Caribbean Rescue (Coastal Fury Book 16) - Matt Lincoln (reading tree .TXT) 📗

and I understood why Olivia had mentioned that there were two cases here. We were dealing not only with a lost child but a missing woman as well. One who had been kidnapped as a child and as an American citizen while she was on foreign soil. No wonder the FBI was squabbling with us over jurisdiction.

“Please.” She clasped her hands together as she stared at me. “You have to find her. My little Allie is here somewhere. I know she is.”

I took a deep breath as I looked back at her.

“I’m going to do everything I can,” I promised.

8

Ethan

“I miss when it was just drugs,” Holm muttered as we stepped into the kitchen to discuss everything we’d just heard. Mrs. Abernathy was in the living room consoling Mrs. Newark, who was currently crying. The FBI agents, as well as Holm and I, had taken the opportunity to excuse ourselves, give them a moment of privacy, as well as talk details.

“Yeah, I know how you feel, brother,” I sighed as Mrs. Newark’s anguished face flashed across my mind. I’d take fistfights with no good drug-lords over broken-hearted mothers any day.

“So, you can see now why we thought we might benefit from MBLIS’s cooperation on this one,” Director Evans remarked.

“Cooperation?” I asked. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” Agent Olivia huffed, “that we’ll be working together on this one, fellas.”

She turned her icy glare onto me once more. She looked like she was in her mid to late thirties, with sharp, regal features that gave her a commanding look. The freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks gave her a youthful appearance, though, and her warm brown eyes were alluring even when they were set into that steely gaze.

“As it stands, we have two separate victims,” Director Evans explained. “The mother, who would very obviously be your victim, and the child--”

“Who is under my supervision,” Olivia interjected. “He’s a traumatized, highly vulnerable, five-year-old boy. That makes him a special victim, which places him solidly within my jurisdiction.”

I wasn’t sure if I agreed with that entirely, and honestly, I might have been able to make a case against it. However, the determined look in her eyes was so fierce and, frankly, sexy that I honestly didn’t think I’d mind spending the next few days working with her.

“I’m not sure that’s--” Holm attempted to say before I shot my arm out blindly to elbow him in the side.

“Of course, we understand entirely.” I smiled at them. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Olivia raised a perplexed eyebrow at us before turning and walking back into the den.

“Well, for now, I think we should divide our efforts and focus on the two victims separately,” Director Evans continued. “I currently have my lab running a more conclusive test to determine whether Mrs. Newark is indeed the child’s maternal grandmother. In the meantime, I could give you the information we currently have regarding the circumstances under which the boy was found. It’s possible that there might be some sign as to the mother's whereabouts in that area.”

“Okay.” I agreed. “We can head there now and take a look.”

“I’ll have everything forwarded to you, then,” he confirmed before heading off after Olivia.

“What the heck was that?” Holm hissed as soon as he was gone.

“Sorry,” I chuckled. “I didn’t mean to hit you that hard. I wasn’t looking.”

“Why did you elbow me at all?” he grumbled. “I would have thought that you of all people-- wait. Are you serious?”

“What?” I asked as innocently as I could manage.

“Honestly, Marston?” he deadpanned. “With that ice queen? She looked like she wanted to punch you the moment you sat down next to her.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shrugged.

“Are you even capable of ignoring a pretty woman?” He sighed dramatically. “She’s an FBI agent out for our blood because she thinks we’re trying to steal her case, and you’re still getting all gooey-eyed over her?”

“Come on. We should get down to the beach.” I pointedly ignored his accusation. “Need to go search for clues and whatnot.”

I snickered as he followed behind me, grumbling something about girlfriends and life being unfair.

It felt good to step out of the house and into the warm summer sun. Things had gotten so heavy in there. It was always just a bit more painful when a case involved kids.

As soon as we got into the car, I rolled the windows down. It was nice out, and a little fresh air would be good while we made the drive down to the beach where the kid had been found. The beach itself wasn’t too far away, but the real issue would be figuring out exactly where the kid had come from. The beach was massive, after all.

“Wow, it’s packed today,” Holm remarked as I pulled the car into one of the parking lots near the beach. He was right. Even from here, I could tell that the tourists were out in full force today.

It wasn’t surprising. It was the height of summer, after all. Miami was in prime tourism season, and the beaches were ripe for families, couples, and party-goers.

Of course, this meant that any evidence that might have been left behind was long gone, either washed away by the tide or stomped into oblivion by hundreds of bare feet as they traipsed across the sand.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Holm yelled over the road of the crowd as we made our way down along the shore.

“I don’t know, to be honest,” I replied. “According to the report that Evans gave me, the two teenagers who called the police found the kid here, right in front of that ice cream place.”

“Well, there’s gotta be some sign of… something.” He shrugged. “The kid didn’t just pop out of nowhere, and I doubt he walked too far, right? Let’s keep looking.”

We continued down the length of the beach, past the area that was crowded with tourists, long past where the boardwalk ended. We stopped