When he let Andi into his home, he felt like he could finally relax. It had only been a few days since he'd been home, but it felt like a lifetime had passed in between.

  Andi wandered around, noting the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the bright, airy, beachy space with an approving gaze. "This is really nice, Cooper. Beautifully decorated, too. Did you do it yourself?"

  "I had some help from a friend."

  "Your friend did a great job. It's comfortable and inviting. I bet you have a great view."

  "Phenomenal," he said. "Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

  "No. I think I just want to go to bed."

  He nodded. "You should sleep. You can have my bed. I'll stay in the guestroom."

  She shook her head. "That's not going to work for me."

  "Well, I'm not letting you sleep in the guestroom after everything you've been through tonight. You haven't said anything about your head, but since you were knocked out, I'm fairly sure you have a headache."

  "It's gone down to a dull ache," she admitted. "But I don't want to sleep in the guestroom, either. I want to sleep with you, Cooper. I want to hold you, and I want you to hold me, and…" She gave a weary shrug. "That's really all I want."

  "That's all I want, too." He took her hand and led her upstairs to his room.

  "This is also amazing," she said, as her gaze swept the large room, which had incredible views in the daylight. She kicked off her shoes and sat down on the edge of the bed. "The mattress is so soft and comfortable."

  "Stretch out. Make yourself comfortable."

  "I'm dirty. I smell like a fire. I should take a shower, but I don't know if I have the energy."

  They both smelled like smoke, and he'd sweated bullets when he'd dismantled the bomb, so a shower was a good idea. But he had a better one. "How about a soak in my jacuzzi tub?" he suggested. "Whirlpool jets, hot water, some nice smelling bath salts that my sister gave me for my birthday that I'll never use."

  Andi smiled. "Monica gave you bath salts? Do you even take baths?"

  "More since I got the big tub. You'll love it." He walked into the adjacent bathroom and turned on the water and the jets, then threw in the bath salts.

  Andi came into the bathroom a moment later. "The bathroom is just as spectacular as everything else. I feel like I'm in a five-star hotel."

  "Well, I plan on giving you five-star service." He put his hands on her waist as he took a kiss.

  "I like the way it's going so far," she said with a smile. "But I'll need a little help in the tub. Will you join me?"

  He pulled off his shirt in response, and she laughed.

  "I guess that's a yes," she said.

  He stripped off the rest of his clothes, while she got undressed, and then they got into the tub together.

  "Oh, my God, this is heaven," she said, then dunked under the water completely, coming back up with another smile. "I already feel better."

  "Me, too," he said, as he sank under the bubbles, rinsing off the last of the smoke.

  When he came up for air, Andi's smile was even bigger now. "What are you grinning at?" he asked.

  "I can't believe we're taking a bath together. Me and Cooper in a tub. Who would have thought this would ever happen?"

  "I had some thoughts about it when we became teenagers. A tub wasn't on my mind but seeing you naked was definitely on the menu. Of course, you weren't thinking about that at all."

  "I was immature. I was a tomboy. And the idea of falling in love while my parents were fighting a war in my house wasn't at the top of my list."

  "I know. You had a lot going on. You weren't ready. That's why I never said or did anything."

  "We've come a long way, Cooper."

  "Yes, we have."

  Her smile suddenly dimmed. "Do you think that Kyle will always be between us? Can you ever look at me and not think about him and what happened?"

  "A few days ago, I would have said no," he admitted, hating the disappointment that ran through her pretty brown eyes. "But that's because I'd built you up in my head to be this terrible person who betrayed me. When you came back to town, I couldn't see that image anymore, because the real girl was standing right in front of me. And I liked her." He paused, wanting her to understand the complexity of his feelings. "I'll never not miss Kyle, not wish he was here, but I know so much more now about everything that happened. I don't blame you, Andi. You're not responsible for Kyle's death. It was unfair of me to put that on you. I know he had other problems, deep-rooted issues that would have surfaced if that night had never happened. I was just so locked in on the injustice of it all, so filled with guilt that I couldn't let it go. Blaming you took some of the pressure off of blaming myself."

