Jodie was opening drawers and picking up various scalpels and syringes and then putting them back. Over and over.
Meghan put her hand over Jodie’s. “Leave it.”
Jodie threw her hands up and stalked into the corner.
Meghan sighed softly before disappearing into a giant walk-in refrigerator.
“This place is the same, huh?” Jodie asked.
Reyna nodded. “Same company probably built and outfitted it.”
“Probably so.” Jodie poked the heart-rate monitor. “You okay about your boy?”
Boy. Reyna almost laughed at that. She didn’t think anyone had referred to Beckham as a boy in a very, very long time. He was a hulking, brooding, vicious vampire. He’d earned his reputation with fear and intimidation and murder. The innocence of childhood was long gone.
“I don’t even know what I expected,” she confessed.
“Obviously that he wouldn’t propose to some chick behind your back.”
Reyna couldn’t help her laugh then. “Yeah. That. I mean, I was only gone eight weeks.”
Jodie’s eyes widened. “Eight weeks is a lifetime in there.”
It was.
“How long were you there?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Jodie turned her back on Reyna. “He was pretty and all, but maybe you could hook up with a human this time. Find one who doesn’t want to eat you for breakfast.”
Jodie was probably right. Things would be easier if Reyna wanted someone other than Beckham. The problem was that she had never wanted anyone like she wanted Beckham.
Meghan returned, fit the venom to the IV, and prepped Reyna’s arm. Reyna tensed as she waited for the inevitable needle. Jodie blanched at the sight and disappeared from the room.
“I am so glad that I was working that day you came in for testing,” Meghan said, drawing Reyna’s attention back to her face. “I was the nurse who ran the test on your blood and found out how special you are. I changed your file from Rh null to O negative. We’d been looking for you for so long. It was perfect timing, too, since Beckham had to take a permanent escort and he’d been putting it off. It was the first day I learned he worked for Elle.”
Reyna’s mind was whirring to life with the new information. A sharp prick jolted her back to reality.
“Needles,” she groaned.
“Don’t worry. The worst is over.” She glanced at Reyna. “So, I don’t know all the details about what’s up with you and Beckham. Only that Elle placed you in his custody for protection.”
Reyna’s eyes swept to Meghan’s. “So, the whole thing was a setup? Beckham knew about my blood type?”
“Well, yeah. Otherwise you would have ended up with Harrington right away. We would have brought you straight to headquarters, but we hadn’t vetted you yet. We wanted Beckham to vet you and then bring you in. Perfect, really.”
“So that’s why he didn’t drink from me,” she said.
“In theory, all vampires can drink from you, but no one wanted to test that theory, either. It doesn’t always work for vampires to drink other blood types. Like even if O negative can be used for transfusions for other blood types, that doesn’t mean vampires can drink it. A lot of times it makes them more animalistic still. It was safer for him not to try.”
“Oh.” Reyna bit her lip. “But he did.”
“I know,” Meghan said softly. “And then you were kidnapped.”
Reyna sank back in the chair as Meghan turned on the machine to filter the venom into her system. All this time, she had wondered why Beckham wouldn’t drink from her. She’d assumed for so long it had been because he didn’t approve of the new permanent escort program, and in rebellion he’d continued to drink from Penny, who was also his blood type match, instead. Beckham had known all along that they didn’t match. Though she was a true universal donor, he hadn’t wanted to risk her. Only hehadrisked her.
Her mind muddled as the venom took ahold of her. She wanted to think the best of Beckham. Yes, he was a good actor. He had to be to play double agent. But she didn’t want to think that their relationship had been a ploy, too.
Her heart raced. Her stomach clenched. Her eyes drooped.
