Chapter Eighteen #2
“Are you sure we have to do this?” Reyna asked Beckham later when they were standing outside the anti-vamp cult room where the rest of Elle stayed. Beckham glanced at her. “Okay. We do.”
She was not looking forward to it. Not even a little bit.
Beckham ushered her inside. Gabe was waiting in the car. They’d promised him they wouldn’t be long.
The room they entered was massive, at least two stories up and round, with hallways branching out from it. It was full of people watching TV and hanging out. Her heart panged. It reminded her so much of the rec room at Elle.
“I didn’t know you were coming by,” Everett said, approaching from a hallway.
Beckham tensed next to her.
“And you brought him. You know this isn’t a vamp-friendly place.”
“Try to make me leave,” Beckham said threateningly.
“Let’s not,” Reyna said, holding up her hands. “We’re not here to argue with you. I need to talk to Drew and Laura.”
“By all means.” Everett gestured his arm. “But your escort stays here.”
“If you think I’m going to leave her alone with you…”
Reyna blew out a strangled breath. “It’s fine. You’ll know if I’m not okay.”
Their eyes met and she opened herself up to him. Let him feel the turmoil. He could sense her no matter where she went. She wasn’t worried about being in this place. Just frustrated that he couldn’t be here for this.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Beckham said to Everett. “If you’re capable of that.”
Everett shot him a smug look and then directed Reyna down the first hallway on the left.
The halls were narrow, with peeling white paint and muted tile.
The dim lighting didn’t help with the overall feel of the place.
It certainly wasn’t as nice as the old bunker, but it did the job. That was all that mattered.
“You don’t have to antagonize him,” she said.
“Why not? It’s fun.”
“You’re an ass.”
“Been called worse.”
Reyna shook her head. She didn’t want to argue with him. “How are things here?”
“Quiet.”
“That’s good.”
“It is. I don’t know how these people even got mixed up with Elle. They seem to want a normal life.”
“We all want a normal life,” she muttered. “We’re fighting for a normal life.”
“True. You’re still going after Harrington, right?”
Reyna’s eyes glanced down the empty hallway, wondering if anyone was listening. “Keep your voice down.”
“I have feelers out. Other spies that I was in contact with.”
“Are you serious?” she demanded. “You’re on the outs. If they find where you are, they’ll kill you. What happens if your negligence brings Harrington to their doorstep?”
“I’m being careful.”
“You better be,” she snapped. She sighed and sized him up for what he was telling her. “Can any of your contacts get into the camps?”
Everett shook his head. “None of them would risk it.”
“Yeah.” There went that idea.
“Well, here they are,” he said, stopping in front of one of the nondescript black doors. “Let me know if you need me, Reyna.” He placed his hand tentatively on her shoulder.
She jerked out of his touch. She still hadn’t forgiven him for all he had done to her. Finding this place was only the tip of the iceberg as far as she was concerned. Everett had a lot more making up to do.
He held his hands up. “I get the picture. You can forgive murderers but not me.”
“You turned me in. I was tortured. Then you help us with information at the last minute, which resulted in my brother being captured and tortured. Excuse me if I’m not running to make you feel better about the shit you’ve pulled.”
“I didn’t know about the stuff with Brian. I saw the trap for what it was. Would it have been better if I hadn’t told you? Then no one would have gotten away.”
“It was some well-timed information.”
Everett sighed heavily. “You should trust me, Reyna. You’re running out of friends.”
“I appreciate what you’ve done, but it doesn’t absolve you of everything else. We have a truce. Not a friendship.”
Reyna knocked twice on the door to Drew and Laura’s room. Everett blew out a long breath before disappearing back down the hall.
“Rey!” Drew said, flinging the door open and enveloping her.
“Hey, big brother.”
“I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Well, here I am.”
“Hey, Reyna,” Laura said. She stood from the twin bed in the corner and came to give her a hug.
“It’s so good to see you. How’s my niece or nephew doing?”
Laura patted her belly. “Making mama sick as a dog, unfortunately.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Those new Elle people didn’t help much. Shell-shocked. Going to need to get them some therapy. Even the children looked horrified,” Laura said with a shake of her head. “I wonder what happened to them.”
“I…I think you should sit down,” Reyna said.
Drew raised his eyebrows. “What’s going on?”
“Both of you.”
Laura retreated back to her twin bed and took a seat. Drew looked uncomfortable and curious, then relented. He had a pallet against the opposite wall but took the chair in the corner.
“Tell us,” Drew said.
Reyna took a deep breath and told them everything.
Start to finish. She didn’t want to tell them why the new Elle people were so shell-shocked or about Brian’s feeding frenzy or how he was now.
She especially didn’t want to tell them that he didn’t want to see them.
Any of them. But she did. She told it all.
Then she held them as they cried. And cried.
As they begged to see him. And threatened her if she didn’t let them come back with her. And cried some more. But by the end, she held them longer, hating that Harrington did this to her family.
And though Beckham told her not to mourn the living, she couldn’t help but feel a piece of her brother had cracked away with his turning. And her entire family felt the reverberating repercussions.