Page 61 of The Monster and the Last Blood Match

“No,” she admitted. “Who is Elle?”

He glanced up uneasily at the driver and her bodyguard. “Someone and something a lot of people disagree with.” Then he leaned over and adjusted the baseball cap on her head. “I’ll tell you when we stop.”

She took the hint and changed subjects until they made it to the homeless shelter. Once they were safely inside, she slung her camera strap around her neck and walked the halls with Everett.

“So, tell me.”

He peeked behind them, but her bodyguard was a respectable distance away, pretending to be invisible.

“Elleis the code name for the rebellion against the vampires and Visage. Back when Visage was forming, there was a series of protests against vampire-owned businesses and the mission statement that was coming out of some of these corporations, of which Visage is now the most prominent. They called this Elle’s Rebellion for the woman who was the leader and was subsequently killed in the otherwise peaceful demonstration. Everyone thought that would be the end of it, but since then, there have been whispers that the Elle sympathizers have gotten together under the Elle Rebellion name and formed a more formal underground rebellion. Hence Elle, or sometimes the graffiti on the streets is a cursiveLin a circle.”

“I’ve seen that logo before.”

“Yeah. It’s everywhere. Elle rebels believe that Visage wants to be more than the biggest company in the world. They want torule. A lot of them claim that Visage was responsible for the economic collapse so that they could force humans to work for them. Make everyone desperate for change so they place too much power in the hands of one company.”

Reyna’s mind spun. There were people out there fighting Visage?

“And they think that the person taking those pictures is an Elle sympathizer? Why?”

He pulled his phone back out and showed her the latest entry.Herlatest entry. Everett had walked them over to the exact spot the picture had been taken in this very homeless shelter.

“Because no one photographs humanity like you,” he said softly.

“I didn’t…” she started, but she could see he had already figured it out. Her shoulders slumped. So much for being anonymous.

“So, are you?”

Reyna bit her lip. “Well, I didn’t know about Elle or the underground rebels until you just told me, but people are dying out here, and no one cares. Visage has all the money and power, and they’re doing nothing to help anyone. They’re lining their own pockets and feeding their own. I believe in balance, but I’m not part of any movement.” She sighed and looked around at the room, which was full of examples of the very problem she had detailed. “I want to help my family survive this. That’s all I care about.”

He nodded in understanding. “Don’t we all.”

“Maybe we should try somewhere else,” she suggested, suddenly not wanting to be in the same place she had been before in case someone was trying to figure out who the supposed Elle sympathizer was. The way Everett talked about it, she was sure that it wasn’t going to look good to Visage or Beckham if they thought she was one.

“I have an idea if you’re interested,” he said with a mischievous smile.

“I like ideas.”

He laughed. “Your bodyguard might not like this one.”

“He’ll deal with it. Let’s go,” she said excitedly.

Once they were back in the car, Everett gave them an address almost clear across town. Much farther out than she had ever been. She waited for her bodyguard to recognize that it might be dangerous and refuse them, but he said nothing. She kept waiting for the other shoe to fall. But they drove all the way across the city without one word.

They hopped out of the car with her camera safe in her bag again, and Everett directed the driver where he could park. Philippé followed behind them as they walked three blocks away from their drop site.

“Why didn’t you drop us off in front of the place?” she asked when they came upon a large warehouse. It reminded her of home.

“Driving up to this place in a town car is a good way to get knifed,” he whispered.

Reyna shivered against that assessment and followed close to Everett. They reached the front of the building and walked through a slate-gray door.

An enormous man with bulging muscles stopped them before they could walk through a second door. “No guns. No fangs. No trouble. Five Points rules.”

The guy quickly checked them over, rifled through her bag, and then let them inside.

“Wait, buddy,” he said, stopping her bodyguard. “Didn’t you hear me? No fangs.”

Her bodyguard gave him a terrifying look and then produced a card out of his wallet. The bouncer read it over once and then nodded.

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