Read Online What Mattered Most by Linda Winfree - Free Book Online Page A

appeared at the end of the street, and dark shadows moved into position around the house. John, relegated to waiting in the back of the van, chafed while the minutes stretched.
    Sheriff Dennis Burnett adjusted the radio’s channels, making sure a tape would record all transmissions. He fitted a pair of headphones with an attached mike, then handed John a pair with no microphone. “Thought you might want to listen in.”
    While putting on the earphones, John shot him a glance. So Caitlin trusted him enough to put Lanie’s life in his hands. “Are you experienced with hostage negotiations?”
    The other man shook his head. “I’ve done it once or twice, though, and completed the FBI’s basic training in handling hostage-takers. The Bureau’s negotiator team from the Houston office is unavailable since they’re at a training seminar. Houston P.D.’s team is already out on a call; they said they’d be glad to assist when they finished that one.”
    He’d done it once or twice? Basic training? John didn’t find the thought reassuring. Burnett frowned at Caitlin when she appeared at the van’s open door. The sheriff adjusted another knob and glanced sideways at Caitlin. “I know you don’t think you’re going in on that entry team.”
    She smiled a cool, little smile. “I know you don’t think you’re going to try to tell me I can’t.”
    “What if I said please?”
    “She’s family.”
    Burnett sighed, but the sound held more resignation than exasperation. “Which is exactly why you shouldn’t go.”
    “Give it up. I’m going.” With one last smile in his direction, she disappeared around the corner of the van.
    “I don’t know why I even try to argue with her.” Burnett plugged a phone line into the recorder.
    John grabbed the conversation as a way to keep the worry at bay. He pressed a hand against his aching ribs. “How long have you known her?”
    A grin quirked at the other man’s mouth. “Since she was ten. Heck, I was engaged to her once. You just have to know how to take her.”
    How to take the quintessential arrogant Fed? Falconetti didn’t seem like the easiest person to deal with, but maybe she was different with Burnett. Lanie could be prickly as hell, and John knew she had colleagues who weren’t fond of her. He liked the sharp edges of her honesty, though—a guy always knew where he stood with her. Underneath the razor-sharp exterior lay softer layers, the ones only a privileged few got to see.
    An image rose in his mind—Lanie in the small bedroom she’d painted a deep blue for their son, her hands smoothing over a stack of tiny T-shirts and fleecy blankets, her face alight with a joy that had taken his breath. Remorse tightened his throat. She deserved someone to share that joy with, someone better than him. She deserved someone whole.
    “So what’s the story with Mitchell, anyway?” Burnett’s quiet question dragged John from his reverie. “Is he a couple of bales short of a full hay loft or just plain mean?”
    “He’s not crazy.” John wished the situation was that simple. Obsessed was the only word he could think of to describe Mitchell’s desire to control Beth’s life, to be her life. “He wants to own her, and if he can’t have her—”
    “Then he’ll fix it so no one else can.” A sickened expression twisted Burnett’s face for a moment. “Where do you fit into the whole mess?”
    Mess pretty much covered it. “She… I helped her get away from him.”
    Burnett’s hazel gaze flickered in his direction. “So the way he sees it, you took his wife and his family away from him.”
    As he remembered Falconetti’s suspicions, foreboding shivered over John’s skin. “Yeah,” he said, the words hurting his throat, “that’s the way he sees it.”
    Arms crossed over his chest, Burnett settled deeper into his seat. “That’s not good. He doesn’t have anything else to lose.”
    Anger born of fear curled low in John’s stomach. “Your positive