by K. A. Linde
Meghan blew out a frustrated breath. “Whether you believe that or not is up to you. Some of us are risking our necks to try to make it a reality.”
“All right.”
Reyna could see the tough girl routine for what it was. She was scared. This behavior was bulletproof armor against the world. Reyna knew what that was like. Had endured situations where she had needed her own armor. It was necessary. And shedding that would be hard.
“Just leave it,” Reyna told Meghan.
“Okay. But be ready to move when I tell you to. Tye is going to give us the signal and then I need both of you on me. We have a short drop window. Hopefully we haven’t already missed it.”
Everyone fell silent at that. They weren’t at headquarters yet, which meant everything could still fall apart. As the truck bumped along, the three women stood tensely in the back, waiting.
Finally, the vehicle started to slow and rolled to a stop atop a gravel parking lot that sent the women and all the equipment bouncing. Reyna reached for the side of the truck to steady herself, but Meghan was already launching herself into the back of their getaway car.
“Are you coming or what?” she snapped back at them.
They both darted after her, and as soon as they jumped down out of the back, they were blasted with frigid air. Reyna did the math in her head. She’d been kidnapped in September. The leaves hadn’t yet started changing in the park outside of Beckham’s penthouse. The colder temperatures barely graced the evenings.
Now, it was November…after Thanksgiving. It was bitterly cold with thick dark clouds overhead and a slow drizzle. Not quite cold enough to freeze, but cold and wet enough to be annoying. Eight weeks of constant temperatures, and Reyna’s body was not used to this drastic change. Not at all.
Still she hustled out into the rain and sprinted with Meghan over to a nondescript pickup truck. Meghan handed off the baggie to Xavier, a hulking man with dark features and a menacing glare. Vampire. It was written all over him. She knew that vampires worked with Elle—Beckham did, after all—but it was still surprising to see a vampire running a prison-break detail. Or getting into a piece-of-shit rusted-out car and speeding off into the distance with the trackers.
Tye hopped into the front seat of the pickup truck, and Reyna and Jodie followed into the backseat of the truck, behind Meghan. As soon as the door was closed, Tye took off like a bullet.
The ride was tense and silent. At one point, sirens blared in the distance. Meghan chewed on her lip and kept glancing out the window. Only when they were far enough away that the sirens were just a distant ringing, did Meghan straighten once more and exude all the confidence Reyna had already grown accustomed to.
“Sorry about this,” she said tossing Reyna a black mask. She dug around in a bag for another second and then passed a black strip of fabric to Jodie. “It’ll be safer, in case something happens, if you don’t know where the entrance is to headquarters. We blindfold all newbies.”
Jodie grumbled something vulgar under her breath and then tied the fabric around her eyes. “Congrats. I can’t see shit.”
Meghan laughed and then waited for Reyna to put her blindfold on. She stared down at the mask in her hands. It was one of those silk sleeping masks. Pretty fancy even. Her hands shook as she thought of all the times she’d been forced to wear one of these. Beckham taking her down to the Vault before the fires wiped out the club, when she’d been kidnapped from Everett’s apartment, and then the ball where Harrington had forced her to watch Beckham with Penny. As far as she was concerned, wearing a blindfold only meant bad things.
“Reyna,” Meghan said softly in her nurse voice. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” she said unconvincingly.
Nothing was okay. As she slid the blindfold over her eyes, she didn’t know if anything would ever be okay again.
* * *
—
Their truck came to a stop.
Reyna yanked the blindfold off as quickly as she could. She had an elevated heart rate and her hand had shaken the entire way. She hadn’t removed the blindfold before it was time, but it had taken great effort.
“Honey, we’re home,” Tye singsonged with a wide grin.
It had been so long since Reyna had seen anyone this genuinely happy. She honestly couldn’t even remember seeing a smile that vibrant before. Had his life been that much more pleasant? Joy was not something that came naturally to her. Even before the kidnapping. And now…well, let’s just say the glass was half empty.
Jodie pursed her lips at his enthusiasm, which made Reyna feel marginally better. Meghan and Tye got out of the front seat and then corralled her and Jodie out of the back.
Trepidation bit at Reyna. What was Elle anyway? What would she find on the other side of that door? What would they expect of her? Had she traded one prison for another?
One thing propelled her forward: Beckham was part of this organization.
If he trusted them, then she would give it a shot.
Then her heart fluttered.
Beckham.
All those weeks she’d had to put him away in a far-off place. He helped her through the tough moments, but she couldn’t think of him without breaking. So she’d had to teach herself to compartmentalize everything that had to do with him. Seeing him that night at the ball had been a punch to the gut…and also…everything. His face, that body, those hands, the eyes, the lips. It had all flooded back. And hurt so bad.
Through all of that…she’d never let herself think that she would really see him again. Be in a room with him, hold him, touch him, love him once more. She’d left that part of her life for her dreams. Those sweet toxic dreams.
But now she was here.
He was here.
She would see him.
They could be together again.
Her heart expanded with hope.
And it was all right behind that door.