  "You weren't to blame, Cooper. You wanted to help Kyle, to fix his problems. I understand that because you and I are both fixers. Your mom told me that the other day, and she was right. We can't stand it when something breaks. It drives us even more crazy when we can't put it back together. But some things that are broken just can't be repaired." She paused. "But you know all that, because you're very smart and you've made a living studying people, their motivations, and their actions."

  "I had a blind spot when it came to Kyle. But some good has come out of my tunnel vision. I still believe there are biases in the law enforcement system and repairs that should be made."

  "I can't disagree. Look at Agent Burnett. He was supposed to be someone we trusted. But he was dirty. He was selling out innocent kids for money."

  "I wonder why they killed him?" he mused.

  "I know the answer to that. Kim said that Burnett thought the heat was on him because he was taken off the case. Then he wanted to ruin everything by saving Elisa and taking the credit, so he could come off the hero and allay any suspicions. Kim wasn't going to give up the payday that Elisa's illegal adoption would bring in. She was worried that Burnett was going to sell her out, so she started tracking his communications. When she saw him reaching out to me, she decided he was no longer of use to her. So, she took him out. She said it coldly, not a trace of emotion in her voice, even though she implied that they'd had a personal relationship going back twenty years. I couldn't believe I was looking at the woman who made the best brownies at the elementary school bake sale. It's like she was a completely different person. She was completely without remorse. It was all about business and money."

  "I wondered why she didn't have someone shoot you in the garage. Why kidnap you? Not that I'm not happy that's the path she chose," he said.

  "Kim said she was tired of me getting away and not being able to trust that I was going to be gone for good, so she wanted to see me face-to-face. I think she wanted me to know how brilliant she'd been in helping to create this international operation."

  "Well, I never would have guessed the Lassiters were involved in something like this," he admitted. "Especially not Kim. She really did lead a double life. She lived next to the Montgomerys and witnessed their pain every day, and she never said a word. That's shocking."

  "I said that to her. But she just said Hannah had a good life and was well taken care of. She didn't take her neighbors' pain into consideration at all."

  "I have to say, though, that Will should have been as big of a suspect as my brother. They basically had the same messed up alibi, but everyone thought Will was normal and Kyle was the weird one."

  "Will is going to pay for what he did. They all are. And we'll figure everything out in the days to come. Nothing else has to happen tonight. We don't need to talk about it anymore." She paused. "Unless you want to talk about it. I shouldn't be telling you what to do."

  He grinned. "You love telling me what to do. You always have."

  "You're right. I love telling everyone what to do," she said with a laugh. "I'm still bossy."

  "But you're a lot of other things, too. You're a fierce fighter for right, a protector of the weak and the innocent, a true warrior, and a great detective."

  Her eyes watered. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

  "Well, get used to it, because there's more where that came from."

  "You're amazing, too, Cooper," she said. "You're insightful, calm, smart, and talk about brave—you risked your life for me tonight. I don't know why you did that. I don't know why you didn't leave me there. At the beginning of this week, I was your mortal enemy."

  "And now you're the woman I've fallen in love with." He looked deep into her eyes. "I love you, Andi. I should have said that before I pulled the wire. Because it would have sucked if you'd never heard me say the words. I just didn't want you to think I was telling you I loved you because you'd said it first. Stupid."

  She slid across the tub and framed his face with her hands. "Don't call the man I love stupid. I won't stand for it."

  He smiled. "Then don't call the woman I love bossy."

  "I love how you know me, Cooper. No one has ever known me the way you do."

  "No one has ever known me the way you do, Andi. I think I fell for you when I was eight years old—the first day we met. You were digging for worms, and I had never met a girl who wasn't afraid of a worm."

