by K. A. Linde
How little Harrington had changed.
“Ah, my little queen,” he said. “Welcome.”
Reyna shuddered at the nickname. God, she really hated it. She was not his queen. She was not reigning over anything here. It was a bad play on her name. And too close to Beckham’s nickname for her for comfort.
“William,” Reyna said. She held her chin high on the offensive. “Nice digs.”
He gestured for her to take a seat. “I thought you might like it.”
Yeah, not happening. She stood her ground.
She heard Rowland enter the room behind her and the door quietly whirred closed. He stepped around her, taking a position of power to the right of Harrington. She nearly rolled her eyes. Bastard.
“It’s so…clean,” she commented. “Still washing your hands constantly and organizing the pen drawer?”
His eyes narrowed briefly and then relaxed. “I prefer my life orderly. It has been a sticking point between you and I.”
“Right. Because I’m so out of order.”
“You are a…complication,” Harrington said, gesturing forward.
She noticed that he didn’t get up out of his seat. She tilted her head to the side in contemplation of what that could mean. Then she assessed him. His color had worsened. His eyes were sunken in. His shiny hair was no more, replaced by an oily, thinning mess. His hands were gnarled and sickly. He looked the way he had the first time she had met him all those months ago at Visage. He looked…like he was dying.
Her eyes snapped up to his. And it was there that she saw the masterful mind who had always outwitted her. He held his supreme intelligence deep in the windows of his eyes. Yet his body was failing him.
“I don’t believe that I am the only complication,” Reyna said.
“Ah. Yes. Things have changed you see.”
“Your blood match died?” she guessed.
“She did. She was quite old. A frail woman. She couldn’t keep up with the…demand.”
Reyna clenched her hands into fists at her sides and then released them. Such careless and thoughtless murder.
“And the antidote doesn’t quite work like you hoped,” she added.
“It nourishes the body, but not the illness,” he admitted freely. “Rh null negative blood is so rare and the components counteract the vampiric disease I have been carrying with me all these years. It turns out that I can re-create a universal donor and still not get it right.”
“Too bad you killed Washington, then,” she said callously. “He could have fixed it.”
Shock registered on Harrington’s face. “Roger is dead?”
“Uh…yeah. You dropped a bomb on him.”
“He got out.”
Reyna narrowed her eyes. “Nope. Pretty sure he stayed behind.”
“What a horrible loss.”
“Oh yeah, a ‘loss.’ Not another one of your murders.”
Harrington waved the comment away. “You and I both know that to get to the top there must be casualties. You’ve certainly sacrificed enough people to get to where you are.”
Reyna wanted to stab him for what he was insinuating. She was nothing like him. She was not casually sacrificing good people to get ahead. She felt every single loss like a shot to the heart.
And he felt nothing. Nothing!
“All I’m hearing is that you need me again. Big surprise.”
“I’ve always needed you, Reyna. It was you who did not realize that you needed me.”
She laughed. “I don’t need you.”
Harrington pressed a button on the glass desk and suddenly all of the windows changed to televisions. Every single one of them showed the battles being fought below them. Beckham and Bronwyn fighting in the observation deck. Meghan and Gabe back to back, taking on a pack of vampires. Drew leading a team of anti-vamps into a nest. Tye fighting, fighting, fighting, and finally failing. Succumbing to the vampire before him. Fangs piercing his skin and drinking his precious blood. Spilling it on the already red floor of the main room.
Reyna gasped as the vampire heartlessly dropped Tye’s body and moved on. Her hand went to her heart. Death. So much death. She had known there would be casualties in this war, but she hated seeing it happen. Hated being forced to watch.
“See. You do need me, my little queen,” Harrington said. “I can make it all stop.”
“As if you would.”
“I simply wanted you to play the part of a queen on the board instead of a pawn.”
Reyna ran her hand across her ponytail in frustration. “The game isn’t over yet.”
“Almost,” he agreed. “But I did know that you would show eventually anyway. Incredibly predictable. Haven’t we already walked this dance once?”
“Can you dance right now?”
He blinked at her. “You want to save your little friends, I presume. They are the reason that you’re in my office. Your little rebellion has failed. The L on your T-shirt means nothing. You have accomplished nothing. Except to kill everyone that you care about. Is that what you want? To be the last of your kind?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so.” Harrington leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of him. “You are as self-sacrificing as you have ever been. You would do anything to save your friends and your precious Beckham.”
“God, you really love to hear yourself talk, don’t you? Couldn’t you have curbed that desire since we last met?” Reyna cursed and crossed her arms. “You’re right. Okay? I would do anything to save them. But I’m not here to be self-sacrificing. I’m here to kill you.”
Harrington laughed and Rowland joined in along with him. Apparently, she was a fucking riot.
“Kill me,” Harrington said, patting his chest. “Oh Reyna, you always do surprise me.”
“You couldn’t lay a hand on him before he’d snap your neck,” Rowland threatened.
“Except he needs me. So, we both know he’s not going to kill me.”
