The Naturals, #2
Killer Instinct
by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Contents
Chapter 29
Overview
Cassie pieces together that Scarlett Hawkins, who died in the Nightshade case, was Agent Sterling’s close friend and Judd’s daughter, clarifying Judd’s hostility toward the director. Cassie intercepts Dean as he plans to investigate a prison visitor from his hometown and convinces him to wait until morning and talk to Lia.
The chapter deepens Sterling-family tensions and sets Dean on a risky, personal lead toward Broken Springs.
Summary
Cassie reflects on Agent Sterling’s loss and connects it to Judd: the person Sterling lost shared Judd’s last name. She reasons Scarlett Hawkins and Agent Sterling were FBI friends, Scarlett died in the Nightshade fallout, and afterward Sterling left the FBI and her husband. When the director formalized Briggs’s use of Dean, Dean moved into the house with Judd, explaining Judd’s resentment toward the director’s priorities.
Cassie spots Dean sneaking away at night and chases him down. She confronts Dean about pushing people away, arguing that his father conditioned him to believe closeness hurts others. Dean softens under her steady, nonjudgmental contact, and they briefly share an intimate, grounding moment.
Dean reveals Agent Sterling showed him a list of Daniel Redding’s prison visitors; one woman is from Dean’s hometown, Broken Springs. Given the town’s history with his father’s crimes, Dean finds that inexplicable and concludes such an admirer would ignore the FBI but might speak to him. He intends to go there immediately, frustrated at being treated as a tool by the director.
Cassie urges caution, pressing Dean to wait until morning and not go alone. They discuss Lia; Dean insists he’s the only one who can rein her in after her risky choices. Cassie counters that Lia trusts only Dean and he can’t jeopardize that. Dean agrees to delay his trip until morning and to talk to Lia first.
As they head back toward the house, Cassie considers involving Michael for backup and then asks Dean whether Judd had a daughter named Scarlett, solidifying her inference that Scarlett Hawkins was Judd’s child and the source of the Sterlings’ family rift.
Who Appears
- Cassie HobbesProtagonist; deduces Scarlett Hawkins was Judd’s daughter and stops Dean from secretly leaving.
- Dean ReddingPlans to visit Broken Springs after recognizing a hometown prison visitor; agrees to wait and speak to Lia.
- Agent SterlingDaughter of the director; lost Scarlett Hawkins; showed Dean the prison visitor list.
- Director SterlingAgent Sterling’s father; treats Dean as a tool; his choices fuel Judd’s resentment.
- JuddCaretaker figure in the house; likely Scarlett Hawkins’s father, explaining his anger toward the director.
- Lia ZhangReferenced; trusts only Dean. He agrees to talk to her before leaving.
- Michael TownsendReferenced as potential backup; Cassie reflects on tensions involving him and Dean.
- Scarlett HawkinsDeceased; friend of Agent Sterling and likely Judd’s daughter, lost in the Nightshade fallout.