by K. A. Linde
A few snarled their disapproval, but the look on Beckham’s face silenced them. Along with much of his inner circle walking down the stairs to stop any further protests. They might have been Harrington’s army, but they knew power when they saw it.
Beckham gestured for Reyna to come forward. She squeezed Jodie’s hand before stepping toward him. He clasped her hand and she was surprised to find that his was shaking. He was still so weak from what they’d gone through together. But none of the vampires who were getting on their knees before him knew that. They saw what he projected, not what was underneath.
“I am Beckham Anderson and this is Reyna Carpenter. Together we have brought you into a new age where vampires and humans are equal,” Beckham announced gallantly.
Then he lifted their hands into the air. A cheer rose up from the remaining members of Elle, who had fought for this cause. Who had done everything that they could to make this a reality. Reyna felt something like relief flood her system for the first time in so long.
Katarina rushed in at that moment. Her eyes found Beckham’s and she shook her head. “He got away.”
Beckham sighed. “Let’s finish this up and then we’ll go after him again. We can’t let Rowland remain loose.”
“I can’t believe he got away,” Reyna grumbled.
“He would have killed you otherwise. It’s a trade.”
She nodded, though she would have preferred to get all the bad guys in one go.
Katarina joined the rest of Beckham’s circle, the friends they’d called in for a favor, and the anti-vamps who were now rounding up the remaining vampires and cordoning them off into separate rooms. The rest of Elle was trying to release any of the people who were still locked up. Vampires and humans working together to walk forward into a new world.
Reyna’s friends were standing around a body at the base of the stairs and she glanced at Jodie, who followed her down.
What they saw there turned her stomach. Reyna had seen so much death and destruction, but…Tye. He’d been so good. He’d deserved better than what had happened to him. To any of the fallen.
Meghan leaned into Gabe’s arms, tears freely flowing down her face. Drew was pale and hugged Reyna when she came near.
“It’s over,” he whispered. “It’s really over.”
“This is just the beginning,” she said quietly. “Now we have to rebuild.”
“A brave new world,” Drew murmured.
“We need a memorial,” Meghan whispered.
Reyna nodded, releasing her brother to look across the room full of the fallen. “A memorial for everyone who sacrificed themselves to get here. For Tye, Sydney, Washington, Xavier, Tony…Everett…and so many more.”
“So much death.”
“We’ll never forget them.”
Gabe turned to her then. “Well, General, what do we do now?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to look at her and she took in each and every one of them—Gabe, Meghan, Drew, Jodie. She thought about all the others still working to fix this mess. About Brian and Laura back in Beckham’s safe house. And Prisha, who had come out of hiding for this. All the anti-vamp people who had risked their lives and worked with the vampires they claimed to hate. About every person who had ever fought for this cause.
“We live.”
It was the best she could offer them. And at the same time…it was everything.
Beckham appeared at her side then. He gently touched her arm. She smiled at her friends and left them to grieve.
“We need to get you medical attention,” Beckham said.
“I’m okay,” she lied.
“You’re going to run yourself into the ground.”
“Look who’s talking.”
Beckham brushed her hair off of her face and smiled…genuinely smiled at her. “You did an incredible job today.”
She blushed. “Thank you.”
“I’m lucky to stand at your side.”
“Forever and always, right?”
He nodded decisively. Forever and always.
Reyna stared up into his dark eyes, so full of longing. It was amazing that she had ever believed him expressionless. She opened her senses to him and enveloped his heart, body, and soul with all the love in her heart. He pushed right back, colliding, capturing, encasing her. They were both weak from blood loss and using their powers, but they were strong in all the ways that mattered.
She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. His hands moved up into her hair, tilting her head and melding their lips together.
They had won.
The world was still turning.
They knew there was much work left to do.
A world to save.
But here, now, there were just two blood matches who had found the cure to their souls.
Epilogue
Reyna wrapped her arms around Beckham’s torso and hugged tight to him. The motorcycle hummed noisily between her thighs. Wind whipped her hair in her face as they zipped out of the city and farther into the countryside.
It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies. The sun was shining. Birds were singing. More cars than ever were running to and from the city. It was only six months post-Harrington and already the world was looking up.
Beckham had taken control of Visage in what he called a temporary capacity. She’d been by his side every step of the way. And every single step was harder than the next. But she had never wanted to be anywhere else.
Not when they released the remaining prisoners of Visage and discovered that Everett’s brother, Edmond, had been killed quickly after Everett had stopped giving them information. Or when Beckham offered actual free housing to those in need. Using those rooms for good instead of the horrors that had been committed down there. Or when Meghan and Gabe had spearheaded a conversion of the yard into a memorial for the fallen soldiers. Their names chiseled into stone and wrapped into a semicircle as a reminder and a remembrance.
