Falcon Falls Security Boxed Set: Books 1-3, page 89
Sydney eased away from her friend and sat on the bed. She pinned her knees together and cradled her head in her hands, elbows on her thighs.
“You weren’t in your bungalow, so Gray stopped by searching for you. I’m sorry. If I had known, I would have distracted him,” Mya rambled.
Sydney tore her hands through her bedhead hair and sat in silence while Mya waited for her to speak.
“In answer to your question about what happened . . . I slept with Beckett last night. Also, Gray informed me that he ran into Seth at the Pentagon a while back and, while threatening Gray to keep his hands off me, told him we got divorced because he cheated. Oh, and to top it off, Gray still has feelings for me. Serious from the sounds of it,” Sydney finally revealed, her voice breaking.
“Well, for once in my life, I’m almost speechless. And, um, did Beckett hear any of that? And how do you feel about Beckett? And Gray?”
“I don’t know if Beckett heard anything. God, I hope not.” Sydney sighed before continuing, “I care about Gray, of course, but only as a friend and teammate.” How will we work together after this? “Beckett, though, I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to him. I wasn’t really thinking last night.”
“Sometimes the best things happen when we just let go and stop thinking.”
“That from the book?”
“I think it’s a common expression.” Mya shrugged. “Are you going to be okay? Will this be weird now? Beckett and Gray together on Carter’s jet?”
“Gray already told you about Chile?” she asked, ignoring Mya’s question.
And yeah, the flight would be awkward and uncomfortable for all of them. Not to mention they’d be working together to find Beckett’s ex.
What the hell? There’s complicated, and then there’s this.
“Yeah, when he came looking for you. He told me the team had arrived and if I was still interested in joining Falcon, at least for this mission, to hurry and get dressed. I need to call Mason and tell him what happened before we head out.” She lifted a hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll stick to the story involving my source. Nothing about Beckett.”
Sydney had nearly forgotten about Mason. If Mya didn’t return home when expected, he’d swoop down there immediately. “How do you think he’ll take the news that you’re working this op with us?”
Mya frowned. “Not well. He’ll want to help, but I think that’s one too many cooks in the kitchen, and I’m betting Carter will say no anyway.”
That he would.
“Maybe I’ll talk to Martín before we leave. See if he’d be open to Mason and his teammates coming to assist in taking down the cartel’s human trafficking operation.” Mya jumped at the sound of a sharp knock on the door. “But I won’t tell Mason where we’re going. He won’t be able to resist showing up.”
“It’s us,” Oliver announced.
“Why do I get the feeling a Mason-Oliver confrontation would be almost as awkward as . . .”
“Gray and Beckett?” Mya whispered. “It shouldn’t be. But who knows with men,” she grumbled before opening the door.
Sydney stood when she spotted Beckett and felt her cheeks blush. He was dressed in jeans and a black tee, hands in his pockets, hanging back with their other teammate, Jack.
“Hey.” Jack sounded uneasy, obviously sensing the thicker-than-thick tension in the group. Not that Gray would’ve told him what had gone down.
But shit, I’m still in Beckett’s shirt. She quickly folded her arms across her chest. “What’s wrong?” She looked at Beckett, his face drained of color. Something far more serious than what he overheard her and Gray talking about had happened.
“Liam’s wife called Gray because she couldn’t reach Beckett,” Jack shared. “She’s who helped Beckett track Ivy to Mexico.”
Right, I remember. And Emily couldn’t reach Beckett because his phone died after their swim in the river.
“Emily insisted on speaking to Beckett, so I brought the phone to him a few minutes ago,” Jack went on, standing alongside Oliver now while Mya remained on the porch.
“She and her daughter, Elaina, are at the airport about to catch a flight to Santiago. They’ll arrive there late tonight,” Beckett shared, his voice rough with worry. “Elaina woke Emily up at four a.m. and insisted they go to Chile. That it was a matter of life and death. Emily said she’s never seen Elaina so shaken up. She didn’t know what to do, and . . .” He shook his head as if still processing the news. “Elaina’s a genius, a prodigy, and she has visions. I’m not sure. I was at their house last week, and she accidentally bumped into me in the hallway. Apparently, it caused her to see something. About me. Or Cora. I—I don’t know the details.”
