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Before anyone could say anything else, Kelly rushed over to Beckett. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I told you I’d be fine.”
While Brogan and Jade circled Swarbrick, the Special Forces Brit had an idea. “Why don’t you let me go tell Pollock that I did the job, that I left your guy in his cabin unconscious? Maybe Pollock will take the bait and finish him off. You get that on video and get him caught in the act. What do you say?”
Lucien shifted his feet. “Did Pollock want to be the one to finish off Beckett?”
“He did. He wanted to teach him a lesson.”
Birk glared at the Brit. “If you’re yanking our chain, if this all goes south and anything happens to my brother, I will track you to the ends of the earth and hold you personally responsible for it. Do we understand each other?”
“I get it. I’m just the messenger tonight. Once I walk up to Pollock’s cabin, the rest is up to you guys.”
Lucien looked at Beckett. “It’s your call. You’re the one taking all the risks.”
“I didn’t come this far to back out now. I want to nail this guy to the cross.”
“Then get him talking,” Birk suggested. “He’s a pontificating windbag. Deep down, I think he’s itching to boast about how many people he’s killed. If he runs that mouth of his long enough, we might get him for the other murders.”
“So you’re saying insult him? I don’t have a problem with that.”
23
Tied to a chair in his cabin—his hands loosened behind him—Beckett faked grogginess and waited for word that Pollock would make his entrance.
Inside the lobby, the others stood around several laptop screens to keep up with Pollock’s movements, everyone except Kelly. She had no desire to see the scene play out. After witnessing Beckett's confrontation with Swarbrick, her Annie Oakley attitude had evaporated into sheer worry over his safety.
Brogan didn’t blame her. “I wouldn’t want to see Lucien fight. I did that once. It wasn’t a pretty sight; in fact, it was horrible. He got beaten up, complete with a bloody lip, a bloody nose, and a black eye to boot. Apparently, he’s a lover, not a fighter.”
Kelly broke out in nervous laughter. “Here I sit, worried about a Navy SEAL with two decades of training and experience.”
Jade winked at Brogan. “He certainly took out Swarbrick without breaking a sweat. Try to focus on that.”
“Maybe when all this is over, Beckett could teach Lucien a thing or two about self-defense,” Brogan proposed.
Lucien overheard that last part. “What are you talking about? I can defend myself. I might not have training in hand-to-hand combat, but I do all right.”
“How old were you when you got beat up?” Jade asked.
“Thirteen,” Lucien grumbled. “But he cold cocked me. It was a surprise attack.”
“Some fifteen-year-old bully thought Lucien had put the moves on his girlfriend,” Brogan added, moving closer to the laptop. “Which reminds me. Beckett, don’t forget to bring up the size thirteen boot prints in the bedroom.”
Onscreen, the Navy SEAL glowered at her. “I’m a little too busy to worry about size thirteen shoes right now. But I’ll see what I can do.”
“If this works, it’ll be worth it, but if it doesn’t—” Kelly let the idea hang all the while chewing her thumbnail. “I’m a nervous wreck.”
“No kidding. You’re even starting to make me tense.” Brogan rechecked the monitor and saw Beckett beginning to fidget, waiting for Pollock. “We’re all getting anxious. I’ll be glad when this is over. Remind me never to take on a case like this one. I feel like I dragged Lucien into it first, then everybody else.”
“Blame it on Kate,” Lucien muttered.
“But if we find out what happened to Trey, it’ll all be worth it,” Jade reminded them. “And if Beckett gets Pollock to admit his role in the murders, think of how great you’ll feel afterward. We all helped solve a cold case languishing in a deep freeze.”
“My gut says Pollock won’t help us when it comes to Trey,” Brogan revealed. “He’s just not that kind of guy.” There was movement on one of the other screens. “Here we go. Get ready. Pollock’s walking up to the front door.”
Birk sat up straighter. “Come on, Beck. Get this bastard to talk.”
The cabin doorburst open as Chad strutted into the room. “You thought you could just show up here for some easy money, right?” he accused. “Stroll in here and act like the little brother I never wanted. You thought I’d be an easy mark—you and Lucien. Think again. I’m tougher than I look, tougher than Matt or Anna put together. All my life, I had to hear how great those two were. Like Anna, Matt got the looks. But Anna was a girl. I didn’t mind that so much. Matt, on the other hand, was my polar opposite. He was the tall, charming, easy-to-get-to-know, laidback guy. He had all the friends. All the girls wanted to be with him.”
