Ryder was a statue beside me. Something told me he was as suspicious as I was. He was a better actor though. His next words were friendly, offhand even: “I appreciate your support in this matter. I’m going to go now—not feeling so well—think I’m coming down with something. I’m going to take a few days off.”
Before they had a chance to retort, he captured my hand and we both hauled ass out of the creepy medical wing. As soon as we were back in the elevator, I leaned forward, and speaking as low as I could asked: “What’s the few days off for?”
The tumult of emotions was strong in his eyes. “Remember that storm I mentioned last night, well, I’m pretty sure it’s on its way. The Quorum is up to something, and I have no idea when the hurricane will hit. You deserve to have the holiday with your family, but there’s no way you can go without me and a few of the boys. I was on duty, but now I’ll be able to keep you safe.”
I grinned. “So what you’re saying is that you’re coming to my house for Thanksgiving?”
Ryder gave me a sexy side glance. “If that’s okay?”
“It’s perfect.”
We both leaned back against the elevator, silent again. There was no safe place to speak in the Hive. That didn’t stop the multitude of questions, worries and fears which were as much a part of me now as my heart and lungs.
The next day Jayden, the sexy six, and I sat clustered around the laptop on the roof, our unofficial hide out place.
Leaning forward, Ryder motioned to Jayden and Oliver: “Can you two go run some laps? We should probably make our meetings a little less obvious.”
Jayden nodded, springing to his feet. “If he can keep up with me.”
Oliver gave him a look which was a combination of exasperation and adoration. These two dudes were seriously the cutest couple ever. They both took off.
Markus chuckled. “Jayden is a good match for Oliver. He loves a challenge, and I can tell our unicorn’s BAFF is definitely keeping him challenged.”
One of my favorite things about this group was that there was never one ounce of awkward about the boys’ love, and I for one thought that said everything about how absolutely secure and awesome they were.
Sam’s fingers suddenly went into super-fast mode. “Our Deliverance window is open! Kyle, tether with me.”
Kyle hunched over his laptop and began to type rapidly. We were all frozen with anticipation. This was it. We were bankrupting Deliverance.
“We’re completely untraceable now, and I’ve got all of the bank accounts online,” Kyle said.
Sam nodded. “Sending virus.” His finger punched a key before he sat back, relaxed—well, relaxed for him anyway.
Ryder opened his hands. “That’s it?”
Sam nodded, his eyes half-closed. Kyle was still monitoring his screen closely and I could see his pupils rapidly darting across the computer. Finally he broke into a huge grin. “Our selected charities are now a couple hundred million dollars richer.”
Markus gave an excited shout, followed by a groan. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that the needy will benefit from a corrupt bunch of assholes, but I’d have liked it if we’d taken just a wee bit of that money and bought a little something for ourselves. I’ve had my eye on this Audi R8 for a while now.”
Ryder clapped his shoulder in sympathy. Most of these boys were car enthusiasts. Poor babies were stuck with vampire-issued, probably bugged Hummers.
Sam slammed his laptop shut and handed it to Kyle. “Incinerate them.”
Kyle nodded, and jumping to his feet dashed away with the two slim-line computers. Movement caught my eye and I was laughing again as Jayden playfully fell behind Oliver, just so he could smack him on the butt. My friend, seriously, you just could not take him anywhere.
Ryder leaned forward. “Okay, now what are we doing about the little girl?”
My attention instantly focused. I had not stopped worrying about her for a moment and I needed to hear what the plan was. I was worried everyone would forget as all the drama died down.
The riots were slowing down outside the Hive, and the vampires were doing what they did best, covering their tracks and creating positive publicity. Publically, the Quorum had paid the girl’s family a large, undisclosed, sum of money, and the human media was having a field day with this information. In the end, the girl’s family accepted that vampires were the only ones who could now properly care for their daughter and did not press charges, so the humans couldn’t do much legally.
The men kind of fell silent. Clearly there was no plan forthcoming, so I blurted out what I had been thinking all along. “I want to cure her.” I managed to keep my voice low and still convey every ounce of my determination.
Kyle was back now from the incinerator and he froze mid-stride. Ryder shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
Aww, poor thing. Ryder thought that because he was sleeping with me, he could tell me what to do.
I crossed my arms. “Let me put this a simpler way so you all can understand it. I am going to cure her and you can either help me or get out of my way.”