“And Emily agreed?” Mya snapped her fingers. “Like that?”
“You don’t understand. When Elaina sets her mind to something, if she thinks someone is in danger, there’s no stopping her.” Beckett palmed his jawline, his gaze on the trail. “Emily’s parents rushed over to babysit Jackson, Elaina’s little brother.”
“There’s no way Elaina would know we’re headed to Chile unless she really can see things, right?” Oliver asked.
“I don’t see how,” Beckett responded. “Liam’s overseas, so Emily left him a message about what’s going on.” Guilt clung to his every word. “Fuck,” he said, dragging both hands through his hair now. “It’s bad enough that I put Jesse in danger, but now a twelve-year-old and her mom are caught up in this.”
Sydney looked beyond their group and saw Martín and Valentina headed their way alongside Carter.
“I just got a call from Liam Evans,” Carter announced. “He’s stepping away from his current assignment and catching the next flight to Chile. He’ll meet us there.”
Valentina stopped before Sydney. Their lighthearted hostess, who just last night would have winked and commented about Sydney’s lack of clothing, was gone. In her place stood a woman who looked as though she was bearing terrible news.
“What is it?” Sydney peered at her boss for answers, but Carter tipped his head, deferring to Martín.
“The man your friend, Jesse, is going to see in Chile is a billionaire businessman. An eccentric man but . . .” Martín was quiet for a moment, his hands going into his pockets. “He’s dangerous.”
“And around these parts, he’s known by another name,” Valentina said, her eyes meeting Sydney’s. “He’s known as El Vigilado.”
Sydney translated the words in her head before whispering them aloud, “The Guarded One?”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“How are you holding up?”
Beckett peered at Griffin Andrews as they stood inside Martín and Valentina’s home, unsure how to answer the question. Because at the moment, he was barely standing upright. Hell, he had to lean against one of the pillars in the living room to support the weight of his damn problems.
“I’m . . .” Beckett shut his eyes and thought back to his call with Emily ten minutes ago, feeling the need to replay their conversation before he could answer what should have been a simple question.
“You’re really taking her to Chile just because she says she needs to go?” Beckett had asked Emily, in shock because he couldn’t imagine giving in to such a demand from McKenna, visions or not.
“What choice do I have? You know Elaina.” Emily’s voice had broken while talking. “The fact we’re going back to Santiago where she was raised . . . what if this is personal for her somehow?”
“I’m so sorry. I never should have come to D.C. and asked for your help. This is all my fault.”
“I have a feeling Elaina would’ve been pulled into this one way or another. That’s what my gut is telling me, so please, don’t feel bad. But her headaches are getting worse. And they won’t go away until whatever is wrong is stopped,” she’d shared the heartbreaking news.
“What do you mean?”
“Lately, she gets more distinct visions. Much more information than in the past. But she has to get closer to the problem. And if she doesn’t, the pain in her head gets worse. That’s what she finally admitted. Before Liam spun up, there was that hostage situation at a bank . . .” she’d reminded him. How could he forget? Liam had been with his teammate, Knox Bennett, the President of the United States’ son that day. The robbery attempt had been all over the news. “Elaina sent Liam to that bank.”
“I don’t know what to say.” And he still didn’t know what to say, not even to Griffin patiently waiting for him to talk right now.
“I left Liam a message, and he’s going to be so pissed when he finds out we didn’t wait for him.” Choked up, she’d continued, “But Elaina’s in so much pain, and I . . .” Beckett had nearly fallen to his knees at her words.
“And she didn’t share more? Or tell you why she never said anything to us sooner?”
