Love Inspired Suspense April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Laura Scott (free e reader .TXT) 📕

a place to manufacture the things that caused the accidents. Not exactly something she could do at home.”

“She may not be there,” Liam pointed out. “She could have some hired guns she’d left with Jonah.”

“I think she has to be there. She wants control of everything. It’s part of who she is. If she’s there—and I think she is—we’ll take her down together and then find Jonah.”

He shook his head. “No. I’ll go in by myself. I’ll keep her attention while you look for Jonah.”

“Think it through,” Paige said. “Reva has to be feeling desperate. Otherwise, she’d never have taken Jonah. She won’t hesitate to kill you or anyone else who gets in her way. She’s proved that. Let me go with you and watch your back. Besides, Reva will be suspicious if we don’t go in together.”

He’d already thought about that and decided it couldn’t be helped. “We’ll have to risk it. Finding Jonah comes first. It has to.” Fear clogged his throat, making it difficult to get the words out. “You’re a great operative, Paige, but you’re not a parent. You don’t understand what it is like to know your child is in danger and to feel helpless to do anything about it.”

Liam respected Paige’s abilities, but he’d spoken only the truth. She wasn’t a parent and couldn’t imagine the terror he was going through. What right did she have to tell him what to do?

“You’re right,” she said. “We’ll do it your way.”

He lifted a brow. “You’re giving in? Just like that?”

“No. Not just like that. I’m saying that we’ll do it your way because it’s your son. It has to be your decision.”

“Thank you.”

She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t say anything, only held him.

“I’m here,” she murmured against his chest. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

As Paige closed her arms around him, warmth seeped into him, banishing some of the brutal cold that had overtaken him when he’d received the call.

How had she known that he just needed to be held? Her arms were strong, her breath sweet as it fanned his face. The knowledge that she was on his side bolstered his own flagging courage.

Nothing had ever scared him the way this had. He’d faced down terrorists determined to kill him, had fast roped from a helicopter in the middle of the night to a ship bobbing in the ocean and had parachuted out of a plane miles above the earth. He’d done all that and more, but none of it compared to the gut-wrenching fear of knowing his son was in the hands of a murderer.

If he lost Jonah... He didn’t finish the thought. Couldn’t. Not if he wanted to keep any measure of sanity.

“We’ll get Jonah back,” Paige said. The certainty in her voice calmed his nerves, and he held on to it as he would a lifeline. “We’re not alone. The Lord is on our side.”

She was right. He felt the Lord’s presence. How had he ever doubted it? The Lord had been with him when he’d returned again and again to save his friends trapped in the bus. He had also been with him in the horror of war, bringing him home safely. And the Lord was with him now.

He wanted to tell Paige of his feelings, but now wasn’t the time.

Gently, he set her away from him. “Let’s do this.”

“If you’re ready.”

“I’ll never be ready for seeing my son in danger, but I’m ready to do whatever I need to get him out of it.”

For Liam, that said it all.

As he had done before every op, he wiped his mind clean of worry. Worry never helped and often hindered. Instead, he let his thoughts wander to past Delta ops, bringing up the distinct whir of an MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, the black Nomex uniforms he and his teammates wore, the feel of an assault rifle strapped to his shoulder. He had none of those here, only the H&K USP pistol at his side and a folding knife, a Benchmade 9050 automatic with its lethal needle-thin point, concealed in his boot.

He considered calling Reineke and letting him know what was going on, but he still didn’t fully trust the detective after he’d been so dismissive.

On the plus side, though, he had a partner who had proved herself over and over. He’d worked with some of the best operators in the business, and Paige outshone them all. He’d go into battle with her any day.

Focused on what needed to be done, he regulated his breathing. The familiar routine was comforting. He knew he could depend upon Paige to get Jonah out. All he had to do was face down a murderer who had shown she had no problem killing anyone who got in her way.

The drive to the factory was made in grim silence. What was there to say? Paige gave Liam space. That was the most she could do for him. She drove, not minding the quiet. Sometimes, silence was a gift.

From the look he sent her, he felt the same. She prayed silently. Lord, we need You. Jonah needs You. Please get us through this. Give me the strength and wisdom to know what to do.

More settled now, she turned to Liam, hoping he could feel the peace that prayer had given her, but the air of subdued menace that emanated from him held her tongue.

Competing thoughts crowded her mind, and the silence grew until it filled the small space. It no longer felt like a gift but was now a barrier between them. There was a quiet, desperate taste to the air. She licked her lips in an attempt to get rid of it, but it persisted.

She supposed that she should suggest that they bring in the police, the FBI, but she didn’t. She already knew what Liam’s response would be. As an LEO, she’d have been bound to report a kidnapping, but she was no longer a law enforcement officer and no