I spent a restless night in jail. It was almost like being on deployment, completely cut off from the world. At least I slept on a cot in here, which beat being in a dirt hole with gunfire overhead.

I was waiting for someone to escort me to the interview room so I could talk to the detective, but that didn’t happen. The door swung open and the bored-looking guard muttered. “Carrion, you’re free.”

“What?”

He didn’t answer, just handed me the paper bag that held all my belongings and led me out to a waiting Ashley and a stern-looking Kyle.

“That was quick.”

“Yeah, well, you cost us a year on this investigation. I was so close to breaking this smuggling case, Grant. With Joaquín free we’ve lost our leverage.” She rubbed her eyes and her mascara smeared. On closer examination, I could tell that her eyelids were puffy. I felt guilty that my actions jeopardized her hard work.

“I’m sorry. But I did this to find my son. You understand that.”

She sighed. “I do. Anyway, luckily for you, your brass didn’t want to make a scandal of a second SEAL being charged for murder. And the courtroom was closed, so your stunt wasn’t released to the media. I gave my statement that I was with you at the party and convinced the judge not to hold you on obstruction charges. You owe me.”

“Thank you, Ashley.” I gave her a hug, and she leaned into my arms.

I released her and turned to Kyle, who was up to date on the NCIS involvement.

“May I have a moment alone with Petty Officer Carrion?”

Ashley stepped away, and Kyle handed me my ass. “Start talking, Carrion. I’ve been covering for you, but I’ve had enough. What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I’m sorry, sir. Joaquín told Mia he would only lead her to our son if he was released. Mitch is following them. This was the only way I could ensure that we would find our son. I’m ready to accept my punishment.”

Kyle gave me a quizzical look. “But Joaquín was released a few hours ago. Mitch didn’t pick him up. Daniel met him and he took off in Daniel’s truck.”

What the fuck?

I stormed over to Ashley.

“Where’s Joaquín?”

She didn’t respond as she increased her pace and walked ahead of me.

“Ashley, where is Joaquín?”

“He was released a few hours ago.”

“Mitch didn’t pick him up? You have guys trailing them, right?”

She pulled me and Kyle into a stairwell. “No. I’m sorry. There was . . . a mix-up. He was released two hours earlier than schedule.”

My ears pounded, and I clenched my fist. “Are you fucking kidding me? Where is he now?”

“I don’t know. We’re working on it. We have every—”

I grabbed her by the wrist. “You are completely incompetent. I asked you to do one thing for me, and you fucked it up. Where is Mia? Do you even know that?”

Kyle stepped in between us. “Cool it, Carrion. This isn’t her fault.”

Ashley scowled at me. “We believe she’s with him. We had a camera set up, focused on your door, and it captured a picture of them leaving. They got into a truck registered to Daniel, and he kissed her. He kissed her, Grant. It didn’t seem as if she was resis—”

My throat burned. That sick motherfucker. I couldn’t wait to put a bullet in his head.

“Don’t you fucking say it. He raped her, goddamn it. He fucking raped her, and due to your fuckup, he also kidnapped her. He’s a psychopath. She’s a fucking actress—she’s acting. If she looked like she went willingly, she was playing along to save herself. And our son.”

“Oh, this is all my fault? It was your dumbass idea to make a false confession to secure his release. Had you not done that, he would still be behind bars.”

“All you had to do was make sure you watched him when he was released. If I left this up to you, by the time he got out of jail, my son could be dead! Who knows where he is now.” I ran down the stairs. “I’ll find them. Get the fuck away from me. You’ve caused enough problems.”

Her hand reached to grab me as her heels clicked behind me. “You aren’t going anywhere. You are released to my custody, and you have a hearing at Captain’s Mass for your stunt. If you’re going after Joaquín and Mia, I’m going with you. Otherwise, I’m happy to escort you back to the Naval Amphibious Base, where you will be placed in a holding cell.”

I turned to Kyle, my eyes pleading, knowing I didn’t have a leg to stand on. “Please, sir. Please let me go after my wife. You can lock me in the brig forever once I get my family.”

Kyle shook his head. “Sorry, Carrion. The only way I’ll let you go is if you take Special Agent Pierce with you.”

Fuck, she had me by the balls. “Thank you, sir.”

“And when you’re back, you report straight to me. Is that clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Good luck, brother.” Kyle left the building, and we followed behind him.

I turned to Ashley. “We need to stop at my place and get my gun. And I’m going to find out where Mitch is so he can go with us.”

I didn’t have my truck, so I climbed into Ashley’s car and grabbed my phone out of the paper bag to call Mitch. He picked up on the first ring.

“Hey, man. What the fuck happened?”

“I went to pick up Joaquín, but he’d already been released. I bolted back to your place, but Mia was gone. Her purse was missing and her phone was shattered on the ground, but the rest of her stuff was there.”

Fuck. But then a realization hit me. Her ring. I had opted for the tracking device. All I had to do was activate it.

I used my phone to log into the site the jeweler had given me and traced her ring. When a map popped up, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Dude, she’s about two hundred miles up the coast. They just passed Carpinteria.”

“How the fuck do you know?”

“I installed a tracker on her ring.”

“Nice, bro. Hey, I’m in Carlsbad. I’ll hop in my truck and keep driving north until you catch up.”

“Good. We’re on our way.”

“We?”

I glanced over at Ashley. “Yeah, we. Autumn’s coming with me.”

Mitch didn’t even bother to ask why. Maybe he knew who she was. I didn’t care at this point. I just needed to get to Mia before Joaquín tried to touch her, again.

We made a quick pit stop at my place to get my gun. As we drove up the coast, I considered what Ashley had said—that this was my fault for pulling that stunt. Well, if she hadn’t lost sight of my son in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to do it. It didn’t matter who was to blame. I was going to fix it.