Chapter Thirty-Two
After the sun set, Reyna stood with Laura as Brian and Drew prepared to leave.
Laura had silent tears running down her cheeks.
She buried her head in Brian’s shoulder and clung to him.
There was nothing to say, though. The mission was imperative—Elle had to know what was inside those camps, if they were really what Everett said they were.
That didn’t make it any easier to see them go.
Reyna wished she was going with them. She hated sitting on the sidelines.
It wasn’t in her nature. There were too many reasons she couldn’t be out there, though.
Besides the fact that nobody wanted her in the security crew, she still didn’t know if Harrington could sense her blood, and if she got injured, there was no other blood to save her.
She was still the only person alive they knew of who had Rh null negative blood.
So she stayed behind and prayed nothing happened.
Drew pulled her into a hug. “We’ll be back soon. It will only be a couple of hours.”
“Be safe, okay?”
“No problem.” He nudged her and grinned that playful smile.
Laura finally released Brian, wiping away her tears. She tugged Drew in for a hug next, and Brian moved to Reyna.
“You’re all making such a big fuss,” he said with a laugh.
“I don’t like where you’re going or what you’re doing,” she said softly.
His eyes moved to Laura’s. She didn’t know exactly what they were doing tonight; the information was sensitive. “It’ll be fine. Come here, kid.”
“I’m not a kid anymore,” she said, falling into his arms.
“I guess not.”
“Just be careful, okay?” She repeated what she’d said to Drew.
“All right, Rey.”
He hugged Laura once more, and then they were gone.
“I hate this,” Laura mumbled.
“I know.”
Reyna urged Laura away from the door the boys had walked through. If she hadn’t moved her, Reyna was sure Laura would have sat there until they came back. Reyna made sure to spend time with her for the next couple of hours until Laura’s exhaustion won out and she reluctantly headed to bed.
Reyna couldn’t go back to her room. She needed to get out and do something. But what? She had nothing to photograph. Beckham wasn’t around. She couldn’t stomach seeing Washington yet and hearing the paltry explanation he would be sure to offer.
She sighed as her feet carried her through Elle’s strangely silent corridors. It was better to be walking. She could get lost in the labyrinth. Anything was better than wondering what was going on.
It wasn’t until she stopped in front of the guarded room that she realized where her feet had taken her. She frowned. Had her words to Jodie earlier sparked this impulse? This world wasn’t black and white. People could change. Not everyone would, but wasn’t it a disservice not to see if they’d try?
“Is he taking visitors?” she asked the guards.
“Uh,” the guy said, turning to look at the woman on his right.
She shrugged. “No one told us one way or another.”
“Okay. I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Just knock when you want to come out.” The woman nodded at the guy, and he produced the key, opening the door for her.
“All right,” Reyna said, walking through the door. Her heart was racing. This was probably a bad idea. And yet…she didn’t turn back.
Everett sat on the floor of the sparse room in the lotus position. His hazel eyes opened slowly and weighed her standing there. He didn’t move. She didn’t move. They just stared at each other across the small divide.
“Well, it’s not a prison cell,” he finally said.
“More than you deserve.”
“Did you come here to tell me that?”
“I don’t know why I’m here.”
She didn’t know why she admitted it. She hated that she was here at all.
That thinking about people changing had brought her here.
He was a spy. He’d turned her in. And yet…
he’d come to find her when he’d realized the damage Visage was really doing.
Not to mention, someone he loved was on the inside, and she knew what the inside was like.
“Probably because you know I did the right thing and yet I’m still in this room with armed guards.”
“You did one good thing. And you’ve spied on how many people?”
“Countless.” He tilted his head. “But not you.”
“You were spying all along. You fed me information about Elle before I even knew what it was. You followed me to find out about my photographs. You took me to that fight and walked me right into that blood bank. You already knew about all of it, didn’t you?”
He shrugged. “Yes.”
“Why? Why did you do it?”
“I long suspected Beckham was involved in the rebel group. I thought helping you along would tip his hand. That he’d reveal himself.”
“Why did you think he was a part of something like that?”
“He disagreed with the permanent positions and developed a lasting relationship with a human.” He smiled. “Penelope, that is.” Reyna kept her face neutral. “That prompted my interest, but it wasn’t until you arrived that he started acting different. So I thought you could help move things along.”
“But I wasn’t a rebel.”
“No. I never thought you were. You were too naive for that.”
Reyna glared. “So, you just used me?”
“I did actually like you. Spending time with you was refreshing.”
“Why? Because I was so naive?”
“Because you were so genuine.”
Reyna rolled her eyes. “Amazing that a spy can’t seem to find anyone to be genuine with him.”
Everett didn’t take the bait. “What did they do to you?”
“They?” she asked. “You did this to me.”
“You’ve changed.”
“Yeah, I have. Being tortured for eight weeks does that to a person. I’m never going to be the victim like that again.”
“Tortured,” he breathed.
“Kidnapping victims tend to have psychological issues.”
“I bet it doesn’t help anything that you’re trapped here.”
