The Wrong Hostage by Elizabeth Lowell

When federal judge Grace Silva’s teenage son Lane Franklin is taken hostage, Grace knows the only man who can help her is Joe Faroe, the very same man Grace spent a passionate weekend with 16 years ago before she helped send him to jail. Lane is being held prisoner in All Saints School, a private Catholic high school in Mexico, by drug lord Hector Rivas Osuna, the “Butcher of Tijuana,” who is demanding the return of money “stolen” from him by his former business associate and Grace’s ex-husband, Ted Franklin. The problem is that Grace has not heard from Ted in more than three weeks, and time is running out for Lane. With no other options available, Grace contacts Joe, a former kidnap specialist, hoping he can be persuaded to forget their past differences and rescue Lane before it is too late.