Free Anarchy (Hive Trilogy Book 2) by Jaymin Eve, Leia Stone

Quorum has been meeting in secret without me, and it may only be a matter of time before they decide you’re too much of a risk to keep alive.”
    My blood chilled at his declaration. He pulled back, resting easily against the couch, and patted my hand.
    “Let’s take it one day at a time, okay?” he said, still whispering. “I just wanted to make sure you were aware, and if I know Ryder at all, he’s already taken steps to ensure a timely exit if it’s required.”
    Lucas’s words reminded me that I needed to share this information with my enforcer team.
    I nodded. “Okay, thanks for stopping by and letting me know.”
    I wasn’t sure whether it was the events with Deliverance or this new threat to my existence, but something inside of me snapped. A fight-or-flight instinct was raging within me, demanding I either confront the vamp assholes or run so I never had to see them again.
    I had no idea why the hell the Quorum feared the Originals so much. Why the fuck was I—one little ash female—even on their radar? It didn’t make sense, unless they knew something about Originals and the cure or some shit. If my father was alive, maybe it was in our best interest to try and find him also, get some answers before someone decided to try and kill or kidnap me again.
    One thing was for sure—these weak-ass Quorum vampires clearly had no issues with killing off someone they perceived to be a threat. And I hated to admit it, but they could wipe me out no problem if they wanted to.
    I missed my old life then, and Tessa especially. I ached for her smartass comments about what I was wearing and the way she always seemed to look on the bright side of every situation.
    As Lucas stood to leave, things felt a little awkward between us. He politely excused himself, leaving in a silent visage of white.
    In a daze I made my way to the enforcer locker room, although I managed a chuckle when I saw someone had drawn a dress over the stick figure man on the sign stuck to the door.
    Trust the enforcers to brighten my day. The last twenty-four hours had sucked the big one and I needed some happy. Where was my mutha-effing happy?
    As I walked in, I was really hoping to find Ryder glistening with droplets of water and half naked in a towel. Come on, I did just ask for some happy, and that was a step up to ecstatic. Instead, I saw the sexy five—minus one silent enforcer—hovering around a whiteboard Ryder was drawing on. At the top, he had the words SANCTUM and DELIVERANCE in bold and circled, with small lines branching out. On a chair in front of him was a huge fishbowl of water with tiny black microphones floating in it. Okay, WTF? The boys had finally lost their damn minds.
    Noticing me, Ryder tipped his head, giving me a tight smile.
    Kyle winked at me. “Come on in, Charlie. Ryder was just about to detail operation ‘Don’t fuck with the ash or we will kill you,’ aka: ‘Revenge.’”
    Operation Revenge? Awesome.
    My eyes shot down to the bowl again and Oliver answered this time. “Kyle scanned the room and found twelve bugs.”
    Holy Shit. The enforcers’ instincts had been right; there was definitely a spy in our midst, more than one if that number of listening devices was any indication. I took a seat as Ryder drew the word mole underneath SANCTUM, before turning back to face us.
    “First order of business … I’ve been trying for the past few weeks to politically deal with our response to the Sanctum attack. Finally, this morning, the Quorum ordered me not to retaliate against the group, and they denied my offer to sniff out who sent them to attack the Hive and steal Charlie. Not only does that make me a little angry, it makes me a lot suspicious.”
    I nodded. Why the hell would the Quorum order us not to find out who had attacked their home and tried to kill me? Unless...
    “The Quorum wants me dead,” I said in a resigned sort of manner. I really wasn’t even surprised at this point.
    Ryder’s eyebrows furrowed