Reyna smiled darkly. “Your family assumed you’d die young. They cared nothing for you. Kept you in a bubble away from the other children. Your only saving grace was that you weren’t poor. So you were given free rein to read.” Harrington narrowed his eyes. “You gathered enough information to free yourself. And in doing so, you became a vampire. Irony of all ironies, you’restill a sick, twisted, worthless bastard.”
“Are you finished? I’ve had enough of your babble.”
“You treated Washington like the brother you never had and Beckham like the son you couldn’t have. Except you can’t let anyone close to you. Not for real. And when they get close, when they start to figure you out, you revolt, which only makes it worse. Because the truth is, William,” she said coolly, “you’re just a sick, lost boy who’s hoping no one will see it.”
“Enough!” Harrington roared, jumping to his feet.
“Hit a nerve?”
“You are grasping at straws. You know nothing of my childhood or the life I’ve lived.”
“I don’t have to know. I knowyou.”
Harrington’s eyes blazed with fire. He was furious that she was using his past against him. She could see on his face that he despised her for it.
“It changes nothing,” Harrington said, slowly sinking back into his seat. “You’ve left me no other choice.”
“There are always choices. Why do you have to do this? We can make the world a better place together.”
“I see you believe that. But what you don’t realize is that I am already creating the utopia I so desire. And with you feeding me, I will rule everything.”
“All you want is someone to love you. To see you for who you are and not be afraid. Can’t you consider another route?”
Harrington met her gaze head-on. Then he pressed another button on his desk. “Bring her in.”
A door behind her swished open. Reyna swiveled in place, careful not to put her back to Harrington. Fear crept into her heart. Whatever Harrington had prepared for her couldn’t possibly be good.
In walked Jodie.
Held captive by a vampire.
“Now, let’s reconsider your position,” Harrington said.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Release her,” Reyna cried. She pointed her finger at Harrington threateningly.
He raised an eyebrow. “It’s your move.”
Reyna’s head whipped back to Jodie. The vampire was about her height, with black hair tucked into a hat so low over her eyes that Reyna couldn’t see her face. She held Jodie with an arm around her neck. Jodie’s skin was pallid with terror. Fangs were only inches from her exposed neck. Reyna’s blood ran cold. Terror was blatant on her face. Reyna itched to do something dramatic. To throw caution to the wind. But she couldn’t. Not if Jodie’s life was in danger.
“I said release her!”
“And you thought I didn’t have you figured out? Will you let her die for you? Will you be able to watch it while I have her cut to pieces in front of your eyes?”
“You’d never stomach it,” she shot back at him.
“The floors are glass. I can have them cleaned.”
Reyna’s own stomach roiled at the thought. He was serious. He would do this to Jodie. All they’d sacrificed and now she was again at his mercy.
“Surrender to me, Reyna. I prefer to have you coming willingly.”
“You think this is willingly? It’s coercion.”
“We both do what we must.”
She looked back and forth between Harrington and Jodie. A tear flowed down one of Jodie’s soft cheeks.
