Page 1 of Hidden Nature

PART ONEDEATH

Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,

And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!

—William Shakespeare

CHAPTER ONE

The day Sloan Cooper died began before dawn and ended shortly before midnight. As a corporal in the Natural Resources Police, she’d helped take down a trio of men who spent most of the fall harassing, robbing, and assaulting hikers on the trails in the Western Maryland mountains.

The three men, two brothers and their father, deemed the public lands their property, as sovereign citizens, and all who crossed their borders trespassers.

Now, after a three-day operation during which she’d personally disarmed the father, one John aka Red Bowson, all three were in custody. Sloan figured they’d have a nice long stay in a federal prison to consider the error of their ways.

So satisfying.

Plus, she wanted that third chevron, wanted the rank of sergeant, and this bust could push that through.

Since she’d won the toss, she manned the wheel on the drive back to the Special Ops Division while her partner checked in with his wife.

Joel Warren, a beanpole of a man with deep brown skin and close-cropped curls under his felt Stetson, had a deceptively lazy manner that masked a sharp mind and enough energy to power a small city.

They’d trained together, and both had aimed for the Criminal Investigative Bureau. He, born and raised in DC, and she, from a small town in those western mountains, had found their rhythm early on.

Their partnership of nearly five years worked despite—or maybebecause of—their opposing personalities. He: easygoing, do the job, and go home. And she: intense, driven, and buttoned-down.

As she drove, she listened with half an ear as he told his bride they were on their way home.

He downplayed the three brutal days, didn’t mention the fact they’d been fired on or the black eye Sloan had earned during the takedown.

Not just to spare Sari the darker details, Sloan knew. Because, for Joel, that was then. This was now.

She had to admire how he compartmentalized.

When he finished, he rearranged his endless legs.

“Not supposed to tell you yet.”

“Tell me what? Since you’re going to.”

“Told my mama, and Sari told her folks. Supposed to wait a couple-three more weeks, but—”

She was a trained investigator, and she knew Joel like she knew a brother, if she’d had one. “You’re kidding! Sari’s pregnant?”

His brown eyes twinkled as he pointed at her.

“See, I didn’t tell you. You concluded, and you’re right, sis. I knocked Sari’s fine ass up. Nine weeks gone.”

“Holy shit, Joel!” Delight had her pumping her fist in the air before she punched his shoulder. “You’re going to be a daddy.”

“Already feel like one. Weird, right, but I do. Mama says it’s a girl, and you know Mama ain’t never wrong.”

“Mama Dee ain’t never wrong. But you’re all good if it’s a boy?”

“I’m all good.”

“How’s Sari?”

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