around the cold lump in her throat. “Does she know who took her son?”
“She said that you guys would know,” Captain Williams said.
“This is my fault,” Isabel said. “He took Allison’s son because of what I did.”
Dutch grasped her shoulders. “No, sweetheart. He’s mad at the Marshals. Not you.”
“He gave me a letter. Confessed to murdering his brother. I should’ve told you, but I burned it.”
“What?” Dutch sucked in a breath. “Did he explicitly state that he pulled the trigger? Did he write the words, I killed him? I ordered a hit? Or was he vague and left some loophole?”
The exact wording had been vague, implied things that led her to draw conclusions.
“He wrote that it was his fault the family was torn apart and he was sorry. That he was responsible for Luis’s anger, for his death. I know what he meant, but the verbiage wasn’t explicit.” Thinking back on it, he hadn’t even admitted to having an affair on paper.
But she couldn’t shake the sense of guilt. Maybe if she’d stayed behind in San Diego, she could’ve prevented this.
“He never would have left an incriminating letter anywhere that could send him to prison,” Dutch said. “Besides, he has the best lawyers that money can buy at his disposal. They would’ve had it thrown out of court because we didn’t get it with a warrant. This is not on you.”
“We have to help her get her son back,” Isabel said, panic bubbling in her stomach.
He nodded with a worried look.
“What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”
“It took Captain Williams two days to find us. Kidnapping cases where there’s ransom or demands are usually resolved within forty-eight to seventy-two hours. One way or the other.”
One way was rescuing the hostage. The other?
Her heart sank. She couldn’t bear to think about it.
If her father took that child, then she needed to speak to him, bargain, negotiate. She’d do whatever he wanted as long as Allison got her son back.
“I think this is out of our hands,” Dutch said. “Beyond our control.” He brought her into a hug. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll see. They kidnapped the wrong kid.”
“What do you mean?”
“Allison would move heaven and earth for her son and her husband works on the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team. They’re trained by Delta Force. If anyone can get him back, it’s HRT.”
It was a small comfort but did nothing to erase her sense of guilt or helplessness.
Dutch pulled back and met her gaze. “We did the right thing stopping the auction.”
“And no good deed goes unpunished.”
He shook his head. “That narrative isn’t true. Good will prevail. And love might not conquer all, but it’s pretty freaking powerful.”
Staring into his eyes, Isabel felt the impact of those words, deep in her heart, and hope welled. They’d stopped the auction and had beaten Chad. Against the odds, they’d won together.
He put his forehead to hers, their noses touching. In his arms, she chose to believe in that different narrative. One of goodness and love, where it would all work out.
* * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Rookie Instincts by Carol Ericson.
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Rookie Instincts
by Carol Ericson
Prologue
The wind whipped off the lake, its chilly tentacles snaking into his thin black jacket, which he gathered at the neck with one raw hand, stiff with the cold. His other hand dipped into his pocket, his fingers curling around the handle of the gun.
His eyes darted toward the dark, glassy water and the rowboat bobbing against the shore before he stepped onto the road...and behind his prey.
She hobbled ahead of him, her shoes crunching the gravel, her body tilted to one side as she gripped her heavy cargo, which swung back and forth, occasionally banging against her leg.
A baby. Nobody said nothing about a baby.
He took a few steps after her and the sound of his boots grinding into the gravel seemed to echo through the still night. He froze.
When her footsteps faltered, he veered back into the reeds and sand bordering the lake. He couldn’t have her spotting him and running off. What would she do with the baby? She couldn’t run carrying a car seat. He’d hauled one of those things before with his niece inside and it wasn’t no picnic, even though Mindy