She entered the second room and found Tony leaning over a series of monitors. Gabe moved to stand next to him and give her privacy as Beckham scooped her up. She threw her arms around his neck and buried herself into his chest.
“You’re okay,” he said soothingly. He traced lazy circles into her back. Then he kissed the top of her head and pulled away. “You’re okay.”
“Gabe said I did good.”
“You’re doing brilliant.”
“He was spying on you.”
“I heard.”
“Motherfucker,” she spat.
“You’re almost done.” He grinned and kissed her again.
“Well, what should I tell him? Do I meet his demands?”
“They only have to be met if he cooperates,” Tony said, not even bothering to look up from the computer. “Then we toss him in a prison cell and let the bastard rot away forever.”
“Then how are we any better than Visage?” she demanded.
Tony looked up at her and blinked. He was clearly used to living in a world of zeros and ones. What she was suggesting didn’t compute.
“Reyna, we can’t let him go,” Gabe said.
“I didn’t say we should. But if we imprison him, how is that any better than what happened to me?”
“He turned you in,” Beckham growled.
“And he turned himself in for this. For the beating he got and the interrogation. He did it knowing someone he cared about could be killed. Could you imagine making that same sacrifice?”
“Are you suggesting we rehabilitate him? A man who admitted to being a trained spy?” Gabe asked.
“No. I don’t know.” She held up her hands. “I’d be happy if he was gone. I don’t want to lose sight of the reason we’re fighting against Visage, but we don’t want to become as bad as they are.”
“Give him the assurances,” Beckham said.
“Beckham,” Gabe grumbled.
“We’re not going to kill him. And we might be able to use him.”
“Thank you,” Reyna said. “I’ll get what we need. If he doesn’t deliver and this is really a trap…I don’t care what you do to him.”
Beckham nodded. She knew the bargain she’d struck with him. Everett could be dead by the end of the night. The option was entirely up to him.
She left the guys in the room and strode back to Everett. She heard someone call out behind her, but she was already inside, and as soon as she closed the door, Everett grabbed her and wrapped his handcuffs around her neck, cutting off her air supply.
Without a second thought, her self-defense training with her brothers kicked in. She stomped her foot onto the top of his. Something crunched, and Everett howled, but he didn’t release her. She tried to jab at his kidneys or do anything that could incapacitate him, but he dodged her arms, still cursing her for his foot. Then she grasped Everett’s arm, bent forward, and jerked him over her shoulder. Unprepared, he rolled up onto her hip, and she slammed him down onto his back. Her foot landed on his throat.
“Don’t fucking move,” she growled.
Gabe dashed into the room, holding a pistol in his hands. His eyes widened in shock at Everett lying flat on his back and Reyna on top of him. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to deliver that so effectively if Everett hadn’t completely underestimated her, but it didn’t matter, because it had fucking worked.
“Well, I guess you handled that,” Gabe said, keeping his weapon trained on Everett as he sidled up to them. Gabe manhandled him into the chair again.
“Why the hell would you attack me?” she shouted at Everett.
“No one wants to be a prisoner,” Everett said calmly as Gabe reattached the handcuffs. “You would have been good leverage.”
