Catch, Release. Carol Ericson
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time to tell him he had a son. How could she prove to him that Bobby was his anyway? The timing alone wouldn’t work. They’d had a one-night stand, and as incredible as it had been for her, he’d had no idea if she’d had a boyfriend or even a husband at that time. Just as she’d had no idea if he’d had a girlfriend or wife. Might even have one now.
He squeezed her closer. “Tell me what happened. How’d Zendaris get Bobby and what does he want? Not someone to rob jewelry stores for him?”
Deb smothered a hiccup with her hand. “One of his thugs impersonated Robert and kidnapped Bobby from daycare. After Robert’s death, I stupidly left him on the approved guardian list. When the man claiming to be Robert came to the daycare with ID, they released my son to him.”
She crossed her arms across her stomach. Whenever she went back to that day, she got physically ill.
“How long ago was this?”
“Almost a week ago.”
“You didn’t do a very good job of playing it cool. That’s exactly when Prospero pegged your unusual behavior. A little more digging and it was enough for them to call me in.”
“I couldn’t tell Prospero, couldn’t tell Jack. Zendaris warned me that if I called in the police or Prospero, he’d kill Bobby.” She ended on a sob despite her efforts to stop the waterworks.
“How did he contact you?”
“He left me a note at the daycare.” She pointed to the wallet. “May I?”
Loki may have offered her a shoulder to lean on, but his lean muscles were still coiled as if on high alert. She didn’t want to give him any reason to shoot her.
He nodded and she reached for the wallet. She plucked a folded piece of paper from the billfold and smoothed it out on her thigh. “The pretend Robert left this when he took Bobby.”
Leaning over, he read it aloud. “‘We have your son. If you call the police or notify Prospero, he’s dead.’”
He cursed and jumped up from the bed. “And you knew right away it was Zendaris?”
“Of course. Who else? He’d been trying to get to us through our families for years.”
He stopped suddenly and spun around. “How did Robert die?”
“He had a heart attack.”
“Are you sure? Heart attacks can be induced.”
“Robert had already had one heart attack. His death wasn’t completely unexpected.”
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he paced in front of the window. “What did they do next? How did they contact you?”
“They sent me another note with instructions to come to Boston, dress a certain way and stand on a busy street corner. While I was waiting, someone bumped into me and slipped a phone in my pocket. Zendaris, or whoever, called me on that phone and told me the plan for the jewelry store robbery.”
“Where’s the phone now?”
“In the pocket of the coat I dropped by the door.”
He picked up the crumpled black coat and shoved his hand in the pocket.
She jumped up, waving her hands. “Don’t make any calls on it. It’s a special phone.”
“Have you looked at this thing yet?” He turned it over and brought it close to his face. “How do you know it’s not bugged with a mic or a camera or a GPS?”
She covered her mouth with her hands. That had flashed across her mind before, but she hadn’t found the opportunity to examine the phone. If it had been recording everything she said, she’d just killed Bobby.
In two steps, she was at Loki’s side. “I didn’t even look. I didn’t even think. If Prospero could see me now, they’d fire me for incompetence.”
“I think they’d excuse you under the circumstances.” He squinted at the back of the phone and rubbed his thumb across it. “I don’t see anything that would indicate a camera or a mic, but a GPS is a strong possibility. Did Zendaris tell you what he wanted you to do with the jewelry?”
“No. I don’t even understand why he wanted me to hit that store.”
“Control.”
Deb swallowed and knotted her fingers in front of her as she stepped back from Loki. “I sort of figured that.”
“He wants to see how far you’ll go to save your son.” He slammed the phone against his palm. “What does he really want from you?”
“He wants the plans to the anti-drone.”
“The anti-drone? Is that what I think it is?”
“A team of scientists and engineers worked on a weapon to neutralize our fleet of drones. They came up with a set of plans for a prototype and one of our agents stole them. Within a few days, they were stolen from him—from someone inside our organization. Nobody knows where they are now, but Zendaris must think I do or at least he thinks he can use me to find them.”
“Then we’d better start thinking of a plan that’s going to make him believe you can do it while we work on finding Bobby.”
“We?” She spun around with her arms outstretched. “You’re going to help me, Loki?”
“Only if you stop calling me that ridiculous code name.”
“I’d love to, except that night we didn’t get around to proper introductions.”
His mouth quirked. “There was nothing proper about that night at all.”
Her blood stirred. Did he still think about it the way she did? Did he lie awake some nights and relive every sensation?
Of course, she’d had a living reminder of their night together in the form of Bobby. And she didn’t regret one minute of it, then or now.
She thrust out her hand. “I’m Deb Sinclair. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He took her hand. She’d expected a firm handshake, but his long fingers almost caressed her wrist as he brushed his palm against hers.
“Beau Slater, and the pleasure is all mine.”
“Beau.” The name puffed from her lips. Bobby Slater. It worked. “Why are you helping me, Beau Slater? What’s in it for you?”
She had to admit to herself that when she’d first heard his voice, she’d immediately thought she could get him to help her by revealing the truth about Bobby’s parentage. A cheap shot, but she wasn’t above cheap shots to save Bobby. But he’d offered to help without even knowing.
Why?
“If I haul you back to Prospero, that’s not going to get anyone any closer to Zendaris. If you’re in contact with him, that’s a big step.”
She narrowed her eyes. Self-interest—she could believe that. “Has anyone ever sent you on Zendaris’s trail?”
“Yes—” he tossed the phone onto the bed “—but I’m not at liberty to reveal the identity of my employer, even now.”
“It wasn’t the U.S. government, was it?”
He drew a line across his lips. “Not telling. Of course, if you went to Prospero and told Jack Coburn everything you just told me, he’d believe you and probably want to use you as bait.”
“No!”
“What about your team members? I know how Prospero works—teams of four agents. Let them in on it. They could help you.”
“Are you afraid you’re not up to the job?”
His gaze wandered lazily down her body, from her face to the tips of her toes. “Oh, I’m up for the job. I’m just