A genius task force of scientists had replicated the cure based on Washington’s detailed paperwork, which Zoya had located on a backup server. It was now being offered free of charge at any Visage hospital. And a surprising number of vampires had come forward for it. Jodie had taken the research on her blood for herself and decided she’d rather not know what it could do. She’d also finally called off the search for June. They’d held a funeral service for her and officially labeled her deceased. Putting June to rest had been difficult, but Jodie and Katarina were happy together and that was what mattered.
Thanks to a rather large cash infusion into the economy, courtesy of William Harrington, it finally looked as if the country was coming out of the recession that had held it in its clutches for so long.
Which meant that Brian and Laura could buy a real house in the suburbs to raise their baby boy and recover from the trauma of their past. Drew had decided to stay in the city and had a new boyfriend—Philippé—which shocked everyone. But it was just another part of the vampire and human equality that they’d promoted from the start.
Reyna felt at ease for the first time in years.
There was always more to do. But not today.
Today, their cares were more singular. And she could finally breathe in the crisp summer air and actually enjoy it.
They were nearly to their destination, when Beckham suddenly pulled off of the road.
“What are we doing?” Reyna called over the sound of the motor.
Beckham didn’t reply. His silences were just as weighted as they had always been. She could have reached into his emotions, but she could read him without it. And then sometimes it was fun to guess.
He came to a stop and stepped off of his beat of a motorcycle. “Your turn.”
Reyna’s eyes widened in horror. “What?”
“I’ve been teaching
you to drive for months, Little One. You can handle her.”
“Um…your motorcycle? You think I can handle your precious beautiful motorcycle? I nearly crashed the Town Car. I thought Gerard was going to kill me.”
Beckham’s lips lifted at the corners at the memory. “Are you suggesting that you don’t want to drive my motorcycle?”
“Are you out of your mind? Of course I want to! Give me anything that goes fast and I’m in!”
“Oh, I know,” he said with a feral look in his eyes.
Reyna blushed. “That too.”
Beckham immediately launched into an everything-you-need-to-know-about-a-motorcycle speech. It was probably the most he’d ever said at once. And by the time he was done, her eyes were a little glazed over. She’d always wanted to learn to drive, but she had needed a car to do that. Now that the worst was over, she hoped, she was finally getting that opportunity. And she really wasn’t as bad as all that. Hopefully the motorcycle would be okay too.
It took her a few tries to get the basics down. She only landed in the gravel once and she was pretty proud of that. Beckham had actually rolled his eyes at her. Priceless.
“Aren’t you worried we’re going to miss our appointment?” Reyna asked.
“It was moved back. I thought it a prudent opportunity.”
She laughed. Of course he had.
“I think you’re ready,” Beckham finally said an infinite amount of time later.
“Yeah?” she gasped.
He nodded and then kicked his leg over the back of the bike. His thighs pressed against hers, his hands sliding up her waist and over her arms.
“Easy does it.”
She started the motorcycle just as he’d instructed and then eased it back onto the open highway. Beckham was close enough to take control if he had to, but gave her enough room to breathe. It was a perfect example of their relationship. The only time she didn’t argue with him taking control was in the bedroom. And even then…
His lips pressed into her neck. “You’re doing great.”
Reyna tilted her head back and laughed into the summer air. This was bliss. Beckham pressing into her back, the road open before her, and no cares in the world.
It was another twenty minutes before they reached their destination. Beckham helped her bring the bike to a stop and park it up front. She jumped off, feeling alive and wild from the adrenaline. She handed her helmet to Beckham and offered him a kiss. He obliged.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Are you?” she countered, suddenly sobering.
This was the hardest part of their week. Every week.
It didn’t matter what else they had to face at work, with Visage, with the cure. Worse even than the fact that they never found Rowland despite their best efforts. Nothing was as troublesome as standing outside of the mental facility that Bronwyn had been placed into almost six months earlier.
Beckham nodded and took her hand. They walked into the cozy home that was the best place in the state. It didn’t look like a hospital, which Reyna appreciated after all her time in Visage’s sterile rooms. There was wicker furniture on the porch. The interior was soft and feminine, painted in calming colors.
The same woman, Martha, who was always there, checked them in. “Beckham, Reyna, we’re so glad to see you today.”
“How’s she doing?” Reyna asked.
“It’s not a good day. But hopefully your presence will calm her down.”
Reyna clutched Beckham’s hand. The bad days were the hardest on him. He took full responsibility for what he had done to her. And it ate at him that there was nothing he could do to fix what he had broken. Except be there as often as he could and get her the help she’d always needed.
“You want me to show you the way?” Martha asked kindly.
“We can go on our own,” Reyna said. “Thank you.”
Reyna took his hand and guided him down the hallway. Bronwyn’s room was at the end of a hallway. There was no lock on her door, a big upgrade from where she’d been before. But all of the exterior doors had them, just in case.
