"No." Maybe. "I had to control it, Noah. If I broke down there, over her body, I wouldn't be able to do my job. To see what needed to be seen."

"Lucy, we've been friends for a long time. You know you can trust me. If you ever need to walk away, it's okay."

She nodded. "I trust you, Noah. I don't say that easily, but I do trust you. I am okay. I want to find these people in the worst way, but I can do the job."

"Dr. Vasquez took Siobhan in; you don't have to go back."

"I should be there for her."

"Think about yourself sometimes, okay?"

Noah dropped his hand, and that's when Lucy realized he'd been holding on to her for the last few minutes. As if he, too, needed to be grounded before he could move on. "How are you doing?" she asked as they walked back to the lobby.

He shrugged. "I don't think I'll be sleeping much tonight."

Siobhan stepped out of the crypt, silent tears running down her cheeks. "That's the girl from Sunday. Dear Lord." She crossed herself. "Lucy, I killed her."

"You did not kill her, Siobhan."

"I went there, I upset her-the doctor said she had a seizure caused by high blood pressure-I set her off. She was screaming at me-"

"Ma'am, I don't believe that's the case," Vasquez said, and Lucy mentally thanked him. "Preeclampsia is a very serious, very dangerous condition. That girl should have been under a doctor's care as soon as it was diagnosed-if it was diagnosed. No one caused it, but whoever delivered her baby killed her in the process. Not you."

It was time to leave.

Marisol couldn't stay here, not when her sister was in such danger. Angelo would be coming soon, and she didn't want the Honeycutts to be in the middle of any of this. These people were dangerous. Angelo would help her rescue Ana and then they could go home.

For the first time in two years she believed she would see her family again. Her village.

George and Nadia didn't want her to go.

Marisol didn't want to leave, either. Rarely had she met two genuinely kind souls, certainly not in the last two years. George and Nadia restored her faith in God, restored her hope that she would survive.

"Wait until John comes back," Nadia said. "He said he would be back tonight, after work. For dinner."

She shook her head. "Angelo is meeting me. You have done so much already."

"Wait until morning. Please, stay one more night."

She wanted to. Nadia reminded Marisol of her grandmother. Last night, she'd told Nadia some of what had happened to her and Ana. When Nadia hugged her, Marisol had cried. She hadn't cried in years, but she cried last night.

Today, she was stronger.

"Angelo knows what to do. These people are very dangerous, I don't want you hurt."

Nadia frowned. "Nonsense, Marisol. You need to let someone help you. There are good people in this world."

She smiled. When was the last time she'd smiled? "You and Mr. Honeycutt are two of the kindest people I've met. But Angelo can help me get my sister back."

She glanced at George. She hoped he hadn't already called the police. Because if he did, they would take her back. She knew it.

Nadia seemed to sense her hesitation. "You are safe here, Marisol. But you're still weak. You had a baby."

She blushed. She hadn't told Nadia about the baby, but she'd known. Maybe it was something women know, once they have a child of their own.

"Please trust me on this," Marisol said. "These are dangerous, bad people. Angelo can protect me, he is a good man. Like John."

"Why don't you have Angelo come here to get you?"

What did she say to that? She didn't know why, it was just her gut feeling. "Because you've done more than can be repaid." She had clean clothes. They were Nadia's, and they hung loose on her, but it felt good to wear something clean that smelled so good.

George walked over and put a phone in her hand, along with money.

She shook her head. "I can't take this."

"I programmed my number in here. If you need anything, any help, call me. John and I will come."

"I-"

"You will take it. It's not much money, but it will feed you."

She hugged them both and tried not to cry again.

Then she left. She had a two-hour walk ahead of her, but she felt so much better now than she had before. Angelo had been emotional when they spoke.

"I didn't know what had happened to you. I looked everywhere, but the policia said you had gone away. Poof! Just disappeared. I feared the worst. Thank God you're alive. I will be there, just tell me when and where."

Soon, Ana would be free. Soon, she would have her baby.

I love you, Angelo. Thank you.

Two hours later, while Nadia was preparing dinner and feeling surprisingly sad about Marisol leaving, John burst into the house.

"Wipe your feet," she said out of habit. She'd raised three sons and two daughters. John was the youngest and the only one who still lived close by.

"Where's Marisol?"

"She left."

"What? Why?"

"She spoke to the young man from her home. Angelo. He's coming to get her."

"But why isn't she here?"

"Johnny, what's wrong?"

"I talked to Adam after classes ended today."

"You promised you wouldn't go to the police, Johnny. Your word."

"I didn't tell him about her, I just asked hypothetical questions."

"Adam is not a stupid man."

Adam was her son-in-law, a good man, but he was a policeman, and he could be very law-and-order, especially when it came to immigrants. Nadia feared what would happen to Marisol. The girl was scared, terrified about something. Nadia could only guess. The police couldn't help her, not even a good man like Adam.

