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."

Was he serious? "So they're like vigilantes?"

"Yes, basically."

"This shit belongs in a movie."

"I know, but it's disturbingly real. An intervention Miles and Carter orchestrated to put an end to a Colombian cartel—a group Carter had a run in with as a SEAL—ended with the cartel being severely weakened."

"So you guys won?"

"It's not that straightforward, but we accomplished what we needed to do to keep our people safe and to keep the cartel from establishing itself in New York."

I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes. "This can't be real."

"I wish it wasn't. Miles's friend put a plan in place—one that didn't involve us—to eliminate the remaining members of the cartel in Columbia. I don't know any details about that or about how it's going, but a prominent member of the cartel was seen in New York recently. Carter suspects he showed himself deliberately. We know these men want revenge, we just don't know what they plan to do to get it."

"You were involved in this?"

"Not like the rest of my friends, but I was involved enough, and they might strike at any target that would hurt Miles or Carter. That includes me?—"

"And Beck. Oh my God, do you think they've hurt him?"

"Don't think about that. We're going to figure this out. Carter's trying to find him now. There's a perfectly good chance he's hiding out somewhere."

Or I might never see him again. "How the fuck did you get mixed up in something like this?"

"Sometimes I ask myself the same thing, but I promise you this, my friends might not always handle things in a way that's perfectly legal, but they are damn good at getting the outcomes they want without any innocent people getting hurt."

I realized my hands were shaking. "I'm scared."

"Me too." Worth let go of me and stood. "I need to do a few things. Just wait here, okay?"

"Carter said not to leave the villa."

"I know. I won't."

I watched as he double- and triple-checked the locks on the main door. Then he walked to the balcony, locked the door, and stood watching for several moments.

"What do you see?"

"Nothing of interest, but I wanted to make sure."

"You think someone could be watching us?"

"I needed to check."

He pulled the curtains closed, then started walking around the room looking at shelves and tables and up at the ceiling.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking for cameras. I want to be sure we're secure here. I requested the villa be swept for me by hotel security, but they could be paid off. And they don't have Carter's or his partner, Matteo's, skill."

"If we're in danger here, we should go ahead and fly to New York."

Worth shook his head. "No. We're much safer here. We should wait."

"Do you really think someone would come for us?"

"If they came for my brother, then they might."

A knot formed in my stomach at the thought. I doubted I'd get any sleep tonight. At least I had Worth. Beck had been all alone.