Anarchy (Hive Trilogy, #2)(61)
“Enjoying the view?” I called down to him as Kyle finished pulling me through the hole. I lost sight of my dark-haired enforcer when Kyle shifted me across to balance on the metal slats beside him. He then turned back to lean through the hole.
I could hear Ryder chuckling. Then somehow he made the leap up to grasp onto Kyle’s forearms. Dude could jump like a freaking NBA superstar. It was moments like these that I realized how incredibly sexy and strong these boys were. Of course, Kyle most likely had a hernia now after pulling big-ass Ryder up, but at least he could be secure in how sexy and strong he looked.
“What now?”
I was pretty sure the muted siren had just started to blare. The Quorum would be figuring out how to break into the elevator system soon.
Ryder motioned for us to follow him as he moved across to the large cables which were keeping us from plunging to our death. “The sirens mean lockdown,” he said “All members of the Hive will be urged to go to their living quarters. All doors will be sealed, all hallways monitored by cameras, and the people hunting us will most likely have shoot to kill orders.”
“Awesome,” I said, heavy on the sarcasm.
A loud rumble rocked the floor, and I used the cables to anchor myself as another elevator passed next to us. I tried really hard not to squeal, but holy scary.
Once the metal box passed and we could talk again, Ryder said, “That’s the other system, which goes the full length of the Hive. We need to make our way across to it.”
Kyle gestured to his wristwatch. “Sam put a tracker on me, so wherever we end up the boys will be there.”
Ryder’s face was now firmly looking like that of a man with a plan. “Alright, follow me.”
Chapter 13
Ryder’s brilliant plan was uncomfortable as hell. After almost dying from scaling our way across elevators and up cables and into the spaces between the Hive floors, we ended up cramped in the A/C duct, army-crawling on our elbows through the first floor to try and find the laundry shaft and get the kid. Jumping from the top of the elevator to scale a ten foot wall which led into the duct was pretty much the most badass and scariest thing I’ve done yet.
In the shaft, we had spaced ourselves twenty feet apart, Ryder in front of me and Kyle behind. That way we wouldn’t overweigh the metal ducting and crash through it. I kept my eyes trained forward, focusing on Ryder’s beefy shoulders skimming the side walls as he barely fit through.
I tried to calm myself again but nothing was working. Pretty much from the first moment we’d crawled in here my heart had started racing, breath stuttering. I’d learned a new thing today: I had a very real fear of being in small metal spaces.
I was distracted from my newfound claustrophobia by Ryder pausing ahead. From back here it looked like he had reached a grate. Despite the distance between us, his whisper was clear.
“This is it, the supply closet across from where the girl should be, right near the exit.”
I relayed the message to Kyle, neither of us moving as we waited for Ryder to do his thing up there. Luckily the Hive was an industrial-style building and the ducting and grates were large, although Ryder still looked like he had to wiggle to fit as he dropped down into the room. I moved then, closing in on the open grate. My head popped over the side to see a dimly-lit supply closet below. Ryder was the only one in the room, and I felt immediate relief to know I’d soon be out of the confined space. Moving across the opening, I lowered my legs down first; strong hands gripped my thighs and I let myself drop into Ryder’s waiting arms. We ended up face to face, his dark and silver eyes looking all warm and swirly.
Kyle cleared his throat, and with reluctance I stepped out of Ryder’s arms, letting him focus on guiding his friend out of the vent. The three of us were then cramped in the six by six feet space, and as Ryder flicked on the lights I saw the shelves were packed with enforcer supplies—flashlights, glowsticks, walkie-talkies, and a bunch of other shit I had no idea about. Ryder grabbed a set of walkies and matched the channels before handing one to me. It was small, maybe three inches, so I clipped it on my boot. Kyle stashed a few supplies in his pockets, before turning to his best friend.
“For over thirty years, this has been our home.” His voice was full of emotion, and it hit me then that most of the sexy six were old, some even grandpa old. Pushing those thoughts away, I slipped my hand into Kyle’s and squeezed.
“Thirty years of cullings and ash murders. It’s time for a change,” I said to him.
Kyle managed a tight smile. “It is.” He squeezed my hand back.
I looked up to see Ryder watching me with an intense gaze. “We’re lucky you came into our lives, Charlie.”
I smiled, wrinkling my nose at him. “That means a lot coming from the guy who called me ‘forty-six’ for two weeks.”
Ryder chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll own that. Okay, focusing again. Time to glue yourself to me. We need to save the little girl and ditch this place.”
Kyle nodded. “Sam will see our location, and with a bit of luck he’s waiting outside the exit door as we speak.”
We gave a three-way fist bump, the low sound of emergency sirens the background music to our breakout song. My stomach tightened with anxiety as I drew my gun and Ryder put his hand on the doorknob.
“Luckily, this is one of the few monitored doors. They don’t lock down unimportant rooms, so we will be able to get out. Hopefully Sam has exit ready for us.” He twisted the knob, and sure enough it clicked right open. “Kyle and I will go first to take down any threats,” he said as he stepped out, Kyle right behind him.