"Eight. And let's keep this between you and me for the moment."

  "Why the secrecy?" she asked.

  "I'll tell you tomorrow."

  He clicked off before she could ask him any more questions.

  "Everything okay?" Nick asked as he walked back to her desk with two coffees in his hand. He set one down in front of her. "I need to catch up with Damon one of these days."

  "That wasn't Damon. It was another agent, Jim Burnett. He works kidnappings. We actually met a long time ago when I was a kid, and he was investigating the disappearance of a child on my block."

  "I remember you talking about that at Quantico, how that kidnapping was why you became an agent." Nick paused, giving her a quizzical look. "But I thought we had this case, that Damon didn't want his agents working on it because of some possible perceived conflict of interest."

  "That's what Flynn told me, but Agent Burnett said he has information and wants to talk to me tomorrow away from the office. In fact, he'd like me to keep the whole thing private, which, of course, I'm not doing, since I just told you about it."

  Nick gave her a thoughtful look. "What do you think that's about?"

  "I don't know. Flynn told me that Burnett and some of the agents on that team had a run-in with Neil Benedict and Cooper Bradford over a docuseries they're doing and that's why we're running things and not them. I guess I'll just meet him and see what he has to say."

  "This guy must be a well-seasoned agent if he was working kidnappings when you were a kid."

  "It was eighteen years ago. He was thirty-four at the time, fifty-two now."

  "As a veteran agent with a ton of experience on what's going to be a high-profile case, I bet he's angry that Damon took him off the investigation. Maybe he wants to prove he would have been the better pick. Or he genuinely wants to help you solve the case."

  "That about covers all the options," she said dryly.

  Nick shrugged, giving her a light smile. "I've never been good at office politics. That was one perk of working out of the office."

  "I'm sure you ran into politics and power plays in the criminal organizations you infiltrated."

  "That's true. But those plays usually ended with someone dying, not getting a promotion."

  "Well, I'm not going to worry about Burnett. I'll find out how he feels tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm going to do more research on all the players in the Benedict circle. I need to know a lot more a lot faster."

  "Let's get to it," Nick said. "I have nothing else to do tonight."

  She didn't either, and she'd rather work than go home and think about why she was suddenly feeling attracted to Cooper when he was the last person on earth she should want.

  Chapter Nine

  Cooper didn't get much sleep and woke up Wednesday morning at six with a kink in his neck and a bad attitude. His dreams had been all over the place. He'd thought about Elisa, Hannah, his brother, Kyle, and, of course, Andi.

  He had liked it better when he knew exactly how he felt about her, when everything was black and white, no gray areas. But a lot of gray had come into play yesterday.

  He'd saved Andi's life or at least he'd prevented her from getting hurt, but that hadn't bothered him as much as the way he'd felt when they were tangled up in each other, when her body had been beneath his, when her face, her mouth, had been so close… He shook his head, hoping to drive that disturbing thought out of his mind. He needed to remember who she was—and that was someone who had betrayed him. She'd broken their friendship. She'd done something she couldn't take back. His brother had died, in part because of her actions.

  Needing to get away from his thoughts, he opted for a run instead of a shower. Six miles and an hour later, he ended up at the bakery in Santa Monica where his younger sister worked.

  Monica looked a lot like his mom with blonde hair and hazel eyes, while he resembled his dad with brown hair and green eyes. Kyle had been a mix of both their parents. Monica took one look at him, then poured him a cup of coffee and put an apple-filled pastry on a plate.

  "You look like you could use some caffeine and some sugar," she said.

  "Is that a polite way of saying I look like shit?" he asked dryly.

  "Yes, because I've matured over the years."

  He couldn't argue with that. His baby sister was twenty-seven years old now and an assistant manager at this bakery. Monica was also becoming an excellent pastry chef.

  As another clerk took over the register, Monica followed him to a table and sat down.

  "What's going on?" she asked, her gaze intent on his face.

  "Not much."

  "Liar. You rarely show up here without something on your mind."

  "That's not true. I come in all the time," he argued.

  "And there's usually something you want to talk about, so talk."

  "You're busy," he stalled, knowing she was right. He did want to talk, and while he could talk to Monica about anything, he didn't think anything included Andi.

  Monica was five years younger than him and had only been nine when Hannah was kidnapped, when Andi had turned on the family. She might not have understood everything that had gone on between them, but she'd been around for the aftermath.

  "Carey can handle the counter." Monica pulled the band out of her hair and shook out her blonde waves. It's not that crowded today. I can take a few minutes. What's bothering you?"

  "Neil Benedict's daughter was kidnapped yesterday."

  "Oh, my God. I had no idea. And you just said nothing much was going on. What happened? Isn't his daughter a baby?"

  "Yes. Elisa is six months old. She was taken from her bedroom, from her crib."

  "Oh, man. This must be bringing back some bad memories for you, Cooper."

  "It is," he admitted.

  "Well, hopefully, the outcome is better than what we saw with Hannah. I still can't believe that no one has ever found her." She paused, her gaze narrowing on his face. "And now I know why you look like you haven't slept. Hopefully, the caffeine and sugar will help."