They glanced through the small window and peered in on her sitting on a couch. She had a cross-stitch in her lap and was making gorgeous flowers come to life out of needlepoint.
“She used to do that as a kid,” Beckham said.
Reyna nodded. She knew.
After they’d given her the cure, she’d reverted to an almost childlike state. No longer a military leader or a powerful vampire, she retreated into herself and became the thing she had been before her mind had been shattered.
“Are you ready to go in?”
“Can I talk to you first?”
She arched an eyebrow but nodded. “Why do you look upset?”
“I’m not sure how you’ll react.”
“Should I be worried?”
He shook his head, glanced down, and then spit it out. “I want to take the cure.”
“You do?” she asked, wide-eyed with surprise. “You want to be a human again?”
“Yes.”
“Why? I thought…you wanted to be a vampire.”
He considered. “I wanted it at one time. But I am no longer the man who wanted it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Reyna, I want to spend this lifetime with you. I want to spend it as we should have it. You and I, married with children and growing old together.”
Reyna’s heart melted. “Really?”
“There is nothing I want more than to be with you.”
“What about the company?”
He shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. I can run it as a human as much as a vampire. You have been doing just as good a job.”
“Okay,” Reyna said in shock. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Say you want this lifetime with me,” he whispered against her lips.
“I want everything with you.”
Beckham kissed her once more and then opened the door to his sister’s room.
The cure was an opportunity.
A new adventure.
Not just for the vampires who had been turned against their will, but the ones who had walked into the darkness willingly. She would be there when he stepped back into the light. And every day after that.
They would weather this as they had done everything else…
Together.
To Kimberly Brower
For your unfailing dedication to this series and me.
Acknowledgments
The Blood Type series came about because I read an article about very, very rare blood types. So, I would first like to thank the science publication Mosaic for publishing photographer Greg White’s pictures of a blood bank, as well as the write-up and article on these very rare blood types. Thanks also to Gizmodo and The Atlantic for writing follow-up articles on the subject and delivering to me all sorts of inspiration. I would also like to thank the Blood Bank Guy, because even though most of your work is over my head, it helped my limited understanding of hematology.
Many people had their hands on this project and these things don’t develop in a vacuum. Thank you to my agent Kimberly Brower, who did a brilliant job helping me creatively and editorially. She was always there when I told her I was going to quit working on it and hated edits. She’d pick me up when I swore that I had bitten off more than I could chew with this one.
To my wonderful alpha readers—Rebecca Kimmerling and Anjee Sapp. You helped me through every up and down. I know you both love Becks as much as I do. You helped me see my vision and where I was going, and always kept me on track. I don’t think I could have done this without you. #youmaycallmegraves And to the incredible beta reader team: Katie Miller, Lori Francis, and Sharon Goodman. I love you all so much for everything you have done for me. Also, the incomparable Staci Hart
. I could have never gotten through edits without. I love you for calling me from the Netheralands to talk me through the issues I was having, reading over my changes, and generally making these books as strong as possible. As always my wonderful and unbelievably talented friend, Diana Peterfreund. For plotting retreats and Disney World trips and crazy cocktails and watching old movies over Facebook together and always being there for me. You inspired me long before I really knew you. Thank you for continuing to be that inspiration today.
To the awesome crew at Loveswept—thank you for putting as much love into this series as I felt for it. I can’t thank you all enough for the editorial feedback, marketing love, encouragement, and all around fanfare from working with you all. I couldn’t have asked for a better home for Beckham and Reyna.
My epic publicist—Danielle Sanchez—I know you pioneered this series, naming it one of your top readers ever. It warms my heart to know that I had you at my back. You do more than just help promote my books, you’re my guru, my therapist, my shoulder to cry on (or mostly bitch about life on), and most importantly my friend.
Thank you Ava Harrison, Corinne Michaels, and Rebecca Yarros who read a peek of this three years ago and never stopped demanding that I write more. Even when I was the asshole that made you wait three years for the follow up. To all my incredible author friends who read, blurbed, shared, and promoted this series—you are my people. I love you all so much. A. L. Jackson, Carrie Ann Ryan, Rachel van Dyken, C. D. Reiss, Kandi Steiner, Emma Hart, Erin Noelle, Jessica Prince, Kayti McGee, Kendall Ryan, Kristin Cast, K. Bromberg, Laurelin Paige, Mari Mancusi, Meghan March, Rachel Brookes, S. C. Stephens, Sierra Simone (still the best blurb ever—“Yes. Yassss. Hot. OMG. Unf unf unf. Noooo. Yayyyyy!”), Susan Stoker, and Wendy Higgins.
To the bloggers who have promoted this series and pushed new readers to try paranormal. The ones who have screamed from the rooftops about Beckham and his broody ways. The ones who couldn’t stop begging me for the next book after that massive cliffhanger. I hear you. I love you. I am so very thankful for you and your beautiful reviews.