Page 81 of Honor ’N’ Duty

“Then can’t you just go and arrest Fernando Colon? You know he’s the one who took my daughter—your niece, by the way, in case you forgot.”

“Laia,” he said, stroking his hands up and down her arms in what was meant to be a consoling gesture, but which only enraged her further, “we don’t actually have any evidence against Colon. Whoever made that call was careful not to use the word ‘ledger,’ and there’s no solid evidence he’s behind this.”

“Are you kidding?” He had to be. Didn’t he? “We all know he took Rosa. All we have to do is give him what he wants.”

“Once we do that”—Kade’s throat worked as he swallowed—“they’ll kill her.”

“You don’t know that.” She clenched her hands, welcoming the pain as her nails bit into her skin. “The only thing we know for certain is that they’ll kill her if I don’t give them what they want, and they’ll kill her if we involve more feds and police.”

“I know you don’t want to hear this,” Kade said as he tried clasping her shoulders, but she skirted away from his reach. “The only leverage we have over them is the ledger and the money. There’s standard protocol to be followed in all kidnapping investigations. The key is to let the police, forensics, and the FBI help us find her. In the meantime, we come up with a plan to handle this when we do find her.”

“Protocol?” Her jaw dropped. “Is that what you were following when you arrested Josh? Protocol? Look where that got him. Dead.”

It had been a low blow, but she couldn’t help it. She was angry, distraught, and more scared than she’d ever been in her life.

“Laia.” Again, he reached for her, and again, she backed away.

“No.” She shook her head. “Just give me the ledger and the bank box key and I’ll go get my daughter myself.”

“I can’t do that.”

She parked her fists on her hips and glared up at him. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

He ground his sculpted jaw so hard she could practically hear his teeth squeak. “You have to trust me to find another way. First, I need to make some calls. To the prosecutor, to Manny Dominguez, we need to put together a plan that won’t get Rosa hurt or…”

Killed was the word he didn’t say again, and they both knew it. “Can’t you just wire me up or whatever it is you do for undercover cops, then follow me to where Rosa is?”

“I’m not putting you in danger like that.”

“That’s my decision to make, not yours. Rosa comes first. If anything happens to her, my life is meaningless.” And it was. Rosa was her entire life. She’d once hoped Kade would be part of her life, too, but that hope seemed to be slipping away by the second.

“No,” he snapped. “We’ll find another way. I know you want to rush out there and go get her, but the second he sees you, he’ll take what he wants and kill you both.” This time, he did manage to grab onto her forearms. “Please, Laia. Stand down and let me do my job. You have to trust me.”

She stared into the depths of Kade’s beautiful hazel eyes. At first, she’d taken comfort in him doing everything by the book. She understood it was his full nature, but now it was getting in the way.

Her stomach lurched, only a little at first, then it intensified into violent waves. She clapped a hand to her mouth, then ran past Jamie and Sergeant Malloy, directly to the powder room.

Barely making it in time, she slammed the door shut behind her, flipped up the toilet lid, then dropped to her knees and threw up. With her stomach nearly empty, not much came out, although her body shuddered with dry heaves.

The phone slipped from her hand and hit the tile with a thud. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her baby was in the hands of a vicious drug dealer, one who’d already murdered her husband. Now he held the life of her precious daughter in his filthy, homicidal hands.

Sonofabitch! I will not let my baby die. I will not.

Slowly, she got to her feet, then washed her hands and splashed cold water on her face. For a long moment, she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Her life was never supposed to turn out this way. Marrying Josh was supposed to make life easier. For her and her unborn child. Instead, it had only made things worse.

Laia dried her hands and face with a towel, then squeezed her eyes shut. Josh had given her Rosa, then turned her life into a soap opera that was still unfolding in horrific ways she’d never imagined possible. Would his secrets and betrayal never end?

For nearly six years, her entire life had been centered around Rosa. Falling in love had never been an option. In fact, she’d nearly given up on it. Then Kade had come back into her life, and she’d stupidly begun to hope that she could actually have the love she’d always dreamed of and that he would become part of hers and Rosa’s lives. Now she knew that wasn’t possible.

Last night, when they’d made love in the ocean, Kade had said he’d do anything for her and Rosa. Anything. Apparently, that wasn’t true. He couldn’t break with his precious protocol to save his own niece. First Josh. Now Rosa. Duty, honor, and obligation came first for him, even before family.

A cry rose from the depths of her soul, and she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound. When she’d managed to get a grip on her emotions, she cracked the door open.

“Dayne is on his way with the FBI CARD team,” Jamie said.

She couldn’t see Jamie or Kade, just heard their voices. Only Sergeant Malloy was visible, standing in front of the picture window facing the ocean.