If you know what’s good for you and everyone else, you won’t destroy those papers. The Malatoas mean business, but so do I. If you get rid of them, you’re of no more use to me than you are to them. I’ll be in touch about a meeting within 24 hours.
“Holy fuck.”
“Holy fuck is right. Whatever these codes are, it’s what he’s been after. Which means I have a bargaining chip. I’ll meet him and demand the money or drugs in exchange for the codes.”
“You can’t do that. It’s too dangerous. What if he kills you? What if it’s a trap and he’s working with the Malatoas? There’s a thousand reasons why this is a bad idea.”
“And what if I don’t? Should I just sit around and wait for the cartel to come kill me? They will. They’ll kill all of us. I’m not going to sit back and let that happen. I can’t. This is a chance to make some real progress with stuff.” Beckett leaned forward, sloshing soup onto the tray. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to die. Not this year, not for many years. I want to get this done and over with, and this could be a chance.”
Stubbornly, Jax crossed his arms. “It could be a trap.”
“It could be. Which is why I’m telling you about it instead of just going and meeting him. I want you to come with me and keep an eye out. If he tries anything, you’ll be there to either stop him or follow him. If he doesn’t, no harm no foul. It’s the perfect solution.”
“It’s not a solution at all. It’s a death wish, and I won’t go along with it.”
“Then I’ll do it myself.”
“Then I’ll tell Caleb and Murphy.”
“So?” Beckett jutted her chin up into the air. “Neither of them are the boss of me. I don’t need permission, Jackson. I need help. There’s a difference. If you won’t go along with it, I’ll either do it myself, or I’ll get Savi to help me. I’m not some wilting flower who needs coddling and protecting. I want to end this, and I’m going to. Either help me, or get out.”
Frowning, Jax raked his gaze over her face. “They’re going to kick my ass for this. You know that, right?”
Beaming, Beckett grabbed his face and kissed him lavishly. “I’ll nurse you back to health.”
****
“I’ve got some bad news.”
Beckett closed her eyes and looked at Sheriff Rogers. “What now?”
“Jason Robbins escaped from work detail this morning. They had them collecting trash on the Harbor, and he got into the national park. They’re looking for him now, but we don’t know where he is as of yet, and there’s no telling how long it’ll take to find him.”
Murphy exhaled slowly. “Anything on Malatoa?”
“Nothing. We’ve got an APB on him from here to California. We’ll find him, it’ll just take some time. I suspect he’s still here somewhere. I have my guys taking his photo to every inn, hotel, B and B, and motel in the area. I’ve got a car stationed on your house around the clock. I don’t want you going back into Vive. He’s come after you twice there now, and I won’t risk a third. I’m having someone take Savi to work there in the morning and pick her up in the evening. She’s under strict instructions to never be alone in the café. I’ve already spoken to Jax about working with Murphy in the shop so neither of them are alone in there. As long as there’s someone stationed here, I don’t see a reason you need to be babysat here.”
Beckett rubbed her hands over her face. “So there’s one more crazy psycho criminal loose. No biggie. There’s a whole flock of them now.”
Murphy’s voice was dry. “At least you’re keeping your sense of humor about it.” He looked at the Sheriff. “I’ll pack a bag tonight and head for wherever you tell me to go if it’ll help. We all will.”
Clint toyed with the ends of his mustache. “It’s tempting. Part of me wants to tell you to join the kids and your parents in Witness Protection, but truthfully, you’d likely end up separated. I know you don’t want that. Running wouldn’t keep any of this from catching you, it would just delay it. Right now, I think you stay and we keep you under guard. If anything else happens, or it gets worse, then we’ll talk about options, but at the moment, I still think our best bet is to continue to look for Ryan and Malatoa, and now Robbins as well, and trust in the justice system to do its job.”
Beckett jumped when her phone rang. Looking down at the screen, her heart jumped when she saw a number she didn’t recognize. Swiping to answer, she pressed the device to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Are you alone?”
