Annihilate (Hive Trilogy #3)(50)
“Sam…” I placed both of my hands on his shoulders and met his gaze. “I used to jog the streets of Portland, go to Starbucks, and laugh with Tessa on the campus lawn. My only problem was what to wear to the club that night.” My face hardened. “They took that from me. They forever changed who I am. They made me a murderer. They forced me to kill, to fight for my life when I could have just been left to live out my days in peace with my mother and Tessa. Ash aren’t contagious. The vampires have designed this entire Hive world to benefit them, with ash as their slaves! Well, enough is enough! We’ve suffered enough.”
He surprised me with a hug. “Okay, Charlie.” He stashed the AT20 back in his pocket.
I turned to see Ryder looking at me with blazing silver eyes. “Ready?” he asked, and reached out to hold my hand.
I nodded. “Ready.”
We were split into three groups. Ryder, Kyle and I. Sam with Markus. Oliver with Jared. California was the bigger of the blood distributors, so two trucks were going there. I followed the boys through the cornfields and out onto a two lane highway. Three huge semi-trucks with hazards on were pulled off the side of the road. They all bore the same red, yellow, and blue logo that I recognized from visiting my mother at the hospital. The Cellway distributors. Ryder, Kyle, and I got in the red truck. Sam gave Ryder the keys, with a few instructions on how to handle the rig. Apparently they’d all learned to drive trucks many years ago, but Ryder was a little rusty.
“You guys head on over to the Texas blood receiving station.” Sam said finally. “It’s on the outskirts of Dallas. They ship out to the east coast and it will be less likely that anyone will recognize Charlie. We’ll head to Cali and drop our shipments there. If all goes well, meet back up in Portland at the lake house. If shit hits the fan, hide.”
Ryder nodded and they bro-hugged and that was it. We were in a massive rig packed full of hundreds of thousands of specialty bottles, all filled with the cure for vampirism. Now we just needed to get it to the Sanctum dudes already in place in the hospitals, then it was done. Easy-peasy, right? What could go wrong?
This rig was of the super deluxe variety. I had always wondered what the inside of one of these looked like, and this one did not disappoint. It was like a motel on steroids.
Ryder was in the captain’s chair, expertly controlling the massive semi and wearing his Cellway blood lab group vest. Kyle and I were behind him, playing cards on a table set up in the mini five foot living room. Yes, a freakin’ living room! Also in here were two couches that faced each other and a tiny kitchenette equipped with all the mod cons, including sink and the cutest tiny microwave you ever saw.
It was well over a day’s drive to Dallas, so we decided to take shifts sleeping and driving and just go all the way through. We were stopped a few times during Ryder’s shift, when we needed to weigh our load, but luckily no one looked too closely at me.
When Kyle switched with Ryder, I found myself snuggled in my boyfriend’s arms. Both of us squished on the little twin-size couch. I knew he was exhausted from driving, but he still tucked me into his body, facing him, and played with my hair.
His silvery eyes locked onto mine, staring at me in that way he had, where I knew I was the only thing he saw. I didn’t say anything, cherishing this time we had together. It might be the last snuggle before hell broke loose.
“Charlie…” His voice was gruff.
“Yes?” I said, resting my hand against his face.
“Have you ever been to Hawaii?” His eyelids were drooping, but my laugh had them snapping open again.
“No. Random. I have not been to Hawaii.” Hello, I grew up with a single mom. I had barely ever left Portland unless Tessa was paying.
He graced me with one of his insanely sexy smiles. “There’s this little cove. It’s a secret only locals know about. It’s full of turtles. I want to take you snorkeling there when this is all over.”
A huge smile broke out onto my face at the thought of walking hand in hand on the white sand beaches of Hawaii with Ryder. The sun high in the sky. Not a care in the world. Yes, I wanted that. His eyes were closing again and I knew he was seconds from sleep.
“I’d like that.” I kissed his chin and let his rhythmic breathing lull me to sleep.
Chapter 11
Kyle’s deep voice awoke me from what had been a surprisingly restful sleep. “Wake up, kids! It’s almost show time.”
I peeled my eyes open to see Ryder staring at me. Had he been awake watching me? Creepy or cute? Hmm … little bit of both. I sat up, pretty sure that my gothic makeup had officially dripped all over my face and I now looked like a half dead zombie.
Ryder sat up as well. “How far out until the hospital drop?” he asked as I fiddled in my bag for my toothbrush.
“About three miles out. I got a text from Sanctum. They’re in place.”
And just like that my stomach scrunched with nerves. Brushing my teeth quickly in the tiny sink, I decided it was best not to try and find a mirror. Adjusting my nose ring, and running my hands through my hair would have to count as “getting ready.”
After Ryder brushed his teeth, he opened the small fridge and passed around some bottles of blood. “Drink up. We need to look as normal as possible if this is going to go down.”
I guzzled the blood and then we all made sure our contacts were in. Kyle and Ryder still looked way too gorgeous to be normal humans, but hopefully they would pass for really hot models that happened to have side jobs truck driving.