Page 12 of The Monster and the Last Blood Match

Going out. Won’t be gone long. Bringing phone and card.

A message returned from him almost immediately.How the hell did he type that fast?

Call my driver, Gerard. He will take you anywhere in the city. If you go shopping for new clothes, charge them to the card. I don’t want you in anything cheap. Do you understand?

Yes.

Good. Don’t be late tonight. We need to talk.

She gulped.Talk.That couldn’t be good.Is he already upset with me? Or is that some kind of code for him wanting to eat?Either way, she would find out tonight. He wouldn’t be back until later, which gave her plenty of time to see her brothers and get back for their talk.

Finding a black crossbody purse in her closet, she placed her phone and the precious black card in the bag. The only shoes in the whole closet that weren’t four- to six-inch stiletto high heels were nude wedges. They would have to do. She placed them on her feet and then went downstairs. She should call Beckham’s driver, but Beckham had said that the driver would take her anywhereinthe city. Where she wanted to go was out of the city. If she had enough money to buy expensive clothes, then she had enough to take a cab in and out of the city.

With that settled, she took the elevator downstairs. Judging by the looks from the people around her, it was clear that no one recognized her as the woman Beckham had brought back with him last night. Somehow in the course of an evening she managed to meet their high standards. A woman even looked envious of her ridiculous wedge heels. What she wouldn’t do for a pair of tennis shoes right now.

The valet snapped to attention when he saw her. “May I help you, ma’am?”

Ma’am. Holy shit!

“Um…I need a cab?”

The valet whistled, and a black town car pulled up in front of the building.

“Is that a cab?” she asked him hesitantly. “I thought they were yellow.”

He eyed her curiously. “Only the best for our Visage clients.”

“Oh. Well, do you mind me asking you how much it is?”

She blushed when she asked, but she wasn’t sure she could afford a town car for such a long drive in and out of the city.

“You’re new here, aren’t you?” he asked, smiling politely. It was nice to have someone treat her kindly after tiptoeing around Beckham.

“Yes,” she breathed. “Is it that obvious?”

“Just a bit. I’m Everett.”

“Reyna.” They shook hands, and she breathed a sigh of relief for finding an ounce of humanity in this situation.

“Well, don’t worry about the cab. It’s all billed to your room. You have a card?” She produced the black card, and he whistled low. “What?”

“What?”

“Those are unlimited cards.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

He frowned at her apologetically. “A black card. It means you have unlimited funds.”

Her eyes widened, and she blinked rapidly a few times. That couldn’t be right. No way. She was getting paid for this. She wasn’t being given access to Beckham’s immense wealth.

“I think you’re mistaken.”

His smile returned. “You’re probably right.”

But she knew he was lying.

“After you.” He opened the door for her, and she yanked her skirt down as she slid into the leather interior.

---