Meghan looped her arm through Reyna’s and strode inside behind Tye and a fearless Jodie.
The door opened to a sky-blue room with wooden floors and paintings hanging from the walls. It was clear and light and even…comforting. No whitewashed walls or white tiled floor. No antiseptic or hospital smell. No bright blinding light overhead. Just…a room. An empty room at that.
She didn’t know what she had been expecting. A welcome party maybe? Beckham standing there with open arms? Anything would have been better than nothing.
“Welcome to Elle,” Meghan whispered to Reyna. “Welcome home.”
Home.
Home was only a foggy memory. Of her parents when they had still been alive and her two brothers wrestling in the yard. Of her house with a red door and a white picket fence. Home was multicolored leaves on the ground, fresh mown grass, and laughter in the air. The smell of pumpkin pies baking in the oven and the soaps on television in the background. It was crisp fall days bundled up and spring mornings. It was early morning dew and big bear hugs.
Home was that unreachable existence. Home would never exist again.
Brian and Drew had become her home. Wherever they were was where she belonged.
Until Beckham.
He had changed everything.
But home was definitely not this room.
Not without the people she loved.
Chapter 10
“Where is he?” Reyna asked. The room was empty. Beckham was supposed to be here. He was supposed to be waiting for her. She’d been anticipating this moment for eight long weeks. Her chest ached at the thought that he wasn’t here.
He had to know. He couldn’t have cut himself off from Elle entirely. Not if there was a chance she could get out. That just…that seemed impossible.
“He’s not here,” Meghan said.
She whirled around. “He’s not here?”
“Beckham?”
Meghan asked warily.
“Who else?”
Meghan swallowed. “He uh…he hasn’t been here in weeks.”
“What?” Reyna nearly shouted.
“Or at least…I haven’t seen him in weeks. Tye and I are a step down from high command. From what I know, he’s been trying to keep a low profile. He was under investigation after your disappearance. From what I heard, he went to Harrington himself and told him that you’d run away once he found out what had happened to you.”
“How…how long have you known?”
“We knew you’d been kidnapped almost right away, but it took weeks for us to find out where he’d taken you. We thought we’d lose Beckham and the information he provided, but from what I know, he had to play it off like nothing had happened.”
Reyna winced. Nothing had happened. He’d had to act like he hadn’t cared what happened to her for eight long weeks. He must have been convincing for Harrington to allow him to stay in his position as a senior vice president of Visage. Because the alternative wasn’t possible. She couldn’t conceive that he actually didn’t care about her. Or what had happened.
“So…when is he coming back?”
Meghan shrugged sadly. “I really don’t know. I’m sorry. Why don’t I show you around in the meantime?”
“Okay,” Reyna said hollowly.
Reyna followed Meghan and Jodie down the hallway and through Elle headquarters. Maybe it would grow on her like the idea of rebelling against Visage had in the first place. Everett had once told her that Elle had been the leader when Visage had first come to power. She’d been killed in a riot, fighting for the protection of humans. Equality and autonomy and all that came later after everyone realized how bad it had gotten. Reyna couldn’t help but feel discouraged that this organization had been around all this time and all Visage seemed to do was amass more power. Starting one silly fire wasn’t going to stop Visage from taking over the government. Harrington was unstoppable.
She still couldn’t believe that they’d slipped out right from under his nose. He was probably going ballistic. That made her quirk a smile.
They moved into a hallway, which Reyna was surprised to see full of people. Some stopped to say hi to Meghan. Others high-fived Tye as they passed. But everyone was busy and engaged and…happy.
Reyna and Jodie received a few strange looks, but overall, most people waved or smiled or ignored them entirely. They must be so used to strangers in their midst it didn’t even faze them.
They turned the first corner and Reyna froze.
“Surprise!” Meghan called, holding her hands out.
“Reyna,” Brian whispered in shock.
Drew couldn’t even get words out. He was sputtering.
Then she was running. She couldn’t hear or see anything else going on around her. She collided with her brothers, throwing her arms wide around them. They tightened their grip on her and she breathed them in.
Her brothers. Oh God. Brian and Drew were safe. They weren’t in the warehouses anymore slaving away. They were here in Elle. Safe and sound.
Tears streamed down her face. She didn’t even care that she was soaking through Brian’s T-shirt as she buried her head in it.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Brian said, brushing her hair back.
“We were so worried, Rey,” Drew added.
“You’re alive. God, we pushed for your escape every single day.”
“What happened?” Reyna gushed. “How are you guys here?”
“The day after you were kidnapped a group of Elle agents showed up at our apartment,” Brian told her. “They told us what happened to you and that we needed to leave with them. There was a fear that Harrington would try to kidnap us as well and torture us to use against you. We didn’t believe them at first, but then Visage’s men actually showed up. We decided to trust Elle and it’s been great so far. We’re so glad we could be here with Elle and working with them to try to get you home.”
“We’re so glad you’re home,” Drew said.
Reyna wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “It’s so good to see you. So good.”
“What did they do…” Drew trailed off.
