Chapter 50 Beckett
Beckett
Her words still echoed in my head long after the room went quiet.
They’ll kill anyone who helps me.
The Golden Team had faced cartels, warlords, and mercenaries with smiles sharp as blades—but none of that shook me like hearing Elara admit Hydra’s reach wasn’t just about her. It was global. It was a monster with claws in every corner.
And I didn’t give a damn.
River broke the silence first, shoving a finger at Cyclone’s laptop. “If what she says is true, then Hydra’s files could blow the roof off their entire operation. We need to know exactly what she took.”
“Files,” I repeated, my voice harder than I intended. I looked at Elara, and she didn’t flinch. She sat tall, shoulders squared, eyes burning. “Where are they?”
Her gaze didn’t waver. “Not here. Not with me.”
Oliver cursed under his breath. “So we’re running blind.”
Cyclone slammed the laptop shut. “Then we find them. If Hydra wants them this bad, it’s only a matter of time before they move heaven and hell to flush her out.”
Every muscle in my body wound tight. I stepped closer to Elara, close enough to smell the grit of smoke still clinging to her hair. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her lips parted, but no sound came. And that silence—God, it cut worse than a bullet.
“Beckett—” she started.
“No.” My voice dropped to a growl, quiet but sharp.
“Out there, I almost lost you. I’ve almost lost you more times than I can count since the day you crashed into my life.
And every time, I keep telling myself I can fight harder, move faster, kill quicker.
But if you keep hiding things from me—” My chest burned, words scraping raw.
“—I can’t protect you from the storm I don’t see coming. ”
Her eyes softened, just enough to hurt. “I wasn’t hiding it from you,” she whispered. “I was trying to save you.”
The room fell away. The Team, the maps, the walls—I only saw her. Dust-streaked, bruised, defiant, and still trying to shield me from something too big for one man to fight.
I cupped her chin, forcing her eyes back to mine. “I don’t need saving, Elara. I need the truth. All of it.”
Her breath caught, and for a second, I thought she’d finally give me everything. But then River cleared his throat, shoving a map across the table.
“We don’t have the luxury of waiting. Hydra will push into the city fast. If there are files out there, we need to move before Grand locks down every exit.”
The spell between us broke. I let my hand drop, though the ache in my chest stayed.
“Then we move,” I said. My voice was steady now, steel over the crack threatening beneath. “Tonight.”
The Team nodded, already shifting into motion, but Elara’s eyes stayed on me—haunted, fierce, and carrying a secret that still hadn’t left her lips.
And I knew one thing with brutal certainty.
This wasn’t just about survival anymore.
This was about her.