Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Oh my God. “Was he in some kind of trouble he hadn’t told me about? Why the hell would somebody be following him?”
“That’s the other bad news.”
“Tell me right now, Carter!”
“We pulled up CCTV footage of the area around his apartment and along his routes to school and the law offices. I think we figured out who was following him, and they’re from the cartel.”
“No. Why would they go after Beck?”
Laurie pulled away. “What’s wrong? Is Beck okay?”
“Carter, I’m going to put you on speaker. Laurie is here.”
“Okay. Hi Laurie, do you have any idea where Beck might go if he needed a place to hide out?”
“Hide out? From who?” I hated the fear on Laurie’s face.
“We’re not absolutely sure, but he was worried someone was following him, and now we can’t get in touch with him.”
“Why would someone follow him?” Laurie asked. “I don’t understand.”
“It may be connected to me,” I said.
“It’s not your fault, Worth.” Carter’s words didn’t reassure me.
““It’s my fault he didn’t think he could call me about this.”
“And what would you have done? Called me in?”
I sighed. “Yes.”
“So he just left out a step.”
Laurie grabbed my arm to get my attention. “I don’t understand why someone would be following him or wanting to get to him because of you. Is it for money?”
“I don’t think so. Or at least not just for that.”
“Then what?”
“Before we go into that,” Carter said, “tell me if you have any idea where Beck could be.”
Laurie thought for a moment before speaking. “I don’t know. We hadn’t been close for a while. We talked occasionally, but I didn’t know much about what he did other than school. I’m sorry. I want to help.”
“It’s okay. We’ll find him, I’ve got my team searching for him now.”
Laurie frowned. “We should leave. Worth, you should be looking for him too.”
“Not yet.” Carter kept his voice low, I appreciated that he didn’t want to upset Laurie. “You need to stay there until my men arrive. They’ll escort you to the airport, and you’ll use Miles’s plane for the trip home.”
“I should go back to St. Louis,” Laurie said. “I can fly on my own.”
“No.” Carter and I spoke at the same time. Carter added, “Laurie, you need to stay with Worth.”
I wanted him with me more than anything, but I had to ask, “Is Laurie safe with me? If the cartel—”
Laurie’s eyes widened. “What cartel?”
“I promise I’ll explain.” I didn’t want to, but now I didn’t have a choice.
“My men will contact you when they are on the ground,” Carter said. “Stay vigilant until then, and don’t leave your villa unless you absolutely have to.”
“All right. Focus on finding Beck. We’ll be fine. If they’re after him, hopefully they’ll focus on that for now.”
“Don’t count on it. Stay safe.”
“We will.” I might have taken a risk on my own, but I wasn’t going to risk Laurie.
22
LAURIE
Iwas blinking back tears by the time Worth ended the call. He took my arm and led me to the sofa.
I couldn’t believe this was happening, I’d much rather Beck just be too annoyed to text us. “Is Beck going to be okay?”
“Carter is the best there is, so I…yes.”
I knew Worth couldn’t really answer that question with certainty, no one could, but I needed the reassurance. If someone had been stalking Beck—someone form a cartel?—there was no guarantee he was even still alive. My tears began to fall, and I wiped them away.
Worth hugged me tightly. “If I’d had any idea the cartel would go after Beck, I would’ve had him locked down tight. You, too, and we wouldn’t be here in Aruba. I should have brought security with me.”
“Do you usually travel with security?”
“No, but….”
I kissed the side of his neck. “It’s not your fault.”
“I want to believe that, but I should have called him sooner. I should have told him how I feel about you. At least with Miles’s plane at our disposal, it won’t take long for Carter’s men to get up in the air and on their way.”
“I need to know the whole story.”
Worth sighed. “Carter will find him.”
“How? We don’t even know where to look.”
“Carter’s a former SEAL, and he and his boyfriend run a private security company. He was head of security for Montgomery Enterprises before that. He can pretty much get his hands on any information he wants, and he has a lot of contacts.”
Who was this man? “What kind of contacts?”
“Government, black ops, law enforcement. People you shouldn’t know about.”
“Jesus Christ, what kind of life are you actually living?”
He blew out a long breath. “Miles and Carter…they’ve been involved in some crazy shit this year.”
“Do you really think someone has kidnapped Beck?”
“God, I hope not, but it’s possible.”
“Tell me everything. I need to know.”
“A few months ago, Miles and Carter agreed to help some friends who solve problems that the government and law enforcement can’t or won’t solve.”