“What?” Gray blinked a few times, his gaze swerving to where he gripped his leg, and he let go. “No, I . . .”
“Don’t be mad at Sydney.” Mya stood from the couch. “It was my idea. She has a great voice. Happens to know songs from that time because her grandmother taught her. This might be our best chance to get close enough not just to Jorge and Miguel, but near Jesse without raising eyebrows too.”
Sydney was the last to stand in the room. Her legs were a bit wobbly, her nerves getting to her the longer Beckett continued to only silently observe her. What are you thinking?
“Jesse’s only been able to give you bits of information here and there however he’s managed to communicate with you,” Mya tossed out the reminder, doing her best to sell the seduction idea. “He might have more news to share if we can get close enough to him. Insight that’d help us.”
“She has a point,” Carter agreed. “Plus, I may not be able to get an invite to the birthday party. I’m working on a believable alias, but Friday’s around the corner.”
“A man like Jorge will want a woman like Sydney, I guarantee it.” Camila strode past Gray to get to Carter, confidence in every step. “And if she’s there with a man, he’ll pursue her even more.”
“It may not work,” Oliver joined the conversation. “But I say it’s worth a shot.” He opened his palms. “I mean, what are the chances Sydney happens to know that kind of music and has a voice worthy of listening to?”
“You checked out three rooms at the hotel, yes?” Camila asked Carter, and he nodded. “Mya and I can go for support. We can stay in a room as sisters.”
“Sisters . . .?”
Sydney looked over to see the owner of that small voice. Elaina hung back in the doorway to the hall with her mom at her side, her gaze fixed on Camila.
“Sisters,” Elaina softly repeated, her brows pulling together.
Camila pointed to Elaina. “See, she agrees.”
“I promised Mya she’d stay behind the scenes on cases. Having her at the hotel might place her in danger. And after what happened in the jungle Sunday, I think she should stay here,” Sydney suggested, folding her arms over her gray tee, which she’d paired with jeans after her too-hot shower.
“I’ll be fine at the hotel. It’s not like anyone will shoot at us. Plus, I was always the lead actress in the plays in high school. I can perform. Put on a show for this Jorge guy,” Mya responded. Sydney didn’t hear any weakness or tremble in her tone, so maybe she was up for it.
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Oliver blurted. “The acting thing, I mean. Your flair for dramatics.”
Mya rolled her eyes without bothering to look his way. “Just as long as I don’t need to play the role of your girlfriend, I’ll be fine.” She lifted a shoulder and smiled. “There’s only so much acting I can do, ya know?”
Carter freed his hands from his pockets and strode closer to Emily and Elaina. “I need to hang back here and work. Gray and Jack can handle surveillance. Oliver, you’ll go to the hotel with them.”
He was going to stick Oliver and Mya together, wasn’t he?
“Liam should be here soon. Is, um, this close enough for you to, well . . .” Carter fumbled with his words when speaking to Elaina, probably uncomfortable with taking his cues from a twelve-year-old.
“Here is good.” Elaina gave him a small smile as Emily scooped a protective arm around her back.
“If Sydney’s going to the hotel, I’m going,” Gray announced. “Griffin can handle surveilling Jorge with Jack.” The tight draw of his lips as he peered at Carter had Sydney’s pulse racing, worried about another Beckett–Gray showdown. And in this case, who’d protect Sydney at the hotel.
Jack was right. Gray had said what he believed Sydney needed to hear, and how quickly he’d forgotten those lines.
“Okay, so it’ll be Sydney, me, and Mya. And Gray, Beckett, and Oliver at the hotel.” Camila looked at Mya and frowned. “The sister idea might not work. Couples all traveling together sounds more realistic.” She waved her finger between Mya and Oliver. “I’m assuming Gray and Sydney will stay together?”
“No,” Sydney spoke up. But shit, she promised Jack she wouldn’t stay with Beckett, which only left Oliver. And regardless of what Mya said about that man . . . Mya staying with Oliver made the most sense.
“Beckett and Sydney,” Carter repeated what he’d ordered last night. “Mya and Oliver. And Camila and Gray.”
This had Jack on his feet, eyes on Sydney. Was he going to go against Carter? He really was loyally protective of his best friend, and it was something Sydney admired.
“I don’t bite,” Camila said to Gray. “If you’re worried.”
“There should be two queen beds in each room,” Carter was quick to say. “No need to share a bed. Any of you,” he added, focusing on Oliver. He’d clearly picked up on the fact their love-hate behavior could quickly spiral to a love-hate between-the-sheets kind of thing.
“Roger that,” Oliver muttered sarcastically.
“Where are your men right now?” Carter asked Camila. “The four men you have on your team with you, they’re still scoping out the hotel, right?”
Camila nodded. “Yeah, but we can pull two and bring them back here if you need an assist for anything.”
“Have them stay put for now.” Carter then addressed Sydney, “Do you need a place to practice singing before you head to the hotel?”
Sydney clutched her throat, worried her vocal cords might fail her tomorrow. “Hopefully, it’s like riding a bike. Or, in my case, shooting an arrow.” She forced a small smile, trying to stay optimistic with a twelve-year-old in the room. Plus, she had two grown men who were more than likely both unhappy she was going to try and seduce Jorge. Well, she assumed Beckett was on the same page as Gray, but he’d been silent.
“I’ll get the name of the woman who’s supposed to sing Wednesday,” Carter began, “then pull her aside Wednesday night and make her an offer. She can fake being ill, so she doesn’t piss off her band.”
“That should work,” Mya commented, but her tone was more tentative now than before, most likely considering the fact she had to “shack up” with Oliver all week.
“Dad’s here!” Elaina abruptly announced, despite the fact Sydney hadn’t heard anything outside, and then pulled away from Emily and ran toward the front door.
A minute later, Liam walked into the room hand in hand with his daughter. He was tall, with dark blond hair, and he looked eerily similar to the actor Chris Hemsworth. His Aussie accent made the resemblance even more fitting.
Emily hugged her husband, and then Liam redirected his attention to the room, his gaze cutting straight to Beckett.
Beckett visibly tensed as Liam unglued himself from his wife and daughter and ate up the space between them. “Elaina said her headaches are gone now that she’s here,” Liam shared in a low, raspy tone. “I don’t quite understand what in the bloody hell is going on, but if my daughter says we’re all supposed to be here, then so be it.”