Chapter Six
After Harrington’s guard returned her to her cell, Reyna tossed and turned all night long.
Sleep didn’t come easily the next night, either.
Worse yet, when Monday morning dawned, it was time to give blood again.
She was worried that Harrington might show up again to their session.
He might lay on his charm and try to be the gentleman he most certainly was not.
If he did, he’d want an answer to the absurd dichotomy he’d presented her with.
She pulled herself out of bed, delirious from sleep deprivation and even more irritated than normal. Reyna was fighting to keep her eyes open when the nurse walked in pushing the breakfast cart. Except…it wasn’t the nurse.
“Morning,” the woman said with a smile.
She had on the same crisp white nursing outfit, but this woman was in her late twenties. She had brown skin with lush hair dyed bright red, and she seemed…friendly?
“You’re not the normal nurse.”
“No, I’m not. Nancy is sick today.”
Nancy. So that was her name.
“I’m Meghan with an h. I’m filling in for today. Nancy came down with something. This bug has been going around, and we’re attempting to contain it. We’d hate for it to get to our Specialty Residents.”
Specialty. Residents.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Pretty much never,” she admitted.
“Well, we should probably get the show on the road.” Meghan glanced down at the watch on her wrist.
“Aren’t you going to force me to eat?”
“Are you hungry?”
Reyna eyed her skeptically. Nancy must not have prepped this nurse on the rundown. “I get dizzy if I don’t eat before I get my blood drawn…”
“Grab a banana. You can eat as we go,” Meghan said, brooking no further response.
Okay, new girl. Whatever you say.
Reyna did take a banana off the tray and start to eat it as she followed Meghan out of the room.
Instead of walking in front of her like Nancy always had, Meghan stood at her side.
Her strides were long and confident, mirroring her features—shoulders pushed back, chin raised, red hair in a crisp ponytail, just a hint of mascara to accent her brown eyes, and a secretive grin that said everything and nothing at all.
They entered the sterile hospital room a few short minutes later, and Meghan gestured for her to take a seat in the chair. Reyna frowned. God, she hated this part.
At least she had a minute to stare at the chessboard before she had to sit.
She studied it for longer than normal. After B and the ball, she felt like there had to be a clue on this chessboard.
She needed a way to beat Harrington. She turned the subject over and over again in her mind, and she still didn’t see a way to end this.
Eventually, she moved a pawn forward and relented.
“You ready?” Meghan asked.
“Never.”
“I had a needle phobia once.” She swabbed Reyna’s arm and prepped her for the IV.
“You did?”
“Oh yeah. Just the thought of them going into my vein gave me the creeps. I’d throw up before donating blood. I was awful. Anything to get out of it.”
Reyna glanced up at her face. At how animated she was as she talked.
“Then one day I said to myself, why do I fear this tiny little thing? It helps millions of people and saves lives and prevents diseases and keeps the population healthy. For some people, it even gets them high.”
Reyna laughed unexpectedly, then winced. Meghan had put the needle in, and Reyna hadn’t even been paying attention. She’d been so focused on Meghan’s story that she hadn’t noticed the prick.
“See, that wasn’t so bad.”
“Well, it’s the second needle that gets me high,” Reyna said. “Have another story up your sleeve?”
“Why don’t you tell me one?” Meghan suggested, moving to the other arm.
Reyna clammed up. What the hell could she tell her? Nothing about Beckham or her life before. Nothing Visage could use. Nothing incriminating.
She shrugged. “No story.”
“Guess we do it the old-fashioned way.”
Meghan started to count to three but stuck her with the needle when she got to two. Reyna winced, but it hadn’t been the worst she’d ever experienced.
They were almost finished with the blood when the door clicked. Reyna shuddered, but when Meghan raised an eyebrow, she straightened her spine and prepared herself for what was to come.
Harrington stepped into the room. His cane was under his arm again, and he surveyed Reyna in the same manner he’d looked at the crowd at the ball.
Reyna could practically feel Meghan tense next to her.
Well, at least she wasn’t immune to his presence.
Reyna didn’t want her to do anything stupid to jeopardize herself.
“My little queen,” Harrington said with a feral grin, “how are we this morning?”
Reyna washed the glare from her face. “I’m being stuck with needles.”
“Ah, yes. Occupational hazard,” he said, sliding effortlessly into the chair. He crossed his legs and laced his fingers together in front of him. His eyes drifted to the chessboard, and then he tsked. “You exposed your queen.”
“I… What?”
Harrington moved a piece and collected her queen. He grinned. “Never leave your queen unguarded,” he said pointedly. “Check.”
Reyna gnashed her teeth together and focused on what Meghan was doing. It was better than seeing Harrington’s triumphant face again.
“Well, what did you think of the rest of the ball?” Harrington asked, smoothly changing the subject. “I regret that I wasn’t able to see you afterward.”
