by K. A. Linde
After she calmed down, Reyna walked through the doors and into the boutique. The place was bigger than it appeared and it was breathtaking. The walls were lined with evenly spaced white gowns in every shape and cut imaginable. Some were the starkest white while others were a dark cream or off-white. Glitter and lace and sequins and crystals adorned the gowns. Gossamer and tulle and silk and satin and all kind of brilliant materials made these incredible creations. Reyna couldn’t stop staring at them. The cost of one of these amazing gowns could likely feed the entire warehouse district for a day.
But of course Beckham could afford it, and he was footing the bill.
She tried to ignore Penelope and went to help Laura pick out a dozen dresses. Luckily, her baby bump wasn’t showing yet. The only real issue was that the dress had to fit her perfectly, because there was no time for alterations. At least she was tall. Reyna would have been screwed. All of the dresses would have been several inches too long.
Olivia hustled Laura and her many gowns into the enormous dressing room. She stayed inside to help her change and Reyna took a seat near Penelope, who was texting away on her cellphone, oblivious.
Reyna cleared her throat in the awkward silence. “I wanted to reiterate how thankful I am. Truly. It means a lot to Laura to have a dress.”
Penelope slowly turned to look at her. Up close like this, the damage from the burns was even more noticeable. Plastic surgery was a miracle considering what she had gone through. And she didn’t look any less beautiful. Her fine white scars were actually endearing. But by the expression on her face, it was more like they had rotted away at her core.
“I really appreciate you doing this for Laura,” Reyna added when Penny said nothing. “It’s very nice of you.”
“Oh please,” Penny finally said with an eye roll. “Let’s not pretend that I’m doing this for anyone but Beckham.”
“Well, then, thanks for doing this for Becks.”
Penelope shot her an amused face. “Becks?”
“Uh…yeah?”
“Have you seen that man? He’s hardly one for nicknames.”
Reyna couldn’t stop the smile that brushed her lips. It was all she could do to keep from laughing. Penelope was right. To 99.9 percent of the world Beckham was not the kind of person to have a nickname. But her Beckham, the man he showed beneath the monster, was most definitely Becks.
“Okay,” Reyna said.
“Does he let you call him Becks?” she asked, her voice low. Her doe-shaped eyes were round with concern as if she had missed something big about Beckham that she couldn’t quite mask.
“Um…”
“Ugh!” Penelope said, turning away from her. “I don’t even know why I bother with you. Or why he does, for that matter. You’re like all the other girls who came before you. I was the one who changed him. I’m going to be the one at his side in the end.”
Other girls? Reyna knew that she shouldn’t ask Penelope what she meant. She knew the other woman was baiting her.
But she couldn’t completely keep the confusion off of her face.
“You do know about the other girls, right?” Penny asked in a sickly sweet tone. Reyna bit the inside of her cheek. “I mean…has he told you anything about his past?”
“I don’t see how our relationship is any of your concern.”
Penelope laughed a short little chirp. She seemed as if she were back in her element. “I see. So, he hasn’t. Well, if you’re not dead in a couple of months, I’ll be shocked. I guess getting kidnapped appears to have prolonged your life. Go figure.”
Reyna’s temper flared. “It’s one thing to insult me and to insinuate that you know Beckham better than I do. It’s quite another to suggest that when I was kidnapped it was a good thing. Perhaps it was good for you, Penny, because you were able to continue living in your deluded world where you believe Beckham actually wants to be with you. But news flash, he doesn’t.”
Penny pursed her lips. “Things were better before you showed up.”
“I have no intention of apologizing for that. I didn’t ask for this life. This life came to me. But now that it’s mine, don’t think I won’t go down without a fight. You might think that you saved Beckham. That he changed because of you,” she said with an eye roll. “But then you’d be just like every other woman in history who thinks that a man changed because of them.”
“You weren’t there when we first met,” Penny said, jumping to her feet. “You don’t know what it was like. Harrington sent him to me to test him. And considering he didn’t kill me or turn me into a vampire”—Penelope made a face of disgust—“it’s obvious that he passed. He’s a different man now than he was then because of what we went through together. The fact that you now get to reap the benefits is so fucking ridiculous.”
“I don’t care what you two went through together. Or whatever test you were to him. None of that matters to me, because it clearly doesn’t matter to him. Beckham chose me.”
The words lingered between them. Penelope, red in the face and angry, stormed out of the boutique and into the back. Reyna didn’t know where she was going or what she was doing. And frankly she didn’t care. She’d had every intention of being nice and conciliatory, but at some point that crossed the line into doormat. She was not going to let Penny walk all over her because she felt she had some claim on Beckham.
“What do you think of this one?” Laura asked, appearing then in a dress.
Reyna’s mouth dropped open, the argument forgotten. “Holy shit!”
Laura bounced up and down with excitement. “It’s so soft. I’ve never worn anything this dainty.”
“Brian will fall over himself at the sight of you.”