  He gave her a weak smile as he sipped his coffee. "It can't hurt."

  "Is there something else? Because it feels like there's something else on your mind."

  "Andi is back in LA. She's an FBI agent now, and she's working on this kidnapping case."

  Monica's eyes widened in shock. "Your Andi?"

  A strange tingle ran down his spine at her words. "She's not my Andi," he snapped. "And what other Andi would I be talking about?"

  "Sorry. Did you see her?"

  "I spent half the day with her yesterday. Neil asked me to make sure the FBI isn't going down the wrong road with their investigation, which means I have to follow Andi around."

  "And she's okay with that?"

  "Apparently, the FBI will play along up to a point, just to keep everyone happy and keep the focus on finding Elisa."

  "This is crazy. What's Andi like now?"

  He didn't know how to answer that question. "I don't know. Different—kind of the same," he said with a vague shrug.

  "That doesn't tell me much."

  "She's Andi—dogged, determined, and tough. I don't doubt that she wants to find Neil's kid more than she wants to take her next breath. She can't stand a question that she can't answer, a puzzle that she can't solve. But I hate the fact that she's the one on this case, with my friend's daughter's life on the line."

  "Do you think she's going to make another big mistake, like she did with Kyle? Or are you just unhappy that you have to spend time with her?"

  He considered her questions. It would be easier to say he thought she might make a mistake, but that wasn't the truth, and he didn't like to lie, especially to himself. "It's mostly that I don't want to spend time with her, but the flip side is that I can keep an eye on her actions."

  "What do you think so far?"

  "That she's doing what she needs to do."

  "I'm not surprised she became an agent. Playing detective was her favorite game—yours, too. Sometimes, you two even let me play, although not that often. And I always had to be the lookout."

  "That was an important job."

  She rolled her eyes. "It was a job to keep me out of the way." She paused. "Did you know she was an agent before yesterday?"

  "Yes. But I thought she was working on the East Coast. Apparently, she just moved back this week."

  "For good?"

  "It sounded that way."

  "So, you spent half the day with her, and you didn't kill her? How is that possible?"

  "Not entirely sure," he admitted.

  "Did you talk about the past?"

  "A little. She said she was sorry about Kyle's death. But I don't believe she takes responsibility for the things she said that got Kyle arrested. She still doesn't believe she did anything wrong."

  Monica stared back at him. "I know that you've hated Andi for a long time, but I sometimes wonder—"

  "There's no wondering," he interrupted with annoyance. "I know what she did. She betrayed me."

  "She was fourteen years old. She said what she saw, and she was wrong. But I don't think she tried to get Kyle into trouble."

  "You don't know what she did," he said, shaking his head. "You were too young."

  "I wasn't too young to know that Kyle had issues, Cooper. He didn't always act appropriately, and it wasn’t just Andi's comments that put attention on him."

  "It doesn't matter anymore. I don't want to talk about that."

  She gave him a sharp look. "Then you must have come here to talk about Andi."

  He ran a hand through his hair. "How did you get to be so smart?"

  "It runs in the family. You're incredibly smart, too, but when it comes to Andi, you're blinded by emotion. I'm not saying she didn't stir up problems for us. She did. I just don't know if everything that happened to Kyle is all on her. You should get to know her again. Maybe you could be friends."

  "I don't want to be her friend," he said immediately.

  "Maybe you want to be more. And that's what really bothers you."

  "Well, I think we're done talking about Andi," he said, disliking the new gleam in her eyes.

  "I just hit a nerve."

  "No, you didn't. And after Elisa is found, I don't see any reason why Andi and I should ever see each other again."

  "It's weird that a kidnapping would bring you back together. You've come full circle."

  "This one will end differently. Elisa will come home, and someone will pay for what they did. That someone will be the actual kidnapper, not just the most likely suspect who looks good on paper. That's what I'm going to make sure happens."

  "I hope that is what happens. I better get back to work," she added as a group of teens came into the bakery. She pulled her hair back into a loose bun on top of her head and gave him a smile. "You'll know the right thing to do when you have to make a choice."

  "That's a lot of confidence you have in me."

  "Because I know who you are, Cooper, and I've watched you my whole life. On another note, tomorrow is going to be a rough day. You should stop by Mom's."

  "I will," he said, knowing that tomorrow was the anniversary of his brother's death. It wasn't a day they wanted to remember, but one none of them could forget.

  Andi got to Chicky's Pancake House a little before eight on Wednesday morning and grabbed a table. The restaurant was busy, and the plates going by made her stomach rumble, especially the ones with large stacks of pancakes topped with strawberries and blueberries. But she started by ordering coffee. She didn't want to be digging into a big breakfast when Agent Burnett arrived. Maybe once they were done talking, she'd order something.

  She was going to need to fuel up for what would probably be another grueling day after what had been another short night of sleep. She'd thought she'd exhausted herself by researching the Benedicts and everyone around them until well after midnight, but as soon as she'd gone home, gotten into bed, and closed her eyes, Cooper had popped back into her brain. He was so confusing, hating her one minute, saving her life the next. She didn't like feeling off-balance, out of control, and that was the way he was making her feel.