She shook her head. She wasn’t ready to discuss what had happened in that basement in Visage.
“Hey, guys,” Meghan said, jumping into the conversation.
“Hey, Meghan,” Brian said with an easy smile.
She nodded her head at him. “How’s Laura?”
“Laura is here!” Reyna gasped. They’d gotten Brian’s girlfriend out too. Man, they were thorough.
“Yeah. It was part of my stipulations for leaving. She’s been living in that home since her parents died and well…” Brian scratched the back of his head as if he were embarrassed.
“They’re engaged,” Drew filled in.
Reyna’s jaw dropped open. Her brother was engaged. He had gotten engaged while she had been locked up in isolation. They’d uprooted their whole lives for her. And yet, she was so glad that they were here. They were here and safe and she wouldn’t have to worry about them out in the real world. It was smart of Elle to bring them here, especially if Visage was after them. She knew for certain she wouldn’t have been able to hold out against their suffering. Not a chance.
“Yeah. We’re engaged,” Brian said. “We can go back to our rooms and you can see her until they have a room worked out for you.”
“She already has a room,” Meghan said. She threw her thumb back at Jodie. “It’s this one we have to figure out accommodations for.”
“I don’t care about a room,” Jodie said. “And I’m all for what appears to be a happy reunion. But first, food.”
Reyna’s stomach grumbled as if on command. She remembered that she’d only had that banana all day. It was the first day in more than eight weeks that she’d gone without a full meal. It used to be irregular for her to eat more than one full meal. Things changed quickly around here.
“Food it is, then,” Meghan chirped.
Reyna introduced Jodie to her two brothers as they followed Meghan and Tye to the cafeteria. It was in between mealtimes so the place was deserted, which was a relief. She wanted to talk and hear about their experience at Elle so far.
When Jodie went with Meghan and Tye to rummage through the pantry, she turned back to her brothers. “I’m really really really glad that you’re safe. I tried not to wonder what would happen to you after I was taken.”
“You’re happy we’re safe?” Drew gasped out. “Reyna, you were kidnapped.”
“Did anything…happen to you?” Brian asked circumspectly.
Reyna chewed on her lip. She knew what he was asking. What kind of horrors had she endured? “I’m alive and healthy. That’s all that matters right now, okay?”
“That’s not…” Drew started, but Brian cut him off, “You can tell us when you’re ready.”
She nodded and gave them an appreciative smile. “Can you fill me in on what’s been going on since I was taken? I feel like I’ve missed so much.”
“Well, we’re at Elle HQ,” Brian told her. “It’s an enormous operation. We weren’t sure of it when we first got here, but they really are working for vampire and human equality. That isn’t just a line that they feed you. Everyone here has a job. The inner circle of command delegates out tasks and it trickles down through the ranks. Drew and I are both working in security.”
“You’re working security?” Her mouth was agape and fear crept through her.
“Yeah,” Brian said as if it were no big deal. “It’s hard to find guys around here with any fighting skills.”
“Is this job dangerous?” she squeaked. Her brothers exchanged a look she knew all too well. “Don’t you dare shield me from this.”
“It’s not a walk in the park,” Drew said. “We have pretty grueling trai
ning, fighting techniques, strategy classes, weapons…”
“I’ve been locked up and you two have been training to get yourself killed,” she whispered in horror.
“Rey, it’s not like that,” Drew said, reaching out for her.
Brian straightened instead. “We had to do our part. After you were kidnapped, we had no idea what was going to happen. We spent every day feeling utterly helpless in all of this. We did the only thing we could—we trained. We bought into the cause and we’re going to keep fighting for what’s right if it keeps you safe,” Brian said passionately. “The leader of Elle is ex-military. Not many people have ever met Sydney or even know what she looks like. But it doesn’t matter anyway, she’s in charge and doing a great job. We’re happy to be working for her. Happy to have a purpose in all of this.”
Reyna sighed and then nodded. She might not agree with her brothers working on a security detail where they could be harmed, but she understood the idea of needing purpose. It was something that she had so desperately needed while living with Beckham. Something Harrington could never give her. Her heart squeezed. She didn’t want to think about Harrington, and her heart hurt too bad to think about Becks.
“Okay!” Meghan’s cheery tone rang out as she exited the kitchen. “Here you go,” she said, passing Reyna a sandwich and a bag of potato chips. “Best we can do until next shift comes in to cook.” Her eyes darted between Reyna, Brian, and Drew. “How about I show you to your room? You look exhausted.”
“Sure.” She was both exhausted and wired. All of her emotions roiling through her at lightning speed.
“Great! Jodie is going to tag along with us. Tye will take Brian and Drew back to their command.” Reyna opened her mouth to protest, but Meghan barreled forward. “They’ll come see you after their shift is finished. You could use some rest.”
“It’s fine,” Brian said, kissing her forehead. “We’ll be fine. You’re in good hands. You’re safe here. We’ll find you later.”
“Love you, Rey,” Drew said. He dragged her into another hug and then all the guys disappeared.