Laura tried on two dozen more dresses while they were at the dress shop, but none compared to that first one. It was the dream dress. Magic was sewn into the fabric. It was the one no matter how many other dresses she looked at.
“Just a few more,” she said, though she fingered the soft layers of the first dress one more time.
She was in the changing room with Olivia when Beckham burst into the boutique. Reyna vaulted to her feet.
“What’s wrong?” she asked upon seeing his face.
“We have to go.”
“What’s happened?”
His eyes were dark and ominous. His voice deep and bordering on loss of restraint. “Everett.”
Chapter 26
“He’s back?” Reyna asked with wide eyes.
Beckham nodded once tersely. “Where’s Penelope? We need to get her out of here too.”
“She’s not in the back?”
“No.”
“Then I don’t know. She stormed out there like an hour ago and never returned.”
His face darkened. Just then Olivia and Laura came out of the dressing room. Laura in some poufy monstrosity. Olivia’s eyes widened when she saw Beckham.
“Pack up whichever dress she wants,” Beckham said to Olivia. “We have to leave.”
“Of course, Mr. Anderson,” Olivia said evenly. “Come on, Laura.”
Beckham frowned and glanced down at his cellphone.
“Did Penny message you or anything?”
“No.” His eyes caught hers again. “Did something happen?”
“Well, it didn’t go well.”
He sighed and turned back to his phone. It wasn’t like it was all her fault. She had tried to be nice to Penelope, but clearly Penny had not been given the same instructions. Or if she had, she hadn’t followed them. Reyna wasn’t going to stand around and be abused. And now here they were.
Beckham pocketed the phone and nodded for her to follow him. They had just entered the back room of the boutique when Beckham pushed her back into the wall. He put his hands on either side of her head and leaned in. His lips caressed hers and she breathed into him. It had on
ly been a couple days, but she had missed him.
He pulled back abruptly and stared deep into her eyes. There was something off about him. As if he wasn’t entirely sure how to act or was afraid that she might disappear.
She reached out and placed her hand on his cheek. “Hey, whatever is going on, it’ll be fine.”
“I want to take you back to Elle.”
“All right. Are you going to tell me what’s up with Everett?”
Beckham turned his head away from her palm and she let it drop. No, she had read him wrong. This wasn’t fear or worry. This was anger. Bristling and spitting right under the surface. He was trying to control it and not let it erupt out of him. She was sure it had to do with Everett. But what could Everett have done that would make him this angry? After orchestrating her kidnapping, there couldn’t be much worse than that.
“Will you go back to Elle?” he demanded instead of replying to her question.
“Becks, look at me.” He finally did. His eyes black molten lava. “I will go back if I have to, but there’s something that you’re not telling me.”
“He wants to talk to you,” Beckham ground out.
She froze. “What? Why?”
“He won’t say. He won’t say anything except that he has important information and that the only person he’ll tell is you.”
Reyna’s head swam with the possibilities. “Do you think he has info?”
Beckham considered for a moment. “I think he’s a threat. He’ll do anything to get close to you.”
“So…you think it’s a trap?”
“That is how it appears.”
Reyna gnawed on her lip. It could be a trap. Everett had seen her that night at Ferrier House. He knew she was out there somewhere. He might have even seen her with Gabe. If Harrington was looking for her, it would make sense for him to use Everett to draw her out.
“What if he does have information?” she asked.
“I know a way to get it from him without him talking to you.”
The sinister glint in his eye said everything he hadn’t. They would torture him until he revealed it. Reyna hated Everett. She despised his part in all of this. But that didn’t mean that she agreed with torture. She didn’t want Elle to become the bad guys. She wanted them to be better than that. She wanted Beckham to be better than that.
“I’ll do it.”
“Reyna…”
“Find me a secure location that you’re comfortable with. I can get the information from him. I know that I can.”
His entire body tensed. He’d been anticipating that she would want to do it. She was consistently reckless. He knew she liked to take chances. He liked that about her, even if it made his job to keep her safe more difficult.
“He’s going to manipulate you.”
“I won’t forget what he did, Becks. Plus, you’ll be there, right?”
He froze, assessing her. That was the biggest trip up. He couldn’t be there. She could see that now. Everett wanted to talk to her, and Beckham couldn’t be there to protect her.
“You won’t be there.”
“I will be there, but I can’t risk him knowing that I’m Elle. As far as we know, he recognized you and Gabe. Gabe is a big enough loss.”
“But you’d be worse.”
“Undeniably.”
Laura and Olivia broke our staring contest before I could respond. Olivia was carrying an enormous, white hanging bag. Laura took it from her and thanked her profusely.
“The first dress?” Reyna asked.
Laura nodded emphatically. “It’s perfect.”
“Let’s go,” Beckham said, nodding toward the back door.
They exited into the alley, where a nondescript black Town Car idled.
Beckham turned to Laura. “My driver, Gerard, can be trusted. I’ve known him longer than you’ve been alive. He’s going to take you back and will inform me if anything goes awry.”
