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.