“If you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all,” Reyna said with nonchalance.
Harrington shot her an amused expression. His lips quirked up at the corners. “I’m certain that’s true. I wondered if you had thought more about my proposition.”
Reyna swallowed. “I thought about it.”
“And?”
“I don’t know.”
Lie. She definitely knew. She knew that she couldn’t stay here. That she wasn’t ready to give up all hope. Not when Beckham was still out there. Not when she could still work out a way to escape.
“My indecisive mouse,” he teased. She tried to ignore the bite in his voice. Her eyes flicked over to Meghan, who was dutifully ignoring the entire exchange. At least she’d gotten that part of the job correct.
“I need more time,” she finally blurted out.
“Was I not convincing enough?” He leaned his chin into his hand. A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes, and his next words cut deep. “Perhaps there was something Beckham was providing that I am not offering.”
Reyna refused to think about what Beckham had offered her. She cared for him so desperately, and his absence was horrific.
“I could probably provide you sexual satisfaction, too,” he said so casually she nearly choked.
Oh God. Disgust crawled through her stomach. Somehow, he had made it worse.
“Um…no.”
“Not me, of course. Sometimes I partake with women, but usually only because my lovers like it.”
Reyna wanted a black hole to open up underneath her and enclose her body. She never, ever wanted to have this conversation with Harrington. Not in this lifetime or the next.
“That’s a…generous offer,” she made herself say. She feared him enough to keep herself from unleashing on him again.
“But not enough to sway you?”
“I need more time.”
“I don’t like to be kept waiting,” he growled.
No. She wanted to scream it in his face.
She wanted to rage. She wanted to fight until her last breath.
It felt like a betrayal to even consider his offer.
But could anyone fault her for wanting to survive?
She didn’t think so. Her prison cell was cushy but painfully boring.
She didn’t want it to get worse, and she didn’t want it to get better. She wanted to get out.
He must have read the indecision on her face. “It is either this or B. Those are your choices. I will have your decision.”
Reyna opened her mouth, and her throat closed up. She couldn’t do it. She had no answer.
“Now, Reyna,” he barked.
“No,” she gasped out.
He stared at her in shock. His expression said that he never in a million years thought she would utter that word. Not after what he had put her through. Not after what she had endured.
“You would prefer this to indulging in luxury?”
“No,” she repeated, her voice wavering. “I’d prefer my own freedom.”
“You should disillusion yourself of that notion,” he said, standing abruptly. “You will never leave here. You signed your own prison sentence. I was willing to work with you. To give you a wonderful life. Remember that you were the one who tossed it aside so easily. This offer will not come again.”
Reyna raised her chin defiantly. She’d made her decision. Consequences be damned.
Harrington backhanded her hard across the face, and she reeled in shock and pain. Her vision went blurry, ears ringing at the sheer force of the hit. “You are a very stupid girl…and I will break you.”
Reyna blinked away tears. She hated that she cowered away from him. Hated that same fear deep in the pit of her stomach from her encounter with B. She’d thought she was already broken. Yet, somehow, she had found the resolve to still deny him what he wanted.
Harrington stormed from the room, and she watched his retreating form with tears running down her face. His threat was a promise. She just hoped she survived it.
“That was incredibly stupid,” Meghan whispered.
“What do you know?” Reyna snapped. “I’d rather die than live that life.”
Meghan’s smile only grew. “Time to go back.”
“We haven’t done the venom.”
“The machine isn’t working. We’ll have to come at a later time.”
“Fucking great,” Reyna muttered under her breath as Meghan removed the IVs and cleaned her up. She was stuck with a chatty, incompetent nurse. And she’d thought Nancy was bad.
Meghan walked her back to her room and followed her inside.
“You don’t have to be in here. Go fix the machine or whatever,” Reyna grumbled. All she wanted to do was flop back down on her bed and sleep away the rest of the day.
Meghan glanced down at her watch. She was muttering something to herself. “Three, two, one,” she barely breathed. Then her eyes jumped back to Reyna and she produced a small metal gun.
“What the hell?” Reyna cried.
“Give me your arm.”
“Don’t shoot me!”
“Reyna, we don’t have time.”
“I swear, no matter what I said, I don’t want to die. Please.”
“I’m not here to kill you,” Meghan said, waving the little gun around.
“Then why do you have that?”
Meghan grabbed Reyna’s arm forcefully in her hand, her gentle nursing skills forgotten. She pressed the tip of the gun to Reyna’s forearm and then pulled the trigger. A little buzz shot across Reyna’s arm, and she gasped.
“What the hell was that?”
“I deactivated the tracker in your arm. We have ten minutes,” Meghan glanced down at her watch again. “Nine minutes and twenty-seven seconds to get you the hell out of here.”