“Okay,” Laura said uncertainly. She turned to Reyna. “Please be safe.”
“I will,” Reyna said, and hoped it was true.
Beckham popped the back door open and helped Laura stuff the wedding dress into the backseat. She crawled in after it.
Reyna put her hand on the door and then sighed. “I think it’s important for me to do this. I’d rather at least try the humane way.”
Beckham kissed her roughly on the mouth. “You make trying to protect you difficult.”
“Guilty as charged.”
Beckham knocked on the passenger window. It rolled down. “Gerard, please drive Laura back. Reyna and I will take my ride.”
Gerard put down the historical romance novel he had been reading and nodded at Beckham. “Yes, sir.”
Reyna watched the car speed off. Beckham tugged her close, directing her farther down the street. She shivered in the chilly temperatures and wished that she’d thought to bring the hat and gloves that Beckham had given her for the rooftop. Especially once she saw what Beckham’s ride was.
“Is that yours?” she gasped.
He quirked an eyebrow as they approached the sleek black motorcycle. He responded by tossing her a helmet.
“It’s December,” she reminded him. “I’m going to freeze.”
Next, he handed her fur-lined black leather gloves, a black beanie, and a black mask that covered most of the rest of her face.
“You knew that I would come with you.”
“Do I ever expect you to willingly sit on the sidelines?”
She grinned fiercely as she pulled on everything he’d brought her. Beckham easily secured the clasp under her chin. He kicked one leg over the beast and waited patiently for her to work up the nerve to do the same. She’d never been on a motorcycle.
“I will not let you come to harm, Little One,” he assured her.
She swallowed and then swung her leg over. She wrapped her arms around Beckham’s middle, plastering her chest against his back and her thighs against his. She was surprised to find him warmer than she would have expected. She knew she was about to freeze, but this was going to be worth it.
Beckham revved the engine and then the bike jumped forward. Reyna squeezed tightly as they zipped out of the alley and onto the city streets. The wind whipped in her face. Buildings rushed past her in a blur. Everything happened in a rush.
Her heart leapt in her throat, but her fear quickly melted away. This was real freedom. No boundaries and endless possibilities. They could go anywhere. Do anything. Be anyone they wanted. She wanted to open her arms wide and let the bike carry her away.
When all of this was over and the weather became warm again, she was going to insist on him taking her out on this every day. Every single day. It was a travesty that he hadn’t told her about it before.
Reyna felt like pouting when Beckham pulled off of the road about fifteen minutes later. She could have done that so much longer. Instead they were in a sketchy part of town that made her nervous. Beckham parked the bike in a garage and then helped her off the back. Her legs were stiff and now that they had stopped moving she realized how cold she was. But her smile was huge and she was bouncing with energy.
“When do we do that again?” she asked.
“Danger doesn’t just find you. You go looking for it.”
“You put me on that motorcycle! You can’t expect me not to love it.”
He leaned forward, brushing a fang across the shell of her ear. “All I can think about is bending you over it.”
“Well,” she said breathily, “I hadn’t thought of that, but now that I am…”
“Next time.” Beckham nipped at her ear and she nearly moaned aloud.
He slipped his hand into hers and they walked through the garage door into the most glorious warmth. She’d been cold on the bike, but adrenaline had taken over. Now sh
e realized belatedly that she was shaking.
“You brought me an icicle,” Gabe said with a grin.
“I think I may actually be frozen,” I grumbled.
“We should get you warmed up,” Beckham said. His phone rang noisily and he cursed, retreating to the end of the room to answer it.
“Come on, you,” Gabe said.
He veered her away in front of a fire, wrapped a couple blankets around her shoulders, and brought her some hot chocolate.
“What is this place?” she asked between her chattering teeth.
“Safe house.”
“Oh. I’ve been to one of those before. Are they all this shitty?”
“Helps with the cover.” He winked at her as usual and she shook her head. Typical Gabe. “You ready for this? I know with your history…”
“I’m ready.”
“He didn’t try to talk you into this, right? You came of your own free will?”
Reyna shot him an exasperated look. “If anything, Beckham tried to talk me out of it. Why would you think otherwise?”
Gabe glanced back at Beckham, who was still speaking animatedly on his phone. “Just wanted to make sure. You can never be too careful.”
“He thinks this is a trap. Am I walking into a trap?”
“We did everything that we possibly could to make sure that doesn’t happen. There’s no bug on him. We made him change clothes. We burned his clothes. No tracker in his skin. We confiscated his phone and it’s not in the building. The guy seems legit scared,” Gabe said thoughtfully. “I’ve seen enough shitbags like this to know when they’re faking it. And maybe he is, but he doesn’t look like it.”
“So, you think he actually has information for us? He’s not just trying to get to me?”
“He’s a spy and a good actor. You’re proof of that. I wouldn’t trust a word he tells you and I’d expect some serious mental manipulation in the process. But…yeah, I think he has something.”