His lips landed on her hair. “Oh, Little One.”
“Brian,” she choked out.
“I heard.”
“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t joined Visage, they wouldn’t be here.”
“No,” Beckham repeated more firmly. He pulled back to look down into her red-rimmed eyes. “Do not place the blame on anyone but the person who deserves it—William Harrington.”
“Can we kill him now?”
“Yes.” The murderous vampire who had single-handedly taken over a kingdom stood before her. She was glad for it. She would need him to win this war.
“Good.”
His thumbs stroked across her cheeks, wiping away her tears. “Don’t let them break you.”
“Only you.” She whispered the words he had said to her once before.
His lips were tender against hers. A direct contrast to his normal behavior. It settled her in a way nothing else had been able to.
“Will you wait with me?”
“To the end of time.”
Meghan came out of surgery. Dark circles ringed her eyes, and her hands shook as she adjusted the braided bun on top of her head.
“He’s fine,” she told Reyna. “He told us the same information Tye did. I think he inhaled more smoke than Tye, though. We gave him a sedative so he’d sleep. He’ll have to wait a few hours to tell Laura.”
“Thank you,” Reyna said, hugging Meghan. “For everything.”
“Of course.” She ran a hand over her face. “What a night.”
“Beckham said there’s a meeting. They’re waiting for us.”
Meghan nodded. “I should check in with Jodie first. She’s been cagey lately.”
“Yeah. I know. Let me know how she is.” Meghan stumbled forward a step, and Reyna caught her. “Hey, maybe you should get some sleep. You’re no use to anyone if you’re dead on your feet.”
“Everyone else is still awake. I can make it.”
“When did you last sleep?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re not a vampire. Leave patients to Washington, okay?”
“Maybe just a few hours,” she said reluctantly.
Reyna went to see Drew. She played with his hair where he slept on a cot in the corner of the recovery room. She kissed his forehead. “We’re going to get Brian back, Drew. We’re going to kill the monster who did this. We’re going to fix everything. I promise.”
Vengeance filled her cold heart, savage and wild. Eager to devour anything that got in her way.
Beckham saw the look on her face and offered her his hand. She took it, drinking in his strength as a beacon to ground her. The anger and Beckham were the only things keeping her afloat right now. If she gave up either, she didn’t know where she’d be.
They returned to the conference room once more. Sydney remained at the head of the table. Tony had his computer up in front of him, still typing away frantically. Gabe had returned, and Tye sat next to him, ankle bandaged.
To Reyna’s surprise and distaste, Penelope was also in attendance. Her eyes drifted down to where Beckham still held Reyna’s hand. She pursed her lips, then looked away.
