Fade to Red

Colette Williams allegedly stalked the newly deceased Beckham Woods for many years. It is still unknown whether or not she was responsible for his death.”

The emergency phone line rang, and Daniel moved to pick it up.

“Don’t answer that!” Will shouted.

Roxie and Sparrow stared at the guard. Daniel paused by the table and frowned. Mild-ma

Will answered the phone and said very little. He agreed with whatever was being said and hung up.

It was late. Leo and Journey had been in bed for hours, and everyone else was tired but concerned about Beckham and Ian.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Roxie asked. “Beckham and Ian have been gone all day. We’re really getting worried.”

Will seemed nervous. “Pack your things. We’re leaving in an hour.”

“Tonight?” Sierra asked.

“I don’t want to leave without Beckham,” Roxie said, folding her arms.

His mom and sister agreed.

Will mumbled and then looked at them. “Dion will explain it all when he gets here. Get whatever you want to take with you, otherwise it will be left if it’s not packed within the hour.”

Sparrow’s eyes were wide. “Wow,” she said, glaring at Will. “I don’t know why we’ve been kept in the dark all day about … whatever’s going on … but there’s no need for you to be rude.” She immediately went splotchy, her signature embarrassed face, and Roxie walked over and put her arm around her.

“What she said,” Roxie said, squeezing Sparrow.

They split up, each hurrying to their rooms. Chloe decided to take a quick shower since she didn’t have much to pack. It took Roxie a while to get everything together because Leo had spread out his toys in their room. She was waiting until the very last minute to wake him up.

She’d had a bad feeling in her gut since that morning. After the sweetness of the night before, it had been a blow to not see Beckham all day. And for there to be no word about him or Ian—it just did not sit well with her.

Dion was all business when he came to the safe house. It was past midnight and he didn’t want to answer any questions about anything. It was infuriating.

“We’ll be taking two vehicles and we ask you to remain patient for a little while longer.”

“Ian and Beckham aren’t going with us?” Daniel asked.

“The guys asked me to see you safely to the next location,” was all he would say.

All the warm feelings about Beckham that Roxie had been soaking in throughout the day turned. She wanted to kill him. Wring his neck for making her worry like this.

The vehicles pulled into an airplane hangar out in the middle of nowhere. The plane sat at the other end.

“This is all very cryptic,” Roxie whispered to her dad.

He was carrying Leo and nodded, shifting Leo to his other hip.

Ian walked down the steps of the plane. Everyone breathed easier seeing him. Sparrow rushed to him and they hugged before he took Journey from her.

“Come on, it’s a nice plane,” he said to the rest of them with a smile.

Roxie walked as quickly as she could and went up the steps after Ian and Sparrow. When she got on, she looked around but didn’t see Beckham.

“Where is he?” she asked.

Ian motioned for her to follow him and took her to the back of the plane. He rapped on the door twice and opened it. Beckham was lying on the bed, asleep.

“Is he okay?” she asked, moving toward the bed.

She sat down and took his hand, looking at Ian when Beckham didn’t move.

“He’s fine. He was given a sedative—poor guy couldn’t handle getting shot twice with a-”

Roxie gasped.

“Bulletproof vest on underneath…” he finished.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” she said.

Ian nodded. “It went a lot differently than we expected, but I think it still worked. Hopefully he’ll wake up soon and tell you everything, but if he doesn’t, I’ve got strict instructions on what to say.”

Roxie frowned and motioned for him to keep going.

“I’m go

“Out with it, Ian.”

“Okay. Bottom line: will you go on a little trip with him? Maybe a long trip, depending on how long the rest of the pieces fall into place?”

“You’re talking in riddles.”

“Sorry. I know. So … we thought we’d draw Coco to the show tonight, but went with plan B when she didn’t show. We’ll have to straighten it out, but right now the world thinks Beckham is dead, and we just got news that Coco blew her house up. Good lord, that sounds crazy. And I wish I felt sad about Coco, but I don’t.” He tugged his hair and bit his lip, waiting for her to say something.

“What?” Roxie’s mouth dropped and she looked at Beckham. He didn’t stir. “Are you sure he’s really okay?”

“Positive. I heard him griping on the fake ambulance.”

“I’m go

“You should come out here too. If you agree to go with Beckham, you’ll want to say goodbye to the rest of us.” He put his hand on the door and opened it a crack.

“You’re not coming with us?”

“Originally yes, but with Coco gone … that changes things. As much as I’d like to pretend I’m dead for a little while, I’m not quite at that level financially.” He raised his eyebrow and gri

Roxie laughed. “Come here. Let me hug you first.”

He put his arms around her and tried not to squeeze too tight.

“You guys are right for each other,” he said. “Don’t be too stubborn to see it.”

“I’ll try,” she said. “And we’ll see you soon, right?”

“I promise.”

There were hugs and tears as everyone told each other goodbye. No one was shy about saying exactly how they really felt.

“You need this time together,” her mom said. “Give him a chance. Okay? That man loves you.”

“You won’t be able to keep me away for long,” Chloe said. “Call me when you need a maid of honor.” She winked.

“Are you sure you can’t all come?” Roxie cried. “You guys are sounding like it’s forever!”

“You’ll see us soon,” Sierra said.

Sophia nodded, patting Roxie’s shoulder. Just then, Beckham stumbled out of the door, looking groggy.

Ian was the closest and tried to steady him.

“She said yes?” he slurred, looking at Ian.

“She said yes to the trip,” Ian said, giving Beckham a look.

Beckham smiled. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” he said, leaning his head against Ian’s.

Ian’s eyes crinkled when he gri

Beckham lurched forward. “Take me to Roxie,” he said, turning to Ian.

Roxie giggled and walked toward Beckham. “I’ll come to you. You’ve been through a lot tonight,” she said, pressing her lips together. “It’s hard getting fake shot.”

Beckham looked wounded. “I wasn’t fake shot! I’ll have you know the bulletproof vest doesn’t make it not hurt. It feels like being repeatedly hit with a mallet.”

She nodded. “I’ll take care of you,” she said.

“You will?” He gave her a sleepy smile.

She kissed his cheek and said softly: “Wa

“Very much.” He nodded.

His mom and sister came forward and hugged him.

“I love having new material to tease you about,” Sierra said.

“Shut up,” he groaned.

Everyone took their turns saying goodbye, and before they knew it, it was just Dion, Howie, the pilot, a flight attendant and the three of them on the plane.

“I’ve had my men check your location thoroughly. Call me if anything doesn’t feel quite right—whether it’s security, house, decor, you name it—and I can send someone from over there to help,” Dion said.