“Give me your laptop! Now!” His shout was garbled but understandable and it pleased me to see he was wincing in pain.
The aforementioned laptop was tucked under Sam’s arm. “Sure thing, boss,” he said.
In a move so fast I doubt most would have noticed or heard, Sam tilted his head over the side of the device and murmured, “Midnight.”
I wondered for a second if I’d even heard it, but knew there had to be a reason the tech-inclined enforcer would hand over that computer so casually.
The Quorum members took an extended second to bestow us with dirty looks, and I resisted the urge to flip them all off. With a swish, they left then, taking off with the computer, Ryder, and our access cards. My eyes remained locked on their retreating backs, and I noticed they all shifted around Ryder, keeping him deep in the center of the group—no way to snag him out of their evil grasps.
My heart was racing. How had everything gone downhill so quickly? Seriously, WTAF just happened?
“Sam, your laptop,” I whispered, anything to take my mind off Ryder.
He dropped a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Has just been wiped of all information.”
Well, hot damn. I’d been right about “midnight.” Had to hand it to the silent enforcer, he was shaping up to be the smartest one of an already elite squad of dudes.
Kyle let out a muffled shout, his fists clenched as he focused on the doorway they had just taken Ryder through. “They’re going to beat the shit out of him for what he did to Allistair.”
My stomach dropped. I hadn’t thought of that. I assumed he’d just be locked up for a while so they could prove their dominance.
Sam moved into action then, striding across the garage. “This moves up our timeline, Charlie. Talk to Tessa soon.”
I’d forgotten all about my bestie, but Sam was totally right. I had to talk to her ASAP because I needed to retrieve my boyfriend and my new ash family, and then get us all out of this hellhole.
After reaching my apartment, we walked in to find Oliver, Markus, Jared, and Jayden sitting in the living room, playing cards and waiting for us.
Oliver stood. “Where were you guys? The Quorum put us on suspension, took our badges.”
Kyle growled, “Us too, and Ryder is in the pit.”
Jared let a few interesting cusswords fly. Wow! Australians had seriously dirty mouths. Definitely had to visit there one day.
Jayden strode across to me. “Hey, girl. While you were gone Tessa came looking for you and she said they’ve closed off the roof track for ‘repairs.’” He finger quoted around the last word.
Those assholes. Goddamn vampires were shutting off any avenue we had for privacy. They were tightening the net around us and we were running out of time to do anything about it.
“I really need to see Tessa,” I said, all casual-like. I did not want the vampires to hear my desperation.
My eyes met Jayden’s, pleading with him. Come on, you clever BAFF, think of something.
A spark lit up Jayden’s eyes. The black blazed at me and his eyebrows were practically at his hairline. “Alright, I need to get ready for my shift at the feeding center. I wonder if Tessa will start feeding from humans soon.” He wiggled those eyebrows at me a few times.
Yes! That’s it.
“She probably will. She’s always loved all things vampire and can’t wait to suck on a human. Speaking of … when’s my appointment today?”
Okay, so I didn’t really have enough time to be smooth.
Jayden grinned at me. Damn guy loved this playacting shit. “In two hours.”
I returned that grin. Jayden would get Tessa to meet me in our feeding room in two hours. It was time to start praying she would agree to leave with me.
I sat in room number seven bopping my feet. Jayden had called to tell Tessa that her scheduled feeder was here, so now it was just a wait to see if she’d show up. Kyle and Oliver were standing guard outside of the feeding center, monitoring who was entering but trying not to be obvious about it. As the door handle jiggled I shot to my feet, throat tightening in anticipation.
The door swung open, revealing my bestie. She was all red lipstick and smiles. She looked healthy, perfect, and happy, happier than I’d seen her in a long time. To match the lipstick, she had on a red corset, teamed with skinny jeans and red peek-a-boo pumps. She was a knockout.
“Tess!” I crashed into her. “I’m so sorry I had to run off. My mom was in trouble.”
She pulled away. “Is Jo okay?”
I nodded, before quickly giving her the cover story, in case there were listening devices in here too. “Yeah, she wasn’t at work when I got there. I finally got a hold of her and she was halfway to California. She’s decided to head to the beach for a little holiday. Get some sun before winter hits in full force.”