Beckett took a deep breath, caught off guard by Ryan’s voice—a voice she hadn’t heard in six years—on the other end of the phone. Holding up a finger, she glanced to Murphy, feeling guilty about lying to him. “It’s Halle. I’m going to take it upstairs. There’s an inventory crisis at Vive.”
Nodding, Murphy turned back to the Sheriff, focused on the conversation at hand. Beckett slipped up the steps and into her room, closing and locking the door. Perching on the bed, she spoke into the handset.
“Yes, I am. Hello, Ryan.”
The voice was gravelly and harsh. “Beckett. You can imagine I never intended for you to know any of what you know. Do you have the slips of paper?”
“I do.”
“You’re going to meet me at Johnny’s Bar on the Harbor tomorrow night. It’s on the edge of the reserve. When you get there, you’re going to go in and find a booth in the back. I’ll join you by eleven. Will that be a problem?”
Beckett hadn’t thought she’d feel anything other than hatred for the man she had married. Instead, she felt a need to question him, to demand answers, to assure herself he hadn’t been a monster. Mixed in with the need was anger, but no hatred and no love.
“I’ll be there. I’m warning you, I won’t bring the papers. I have them memorized. They’re someplace safe, so you won’t have anything to gain by hurting me.”
Surprise colored Ryan’s voice when he spoke. “Do you really think I’d hurt you? How much of a monster do you take me as?”
Her own breaking with sarcasm, Beckett responded before thinking. “I think you’re the kind of monster who abandoned his wife and children, who stole money and drugs from a cartel, who faked his own death to avoid prison, and who is now more than happy to let his wife—excuse me, one of his wives—die for what he did. Oh, and I also think you’re the type who cheated, lied, thieved, and manipulated everyone around you until you got exactly what you wanted. Then there’s the infidelity. Don’t even get me started on that part of it.”
Ryan laughed, the sound rich and warm in her ear. “It’s not quite as simple as you believe it to be. We’ll talk more tomorrow night.”
The click of the connection severing followed his statement, and Beckett stared at the phone in her hand incredulously. When someone knocked on the door, she strode to it and turned the lock to open it. Jax walked in, his hands stuffed in his pockets.
“Was that really Halle?”
“No. Tomorrow at eleven. Johnny’s on the Harbor.”
Jax nodded. “Okay. So we’ve got to get a plan to get you out of the house and over there without the rest of them. Any idea how we’re going to manage to do that?”
“I haven’t gotten that far.”
“We could still do the reasonable thing and tell my brothers. The more I think about it, the worse I feel about this little plan. I’d rather have all of us in it together.”
Beckett dropped onto the bed and stared at the floor. “I don’t like it either. I hate to think I’m lying to Murphy. Or to Caleb and Savi. I don’t like the idea of it, but I’m afraid if we tell them, Caleb will march out the front door and tell on us to the cop sitting in my driveway or Murphy will be so angry he’ll attack Ryan instead of letting this play out.”
Jax sat next to her. “What if something happens to one of us? Do you really want the last thing we do to be going behind their backs like this? I’ll help you, Beck, if that’s what you want. I’ll do this for you. I’m asking you not to ask me to.”
“What if they say no?”
“They won’t. But if they do, we’ll find another way.” He held out a hand, grateful when she took it. “Clint left while you were up here. Ready to face the music?”
Standing, Beckett closed her eyes, dread spreading in her chest. “Are you going to feed me to the wolves?”
“Nah. You’re still busted up. They’ll go easy on you.”
Together, they descended the stairs into the living room. Savi stood in the kitchen, an apron tied around her hips and a package of chicken laid out on the counter. Caleb was folding laundry on the couch, and Murphy was unloading the dishwasher. Beckett dropped Jax’s hand as they came into the living room and walked to the kitchen table, sliding into a chair.
“Everything okay at Vive?” Murphy stretched to put away a stack of plates.
Beckett took a deep breath and spoke. “It wasn’t Halle on the phone. It was Ryan.”
All activity in the room stopped. Caleb silently stood and entered the kitchen, choosing to sit across from Beckett. When everyone else had sat down, the chicken and laundry forgotten, Savi spoke.
