“Dad! Dad! Did you see that?”
James lifts his head and smiles at Julian. He tucks the card into his pocket, where it disappears but isn’t forgotten. Julian and Natalya trudge through the sand toward him and Marc, boards tucked under their arms. Exhausted and dripping wet, they drop their boards and sit down.
“I’m beat,” Natalya laughs, falling backward on the sand, arms stretched wide.
James sneaks up on Marc and grabs his son around the waist, tossing him over his shoulder. Marc squeals and kicks his legs. James laughs, and with a squirming Marc on his shoulders and happiness in his heart, he joins the rest of his family.
COMING JULY 2018
EVERYTHING WE GIVE
AUTHOR’S NOTE
In January 2016, CNN reported that Mexico released figures on the country’s drug war, which it had been aggressively fighting since 2006. It was estimated that at least eighty thousand people had been killed between 2006 and 2015.
Drug cartels continue to fight over territories, and many drug-related deaths go unreported. Many more people are missing or have simply disappeared. While Mexico has had a witness protection program in place, it wasn’t until 2012 that president Felipe Calderón signed into law a measure that expanded the program’s benefits. For their protection, crime victims and witnesses are now eligible to receive new identities.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is for each and every reader of Everything We Keep, for traveling with Aimee on her journey to find James—and herself along the way. Thank you for reading and sharing my passion for this series. I hope you enjoyed James’s story and can breathe a sigh of relief. He and his sons finally got their happily ever after.
The writing community is a tremendous network. There is always an accessible expert to tap somewhere. Many thanks to these authors and attorneys, for either their knowledge or pointing me to the right resource: Kasey Corbit, Matt Knight, and Catherine McKenzie. Thanks for answering my crazy questions, from trade-based laundering and property seizure to child custody, immigration, and foreign adoption laws. Any mistakes are mine and for the purpose of making the information work within the story.
For my dear friend and critique partner Orly Konig-Lopez, thank you for the calls and e-mails as I brainstormed story ideas back in this book’s infancy. For Michele Montgomery, thank you for introducing me to Matt Knight and his Sidebar Saturdays posts.
For the Ladies of the Lake and the Tiki Lounge, your enthusiasm and support never cease to amaze me. I am grateful for every text, e-mail, and Skype call of encouragement. You keep me writing.
For Kelli Martin, thank you for your editorial guidance, the “happy news” phone calls, and emoji-filled e-mails that make me laugh and appreciate how much I enjoy working with you. For Gabriella Dumpit, thank you for sending flowers when I ventured into synopsis hell. For Danielle Marshall, Dennelle Catlett, and the entire Lake Union team, thank you for all the publicity and support you put behind my projects.
Many thanks to my agent, Gordon Warnock, and Fuse Literary Agency for everything you do on my behalf, especially the screenshots you tweet with the red Wow! when my books’ rankings increase. Those are awesome! This journey has been incredible, for which I’m truly grateful.
For my parents, to whom this book is dedicated: Thank you for believing, and thanks, Mom, for reminding me every so often how I once told you I’d write a book one day. That day has come and then some. Love you both!
Last, and certainly not least, many thanks to my husband, Henry, for keeping me grounded and (somewhat) sane. Much love to you and our kids, Evan and Brenna.