Page 188 of Perfect Pitch

“In a few days. She says she needs more time so she can leave the memories here.”

“That’s going to be utterly impossible,” Keene bites off.

“What she doesn’t realize is what she’s waiting on is Mitch. Subconsciously, she’s waiting for him to grieve with her before she leaves.” Charlie’s voice breaks.

“What’s the timeline?” I ask wearily, scrubbing my fingers across my forehead.

“Right now, he’s talking with Beckett first.” A million layers of pain overlay a normally jovial voice. “She doesn’t want to tell him because she’s trying to protect him from the pain.”

“And we all know that won’t work,” Keene concludes.

“Yeah.” That’s when Charlie disconnects.

Keene scrubs his hands over his face. “Enormous isn’t big enough for how big this fuck up is, Caleb.”

Since I can’t argue with him, I don’t try. Instead, I wonder how much upheaval to expect in the upcoming weeks as those responsible for annihilating the heart and soul of Austyn Kensington begin to get what they deserve.

* * *

CHAPTER NINETY-TWO

Conversation starter: What’s your favorite restaurant in the city? I have someone I want to impress who seems to live on bananas and yogurt.

—StellaNova

“I wonder if I killed you right now, would you be missed?” a deep voice to my left asks.

Without answering, I toss back the shot of whiskey I ordered. That’s when I meet Beckett’s furious blue eyes—eyes he bequeathed to his daughter. “No.”

He studies my face a moment before sliding onto the stool next to me. Fortunately, one of the things I’ve learned working for Beckett is he loves to slip his protective detail and go back to being a regular guy. Sonny’s in Asheville is more likely to play bossa nova or bluegrass than Beckett Miller, a perfect spot for us to discuss what I found out.

And why no one clued me in.

The bartender catches my eye. I point to my glass and hold up two fingers. He nods and approaches with a second shot glass and a bottle. Beckett drawls, “It’s going to be one of those conversations?”

Thinking about it, I prompt the bartender, “Leave the bottle.”

“You got it.” The man heads back to the lit end of the bar.

Beckett throws back his first shot before pouring a second. “It’s your dime, Mitch.” In other words, let’s get on with it.

I leave no details out. I tell Beckett about the threat we were neutralizing to him. He frowns. “The senator’s daughter? The one that caused me to hire you people in the first place? Crazy eyes. Kane briefed me she was on the loose.”

I tip my drink back and slug another shot. “She was at Redemption the night Austyn approached me.”

“That wasn’t in Kane’s report,” he hisses.

I close my eyes in agony recalling the regal heartbreak in Austyn’s voice. “She thought I was getting it on with another woman, Beckett. And still, she was insisting on talking to me.”

This time, it’s his face that contorts. He throws back the shot without a word.

“I had to say those things to get her out of harm’s way. Crazy bitch was armed. I’d already found a fucking shiv she’d carved out of a toothbrush I’d palmed off her.”

“How in the fuck did that get past Marco’s security?”

“They check for metal, electronics, explosive residue.”

His head falls forward as if the weight of the world is crashing down on him. “Go on. Give me all of it.”

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