“Ah, but you are easily incapacitated,” Harrington said. “You’re a human.”
Reyna held her breath. She needed to stay in control. She needed to get this over with. She didn’t want to stand here and give him more time to figure out a different way to stop her. Her eyes flitted to Rowland’s. He was another complication she’d have to figure out.
“Come quietly, Reyna, and I can make this all stop,” Harrington offered, holding his hands wide.
He actually believed that he was being benevolent. That was the real kicker. He was so past recognizing his own evil. He believed that the ends always justified the means, and in this case, he would do anything to get Reyna. He would do anything to take Visage to the next level, and if that meant subjugating every human in the entire world, he would do it. And he wouldn’t even think twice.
It was infuriating because of Harrington’s intelligence. Unlike his lackeys, Harrington was the brains of the operation. He’d outsmarted and outmaneuvered everyone else on the board. He’d brought his competition together to work for him rather than against him. He’d given his subjects exactly what they wanted and he’d made himself look like a hero. The man was brilliant. But at some point, the scales had tipped. His ego had gotten in the way. He’d won so many times that he didn’t believe himself capable of losing.
It made her nervous to consider that he might never lose. That she might lose…again. After all of this.
“I won’t lose,” Reyna told him, lifting her chin. “I won’t surrender.”
Harrington tsked. “Such a disappointment.”
“I think I finally understand you,” Reyna said. She dropped her hands at her sides and took a step forward. “I think all this time I spent trying to anticipate your next move, all I did was learn your board. I see past the big bad monster to the man beyond the mask.”
/> “Go on,” Harrington said. He waved his hand in front of him and then leaned forward earnestly. He was actually interested in what she was saying. As if he were placating a child.
“You were Washington’s best friend. You nurtured your friendship until you could use him. He created your blood type cure and asked for nothing in return. You rewarded him with a bomb on his house. You had his Elisa murdered in cold blood for being a visionary and then stole her ideas for your own aims. You were a thoughtful, intelligent, and courteous houseguest to Genevieve. Yet you discarded her and everyone else you deemed unimportant. You treated Beckham like a prodigal son and yet you had his sister chained up for more than a decade to use against him. You held me against my will. I bet you even have someone that Rowland cares about locked away somewhere.”
Rowland narrowed his eyes at the insinuation but didn’t press the issue. It was good enough that she had him thinking.
“Brava,” Harrington said. “You have a warped view of my history.”
“I’m not finished,” she spat. He arched an eyebrow. “You are manipulative, destructive, highly intelligent, and most of all, single-minded.”
“Single-minded?” Harrington laughed. “Shall I bring out my chessboard for you, my little queen? I can assure you I have many aims.”
Reyna shook her head. “No. This is where you are different. This is where you fail time and time again. The only thing you have ever cared about in all of your days as a vampire is your own blood.”
Reyna held up the cut that Bronwyn had given her and dug in until it flowed freely again. “My blood.”
“Hardly.”
Rowland hissed behind Harrington as he drew in a deep breath. But it was Harrington whose eyes were glued to her arm. To the blood he so craved.
“Which makes it a weakness. One you have attempted to cover the severity of for centuries.”
Harrington’s feathers ruffled and he scoffed as if what she said had no merit. But it was his reaction that proved it did.
“Your very rare blood type coupled with a blood disease that has turned you insane with the need for cleanliness…is a weakness.” Reyna took a step to the side, slowly circling him in the way she had witnessed Beckham do to unnerve others. She’d had long conversations with Genevieve about Harrington, listening carefully to everything she knew about the man. Taking it in and absorbing it for this moment. “You were a sickly child.”
“You know nothing of my childhood,” Harrington quipped.
Reyna smiled darkly. “Your family assumed you’d die young. They cared nothing for you. Kept you in a bubble away from the other children. Your only saving grace was that you weren’t poor. So you were given free rein to read.” Harrington narrowed his eyes. “You gathered enough information to free yourself. And in doing so, you became a vampire. Irony of all ironies, you’re still a sick, twisted, worthless bastard.”
“Are you finished? I’ve had enough of your babble.”
“You treated Washington like the brother you never had. Beckham the son you couldn’t have. Me…the daughter you always wanted. Except you can’t let anyone close to you. Not for real. And when they get close, when they start to figure you out, you revolt, which only sends you further into insanity. Because the truth is, William,” she said coolly, “you’re just a sick, lost boy who’s hoping no one will see it.”
“Enough!” Harrington roared, jumping to his feet.
“Hit a nerve?”
“You are grasping at straws. You know nothing of my childhood or the life I’ve lived.”
“I don’t have to know. I know you.”
Harrington’s eyes blazed with fire. He was furious that she was using his past against him. She could see on his face that he despised her for it.
“It changes nothing,” Harrington said, slowly sinking back into his seat. “You’ve left me no other choice.”
“There are always choices! Why do you have to do this? We can make the world a better place together.”
“I see you believe that. But what you don’t realize is that I am already creating the utopia I so desire. And with you feeding me, I will rule everything.”
