Blood Match (Blood Type 2)

“I don’t care what you two went through together. Or whatever test you were to him. None of that matters to me, because it clearly doesn’t matter to him. Beckham chose me.”

The words lingered between them. Penelope, red in the face and angry, stormed out of the boutique and into the back. Reyna didn’t know where she was going or what she was doing. And frankly she didn’t care. She’d had every intention of being nice and conciliatory, but at some point that crossed the line into doormat. She was not going to let Penny walk all over her because she felt she had some claim on Beckham.

“What do you think of this one?” Laura asked, appearing then in a dress.

Reyna’s mouth dropped open, the argument forgotten. “Holy shit!”

Laura bounced up and down with excitement. “It’s so soft. I’ve never worn anything this dainty.”

“Brian will fall over himself at the sight of you.”

Laura tried on two dozen more dresses while they were at the dress shop, but none compared to that first one. It was the dream dress. Magic was sewn into the fabric. It was the one no matter how many other dresses she looked at.

“Just a few more,” she said, though she fingered the soft layers of the first dress one more time.

She was in the changing room with Olivia when Beckham burst into the boutique. Reyna vaulted to her feet.

“What’s wrong?” she asked upon seeing his face.

“We have to go.”

“What’s happened?”

His eyes were dark and ominous. His voice deep and bordering on loss of restraint. “Everett.”

Chapter 26

“He’s back?” Reyna asked with wide eyes.

Beckham nodded once tersely. “Where’s Penelope? We need to get her out of here too.”

“She’s not in the back?”

“No.”

“Then I don’t know. She stormed out there like an hour ago and never returned.”

His face darkened. Just then Olivia and Laura came out of the dressing room. Laura in some poufy monstrosity. Olivia’s eyes widened when she saw Beckham.

“Pack up whichever dress she wants,” Beckham said to Olivia. “We have to leave.”

“Of course, Mr. Anderson,” Olivia said evenly. “Come on, Laura.”

Beckham frowned and glanced down at his cellphone.

“Did Penny message you or anything?”

“No.” His eyes caught hers again. “Did something happen?”

“Well, it didn’t go well.”

He sighed and turned back to his phone. It wasn’t like it was all her fault. She had tried to be nice to Penelope, but clearly Penny had not been given the same instructions. Or if she had, she hadn’t followed them. Reyna wasn’t going to stand around and be abused. And now here they were.

Beckham pocketed the phone and nodded for her to follow him. They had just entered the back room of the boutique when Beckham pushed her back into the wall. He put his hands on either side of her head and leaned in. His lips caressed hers and she breathed into him. It had only been a couple days, but she had missed him.

He pulled back abruptly and stared deep into her eyes. There was something off about him. As if he wasn’t entirely sure how to act or was afraid that she might disappear.

She reached out and placed her hand on his cheek. “Hey, whatever is going on, it’ll be fine.”

“I want to take you back to Elle.”

“All right. Are you going to tell me what’s up with Everett?”

Beckham turned his head away from her palm and she let it drop. No, she had read him wrong. This wasn’t fear or worry. This was anger. Bristling and spitting right under the surface. He was trying to control it and not let it erupt out of him. She was sure it had to do with Everett. But what could Everett have done that would make him this angry? After orchestrating her kidnapping, there couldn’t be much worse than that.

“Will you go back to Elle?” he demanded instead of replying to her question.

“Becks, look at me.” He finally did. His eyes black molten lava. “I will go back if I have to, but there’s something that you’re not telling me.”

“He wants to talk to you,” Beckham ground out.

She froze. “What? Why?”

“He won’t say. He won’t say anything except that he has important information and that the only person he’ll tell is you.”

Reyna’s head swam with the possibilities. “Do you think he has info?”

Beckham considered for a moment. “I think he’s a threat. He’ll do anything to get close to you.”

“So…you think it’s a trap?”

“That is how it appears.”

Reyna gnawed on her lip. It could be a trap. Everett had seen her that night at Ferrier House. He knew she was out there somewhere. He might have even seen her with Gabe. If Harrington was looking for her, it would make sense for him to use Everett to draw her out.

“What if he does have information?” she asked.

“I know a way to get it from him without him talking to you.”