  "And I had never met anyone who wanted to make all my crazy ideas come to life. When things were hard, I escaped to you. You made me feel safe and heard and cared for. You were there for me when I needed you."

  "Until I wasn't."

  "Until I wasn't," she countered. "Which brings me back to the same question I asked you a few minutes ago. Can we move forward without feeling the pain we caused each other? I'm afraid we're living in euphoria right now. We're grateful to be alive. Will the hurt come back when the euphoria is gone?"

  "Not for me," he said with certainty. "I don't want to look back anymore, not unless it's to remember something good. I don't need the past, I need the future, and I need it to be with you. You're the reason no one else has ever been good enough. It was always you, Andi."

  She leaned in and gave him a long, loving kiss. "That was the perfect answer. I need you, too, Cooper." She took a breath, giving him a wicked smile. "So, can I be bossy again?"

  "Am I going to like it?"

  "Oh, you're definitely going to like it." She slid onto his lap and gazed into his eyes. "I want us to be as close as we can possibly get."

  "I can make that happen." He wrapped his arms around her, knowing that he was never going to let her go.

  Andi woke up Friday morning in Cooper's arms, feeling refreshed and happy, ready for the future. But before she could fully move on, she needed to answer some of the lingering questions in her mind.

  After coffee and a quick breakfast on the deck, which had an amazing view of the ocean, she and Cooper headed down to the LA field office.

  Flynn and Damon met them in a conference room to give them an update. Although Damon didn't look too thrilled with Cooper's presence, he said he could stay, but some details would be discussed outside of his presence.

  "Let's start with the basics," she said. "Who did you bring in last night? And do we know exactly who was running the operation? Was it Kim Lassiter?"

  "There were three primaries," Flynn answered. "Kim Lassiter's travel agency was used to transport the pregnant women into the country. The realty company started by her husband, Steve, then taken over by her son, Will, used the staging warehouse to house the pregnant girls. They had plenty of beds and other items of furniture, and the location was private. Two nurse midwives took care of the women and the babies. Once the women gave birth, the babies were sold through Sergio Molina's adoption agency. The women were paid a flat fee. Some returned to their native countries. Others stayed and worked at the store."

  "Kim said that her son TJ was not involved," Andi put in. "Is that true?"

  "According to everyone we spoke to, TJ was not in on it. Apparently, they didn't think he could keep a secret," Flynn replied. "But we brought him and his girlfriend in this morning, and we'll be interviewing them extensively in the next few days."

  She nodded. "Who else have you been talking to?"

  "As I mentioned, there were three primaries. The second was Sergio Molina, who is Kim Lassiter's brother-in-law, by the way. He's married to Kim's sister, Joan."

  "I didn't even know she had a sister," Cooper muttered.

  "Neither did I," she said. "What does Joan do?"

  "She works at an investment company that is a front for the money they were laundering," Damon interjected. "Joan and Kim both have roots in Eastern Europe. Their mother was from Poland, and their aunt was a midwife in Belarus when this started. She became the funnel from Europe to the US. We have our allies in Europe working to bring down that part of the operation."

  "What about the baby boutique?" Cooper asked. "What's the tie-in there?"

  "The store was owned by an LLC, but digging down we were able to tie it to Sergio Molina," Flynn said. "The manager, Veronica Kuchova, came over from Belarus twenty years ago as one of the pregnant girls. Unfortunately, she lost her baby and feeling sorry for her, Kim and Joan let her work at the store. Veronica is the one who took Hannah in when she was too sick to be adopted. When it was time to sell Hannah, Veronica put her foot down, and said she was keeping her. I guess they decided to go along with her, mostly because there wasn't as much demand for two-year-old children. The family that originally wanted a toddler had gotten another child."

  "Another stolen child?" she asked.

  "We're looking into that," Flynn said grimly. "Getting back to Veronica, she became an important part of the organization and managed the store, which was also used to move money and to provide supplies needed for the pregnant women and their babies."

