“You came,” he said earnestly.
She took a deep breath and stepped into the room.
Here goes nothing.
Chapter 27
“I didn’t think that you’d come,” Everett said.
She raised her chin an inch, taking him in like an eagle before it devours a mouse. His boy-next-door good looks were bedraggled. His chestnut hair was mussed, one eye swollen, blood dribbling out of a cut on his lip. The clothes they’d given him didn’t quite fit. His frame was swallowed in the oversized T-shirt and sweats that replaced his crisp valet uniform.
And yet…he wasn’t downtrodden. His spirits were high. His smile was that same friendly grin she had known for so long. The one that she had foolishly trusted. That had backfired in her face.
“Yes, you did,” she finally said.
His lips quirked downward. “I wasn’t sure.”
“Don’t try this act on me. I believe we’re past that.”
“It’s not an act.”
She laughed brusquely. “Everything with you is an act. So, let’s skip the pleasantries. I’m here. That’s what you wanted. Why don’t you tell me the information that you’re withholding?”
Everett straightened in his seat. “Why don’t you take these handcuffs off me?” He held his hands out in front of him. “Then we’ll chat.”
“Yeah. Not happening.”
“You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she spat. Her anger was fuel to a fire.
“If you’re not afraid of me, then I don’t need these.”
Reyna rolled her eyes. “Okay. So, you’re not going to tell me. I guess I don’t need to be here.”
She turned around and started walking back toward the door. Her hand was on the handle before he called out, “Wait.”
She stilled. Forced herself to wait. To draw out his unease. Then she faced him once more. “I’m not here to play games with you. I’ve done that enough.”
“Okay,” he said evenly, leaning his elbows on his knees. “Can I start at the beginning?”
“Start wherever you like. Just get started.”
“Will you sit?” He gestured to the seat before him.
She wondered if it had been Gabe who had done the interrogating first. She knew he was good with his hands. A fighter at heart. It couldn’t have been Beckham. He didn’t want Everett to know he was part of Elle. Plus, he wouldn’t just be bruised; he’d be bloody.
She swung the chair around on its back legs and straddled it with the back as a barrier between them. Then she rested her arms on top of the back of the wooden chair.
“I’m sitting. Get started.”
Everett grinned. “You always were a surprise.”
She sighed heavily as if she were totally bored with him.
“Let’s start with—how long have you been a spy? Is that a good place to start?” she asked.
“Awhile,” he said with a shrug. “Long enough.”
“Do your friends know?”
“No. They are exactly as they seem.”
“Why were you spying on me?”
“Well, I wasn’t spying on you,” he said nonchalantly. “But I have spied on many others before.”
“You didn’t spy on me? Explain that to me.”
“I didn’t have to spy on you, Reyna. You were so desperate for someone to notice you that you would have made the easiest mark in the world.”
She flushed at the comment. That had been true. She had been that girl. Out of her depth and in need of a friend. No wonder he had been so kind to her. The only person who had.
“But you weren’t the mark,” Everett added calmly.
“You turned me in to Harrington and I wasn’t the mark?” She had to fight to keep her anger in check.
“Why would Harrington give a shit about another blood whore?”
Reyna bit the inside of her cheek. “Then why did you turn me in?”
“Because Beckham was the mark.” His handcuffs jingled as he pointed toward the door. “He’s out there, isn’t he?”
“Then why did you turn me in?” she repeated, ignoring his question.
“I did what I was told. I was to report on anything interesting in Beckham’s movements, changes in his demeanor, differences in his schedule. That sort of thing. He’s a rather boring and predictable person, to be honest. That is, until you came along.”
Reyna swallowed. “What changed when I showed up?”
Everett cocked his head to the side. His eyes were bright as if he found the question interesting, or maybe hilarious. “Everything.”
She knew that she shouldn’t feel excitement at that thought, but still it curled inside of her.
“Didn’t you ever wonder why I never turned you in for all of your obvious rebellious behavior? That camera?” He laughed. “If I could figure out that you were the Perspective website in a half second, did you think no one else was going to find out? Do you know how many times I covered your tracks?”
Reyna sat motionless. He was manipulating her. He was trying to get to her like Beckham and Gabe had said. There was no way to know whether he had covered for her. Beckham had set up the website and he knew what he was doing. Everett didn’t have enough power to do more than Beckham had. If he wanted her to sympathize with him because of this, then he had another thing coming.