Chapter 1

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Camden, New Jersey

One week earlier…

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Sam parked her car behind the Crime Scene Unit RV, the behemoth vehicle shading her car from the hot sun. When she stepped out she glanced around to see who was already here, her light brown eyes shielded behind the dark lenses of her sunglasses. She scanned the area as she walked along the sidewalk, flashing her badge at the beat cop manning the scene before ducking under the bright yellow crime scene tape. As she neared she spotted the silver Taurus that Danny almost always drove parked along the curb in front of the house. She craned her neck to look further up the drive and spotted Jack talking to short, plump woman in a dark gray pants and a light blue floral top.

She strode purposefully across the dark green lawn to where they stood. She could hear the woman speaking in a thick Puerto Rican accent, her speech rapid fire, pausing only long enough to catch her breath.

"The car was black with dark windows," she explained, her voice shaky and nervous.

Jack glanced at Sam, waiting for her to approach. "Good, you're here." His tone was crisp, professional, and detached. Much like the way he behaved the last few months before he finally moved out of their apartment. And it still made her want to slap him. He faced the woman standing next to him and continued his interview. "Mrs. Vargas, were you able to see anyone inside the car?"

"No," Mrs. Vargas shook her head. "Like I told la policia, the car just drove up and a man dressed in black grabbed little Richie right off the lawn. It happened so fast…please you have to find him." She choked up and Sam could see that she was clutching a rosary in her hands. "He is going to be so scared. He is just a little boy, who would do such a thing?"

He closed his notepad and replied, "That's what we're trying to find out." He jerked his head for another agent to take Mrs. Vargas to a waiting squad car to give a description of the kidnapper to the sketch artist and then motioned for Sam to follow him inside, giving her the details of the case. "Richie Grimaldi, 4 years old, kidnapped right off his front lawn. The maid, Rosa Vargas, was snapping peas on the porch while he played." He nodded to a small plastic bowl that was turned over on the porch, little green peas scattered on the brick patio. "You heard what she saw – not much."

She lifted up her sunglasses, resting them on top of her head. "Where are the parents?"

"They're in Los Angeles for a biomedical convention," he replied. "They are both research scientists for Juno Pharmaceutical." He pocketed his note pad. "We are still trying to reach them."

"So the boy was taken in the middle of the day, in front of his house by a guy who didn't seem to care if he was going to be seen; sounds professional." She waved her hand around and added, "Big house in a ritzy neighborhood, are we thinking ransom kidnapping?"

Jack stepped inside and over his shoulder said, "That's the way we're playing it right now."

She spotted Elena sitting on the sofa in the living room, setting up the phone taps. Elena looked up, giving her a small smile before getting back to work. Sam had grown incredibly grateful for their friendship; she was the one who kept her together when things with Jack began to crumble. She would listen to her complaints without judgment, invite her out to movies or lunch, and even come over with a DVD when she just didn't want to be alone. She didn't know how she would have survived without her.

Jack continued down the hall into the kitchen and Sam followed. He jerked his head to the living room and said, "Elena has agreed to stay here and monitor the calls so I want you and Danny to head to the parent's lab and talk to the co-workers."

Danny was standing at the island in the kitchen, watching the monitor mounted on the wall. He turned to look at them saying, "Whoever did this did not care if we saw them or not."

Jack folded his arms across his chest. "Well, he did do it in broad daylight…"

Danny shook his head. "Well, that is pretty ballsy but that's not what I meant." He gestured for them to come over to see something on the monitor. "Come check this out."

Sam walked over and leaned her hip against the counter. "What you got?"

He eyed her before reaching over and hitting the rewind button. She watched him as they waited wondering if he was ever going to truly forgive her. When the team discovered that she and Jack were seeing each other she knew that Viv would be disappointed but she didn't expect Danny to get so angry and hurt when he found out.

XXX

"Danny, wait up!" she called after him; her heels clanking against the pavement of the parking garage.

He spun around, facing her. On the surface he looked collected but as she neared she could feel his anger radiating off him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and asked, "What's up?"