  "What about Daniel Guerrero and Kristine Rozic?" Cooper asked. "Was Daniel on the plane? Has Kristine woken up yet?"

  "Daniel was on the plane and is talking," Flynn answered. "He took Elisa out of the house and hid her in the home that was for sale behind the Benedict's house as you suggested. He was part of a crew of hired muscle, although he was lower level. Daniel was driving the car that almost ran you down. His friend, Tyler, panicked when he heard we were at the gym looking for him. He was beaten to scare him into not talking."

  "By Daniel?" she asked.

  Flynn shook his head. "The organization had several hit men on the payroll, the ones who attacked the safehouse and planted the explosives at your townhouse and in the warehouse. They were also on the plane and have lengthy criminal records."

  "How long has this all been going on?" Cooper asked.

  "More than twenty years," Damon replied. "And Agent Burnett was a part of it. I had no idea that he was dirty when I took the case away from him. I just didn't want a conflict with him and Mr. Benedict. But he was a big part of their scheme. Burnett helped them secure fake identities. He protected them when they had to steal a child to fulfill a contract, as in the case of Hannah Montgomery and Elisa Benedict." Damon turned to Cooper. "That's why Agent Burnett focused on your brother, Mr. Bradford. He needed a scapegoat to take the heat until the news died down."

  Andi looked at Cooper. He already knew that, but she suspected it still felt good for him to hear someone from the FBI admit what he'd known all along.

  "I'm sorry about that," Damon continued.

  Cooper nodded. "Me, too."

  "At any rate, Agent Burnett was planning to take over the investigation into Elisa's disappearance until I took him off it. That's when he got nervous and desperate. He must have figured if he could get rid of you, Andi, that I'd have no choice but to put someone from this office on the case. Then he'd have more access."

  "Kim Lassiter told me he wanted to rescue Elisa and take the credit to allay what he thought were your suspicions," she told Damon. "That's why she killed him."

  "Ms. Lassiter hasn't done any talking, but that makes sense," Damon said. "The group's biggest mistake was letting Hannah jump out of that van. If that hadn't happened, they'd be on the other side of the world by now and dispersed throughout Europe."

  "How is Hannah doing?" she asked.

  "We got her a few hours of sleep in a safehouse last night," Damon said. "We also checked her DNA. She's Hannah Montgomery."

  Andi blew out a breath of relief. "I knew she was, but I'm glad the test came out that way. I would have felt horrible if I had convinced her she was kidnapped and adopted by a criminal family if it wasn't true."

  "She wants to see her family today, but she'd like you to go with her."

  "I would love to go with her. I don't know what her legal jeopardy is…"

  "It will be minimal," Damon answered. "She's been very cooperative in providing us information and evidence. Because she was a victim of this operation, too, I think she'll be able to walk away and get her life back."

  "What about her parents?" she asked. "Have you told them you found Hannah?"

  "Not yet. But I'm happy to make the call now, if you're ready to take her home."

  "I'm ready," she said, knowing she'd learn even more in the upcoming days. But getting Hannah back to her parents seemed like the only thing she needed to do right now.

  As Cooper drove her and Hannah back to their old neighborhood, Andi felt nervous, and she could feel the same tension coming from Cooper and Hannah. All three of them were going back in time, and she wasn't sure any of them were prepared.

  She didn't know how the call had gone from Damon to the Montgomerys, because they'd left as soon as he'd told them that her parents were home and waiting to see her.

  "Do you think they'll recognize me?" Hannah asked, breaking the taut silence. "I was only two years old when I was taken away. I'm sure I don't look like their baby."

  She turned in her seat, to meet the uncertain look in Hannah's eyes. "They'll know you, and you'll know them."

  "It's been a long time, almost my entire life," Hannah said worriedly. "I hope it's not too late to go back."

  "I'm sure they've spent every minute of the last eighteen years dreaming of this moment, Hannah."

  Hannah nodded, but there was still stress in her eyes. "They're good people, right?"