“I think you’re going to need to give us some more information here. What do you mean, it was Ryan on the phone?”
Jax folded his hands on the table. “Beckett came to me yesterday to discuss what’s going on. The morning she was attacked, she found some papers in the attic, hidden inside some of her Christmas decorations. One of the codes was an email password to an old account of Ryan’s—the one he had while he was in the Army. She managed to track down a few emails with the password by looking at the forwarding address. When she ran into a brick wall and couldn’t get any further, she took a chance and sent an email from her account to the last one she was able to identify. He responded yesterday via email to say he’d be in contact within twenty-four hours.”
Murphy blinked. “That was three days ago. Why didn’t you tell us what you found? Or about any of this until now?”
“I wasn’t going to.” Beckett folded her hands on the table and stared at them. “I knew you wouldn’t agree with what I wanted to do. I didn’t figure either of you would be too keen on me doing what needs done, and if you weren’t on board, you could really have thrown a wrench in the plans. I went to Jax because I figured he’d be the most likely to help me.”
“I would have helped her.” Jax spoke up again. “Neither of us wanted to lie to anyone, and when I talked to her upstairs, she agreed to bring everyone in on this so we could be in it together.”
Murphy rubbed his hands over his face. “I want to be pissed off.”
Caleb snorted. “I am. I can be pissed off enough for both of us if you’d like.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Ryan is dangerous. It could be a trap or a ploy to lure you in and kill you.”
Hoping to break the tension, Beckett dared a joke. “I think a ploy to lure me in and kill me would be considered a trap, too.” When she was met with nothing but silence, she sighed. “Bad joke. I’m sorry. Look, I knew when I asked Jax you’d all three be mad. I’d be mad if one of you did it to me. I get it. But it just feels like it’s time to do something instead of waiting for more to happen to us. I want to make some progress, and this was a way to do it. There wasn’t much use mentioning some numbers without knowing what they meant, and until Ryan emailed back, I had no idea it would even work.”
Savi crossed her legs. “What do we do from here? Obviously you have some sort of a plan. What does he want? What do you need?” When Murphy and Caleb glared at her, she shook her head. “Oh come on, let’s be reasonable. If either of you thought you could go off on your own and solve this, you would’ve. Even if it meant putting yourself in danger. Be pissed at her all you want, but at least admit we’d have all made the same choice in her shoes. I, for one, am just glad they’re filling us in now so we can all help instead of letting us find out about it later. So I’m in. What do you need?”
Relieved, Beckett smiled at Savi and continued. “Ryan has asked to meet me at Johnny’s Bar on the Harbor tomorrow night at eleven. I don’t want to go alone, but I also don’t want Ryan to smell a trap.”
Savi nodded. “Good. I can go in ahead of you and find a bar stool and some befuddled tourist to keep occupied. I’ll hussy myself up so he’ll never recognize me, and if anything starts to go south, I’ll call the boys, or the police, whichever is more appropriate.”
Caleb crossed his arms. “I do think we should tell the police. If anything, we could have someone in plain clothes there just in case.”
“Ryan would see that coming a mile away. He’s never met Savi, so she’s a good option to be inside with me. I’m not going to be in any danger.”
Murphy sighed. “You’re going to be in danger, all right, but I don’t know if I can say it’s more than we’re in sitting right here.” He reached for Beckett’s hand, holding it between both of his. “Don’t ever feel like you can’t involve me in things. I won’t always agree with you, but I will always listen, and I will always try to see your side of things.”
Savi stood. “I’m going to get back to the chicken.”
Caleb leaned back in his chair. “So what? The rest of us will stay here and let the two of you go off to meet Ryan by yourselves?”
Jax shook his head. “Not in a million years. We’ll take a cab over a couple hours before they meet, and find a place a few blocks away. When Ryan shows up, Savi can text one of us and we’ll move in close. If something starts to go bad, we’ll jump our brother and haul him in for the cops to deal with.”
Nodding, Murphy rose to finish putting away the dishes. “I like that plan. I hope he puts up a fight. I’m itching to pop him in the mouth.”