“She told me that if she’d said something to you sooner, then you wouldn’t be where you are now, and someone would have died. A woman. Dark hair. Brown eyes. That mean anything to you? Or maybe it’s yet to happen.”
Beckett had been stunned into silence before sharing, “Elaina was right. Someone here may have died if Oliver and I hadn’t arrived when we did.”
“Which means she’s going to be right about Chile, and so, I need to go. I can’t wait for Liam,” Emily had said while sniffling. “Have you talked to A.J. yet? Does he know you’re there?”
“No. But he’ll find out from Liam, I’m sure.”
Beckett opened his eyes and let go of a shaky breath as Griffin swiveled his ball cap backward, eyes on Beckett, waiting for him to talk. The man had yet to press Beckett to share, which he appreciated.
“I’m okay,” Beckett finally managed, doing his best to avoid eye contact with Gray, who was talking to Jack and Oliver.
“You’re a shitty liar. You know I won’t push you, but if you need to talk about something, even if it doesn’t involve the case, I can try and channel my wife and be a good listener.” Griffin’s slight smile at the mention of Savanna had Beckett nearly cracking one as well.
Savanna had always been a good listener. She was also the one who’d given Sydney those romance novels. And that thought brought to mind the situation between Gray and Sydney.
Beckett had only heard a handful of words exchanged between them outside the bungalow, none of which boded well for the relationship Beckett had with Gray. Not that they knew each other that well, but Beckett liked to think of Gray as part of A.J.’s family, so by extension, part of Beckett’s.
And now?
“I’ll take your continued silence as a hard pass on my offer to have a feelings conversation.” Griffin said “feelings” as if he’d chewed on the word and spat it out. He was a former Delta Force guy and, married to a sweet Southern woman or not, he was still a gruff operator.
Beckett pushed away from the pillar, testing his ability to stand beneath the world’s weight on his shoulders without support. “I can’t get the call with Emily out of my head,” he took a chance and shared one burden. “Being in Chile is going to be hard on their family.”
“Elaina’s birth mother is from Chile, right?” Griffin asked, closing his eyes briefly as if trying to catch hold of a memory.
“Elaina was born in Texas, but she grew up in Chile. Her mom worked at a university in Santiago, and she was the level of smart that made international headlines. Same with Elaina’s birth father,” Beckett explained. “Elaina’s mom died in a car accident four or so years ago in Santiago, and then Elaina was abducted not long after that. The rest of the story is a bit need to know, even for me, so I don’t have all the details.”
“I can see why it might be hard for Elaina to return to Chile, then.” Griffin scrubbed a hand along his jawline. “Have Elaina’s visions always been correct?”
“From what I know, yes. And Elaina just told her mom that a woman with dark hair and eyes would’ve died had I . . .” Mya. He was still a bit stunned at that revelation.
“Damn.” Griffin blinked a few times before he tipped his head, and Beckett turned to see Carter gesturing for everyone to gather.
“I want to make sure we have our facts straight about this El Vigilado guy before we head out,” Carter said, standing between Martín and Sydney.
Beckett spied Gray hanging off to the side of the group, just outside of the circle, and he wasn’t sure how they were all going to work together now. But they had to find a way.
“Who is this ‘The Guarded One’?” Griffin asked, using air quotes around the nickname. “His real name, I mean.”
“Jorge Rojas,” Martín revealed before Carter could. “He’s a businessman. He inherited his fortune from his father, an oil tycoon from Venezuela who passed away almost six years ago. It was all over the news because Jorge’s older brother died from a mysterious poisoning the day after their father did, making Jorge the richest man in South America.”
“So,” Beckett began, “we’re dealing with a guy who killed his own brother to be the sole inheritor of the fortune.” Not a total surprise.
Martín nodded. “Jorge lives in Chile, where his mother was originally from, and he recently had a mansion built there. One resembling something from the 1900s.”
“If he’s already rich, why resort to criminal enterprises? I’m assuming he’s a bad guy, aside from knocking off his brother, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Beckett commented. “Does it have to do with his nickname?”
