m guessing this little visit means you’re taking off again and leaving me behind.”

I took another step and dropped down beside her, my arm sliding across her shoulders. “Yep, but hopefully this time it’s only going to be for a short while, and then the world will be a different place.”

I felt some strength come back into her body as she finally straightened and turned toward me. “Stay safe, best friend. I’ll do everything I can to help out here and make sure we get the house with the joined backyards. I’ll be waiting for you, so you better come back to me alive and minus the bull ring in your nose.”

I snorted. “Who has a tramp stamp now, bitch?”

She went even paler. “Fucking Valarie! That bitch is the worst influence ever.”

We both laughed, and in that moment everything was okay with us. One last hug, both of us unsuccessfully fighting tears, and then it was time to go. Turning back at the doorway I blew a kiss to my oldest friend and she returned the gesture. She looked different now, the sunlight pouring in around her. Older. More grown up.

I had been waiting a long time to see the strength of Tessa shine through. For too long she’d let her poor little rich girl life dictate who she was, but finally now, after everything that had happened, she had actually grown up. And while I hoped the fun, frivolous side of her wasn’t completely gone, it was nice to see some personal growth. Damn, was I becoming an adult? Ugh. Totally overrated.

Stepping back into the living room, Ryder and Kyle were waiting with our bags at their feet. Both of the guys were dressed very casually, none of their usual badass enforcer gear in sight. All of us were undercover now, and it looked like it was time to jet.

“I have arranged for a car,” Lincoln announced as he stepped in from the back entrance. “It’s not going to be your usual luxury model, so prepare yourself. You’re going incognito.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect as we followed him out into the huge back garage again. Some old clunker with spray paint on the side maybe.

When the body of our transport finally came into view, I heard the low groan from Kyle and Ryder. Neither of them very happy with our wheels. “At least Markus isn’t here,” I said with a laugh. “He’d flat out refuse to get in that car.”

The Scottish lad loved his stuff shiny and fast, and we were about to go traveling in the retirement special.

The sedan was beige, like for real the color of bleh. Square and boxy, the exact sort of car that early-retired couples used. Of course, this did make better sense than the old painted clunker. This would blend in. No one would even look twice at this POS.

Ryder opened the back door for me, and even the inside was beige. Everything was the exact same color, and I wondered if I was going to get carsick. Oh well, vomit would blend right into that carpet. No problem.

“The back windows are heavily tinted, which will afford Charlie some privacy. It’s filled with gas, and I’ve left a bunch of cash in the center console just in case you don’t have access to funds.” Lincoln was still talking and it was clear he’d done everything he could to help us with this. Off the books.

We had ways of getting money undetected. Sam was our boy after all. But it was good to know we were set for some time. The next few days were going to rely big-time on stealth. Ryder and Kyle settled into the front seats, and I spread myself out in all the beige luxuriousness of the back. The engine was surprisingly smooth, very silent compared to our usual ride, and it was with great middle-aged speed we exited the garage, Lincoln and a few of his men waving us off.

“So what’s the plan now?” I leaned forward. For some reason my nerves settled down whenever we went over the plan. Like I could just take one step at a time and we’d eventually get there.

Ryder lifted his head and our eyes met in rearview mirror. He looked tired, and worried. “Right now we’re heading for Idaho. We have to get out of Portland straight away. The guys contacted us last night. Cure is in the bottles and trucks are ready to go. The warehouse is in Idaho, so we’ll meet them there and pick up our truck.”

Great to know that Sanctum was on board so far.

Ryder continued: “International shipments have already gone out and will be arriving to the Sanctum spies soon. Cali and Texas are going to be a little more difficult. They don’t take postal shipments, it’s all hand delivered. Plus, I agree with you about overseeing as much as we can, so we’ll split up and drop the cure-filled bottles off in person to those locations.”

I nodded a few times. I was glad the Cellway base was in Idaho because everyone would expect to find me in my home town. It was good to get out of Portland.

“Okay, so the international stuff is covered.” Hopefully. We were putting a lot of faith in Sanctum and whatever delivery service they were using. “And we’ll be posing as delivery people and dropping off the cure bottles to the hospitals. Sanctum will add the blood and make sure they’re distributed to the Hives?”

Kyle nodded, shifting around to see me better. “Yep, Sam got on the secure line last night when you were asleep. He ran through everything with me. Now we’re just waiting to hear from Sanctum’s international ash that the cure is in place.”

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