Chapter 28
Murphy came out of the bathroom rubbing a towel through his hair. He wore sweatpants with no shirt, and droplets of water still adorned his shoulders and chest as they dripped off the ends of his hair. Beckett glanced up when the door opened and she closed the book she’d been reading.
“I’m a little surprised you’re coming to bed. I figured you’d be too mad at me to sleep in here.”
“There’s no other place to sleep in this house aside from the floor.” Grinning wryly, he dropped onto the edge of the bed. “I’m not mad at you. I’m upset, sure, and hurt, but not mad. Savi’s right. I’d have made the same choice in your shoes. I can’t be angry at you about that.”
“I’d do anything to protect all of you from this.”
“It’s not your job to protect me any more than it’s mine to protect you. We’re in this together, and it has to be a partnership or it won’t work.” Murphy took her hand in his own, turning her palm over to press a kiss to the center of it. “I’m going to let this one go given the circumstances, but I need you to promise me from now on out we’re honest with each other about everything and there are no secrets.”
Nodding, Beckett rose onto her knees and moved into his arms, ignoring the pain in her still-bruised and swollen face as she pressed it into his shoulder. “I promise. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He stroked his hands up her back. “Are you ready for bed, or do you want to watch a movie or something?”
Beckett framed his face with her hands and leaned forward, pressing her mouth to his in a whisper of a kiss. Pulling back, she locked her gaze onto his. “I know tomorrow is dangerous. I know what we should do is call Clint and let him handle it. I also know if we do that, Ryan will disappear and we’re going to be left to deal with this mess. This might be our one chance to get out of this still breathing.” She took a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her face, her expression strained and stressed. “That being said, I do understand how dangerous this is. I could be totally misjudging Ryan, which is something I apparently am wont to do. He could shoot me where I sit tomorrow, have me assassinated by some sniper, or poison my drink. I take the risk willingly because I do believe it’s our best chance. But if tonight is going to be my last night on Earth, there’s no place I’d rather be than r
ight here with you. Except with the kids, but I can’t be there because I have to keep them safe.”
Murphy searched her eyes for any sign of doubt. “I don’t want to hurt you. I know you’re sore.”
“Just my face, and that’s okay.” She brought her hands to her shirt and began slipping the buttons from their holes. “I want you to love me tonight, Murph.”
“I love you every night.”
They undressed one another slowly, their hands sliding over skin and mouths wandering. Murphy laid Beckett gently on the bed, stretching out beside her. Slowly, reverently, he drove her to climax with his fingers inside her and his mouth on her breasts. When she lay next to him, her breath coming in panting gasps and her body loose and damp from orgasm, he parted her thighs and buried his face there, licking and sucking and propelling her back toward orgasm when she’d thought herself incapable.
Murphy wrung the second orgasm from her faster than Beckett had ever imagined possible. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, her thighs tightening around his head, her hands gripping his hair and pulling him into her. She came hard, her body trembling and shaking, her head tossed back, back arched, and eyes blind with pleasure.
When he would have left her, his intention to protect them both before entering her, Beckett grabbed at him, drawing him down onto her, into her. Giving into her demands, he parted her thighs and slid heavily into her, his erection hard and thick.
Where he had taken his time with her before, their joining was fast and intense, their bodies moving together, mouths seeking and finding one another. Their fingers joined, Murphy wrapping hers around the slim metal curls of the headboard, his body rhythmically pumping into hers. When he toppled over the edge and emptied himself inside her, she was with him, clinging and panting, her own completion rolling through her.
****
Across the hall, Savi belted her robe around herself and slipped from Harlow’s room, her back aching from the narrow mattress. Tucking her raven hair behind her ears, she padded down the stairs, tiptoeing through the living room and into the kitchen, taking care not to wake Jax, who was taking his turn on the couch. When she entered the kitchen and found him at the fridge, wearing a pair of sweatpants and nothing else, with a beer in one hand, she squeaked, jumped, and pressed her hand to her chest.
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