Chapter Ten
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.
“Where is he?” Reyna asked.
“Beckham?” Meghan asked warily.
“Who else?”
“He’s not here.” Meghan swallowed. “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.
He went to Harrington himself and told him that you’d run away once he found out what had happened to you. ”
“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 he stayed on. He has to play it off like nothing happened.”
Reyna winced. Nothing happened. 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 believe that he actually didn’t care about her.
“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.
They moved into a larger corridor, which Reyna was surprised to find 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.
They must be so used to strangers in their midst it didn’t even faze them.
Their group turned the first corner, and Reyna froze.
“Surprise,” Meghan called, holding her hands out.
Her brothers stood before her. Brian and Drew were standing in Elle headquarters. She blinked and blinked again, but it was real.
“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.
They weren’t in the warehouses anymore, laboring 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 face in it.
“Oh my God, I missed you,” she gasped.
“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.”
She pulled back with a sniffle. “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 we spoke to Beckham and we went along with what he said.
They brought us in, and it’s been great so far. ”
“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.”
“What did they do…” Drew trailed off when 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 at him. “How’s Laura?”
“Laura is here?” Reyna gasped.
“Yeah. It was one of my stipulations for leaving. And well…” Brian scratched the back of his head as if he were embarrassed.
“They’re engaged,” Drew filled in.
Reyna’s jaw dropped. Her brother was engaged. “Brian, congratulations! That makes me so happy.”
“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.
Before she was hired by Visage, it had been irregular for her to eat more than one full meal a day. Things changed quickly.
“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.”
“What happened to you in there?” Brian asked.
Reyna chewed on her lip. “I’m alive and healthy. That’s all that matters right now, okay?”
“That’s no…” Brian started, but Drew cut him off: “You can tell us when you’re ready.”
She 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, Elle HQ is an enormous operation,” Brian told her.
“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 tasks, and it trickles down through the ranks.
Drew and I are both working in security. ”
“Security?” 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 the job dangerous?” 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 training, fighting techniques, strategy classes, weapons…”
“I’ve been locked up, and you two have been training to get yourselves killed.”
“It’s not like that,” Drew said, reaching out for her.
Brian straightened up. “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. 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, and she’s doing a great job.
We’re happy to be working for her. Happy to have a purpose in all of this. ”
Reyna sighed. She might not like 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.
She didn’t want to think about Harrington, and her heart hurt too badly to think about Becks.
“Okay.” Meghan’s cheery tone rang out as she exited the kitchen.
Tye held up brown paper bags. “The goods.”
“Here you go.” Meghan passed Reyna a bag filled with a sandwich, a bag of potato chips, and a chocolate chip cookie. “Best we can do until next shift comes in to cook.”
They ate in a hurried silence. It was the least nutritious meal she’d had in weeks. It filled a hole that she didn’t even know needed to be filled. The food made her happy. It didn’t just fill her stomach.
Once they were done, Meghan’s gaze found Reyna. “How about I show you to your room? You look exhausted.”
“Sure.” She was both exhausted and wired. All of her emotions roiled 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.
Jodie trotted out of the kitchen with her mouth full of a second sandwich. “The iiii ta da fer.”
Reyna’s eyebrows rose. “What?”
Jodie chewed and swallowed. Then she repeated, “This is to die for.”
“PB now she was amazed to find her own images staring back at her in frames and on canvas.
Black-and-white photographs straight from the website Perspective that she had used to showcase her art.
Visage had worried that it was an Elle sympathizer website. Turned out they were right.
She walked in a hazy dream to the closet and laughed.
None of the silky doll outfits awaited her.
Just practical jeans, fit T-shirts, and a whole rack of Converse to choose from.
There was also an olive-green military-issue jacket, two ball caps, and her backpack.
She pulled open the first drawer and grinned from ear to ear.
Lace bras and silk thongs and satin matching sets and corsets and lingerie galore. Drawer after drawer after drawer.
“He did this,” she said, shutting the drawer with reddening cheeks.
“Yeah. He set this room up for you before we even began to work on your extraction.”
“Thanks, Meghan,” Reyna said softly, facing her at the door. “For everything.”
“Of course. I’ll just…” She gestured down the hallway. “If you need anything, take the elevator down two floors and someone will find me.”
Reyna nodded and listened for the click of the door closing behind her.
The rest of the day caught up with her in a rush, and she sank into the pillow-top mattress.
Adrenaline wore off, and exhaustion hit her.
Without warning, tears sprang to her eyes.
She was free. She was finally free. She couldn’t believe it.
And yet, Beckham wasn’t here. After everything she’d gone through, she’d thought he would be here waiting for her.
Her eyes moved around the room that had been created for her.
She saw it for what it was—a slice of a once-wonderful life.
Beckham had done this for her. He’d wanted it to feel like home when he brought her here.
Which meant that he’d always intended for her to show up.
But if that was the case, then where was he?