Trapped. That word. She couldn’t fully suppress her shudder. “I can leave whenever I want.”
“Just as much as I can.” He tilted his head. “Just a captive playing a different game.”
“God, what am I even doing here?” she said, throwing her arms wide and stepping away from him. “This is a waste of time.”
“Why are you here?” he asked quietly. “For real.”
She had her hand on the door, poised to leave.
She didn’t have to talk to him. She didn’t have to tell him anything.
She might have considered him her friend once, but that had been based on a lie.
She didn’t want to fall into his trap again, but she still hoped.
Hoped he could be rehabilitated. That they could get his brother out, like they were working to find June. That all would be right with the world.
“My brothers have gone to check out the camps,” she said to the door. “I guess I wanted to think about anything but my fear for them.”
“Wait…what?”
She glanced over her shoulder to find that he had surged to his feet. This entire time, he’d remained seated, but now he looked frantic.
“They went to the feeding camp?” Everett demanded.
“Yeah. We had to corroborate your story.”
“When did they go?”
“I don’t know. A couple of hours ago. Why?”
The look on his face—like there was a Rubik’s Cube before him and he only had a matter of minutes to get all the colors on the right sides—made her body turn to stone. When he looked at her again, her blood ran cold.
“What?” she demanded.
“It’s a trap.”
“What’s a trap?” she whispered, though she already knew.
“They set me up. They know you’re coming.” He held his hands out. “Tell them all to come back. Get them home.”
“They have precautions against it being a trap,” she told him.
“Not enough. They must have let me find the information on purpose. Shit, shit, shit!” His fear permeated the room. “Reyna, go. Go now!”
She saw the truth in his eyes and slammed her hand on the door. It opened slowly. She slipped out and was running down the hallway before either of the guards could ask what was wrong. Her heart was slamming in her chest.
She needed to get to Sydney. She needed to hear from her that all was going to according to plan.
That she was freaking out over nothing. Everett had planted the idea in her head, but his fear was what had triggered this reaction.
She was sprinting, running at top speed, grateful for all those hours on the treadmill pushing herself to her limits.
She skipped the elevator entirely and took the stairs three steps at a time.
She was panting by the time she burst into the conference room.
“It’s a trap,” she gasped. Her hands were on her knees. “Everett thinks…it’s a trap.”
Sydney had her hands braced on the table at the head of the conference table. Only Gabe and Washington stood at her sides. She knew Beckham had to be visible anytime a mission was going on, so he always had an alibi.
“We know,” was all Sydney got out.
“You…you know?” she said in shock. Her voice rose as her anger did.
“We mapped all the contingencies. We didn’t know ahead of time,” Sydney told her. “But they were ambushed once they got to the facilities.”
“What happened? Is anyone hurt?” Reyna demanded.
“We don’t know.”
“How could you not know?” she asked, panic rising.
Gabe crossed to her. “We should talk about this somewhere else.”
“Don’t you dare fucking placate me.”
“Communications went down. We’re blind. We have no idea what’s happening in the field.”
“Then send people to find out!” she nearly shrieked.
“We don’t have the resources, and we can’t send more soldiers out into an uncertain situation,” Sydney said.
“Soldiers. Soldiers!” Reyna laughed manically. “My brothers aren’t soldiers. They’re people. Brian just got married. He has a baby on the way. Drew is coming out of his shell here. They’re so young. Too young.”
“We know,” Gabe said.
Reyna only had eyes for Sydney. “You send these men into war and call them soldiers. To you, they’re another piece on your chessboard. To us, they mean everything.”
“Do I relish sending boys like your brothers out there?” Sydney bit out. “No. But sacrifices are the only way to accomplish anything.”
“My brothers are not a sacrifice!” she screamed at her. “How can you speak so frivolously of a potential casualty?”
“Don’t speak to me about casualties. I lost my life to this war. I sacrificed everything for it.”
“I don’t even know what that means. You seem to be doing all right,” Reyna spat.
Gabe winced, and even Washington seemed to recoil at the comment. Sydney, however, straightened to her considerable height.
“You know so little to make such accusations. This rebellion was founded by Elle. She guided her ‘toy soldiers’ into battle and lost her life to the cause. And Elle did die that day,” Sydney told her.
“Because the person they turned her into after they captured her was no longer that idealistic woman. She was tortured into a hardened soldier herself, until she fought her way free of the chains that enslaved her. Until she came back as someone stronger, more realistic about the cause. Elle’s death sparked a fire in this revolution, and I was born from the ashes. ”
Reyna’s world turned upside down. Elle was Sydney. Sydney was Elle. She couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe Elle hadn’t died, had instead been made into the one thing she had fought against. No wonder she hated Visage so fiercely. She had died for the cause, after all.
A crackle came from the radio sitting in front of Sydney. “Carpenter reporting in,” a voice echoed through the scratchy radio.
“Drew,” Reyna whispered.
Sydney snatched up the receiver. “What’s happening out there, Carpenter?”
“I got away. I’m out, but the range on this is shot. Can you hear me?”
“We can hear you. Who else is with you?”
The radio crackled and then went out.