Body Shot (Last Shot)(86)

“He’s definitely considering it. Whether he will or not, I don’t know.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a glum smile.

No. Beck didn’t want to do that. He felt guilty, but she’d told him he should do what was right for him. Damn. “What would you do? With Conquistadors?”

“Fuck if I know.” He rubbed his face. “I mean, we’d keep it going. But Beck financed the place. We’re paying him back from the profits, but without him…well, we’d figure it out.”

“He loves Conquistadors,” she whispered. “And he loves you guys too.”

“Yeah.” Marco cleared his throat. “But sometimes duty calls.” He grimaced.

Hayden nodded and swallowed. “Yes. I know that.” She paused. “Well. Good to see you, Marco. Take care.” She started to turn away.

“Hayden.”

“Yes?” She paused and looked over her shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh. Sure.”

“ ’Cause you look really…wiped out.”

“Great.” She rolled her eyes but smiled. “It’s been a rough week. At work. With Beck. With my aunt and uncle.”

“Huh?”

“Long story.” She hitched a shoulder. “But I’m fine. Bye.”

She walked out of the restaurant and to her car, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, even though her body felt stiff and cold.

Beck had left. And he might not be coming back.

She was halfway home before she realized tears were streaming down her face.

—

Beck still hadn’t made a decision, but he knew he had to talk to Cade and Marco before he did. He owed it to them, and to be perfectly honest, he needed their input. They felt more like his family now than his blood relations did, but apparently blood had some kind of pull, because he was seriously wondering if staying in Boston and working for Whitcomb Industries was the right thing to do.

So it was Saturday night and he was on a plane winging its way across the country from one coast to the other. He arrived back in San Diego at eight-thirty, retrieved his car, and headed straight to Conquistadors. He needed to talk to his buddies, although he wasn’t sure if they’d both be there tonight.

They were.

He walked in. A bunch of regulars, including Dussen and Joe and Helena, greeted him. He paused to chat with them. Everyone asked how his dad was doing. Huh. Apparently word had gotten out about why he’d been away.

“He’s doing well,” he told people. The angioplasty had gone fine. Dad had stayed in the hospital for monitoring and had gone home today. They had some nursing care coming in to assist, and he’d need to take it easy for a while, avoiding stairs, and there were some new medications he had to take. His parents had been disappointed that Beck had left, but what else was new. He’d disappointed them his entire life.

“Hey, man!” Marco greeted him with wide-open arms, then a backslapping hug. “You’re home!”

“Yeah. Cade here?”

“He’s in the office.”

“We need to talk.”

“Yeah, we sure as hell do.”

Beck frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Why didn’t you tell us Hayden dumped you?”

Beck’s chest clenched. “How’d you know that?”

“I ran into her this afternoon. She didn’t even know what had happened with your dad, and that you’d gone to Boston.”

Beck shrugged. “No. Why would she care?”

“She fucking cares, asshole.”

Beck scowled. “What the hell do you know about it?”

They were getting curious glances from customers. “Let’s take this back to the office,” Marco growled.

“Fine.” Beck stomped around the end of the bar and down the hall.

Cade looked up from the computer as Beck walked in, followed by Marco. “Hey, you’re back.” He rose and they too did a bro hug. Beck repeated the update about his father as they all took seats.

“So, they’re pressuring me to stay in Boston and take over Whitcomb Industries.”

Cade leaned back in his chair, a wary look on his face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Beck grimaced. “Dad really needs to take it easy. Now he’s had a fucking heart attack because he works so much. Mom thinks he should retire, or at least dial back the time he works. They see this as the perfect opportunity for me to transition into learning the business.”

Cade and Marco exchanged glances.

“And it makes sense,” Beck continued. “They want to keep it in the family and there is no one else.” As usual, the loss of Aidan was a stab to the heart. How different would things be if he was still around? Well, there was no point in thinking about that. “I mean, one of the VPs could take over.”