She stopped short, not expecting him to actually be willing to listen to her. She caught her breath and searched her mind trying to explain what he saw. She thought that everyone had gone home for the night so she didn't think twice about kissing Jack in his office. However, they were so caught up in the moment that they didn't hear Danny knock before coming in. He looked stunned and quickly dropped his report on Jack's desk before dashing out. So she chased him, partly to explain herself and partly to make sure he didn't tell anyone. While she and Jack were dating again, they both knew that while he may be single this time around, he was still her supervisor and it was against bureau regulations. But now, standing here in front of him she was clueless on how to make their relationship not seem seedy. "I just wanted to explain…"

"I'm a grown man, Sam," he retorted. "I don't need you to explain the birds and the bees."

"So that's it, you're just going to ignore it?" she asked, stepping closer, invading his personal space.

His posture slackened and he looked down at her. "I guess it's a good thing Martin transferred when he did…if he knew…" He worked his jaw, looking frustrated. "What are you thinking, Sam? Jack's our boss…"

"Danny, I know who Jack is, I know better than anyone what I am risking but I love him," she replied fiercely.

He sighed heavily. "Look Sam, you're a big girl and you're gong to do what you want but I care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt." He crossed his arms and leaned in close. "I mean, for God's sake, he just broke up with Anne and he got with her before his divorce was even final and her husband was buried. I love Jack, too, but I know he has a lot of baggage and I don't want you to get hurt."

She lowered her eyes and looked away. She knew he was making a lot of sense but she also knew whatever anyone said wouldn't deter her. She squared her shoulders and looked up at him. "Believe me, I know the risks but they are mine to take."

He fixed his eyes on her, realization dawning on him. He released a mirthless laugh and said, "Oh man, I am such a chump!" He ran his hand over his face. "All this time I defended you. When OPR was asking me if you and Jack had an affair, I defended you. During the deposition with Maria's attorney I told him to shove his accusations up his ass, you would never… but now, I was just the only idiot who didn't know."

She recoiled at his words, suddenly feeling guilty. "Danny, I'm sorry but I couldn't tell you. It's not like we could advertise it." She pulled her arms close to her and added, "It was an affair, no one could know."

Danny took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. "He was married, Sam. He had kids…"

"I'm not asking you to understand how it all began but things are different now," she replied softly, hoping he would understand. "We are both single and we want to try again." He looked away, not saying a word so she trudged on. "Friends support each other don't they?"

He looked away, shaking his head. "Friends, yeah right."

"What are you saying, you don't think we we're friends?" she asked; her stomach clenching. She had always considered Danny to be like a brother and it hurt her to know that he was so willing to discard their friendship.

He didn't reply right away, his gaze focused on the pillar nearby. "Friends tell each other stuff, they don't make their friends look like fools," he said at last. He turned his head, meeting her eyes. "Is this why Martin transferred to Washington?"

Her breath caught in her throat, she wondered the same thing. It seemed awfully coincidental that a few months after she started seeing Jack again that out of the blue Martin was offered a promotion heading up a Missing Persons Unit in Washington, D.C. But if he suspected he never let on, he treated her the way he always had right up until his last day. She shook her head and said, "No, I don't think so."

Danny looked at her and said, "I don't know, Sam, are you sure you know what you are doing?"

"Yes, and I just hope that since we're friends that you would support me in my decision. You know, like you wanted me to support you when you told me about Elena." He worked his jaw, knowing she was right so she pressed on. "I don't need your approval Danny but I would like to know that you are still going to be my friend."

He released a long breath and whispered, "I will always be your friend." He paused and added, "But don't expect me to like it."

XXX

"Okay, here we go," Danny announced as he still the image on the screen. "Check it out: the cameras on the property are pretty visible but this guy still grabbed the kid without trying to conceal his identity. We can even see the license plate on the car."

"Probably stolen," Sam said softly as she watched the terrifying scene play out. Richie was playing with his dump truck, tossing handfuls of grass into the bin and dumping it all out again. Suddenly a car drives up and a man darts out, snatching a screaming Richie before disappearing back into the car and speeding off.

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "So either this guy is incredibly stupid or incredibly confident that we can't trace the car back to him."

Jack exhaled and said, "Either way, this tells us he is extremely dangerous."