The Chase

Gloria took a wineglass from Buddy and held it up. “To one of the strongest, most amazing men I know. I’m thrilled you’ll officially be my ex-husband tomorrow, but I’ll always be grateful you’re my friend. Now forgive yourself, both of you”—she turned to Raine—“and be happy.”

Beck raised his glass in toast. “Thanks. Does this mean I can call you my cantankerous ex-wife now?”

“Not if you want to keep both your balls,” Gloria quipped before she sipped her vino. “I finally understand now why you were hell-bent on becoming a doctor. And why you’re such a goddamn control freak.”

Beck couldn’t help but smirk. Gloria had always been able to see right through him, and he was damn grateful she could. “I refused to ever be in the position of sitting idly by while someone I cared about died. And being in control centers me. Probably always will.”

“There’s no probably about it.” Gloria winked and hid a grin as she took another sip of wine.

Seth dragged his chair in closer and clapped Beck on the shoulder. “You okay?”

“I think so. Actually, I’m a little relieved.”

“Don’t blame you. That’s a lot to keep in.” Seth sent him a regretful nod. “And…I’m sorry I pushed you when we got together with Heavenly. I know now why you weren’t keen to take a virgin.”

“It was good.” He laughed. “No, it was great. I’m actually glad you insisted I, um…do the honors.”

“Just…next time I’m up in your business to do something you’d rather not, tell me. I’ll back off.”

Beck peered at him, then slid his gaze over to Heavenly. “Who said I didn’t want to?”

Seth grinned. “Well, you certainly went after her with gusto.”

Their girl turned red. “You can stop talking about me anytime now.”

Gloria laughed, and Buddy joined in as Beck caressed her crown and kissed the top of her head.

Seth sobered. “Actually, she’s right. I don’t think I’m alone in saying we don’t want you slinking off alone to deal with these zealots. We’re going to stand and fight with you. It’s time to game plan, put contingencies in place. I assume Jedediah is coming for some good old-fashioned revenge.”

“An eye for an eye, just like we were taught,” Beck bit out. “And he won’t come alone. He’ll bring the Saint Squad with him. They’re anything but saints.”

“Are we talking the invasion of Grenada or World War Two?”

“Somewhere in between. My father started amassing a shit ton of weapons the summer before I left. I can only imagine how the stockpile has increased over the years.”

“What kind of weaponry did they have when you lived there?”

“AKs, ARs, Uzis, a fifty cal, and a shitload of ammo.”

“And you thought I was paranoid,” Seth barked. “What were they prepping for?”

“The government burning down that compound in Waco, Texas, was a fairly fresh wound when I left Messiah City. After that incident, my father flipped his shit and insisted he’d do whatever it took to prevent the feds from interfering in his little fiefdom. So he demanded his followers hand over all their worldly goods. He emptied the bank accounts of all new joiners to his flock. Then he bought up every piece of weaponry he could get his hands on.”

“That’s not very reassuring.” Seth fell quiet, then took in the lodge’s sturdy wooden logs. Beck could almost hear the wheels in the PI’s head humming. After darting a glance at the ceiling, Seth turned to Liam. “You got access to the roof in this place?”

“Yeah, upstairs. Last bedroom on the right. There’s a spiral staircase up to the rooftop deck.”

“Excellent.” Seth’s eyes glittered. “I’m going to need you to show me once the sun’s up.”

“And me,” River piped up, wearing a cocky smirk. “I can pick the wings off a fly at two hundred yards.”

“Yeah, right,” Dean scoffed.

“Well, maybe a horsefly, but I can. I might have left Special Forces in demolitions, but I started out as a sniper…among other things.”

“I’m just now finding out about this…why?” Seth gaped.

River shrugged. “You hired me to spy on cheating spouses and corporate thieves. I didn’t think you’d care much about my other skills after you told me there’d be no storming bunkers and shit.”