He turned to see her leaning against the interior doorframe.
“Should we wait until we land?” Beckett’s focus cut over her shoulder to Gray talking to Carter, but Gray’s back was to him at least.
“It’s a long flight, and we haven’t had a moment alone since . . . Gray.”
He supposed it’d be okay to talk briefly if they kept the door open. “I didn’t eavesdrop, by the way. I stepped out of the bungalow for a quick second to make sure you were okay.”
“Well,” she began, “I did see Cha Cha spying. He has no shame.” A tiny smile formed on her lips, and damn if it wasn’t contagious.
“And?” He smiled and arched a brow.
“You were right about Gray’s feelings,” she whispered, lowering her gaze to the floor between them. “I wish he hadn’t seen us together like that. You know, half-naked. But what’s done is done.” Sydney pulled her gaze back to meet his eyes.
She didn’t mention the part Beckett had overheard—Seth’s cheating. And it wasn’t his place to bring it up. She’d tell him when or if she trusted him enough to share.
“But we shouldn’t let it happen again while working together. Gray’s a friend, and I don’t want to hurt him.” She drew in a deep breath as if needing to convince herself she was doing the right thing. “Plus, we have to put all our focus on the job, especially now that Elaina’s involved.”
He agreed one hundred percent, but that didn’t change the fact he wanted to draw her into his arms and hug her right now.
“Okay,” he said, finally working the word free. “Just friends, then.” Friends? After last night—well, technically this morning—how the hell was he supposed to do that?
The regretful look on her face said she wished things were different too.
When she looked up at him and pressed her full lips together, he wanted to lean forward and suck on that bottom lip before sliding his tongue into her mouth and tasting her one last time.
Friends, sure . . . He didn’t want to have sex with his friends. No, scratch that. He didn’t want to make love with his friends.
“We can do this, right?” Another slow, deep breath sent his eyes to her breasts. “We can control ourselves?” she added as if struggling the same as him to get a handle on her desires.
Beckett reached out and gently grasped her forearm, hoping her body blocked the others from seeing his touch. “We have no choice.” He stared deep into her eyes, his entire body going taut. Every damn inch of him tensing. “But, sweetheart,” he rasped, bringing his mouth dangerously close to hers, feeling her sweet breath on him, “it’s going to be really fucking hard for me to behave.”
SEVEN HOURS LATER
“Were you just checking out my ass?” Mya accused, looking back and giving Oliver the stink-eye.
Beckett dragged a palm over his mouth to hide his amusement and watched the show playing out before him. He’d managed to get a few hours of sleep, and now he and Oliver were sitting next to each other mid-cabin.
“Well.” Oliver lifted both hands and mimed eyeballing the width of something. “It’s hard to miss. You’re literally standing right in front of me.”
Mya whipped around, grabbed Oliver’s wrists, and narrowed the space between his palms. “My ass isn’t that big, by the way.”
Oliver twirled his finger. “Maybe spin back around so I can take another look.” He winked, and she knocked the brim of his ball cap down over his eyes before shifting into the aisle.
“You’re nothing like—”
“Mason?” Oliver pushed his hat up, his tone switching from teasing to serious in the space of a heartbeat.
Beckett took that as his cue to bail and stood. Slipping past Mya, he looked around in search of the others. Griffin and Jack were asleep in the rear of the cabin near the bedroom. And Sydney?
“She’s in the shower.” Gray’s words had Beckett gripping the seat to his left as if preparing for turbulence. “My sister, Natasha, sent us some intelligence,” he added. Beckett turned to face Gray, who stood near the cockpit with Carter.
“And?” Beckett directed the question to Carter. It was clear Gray was still struggling to see Beckett as anyone other than the man who’d slept with Sydney. “Was she able to locate Cora in Chile? I assume having Jorge Rojas’s name and location would make it easier.” Ever since Emily’s contact had come up empty, they’d been searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. With any luck, Gray’s sister had found something solid.
“Natasha got a hit. It’s not much. But according to CCTV footage taken eight weeks ago, we can confirm Cora was in Santiago,” Carter stated. “Either she’s pretty damn good at avoiding CCTV cameras, or she’s no longer there.”
Proof of life eight weeks ago wasn’t confirmation that she was still alive.
“Natasha tracked Jorge’s private jet to Juárez three times in the last two months,” Carter continued. “But terminal footage showed him accompanied only by men.”
“So, if Cora never visited the club, then—”
“Miguel and four of his men visited Jorge in Chile three weeks ago,” Gray interrupted Beckett. “I’m assuming Jorge invited him to Santiago to discuss the sale of the club.”
“The timeline matches up.” Beckett scrubbed a palm over the scruff on his cheek. “I don’t know Miguel, nor was he on my radar when I worked undercover in LA, which means someone traveling with him had to have identified Cora when he visited Jorge in Chile.”
“That’s what we’re thinking,” Carter began. “Natasha’s working to obtain the names of the passengers on board Miguel’s flight to Santiago.” When Carter’s eyes shifted toward the rear of the jet, Beckett turned and followed his gaze. Sydney had just exited the bedroom wearing fresh clothes, her previous outfit bundled tight to her chest.
Gray’s behind me, he cautioned himself, then returned his attention to the team leaders. “So, what’s the next step?”
“I phoned my contacts in South America to see if any were near Chile. Camila, an old friend of mine, happens to be working on a case in Santiago right now. She agreed to wait at the airport for Miguel’s plane, which arrived an hour ago,” Carter explained. “Camila texted me that Miguel and his men, including Jesse, checked into a hotel in the city.”
“Any chance Jesse will be able to use the phone if he gets his own room?” Beckett asked, eager to talk to his brother-in-law himself this time instead of through whatever cryptic channels Jesse and Carter communicated.
“I’m sure Jesse is still working to earn Miguel’s trust, and outgoing calls from a hotel room can easily be traced. Miguel, or maybe even Jorge, will have someone doing that,” Carter said. “Camila has offered us the use of her safe house outside the city, along with her weapons stash. But we should get a few rooms at the hotel too.”
“How is it you have a friend with a safe house and a weapons stash we can borrow, yet you have no contact at the airport who’ll look the other way so we can bring in weapons?” Beckett was only partially kidding.