Chapter Fourteen
It was a week of doing absolutely nothing that finally did Reyna in. She hated sitting around. Had always hated it. Between Meghan’s insistence that she needed to rest and Sydney’s insistence that she couldn’t do anything she truly wanted to do, she was restless. Not to mention the fact that she hadn’t heard from Beckham.
Eventually, she got so tired of resting that she threw on workout clothes and headed downstairs. She was already through her fifth mile on the treadmill when her brothers showed up. It took little convincing to get them to start training with her in their spare time. Since her cardio was already on point, they started her on weights and high-intensity workouts.
Four days later, Tye strolled into the room and said with a nod to Brian and Drew, “Tonight.”
They straightened and said in unison, “Yes, sir.”
“What’s that about?” she asked as Tye left.
“Work detail,” Brian said.
“It’s stuff we do every day,” Drew said with a smile. “It’ll be fine.”
“Can I come with you?” she asked hopefully, even though she already knew the answer.
“No,” they said as one.
“Come on. You’re training me. I want to be useful.”
“It’s not about being useful,” Brian said. “It’s about keeping you safe.”
“I know. I totally get that. I don’t want to be kidnapped again or anything. Trust me. But I can’t sit around and do nothing.”
“I heard Meghan say that you could work in medical with her,” Drew said.
“No. I don’t want to work with blood and needles.” She shuddered. The absolute last thing she wanted to do was work in a hospital. Why did no one understand that? “I want to make a difference and take down the bad guys.”
She fake-punched Drew’s arm. Brian shook his head and adjusted her hand so that her thumb wasn’t covering her knuckles.
“If you punch like that, you’re going to break your thumb.”
“I can be taught,” she said with a reassuring smile.
They just shook their heads with a laugh and got back to teaching her some basics. She acted like it was fine, but it wasn’t fine. She was sure there was something else she could do for Elle besides work in that insufferable lab.
“I’m sure something else will open up and you won’t be stuck in this limbo for long,” Brian reassured her. “When we get back, why don’t we do something with you and Laura? It’ll be great.”
Reyna grinned. “That’d be good. Now, show me that flip thing again.”
Drew stepped forward into her space, showing her how to flip him over her shoulder.
“That was good, but your best option is to run, Rey,” Brian said, looking her square in the eyes. “Run as fast and as far as you can.”
“I know,” she told him.
Except that hadn’t helped her last time. It hadn’t helped her against anything she had ever encountered; she’d always been caught, eventually. She wanted to know how to defend herself. Better yet, how to stop any of this from ever happening to her again.
Reyna tore off her workout clothes and stepped into the scalding shower. Her muscles ached in the best way, but her mind never seemed to shut off.
Sometimes, when she closed her eyes at night, she still remembered the person who had reached for her in Everett’s apartment. She could feel their hand clamp down on her arm. She could see their masked face. Smell the fear in the air. Sense the disaster unfolding around her. Sometimes that hand dragged her under and the nightmares started. Sometimes she was lucky and it was only the needles that blurred her sleep. But usually, it was B.
She shuddered at the images that unfolded behind her closed eyes. The water hit her in a fierce spray. She didn’t think these memories would ever leave her alone. When something traumatic happened, there were only two choices: sink into the pain or grow around it. It never went away. It became a part of her.
Reyna shut off the water with a sigh. She wasn’t going to sink into that pain. She would have to rise above. Take back control of her life. One step at a time.
She toweled off and wrapped her long dark hair up on the top of her head before exiting the bathroom. She screamed when she saw someone was standing by her bed.