"An infant was left at a church in Freer. It's under police protection at the hospital. I think it's Marisol's baby."

"She wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"No, Ma, that's not what I mean. I mean that the police think that the baby's mother is in danger. And then Adam said another woman who'd just had a baby was found dead in an alley."

Nadia crossed herself.

"Where did Marisol go?"

"I don't know, she wouldn't tell me."

George came into the kitchen. "I heard her on the phone. I know where she's going. We should be able to catch up with her."

But when they arrived at the intersection fifteen minutes later, there was no sign of Marisol or anyone else.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

Kane was on edge, which put Sean on edge.

"What haven't you told me?" Sean asked as he secured the plane. They'd landed at a private airstrip outside of Guadalajara. According to Kane, no one used it regularly, and they should be good for a day or two.

"After the cartel used Siobhan to lure me into a trap, I'm wary." Kane double-checked his .45 and slipped a back-up into an ankle holster. "I traced the helicopter and ID'd the guy with Gabriella. I'm pretty sure she's in deep with the Flores Cartel. No one can know our real connection to this rescue."

"No one knows Jesse is mine," Sean said. "I didn't even know until yesterday."

Kane didn't say anything.

"You think Madison set us up?" Sean shook his head. "If that were the case, she would have gone through RCK to ensure you were brought on. No one wants my head."

Kane grunted.

"Not as much as they want your head."

"You can't come with me to Dante's."

"Don't play overprotective big brother with me, not anymore."

"It's complicated. Dante Romero has survived this long in a dangerous business because he's paranoid and cautious. Two Rogans is going to set him off. He can't know that you were approached, that you're the one who was hired. He especially can't know that you have a personal stake. He's smart. He'll figure it out and leverage the information. Old family friends isn't going to buy us shit. The story will be you're my pilot. You've flown for me before, that's not going to raise any flags. But if Dante knows you're primary, he'll want to know why. He's good at math, and he is damn good at getting information. He'll sell it, and that puts the kid at risk."

Against every instinct, Sean reluctantly agreed with Kane. "Keep me in the loop, or I won't stay with the damn plane."

Sean watched Kane slip away, then checked the perimeter. He was going to go stir-crazy.

It was six in the evening. The sun would be going down soon, and Sean felt like they'd wasted the entire day. Half of it was flying time, and while Kane seemed to think the Romeros were the best lead, Sean didn't like to be kept out of the loop. Of course he understood-he didn't want to put Jesse's life at risk because he was a Rogan. But dammit, Carson Spade did it! How could a man bring the boy he called his son into the drug trade?

Sean hadn't had much time to sit and process his emotions, and they'd been churning inside making him physically ill.

He didn't want to think about Jesse, or Madison lying to him, or what Carson Spade was really up to. Because then he started thinking about the future, and what he was going to tell Jesse, and how he could fight for joint custody-if he even had a leg to stand on. He could probably sue for a paternity test if Madison didn't admit that Jesse was his. It was one thing to tell him, but it was another to admit to the world that you were a liar. As far as the legal system went, Sean had no rights. This was out of his area of expertise-but there had to be some way to force Madison to do the right thing.

But what if Jesse wanted nothing to do with him? What if he thought Sean hadn't wanted him, or had just walked away from him and his mother? How could Sean convince a twelve-year-old boy that he would never turn his back on his son ... but Jesse didn't know him. Didn't know what he would or would not do. As far as Sean knew, Jesse didn't think about his real dad, didn't care. He loved Madison and Carson as his parents, and Sean was going to walk in and wreck his perfect life.

But what was perfect about a father who was a criminal? A father who put his son in danger?

Sean opened his laptop to continue his research into the companies Carson Spade worked for-the so-called legitimate company and the illegitimate company. He also needed to dig deeper into Madison's antiques business. A business like that was a great way to smuggle-or launder money.

He couldn't concentrate. He really wanted to talk to Lucy.

The plane had a booster so he had cell reception. He dialed her cell phone.

"Sean?" Lucy answered. "Where are you?"

"Guadalajara. We think we tracked them down-I'm babysitting the plane while Kane talks to someone who may have information. I can't get home soon enough. I miss you."

Tell her, Sean. Just tell her about Jesse.

There was a muffled sound in the background. "Sorry," Lucy said. "We're leaving the morgue."

"You're with Noah or Siobhan?"

"Both." She said something that he couldn't make out. "Okay, I just needed to step away."

"What happened? Why are you at the morgue?"

She didn't say anything for a second, then her all-business, all-cop voice said, "One of the young women in the house Siobhan identified was found dead. She'd just given birth-an emergency C-section. We don't know where, but we know it was late last night. She'd only been dead six to eight hours before her body was found."

"Shit, Lucy-are you okay?" The situation was fucked, and he wasn't there for her.

"It's a mess. The Webb County sheriff's department is working the case, they seem to be very competent. Noah and I are going to head back to San Antonio in a bit. We have one more thing to follow up on first."

"How's Siobhan?"