“I visited you,” Sydney confessed. “I stayed until I knew you were in the clear. I visited when your parents, sister, and friends weren’t in the room.”
He closed his eyes and lifted his chin toward the blue sky overhead, unobstructed by trees on the open walkway.
After a few painfully quiet seconds passed, he tossed out, “Your ex was a moron for cheating on you. The stupid son of a bitch threw you away. How could he not see who was right in front of him? Who he had?” Gray worked his eyes back to hers.
“Wait . . .” How do you know? Who told him about Seth’s cheating?
When Gray abruptly shifted his gaze over her shoulder, she turned to see Beckett disappearing into the bungalow. How much had he heard?
She spun back around as Gray dropped a string of curses under his breath. “I’m not supposed to know about Seth’s affair.”
“No, you’re not.” So how in the hell was it possible? It wasn’t like Gray was teeing off with her dad on Sundays, and her dad spilled the news. And Mya would never betray her.
“Seth,” he dropped the bomb on her. “I ran into him at the Pentagon when I was visiting my dad.”
Right, Gray’s father was the Secretary of Defense now. But still . . .
“Seth recognized me and stopped me in the hall,” he explained. “Apparently, he took it upon himself to do background checks on all the guys at Falcon when you joined the team.”
“And he told you we got divorced because he cheated?” How the hell did something like that come up in conversation?
“Honestly, he just kind of spilled it during the course of threatening me to stay away from you.”
“He threatened you?” This wasn’t the Seth she knew. Seth didn’t give a damn about her. He’d repeatedly said she wasn’t enough for him. That was his reason for cheating. And now he was marrying Alice, so why would he care who Sydney dated?
“He said to keep my hands off you.” He let go of a gruff breath. “I’m guessing you told him we dated at West Point.”
She must have mentioned it at some point, but it wasn’t recently. “I’m still just . . .” In shock.
“And before you ask, no, I didn’t hit him. I was at the Pentagon, and they frown upon that kind of behavior, especially from Admiral Chandler’s son.” He held his palms in the air. “But did I want to?” He leaned in a bit closer. “Hell yes, I did.”
Sydney did her best to swallow the news. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” he responded, his tone a touch defeated again. “Just pack. We leave for Santiago in an hour.” And this time, when he turned, she let him go.
She covered her eyes with her hand, willing away the tears. She thought she was all cried out after her call with Levi yesterday.
“Sydney.” Her hand fell at the sound of Mya’s voice, and she peered over to see Mya on her porch waiting for her.
Sydney chanced a look at Beckett’s bungalow, knowing they needed to talk, but where to begin? First, though, she needed a few minutes to pull herself together.
As soon as Mya shut the door behind them, she spun around and set her hands on Sydney’s shoulders. “I couldn’t help but overhear some of that. Are you okay? And are you wearing Beckett’s shirt? What happened?”
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.”