Free Kidnapped Hearts by Cait Jarrod

Paul let his hand
fall to his side.
    Celine glanced at Jake. “Can you
explain?”
    “No.”
    She plopped into the chair Jake offered
her a second ago and tucked her chin. “I wish Steve was here. If he were, this
wouldn’t have happened.”
    The jab Celine sent his way landed right
in the stomach. She held him responsible for Pamela and Marge’s injuries.
    “Celine!” Plainly, Paul didn’t share her
opinion. “That’s not fair. The FBI had the café surrounded.”
    Jake slid a finger across his jaw. Celine
did have a point. How could anyone infiltrate the FBI line? “I’ve got to go.”
    Paul blocked his path. “Where are you
headed?”
    “To the Bureau to get answers.”
    Paul followed Jake’s gaze. Celine stared
at her fingers in her lap. “Don’t worry about her. She just misses Steve,
especially now.”
    “Are those two an item?”
    “Not that they’ll admit to.”
    “Call if something changes. I’ll be back
later.”
    Paul nodded and Jake noted Pamela hadn’t
moved. Calming medicine or not, it was unsettling.
    ****
    The scene that had unfolded a short time
ago at The Memory Café grated on his nerves. Where in the hell were the agents
watching the business? Jake charged inside the building that housed the
Fredericksburg FBI office. He wanted answers now.
    Once he received word through his
earpiece that Black Scorpions were on the street, he knew the outcome wouldn’t
be good. The agents outside the café should have stopped the shooters.
    He didn’t believe Sanjar would have the
Black Scorpions performing such a menial job. A businesswoman suspected of
having bearer bonds in her possession would bring Sanjar into the limelight.
The terrorist hated attention. There had to be something else, someone who
wanted the police to think Sanjar stood behind this scheme.
    Jake scratched his head. He needed to
contact his informant and find out where he received his information. In the
past, Jake could trust what he had to say. This time, he believed the twenty
year old misled him.
    For once, it appeared that Sanjar was the
one being set up. This idea brought on another set of problems. Whoever had
sent the Black Scorpions to shoot up the café had to have a time and location,
which meant a man was working on the inside of the Bureau. Someone, probably
Larry, would have to call Internal Affairs. Jake detested IA bureaucracy. The
men in that department were good guys, but when an IA case developed, it would
put the agents on edge. They wouldn’t trust each other, which was not an ideal
situation in this line of work. Trust was everything.
    Once inside the department, Jake knocked
on Larry’s office door once, then advanced inside without a welcome.
    Surprised, Larry looked up from his desk
and pushed the paperwork aside. “Jake.”
    Jake got straight to the point. “The
Black Scorpions have set up camp in
Fredericksburg
.
Not one, but several members of the gang are in town. They’ve set their sights
on Pamela Young.”
    Larry leaned back in his chair.
    He wanted to punch someone. Larry must
have realized this, since he remained quiet, not giving Jake any reason for him
to be the recipient. Jake continued his rant. “After what happened this
evening, it can’t be a coincidence. They’re here for a reason. You should have
told me this bit of information.” Disdain laced his voice.
    Larry straightened, crossed to the front
of his desk, then leaned against it. “Jake, you know the drill. I can only say
what I know.”
    “Bullshit, Larry. Bullets peppered the
front of that café. People could have died. One still might. Marge is
fighting…” His mouth went firm as he regained his composure. “She’s fighting
for her life.”
    Larry folded his arms across his chest.
“I heard. The Director’s there now. He’ll call when he receives word. Is Ms.
Young doing okay? When I called
Mary
Washington
Hospital
an hour ago, they said she was resting.”
    Jake’s fingers slid through his hair.
“Her vitals