  But she couldn't worry about their relationship. She had a job to do, a child to find, and while she didn't have a concrete lead to pursue, she did have a long list of people she needed to talk to. She would start on that list as soon as she found out what Agent Burnett wanted with her.

  A moment later, Burnett walked through the door. She'd last seen him six years ago. She'd thought he'd aged then, because in her mind he'd been a tall, stern, dark-haired man with a ruthless glint in his eyes. But he'd started to gray the last time she'd seen him, and now his hair was completely silver and much thinner. He'd gained some weight around his waistline, and his step wasn't purposeful but more of a weary shuffle.

  She knew he was fifty-two years old, because she'd done some research on him when she'd first joined the Bureau, wanting to know more about the man who had both inspired her to join the FBI and had also taken what she'd told him too far and allowed the media and community to go after Kyle when they had no evidence to actually charge him with a crime. That hadn't been clear to her when she was fourteen, but it had become crystal clear after she'd become an agent.

  Their last conversation had been somewhat confrontational, as he'd gotten defensive about her questions regarding Hannah's kidnapping, which was now a very cold case.

  He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down, waiting to speak until after the server poured him a cup of coffee and gave him a menu.

  When they were alone, he said, "I was surprised to hear you joined MacKenzie's unit."

  "I just started yesterday," she replied.

  "That's what Damon said when he took away what should have been my case." His dark eyes seemed to get colder.

  "What can I do for you?" she asked, wanting him to get to the point.

  "Well, I'm confused about one thing. I'm off the Benedict case because I had a run-in with Mr. Benedict and his sidekick, your old friend Cooper Bradford. But you, the girl who helped us arrest Bradford's brother, is fine to work on the investigation. Help me understand that."

  "I don't know anything about the case politics. I did hear you had a run-in with Cooper and Neil Benedict."

  "It was a difference of opinion, but I always do my job."

  "You should take up your concerns with Damon. I'm only interested in finding the missing child. That's what I do now, what I've been doing for the past seven years."

  "Seven years is nothing to the twenty-four years I've put in. You don't come close to my level of experience."

  "I can't argue with that," she said evenly. "But I'm good at what I do."

  "So am I," he returned. "You didn't answer my question."

  "What was the question?"

  "Does Damon know you and Bradford have a past?"

  "It hasn't come up, but it's not a secret," she replied.

  "Then you won't care if I tell Damon about it."

  "Do whatever you want. But please don't tell me this is why you dragged me down here in the middle of an active investigation."

  His jaw stiffened. "That's not why I asked you to meet. I have information that might be helpful."

  "And now you want to help me?"

  "Of course. As you said, there's a child's life on the line."

  "Then let's talk about what you know," she said, still suspecting he had a hidden agenda.

  He took a moment to lift his coffee mug to his lips and take a sip. Then he said, "Claire Benedict was treated for postpartum depression."

  She had to admit he'd surprised her. "How do you know that?"

  "I have a source. Mrs. Benedict saw Dr. Stefan Mulders for three months after her baby was born. She stopped seeing him a few weeks ago."

  "Maybe she felt better."

  "Or she was still struggling and did something to get rid of her kid," he countered.

  "Who was your source?"

  "I can't say, but the information is solid."

  "I'll look into it. Was there anything else?"

  "I can be helpful to you, Andi," he said. "I have a lot of connections in circles that include the Benedicts. I've been living in LA a long time. If you keep me updated on the situation, I might be able to provide some contacts for you."

  "I appreciate that," she said.

  "I hope you do. I also hope you don't believe that I botched the case involving your neighbor."

  She wasn't about to go down that road now. "I don't want to get into all that. It happened a long time ago."

  "Yes, it did, but it still feels like yesterday to me. It must be the same for you, too."

  "It is," she admitted. "Especially now that I'm back in Los Angeles."

  "I did everything I could to bring that little girl home. And Bradford's brother was a legitimate suspect. You were right to point him out."

  "But he didn't do it, and whoever did, got away with it." She paused. "I still have hope that one day that person will pay, that Hannah will get justice."

  "The case has never been closed. So that's still possible."

  "I hope so. Thanks for the information."

  "Like I said, I can be an excellent ally if you keep me in the loop."

  She didn’t comment on his statement. If she needed his help, she'd ask for it, but she was still suspicious of his motives. And she wasn't completely sure if he was trying to help her or send her in the wrong direction because he was angry she'd gotten the case. But she would talk to Claire about what he'd told her and go from there.

  "How is it dealing with Bradford again?" he asked. "He was furious with you."

  "A lot of years have passed since then."

  "So you're friends now?"

  "That's probably a stretch." She paused, knowing she shouldn't go back into the past, but she couldn't stop herself. "The Bradford family suffered a lot because of Kyle's arrest, and I've wondered why you made it so public. Kyle was basically paraded in front of the community as the kidnapper."

  "That's not what happened. I didn't treat Kyle any differently than any other suspect. The kids in the neighborhood talked to the press, not me."