Live Free or Die Complete Series Boxed Set: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series by Hayley Lawson (pdf e book reader .TXT) 📗

Ryder raised an eyebrow at herself as she looked into the bathroom mirror, then brushed her hand over her almost-bare head. She could grow her hair out now. Yes! I’m going to grow my hair! It would cover Afana’s cattle stamp. Or she could get that man in the bar to tattoo over it.

She shook her head in the mirror and reminded herself she wasn’t staying. She was only here to get help for Terrier and her friends. The shower had apparently washed away her memories, but they were back now and at the front of her mind. Ryder strapped on her knives and picked up her dirty clothes. Her bow and quiver were in the front room by the door. She was ready to get the help she needed.

Ryder walked into the living room, and the conversation stopped. The three men turned to look at her and just stared. She’d not had that reaction from them before removing her bandages, and now, she felt awkward.

“Yeah, I’ve got tits. Get over it.” She narrowed her eyes at the men as she walked over to them.

Leandro came forward, holding his hands out for the bundle she was carrying. She handed it over to him without another word.

None of them spoke, but Ryder wouldn’t have cared if they had. There was a table of food with her name on it. She grabbed a plate, then glanced at Massimo. “May I have some?” Ryder’s mouth was watering at the smells. She was hungry.

No—she was fucking starving, and this looked delicious.

“You can have as much as you want,” he told her with a broad smile.

“It’s good,” Carter said through a full mouth.

She glared at him. “Carter, you chunky douche, didn’t you learn any manners in the mountains? Close your damn mouth when you’re chewing.”

“What, and Afana taught you manners?” Carter asked before he realized what he was saying.

Ryder recoiled and punched him in the arm. “As if, you jerk.”

Massimo and Leandro watched as the two bickered like an old married couple, which made Leandro feel a little uncomfortable. He wasn’t really sure what to say to her, so he got up from the table and started to clean up.

Carter had been right—the food was good. Ryder piled her plate nice and high with chicken, rabbit, and the creamiest potatoes ever.

“How long was I in the shower?” Ryder asked after she’d gulped down a few mouthfuls.

Massimo smiled. “Not long. The food was left over. Leandro cooked it. He’s quite the cook, isn’t he?”

Leandro blushed at his dad’s compliment. That was when Ryder noticed that he’d changed into some grown-up clothes. He did look better in clothes his own size. He was in tan shorts with pockets on the side, a shirt, and some strange shoes with a tick mark on the side of them.

“So, you found some clothes in your own size?” Ryder asked him.

Leandro smiled. “Yeah, I thought it was time to grow up.”

“Wait for it,” Carter said, and everyone looked at him.

“Wait for what?” Ryder asked, annoyed.

“You were going to give him a compliment, weren’t you?” Carter asked, grinning. There were bits of meat in his teeth and mashed potatoes in his beard, which grossed Ryder right out. “Ryder doesn’t give many compliments. Sorry for butting in before she could give you one.” Carter rubbed his stomach. “I’ll give you a compliment instead. Good cooking, mate. Do you mind if I have a shower now?”

“Be my guest,” Leandro said. He was looking forward to getting Carter out of the room for a bit. Even when he wasn’t talking, he was nosy, and he chewed with his mouth open. “There are some clothes outside the bathroom for you. They may be a bit big since you’re a lot smaller than me.”

Carter raised his unibrow at Leandro. He tried for a smart-ass comeback but couldn’t find one, so he left with his tail between his legs. He spent the time in the shower thinking about what he should have said.

Massimo smiled as Leandro came back and took a seat at the table. “Time for the grownups to talk. So, Ryder, you said you need some help. What type of help do you need?”

Ryder explained to Massimo and Leandro about Afana’s bunker and the people he held captive there. She finished by telling them that she needed help to free the people.

The two men fell silent. Leandro had already known this was what Ryder wanted, but he just wasn’t sure how to answer. It sounded impossible.

“Please don’t take insult at this, but it sounds like a suicide mission,” Massimo told her gently.

Ryder stopped her body from slumping into the chair. She needed to look strong, not let them know she agreed with them. “I’m not insulted. I understand. I shouldn’t ask you to go against a vampire.”

Massimo leaned forward, looking interested. “Afana is a vampire?”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Massimo must have heard Ryder incorrectly. He was the only vampire around here. At least that was what he’d thought, anyway.

Then again, Massimo had known a vampire named Afana many years ago, who had been obsessed with finding a way to walk in the sunlight. When the WWDE happened the nanocytes in Afana hadn’t changed. He became bitter that he hadn’t been blessed like Massimo. The sun still burned him. It had turned Afana crazy knowing that Massimo had been freed from the curse while he was forced to remain in darkness, and Massimo had cut ties with him.

Massimo had thought Bethany Anne – or maybe one of her people –might have killed him as part of her mandate to rid the world of the Forsaken Those that preyed on the weak, those who chose to take human life – she had hunted them all down and wiped them out.

Massimo didn’t wonder how a relatively young vampire like Afana could slip her notice. Forsaken much more powerful than Afana – his father being one of them – had once roamed the Earth, spreading fear and misery until the