“All you want is someone to love you. To see you for who you are and not be afraid. Can’t you just consider another route?”
Harrington met her gaze head-on. Then he pressed another button on his desk. “Bring her in.”
Reyna narrowed her eyes at him. What did that mean?
A door behind her swished open. Reyna swiveled in place, careful not to put her back to Harrington. Fear crept into her heart. Whatever Harrington had prepared for her…couldn’t possibly be good.
In walked Jodie.
Held captive by a vampire.
“Now, let’s reconsider your position,” Harrington said.
Chapter 35
“Release her!” Reyna cried. She pointed her finger at Harrington threateningly.
He just raised an eyebrow. “It’s your move.”
Reyna’s head whipped back to Jodie. The vampire was about her height, with black hair tucked into a hat so low over her eyes that Reyna couldn’t see her face. She held Jodie with an arm around her neck. Jodie’s skin was ashen with terror. Fangs were only inches from her exposed neck. Reyna’s blood ran cold. Terror was blatant on her face. Reyna itched to do something dramatic. To throw caution to the wind. But she couldn’t. Not if Jodie’s life was in danger.
“I said release her!”
“And you thought I didn’t have you figured out? Will you let her die for you? Will you be able to watch it while I have her cut to pieces in front of your eyes?”
“You’d never stomach it,” she shot back at him.
“The floors are glass. I can have them cleaned.”
Reyna’s own stomach roiled at the thought. He was serious. He would do this to Jodie. All they’d sacrificed and now she was again at his mercy.
“Surrender to me, Reyna. I prefer to have you coming willingly.”
“You think this is willingly? It’s coercion!”
“We both do what we must.”
She looked back and forth between Harrington and Jodie. A tear flowed down one of Jodie’s soft cheeks.
“Don’t even think about it, Reyna,” Jodie said.
The arm on her throat tightened as a warning.
Reyna felt a sense of déjà vu. She was once again standing on that patio on New Year’s Eve, watching Beckham die before her eyes. Harrington was no longer strong enough to do that. He was sick again. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have someone else do it. Maybe even Rowland.
“I can’t let him kill you,” Reyna told Jodie. She choked on the words.
“He’ll kill me anyway!” Jodie yelled.
“You won’t kill her,” Reyna snapped at Harrington. “Give me your word.”
“Done.”
“You will let her go and never look for her again.”
Harrington grated his teeth together but then nodded. “As you wish.”
“Your word!”
“You have my word.”
“Whatever that’s worth,” Reyna muttered.
Reyna wavered. There was no right choice here. Giving herself up to Harrington meant he would live forever. He would run this planet into the ground and ruin everything she had worked for. But if she didn’t…he’d kill Jodie and take Reyna prisoner anyway.
There had to be a third option.
She couldn’t…no, wouldn’t stand by and let him win again. She could see three steps ahead of her. She could stop this.
“Admit it, my little queen,” Harrington taunted. “I am always and will always be one step ahead of you. You are a worthy opponent, my dear, but I have lived hundreds of years longer than you. I can see the long game. All the things that are a mystery to you.”
“No,” s
he whispered.
“Oh yes.” He slowly rose to his feet, pushing the chair out of the way. He shifted his weight onto his cane. It was almost painful to watch him shuffle his feet across the floor until he came to the front of his desk. “You could never beat me.”
“I will.”
She had to.
She had to beat him.
This couldn’t all be for nothing.
“There are no moves that I haven’t anticipated. You have nothing left to play. I’ve taken all of your players captive. It is just you and me. And there is nothing that you can do to stop me now.”
Reyna closed her eyes and tried to block out his words. “You’ll…you’ll let them all go? You’ll make the killing stop?”
“If you come willingly, I will stop everything. But you can never run away or plot escape. You will be delighted with your new position at my side. You will do what I say.”
“Reyna, no!” Jodie spat. “Are you fucking kidding me? Let me die! What is my life worth anyway?”
“Everything.”
“Nothing! I’m nobody. No one will even miss me.”
“I would!” Reyna yelled back. “I would miss you. I would miss everyone out there. You all came here for me. You believed in me. And in the end, I failed. Again.”
“Reyna, please, please don’t do this.”
“While this is all touching,” Harrington said, “do be quiet. We’re negotiating.”
“Are we negotiating?” Reyna asked, whipping around to face him. Her heart was caught in her throat. “Or are you attempting to steal my freedom?”
“I will give you all the freedom you desire.”
“I think you and I have different definitions of freedom.”
“I weary of your prattle.” He looked up at the vampire holding Jodie. “Cut off her finger.”
“No!” Jodie shrieked. She tried to wrestle herself free, but there was no luck. She wasn’t stronger than a vampire. “Please, no!”
The vampire unsheathed a blade from her belt. She peeled open Jodie’s fist and held her index finger in her hand. The blade moved to Jodie’s finger. A trickle of blood ran down her hand. Jodie began to cry. Seeing her friend break down did her in. She couldn’t endure it. Even if Jodie could sustain the pain, Reyna could never watch her go through it.