Once the van came to a stop, before she could say something or reach for Beckham, he darted out of the car. Beckham’s circle met him in the garage, and they loped off without a backward glance. Reyna breathed out in frustration as he disappeared into the darkness. Gabe dropped a hand on her shoulder in solidarity and then they walked back to the house. They entered through the kitchen and Reyna made an ice pack for his face, which was already swelling an eye shut.
“Sorry again about this,” Reyna said.
“Occupational hazard. Should probably check in with Meghan.”
“Yeah. I’m going to look in on Brian.”
“Be careful, okay?”
Reyna nodded and then headed up the stairs. A light was on at the end of the hall. The emotional roller coaster of the last couple hours hit her like a punch to the gut. She was exhausted. She wanted to clean all this makeup off and sleep for at least the next twenty-four hours. Deal with her brother and Graves and avampire army and the fucking antidote another day.
But she didn’t.
She walked down the hall to her own personal hell and pushed the door open slightly. She startled at the sight of Genevieve reading from Dante’sInferno.Brian was asleep. His chin resting against his chest as he remained chained to the chair.
“May not be the best choice,” Reyna whispered. “Descending into Hell.”
“Poignant,” Genevieve said softly.
“How’s he doing?”
Genevieve considered. “About the same. I believe he’s more lucid with those he doesn’t know. He’s full of guilt and seeing your face reminds him of his humanity.”
“Shouldn’t we want to remind him of that?”
“Guilt can crush a person. It’s best to start with people who understand. Let him come to some semblance of acceptance first.”
Reyna nodded. “Thank you for looking after him. I truly appreciate it.”
Genevieve got a far-off look on her face. “We’ve all been there before. It’s nice to bring them around before they do worse. A chance most of us weren’t offered.”
“He’s a fighter. He can come back from this.”
“I hope so.”
“You’ll be here all night?”
“Yes. Until Katarina comes for a reprieve. But I don’t mind.”
“Again, thank you. I wish I could be there for him, but at least someone is.”
“Get some rest, Reyna. Your brother just needs time.”
Reyna took one last wistful look at Brian before finding her bed and promptly passing out.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Beckham didn’t return that night.
Or the one after that.
A full week later and she hadn’t seen a trace of him. No depressions next to her in bed. None of the O negative blood gone from the fridge. None of his musky scent. She couldn’t even sense him, which meant he had to be at least six miles away from the mansion. Whatever he was doing, he wasn’t nearby and he clearly didn’t want to see her.
The whole thing was utterly frustrating. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and she wanted him to come home to talk this out with her. But he wouldn’t.
His inner circle returned routinely to help with Brian. Katarina had brought the antidote to Washington the next morning. When Reyna had asked about Beckham, she’d been tight-lipped and disappeared. Their loyalty ran deep. None of them would talk about it. Or where he was. Reyna respected that even if she despised it.
“He’s going to come back, Rey,” Jodie said as they walked the grounds.
