Page 136 of Perfect Pitch

I can only speculate Beckett Miller was headed to his home in LA. Sources indicated he and another passenger boarded a plane early in the day at Teterboro. And there goes New York until after the Grammys.

—Sexy&Social, All the Scandal You Can Handle

The caravan of SUVs comes to a stop on the outskirts of Kensington in a modest but pretty development. “Is this it, Ms. Kensington?” Kane calls from the driver’s seat.

“Yes. That’s her car.” Austyn reaches for the handle. Beckett quickly leans over and stops her.

“Kane, go.” I wait with Beckett and Austyn as Kane slips from the car with barely a sound. I engage the locks as the occupants of the other vehicles either go with Kane or surround Beckett’s vehicle. I hope none of her neighbors are awake, I think ruefully. Beckett thinking along the same lines, vocalizes, “I just pray like hell she’s not in the back.”

“I hope so too. What the hell is going on, Beckett?” Austyn shouts.

“They’re making sure she’s safe,” he says.

“But... why? Mama’s an audiologist. Why would someone want to... you?”

“Money. I have quite a bit of it.” Beckett’s being blunt, not bragging.

“Mama wouldn’t care about that. She’d tell you to donate it to some charity. It’s what she tells Gramps constantly. But why would they want to hurt her because of you?”

“It’s not necessarily because of me anymore, Austyn.” He tries to gentle her.

Her jaw drops. “No. Just keep your... no. That’s not why... I don’t want your money!” She shoves at him as if she can push her father’s cash away.

Beckett looks like he wants to say more, but I get confirmation from Kane we’re good to move in my ear. “Kane says you’re clear. Leave the bags, we’ll bring them up.”

Beckett tells Austyn, “Let’s go find out what’s going on with Paige.”

Even as he’s uttering the words, her fingers are on the door handle.

The two of them hurry under my watchful eye. I physically place myself as a barrier between Austyn and the street—Chin doing the same for Beckett—as she unlocks the front door. Then she’s shouting, “Mama? Mama? Where are you?” as she dashes from room to room.

As Austyn's mother wanders in, Beckett’s distracted by something on the dining room table. After snapping at Beckett to leave well enough alone, her eyes become fearful when she spies Austyn. “Honey? What’s wrong? What are you doing here?”

“Mama? How can you ask me that? You haven’t answered your phone in days!”

Confusion puckers Paige’s brow. “What day is it?”

“Thursday,” Austyn and Beckett answer simultaneously.

Paige races to find her phone. “I was supposed to... We were supposed to talk about what to do about... well, about things.”

“What happened, Mama?” Austyn asks.

Paige ignores her as she frantically continues her search. I spot her phone lying discarded on a bar and hand it over. Automatically, she says, “Thank... who are you?”

I shake my head. That’s not important—not right now.

Paige sighs. “They would have called the house if something important changed. They know my head’s still reeling.”

“Paige, are you okay?” Beckett asks.

“I...” For the briefest of moments, she withers.

“Paige, bird, talk to me, please. What happened?” He cups her cheeks.

She visibly shudders. “He lied. About so, so much. I...” Her body collapses as sobs take it over.

Beckett scoops her up against his chest. Her face burrows against his neck. He declares, “Beat it, Austyn. Me and your mama have things to discuss.”

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