Magical. Sitting beside Dutch in front of their campfire, Isabel stared up at the majestic aurora borealis. Green ribbons of light tinged pink danced high in the sky. Pure, vibrant waves of energy. It was wondrous.
The US Marshals Service had flown them on a military plane to Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska. Arrangements had been made for them to embark on the last camping tour of the season to Chena Hot Springs to catch the northern lights.
Conditions had to be optimal for them to see it. The night as dark as possible, little to no cloud cover and there had to be enough solar activity. Those elements had converged perfectly, gifting them with this.
Sort of like her relationship with Dutch. It boggled her mind to think of all the factors that had to sync up at the right time, in the right way, to bring them together.
Dutch being picked for the assignment. Her needing someone like him to walk into her life. Chad spinning out of control. The auction that never happened because they’d stopped it.
Kismet.
Emilio must be livid, plotting his revenge. She’d considered showing Dutch the letter her father had written her, had contemplated using it against him, but she couldn’t and had burned it.
There was no denying her father was a monster, capable of unspeakable things. But he loved her, and she loved him. In a weird way, if it weren’t for him, she never would have met Dutch, the man who might end up being the love of her life.
Even more remarkable, roughing it in the Alaskan wilderness, without the danger and adrenaline and creature comforts, they were truly happy together.
“This is incredible.” She rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling against him in the frigid night air, thankful for everything. From being with Dutch to her toasty goose-down puffer coat.
He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head. “More hot chocolate, beautiful?”
“No, I’m good.” She brought her denim-covered legs up to her chest, basking in this moment. The serenity. The safety. The splendor. “Thank you, for getting Allison to make this trip happen.”
“She just wanted us off the grid. The farther away from civilization the better. She didn’t care where.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I know. I love you,” he said, tightening his arm around her. “Once it’s safe, we’ll visit Brenda. I promise.”
Who knew how long it would take before she’d be able to see her friend again?
Max was working hard to build a case against Emilio. He was smart, cunning. If anyone in the FBI could do it, it was him. Teflon.
“I love you, too,” she said.
McQueen’s collar jingled as he got up and came out of their tent. With his ears up, he stood on alert, staring at the woods. Then he started barking.
Dutch fished his gun out of his backpack, stood and aimed in the direction that McQueen was looking.
“Stand down, Haas,” said a man coming out of the tree line, wearing a parka and backpack. “It’s me, Captain Williams.”
He was their liaison from the air base.
“What are you doing out here?” Dutch asked.
“It took me two days to find this campsite.” Captain Williams approached, looking winded. “You guys really picked a remote location. I couldn’t even get here with a vehicle.”
“What’s up?” Dutch asked.
“We got a call for you two on base from Deputy Marshal Allison Chen-Boyd. Her son’s been kidnapped, and she needs to speak with you.”
“Oh, God.” Isabel jumped to her feet.
“Do you have a satphone we can use?” Dutch asked.
“You can’t,” Captain Williams said. “We might even have to trek back to base. The aurora borealis occurs during solar storms. The massive bursts of charged particles create satellite disturbances and mess with our satphones.”
Isabel swallowed 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.