Martín turned his attention to Beckett. “Some people collect blackmail on others to coerce them to do what they want. But in this case, secrets are willingly given to Jorge.”
“Yeah, you’re going to have to spell it out for me because I’m not following,” Jack chimed in.
“Secrets are like a commodity,” Martín answered. “And what do you offer a man who already has everything if you want something in return, such as a favor? You can’t sell him your soul, but you can offer something more valuable. Your dirty secrets.”
“He’s considered The Guarded One because he’s a protector of secrets from all walks of life,” Valentina clarified for Jack. “From politicians who wish to be re-elected to businessmen needing to hide an office scandal or whatnot. He’ll help anyone if the secret is worth it to him.”
“What does he get out of it?” That was the part Beckett didn’t understand.
“He’s a man who has everything. An eccentric. A bored billionaire,” Carter joined the conversation this time, as if he knew a thing or two about being rich and using the money in more interesting ways.
“These secrets are offered in exchange for something. I don’t know exactly how it works. I’m not entirely sure what happens if they don’t hold up their end of the deal. Maybe he destroys their lives. I don’t know,” Martín explained. “But I get the sense it’s mostly a game to Jorge. From what I’ve heard, he’s obsessed with games and theatrics, in general.”
“I’m not too familiar with the man,” Carter noted, “but Jorge is turning forty-five on Friday, and he’s hosting a lavish party. Not sure about the details, but Miguel is most likely a guest. And now Jesse too.”
“So, do you think Miguel sold a secret to Jorge, and that’s how they know each other?” Mya asked. Beckett turned from the room, searching his mind for a memory . . .
“No,” Beckett answered before Carter could. “You said he had his home built like it belonged in the 1900s? What specific time period?” He faced the room. “The 1920s? Gatsby-like? This ring a bell?”
Martín nodded. “Yes, he’s obsessed with that time from what I have heard. Of course, he goes through phases. It could be the Gold Rush Era next year, who knows with that man.” He opened a hand. “Bored and rich, so.”
Beckett ran his palm along his jawline, eyes on the floor. “Jennifer said she heard that a billionaire was trying to buy Miguel’s club, Capone.”
“Who’s Jennifer?” Sydney asked.
“Some college kid from El Paso I met at the club. She was researching the place for her thesis,” he quickly explained, and his stomach dropped when it all came together. “I think I know how this all connects to Cora.” He switched his focus to Carter. “Cora only ever contacted me when she needed money, and I hadn’t heard from her in nearly six years when she called me three weeks ago. I’d hoped she’d finally found someone rich enough that she didn’t have to bother me anymore.”
“Someone she’d learned in the news had become the richest man in South America, perhaps,” Oliver said, following his line of thought. “The timing fits.”
Beckett set his hands on his hips, considering the possibility. “You say Jorge is obsessed with the nineteen-twenties and Al Capone. Maybe he’s the billionaire Jennifer heard wanted to buy the club. If Cora is his mistress, wife, girlfriend, whatever . . . she was probably with him when he visited Capone.” It was a stretch, but it was the only thing that made sense. “And knowing Cora and her bad luck, someone from her past recognized her there. That’s why Ivy got a job at the club—she was trying to find a way to get to Cora and help her.”
But was Cora still alive? She hadn’t made contact since that call three weeks ago.
“Why wouldn’t Ivy just come to you for help? If she knew her sister was in trouble, that seems like it’d be the easier option instead of infiltrating a cartel-owned club,” Carter asked.
It was a fair question and one that had a simple answer. “Because two years ago, I arrested her.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Beckett wasn’t sure he had it in him to share more of his past. Unearthing memories he’d worked his ass off to bury deep down in the belly of hell where they belonged only pissed him the fuck off.
It’d taken months for him to get a good night’s sleep after Ivy had shown up two years ago, but as time passed without incident, he stopped anticipating one of the Barlowe sisters barging into his life and creating chaos. At least until three weeks ago when Cora shot his peace to hell.
