“Yes, to both,” Jesse confirmed. “Three weeks ago, Cora called Ivy in a panic when she saw Hector at Jorge’s place in Santiago. She overheard he was there with his cousin, negotiating a deal to sell Jorge the club. She’d planned to steer clear of him, worried he’d remember her, but I’m guessing he spotted her, and that’s when she called you. But that was the last call she made.”
“Has Miguel mentioned Cora? Do we know if she was turned over to the cartel? Is she still alive?” he rushed out the questions in as low of a voice as possible.
“Yeah, um.”
Fuck that um. Damn it. What was Jesse worried about sharing? Is Cora already dead?
“Ivy knew Miguel would be going to Chile to finalize the sale of the club, so she’s been waiting for her chance to come down here. To find out if Cora’s alive.”
“And is she still alive?” Beckett asked, willing himself to remain calm even as his stomach felt all fucking weird.
“Yes, she’s still alive. I heard Miguel mention her, but Miguel is clueless Cora and Ivy are related,” Jesse shared, and Beckett tipped his head to the ceiling at the news. There was still a chance to save McKenna’s mother. Not that he knew what to do with that woman after all of this, but he owed it to his daughter to try. That was why he was there, right?
“But there’s something you should know before I share more. Something Ivy told me. The other reason she wanted to come to Chile. There’s someone else here she’s worried about.”
“Who?” He couldn’t help but focus on Jesse with his pulse jockeying so fast.
“Cora has a kid. A five-year-old son.”
The kid Liam will save on Friday is . . . Cora’s kid? Beckett felt the blood draining from his face in shock.
“Beckett . . .” Jesse slowly began, “is there a chance he’s yours?”
“Beckett, I’ve been calling. You’ve been gone for two hours. What happened?” Sydney asked the second he walked into their hotel suite.
“My phone was ruined in the cenote,” he replied, still in a daze.
“Carter gave you a new one. You called McKenna from it yesterday.” Sydney stood before him and reached for his arm. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
“I’m sorry.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think straight. “I needed to take a walk.” He’d thought he’d only been outside the hotel for thirty or so minutes. Had it really been hours since he’d met with Jesse?
“You’re worrying me. Please.” She motioned for him to sit on the bed, but he couldn’t get himself to move, so he leaned against the door and lowered his hand so he could peer into this beautiful woman’s eyes.
She let go of him and tightened the knot of her white silk hotel robe. Her hair was in a messy bun with a few loose strands framing her face. She was . . . perfection.
Miles. Cora has a five-year-old son named Miles.
Closing his eyes, Beckett thought back to the last time he’d seen Cora six years ago. He’d dropped McKenna off at his parents’ ranch after Cora had called and begged him to meet her at her hotel to talk about their daughter.
He knew she must have had an angle, another con in mind, but he’d decided to hear her out for McKenna’s sake. But her pleas for another chance to start over as a family were insincere, and her words were hollow. How could he trust her? Bottom line, he couldn’t.
And why in the hell wouldn’t Ivy have reached out to him, regardless of his threat to arrest her two years ago, if she knew a five-year-old was in danger too?
Cora instructed Ivy to tell you about Miles only upon her death. So, when Cora failed to call on their agreed upon day, Ivy decided her best bet was to head to Mexico and cozy up to club Capone’s owner since Cora told her about Jorge’s desire to buy the place. Since Ivy had never had any dealings with the cartel and hadn’t seen Cora in six years, she figured she’d be safe. Before contacting you, Ivy wanted to go to Chile and confirm Cora and Miles were alive, Jesse had told him when Beckett had raised that point. Because yeah, Ivy was as stubborn as Cora, but he knew Ivy didn’t have a death wish and wouldn’t go into battle alone. But the damn woman could’ve given him some type of heads-up.
Miles is McKenna’s brother.
God, he was going to puke. McKenna had always wanted siblings. Hoped for a brother or sister. And Beckett had never delivered. Not only that, he’d opted to have a vasectomy a few years back.
“Beckett.” Sydney reached for his bicep this time and squeezed. “What’s wrong?” The sound of fear and concern in her voice compelled him to face her.
Beckett’s hand slid from his chest to his abdomen as he tried to make sense of it all.
“Please talk to me,” Sydney pleaded.
“Cora and Jorge aren’t an item,” he managed out in a hoarse voice. “She pulled her seduction con on an easier target. One of his security guys who lives on-site. But we were right, Hector Lopez recognized her when he traveled with Miguel to Chile three weeks ago.” Beckett’s mind replayed the rest of what Jesse had told him at the coffee shop, his eyes falling closed.
“What is it?”
“The cartel’s not only getting the drug formula in exchange for Capone on Friday. The transaction also includes Jorge handing over Cora. Once he learned she was a con artist, Jorge was worried Cora had infiltrated his organization, so he requested time to interrogate her first, which is why, um, he chose this Friday for the . . .” He swallowed. “Deadline.”
Deadline. He thought back to Sydney’s words on the jet the other day. In her line of work, a deadline meant someone would die if they weren’t successful.
“So, she’s still alive. We have time.” Sydney’s optimistic tone had him peeling his eyes open again. He probably looked drugged to her. He knew his eyes had to be red or his pupils dilated.
How could he keep this news from McKenna? A brother.
“Isn’t this good news?”
“The cartel wants to make an example of her once he turns her over, and . . . they want her son too. That’s part of the deal.”
Sydney released him at his words and stepped back. “She has a son?” Her chest lifted and fell with a deep breath. “The five-year-old Elaina said her dad needs to save? Elaina was adamant that she and Emily come here,” Sydney whispered, “because she knew Liam, the world’s best sniper, would follow. She must have been so tied to this vision because he’s McKenna’s brother. Family.”
Beckett slowly nodded.
“He’s five,” she softly said, her eyes glossy with tears. “Is there a chance she was already pregnant when she met Jorge’s bodyguard? Did she make him believe the baby was his when it may have been—”
“I may have been an idiot to go to Cora when she called in the past for help,” Beckett began, realizing Sydney was wondering the same thing Jesse had, “but sleep with her six years ago?” He shook his head, remembering Cora’s bullshit performance that night and the warning he’d delivered afterward for her to stay away from him and his daughter. “Hell no.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE