Tough Justice: Trapped. Gail Barrett

to pull this off.”

      As well as the motive. But she couldn’t tell Nick that. She just wished that he’d take her word for it. The rest of the team accepted the logical story—that Moretti was a twisted bastard, bent on retaliation for her role in bringing down his syndicate. Only Nick sensed that his reason went deeper—far deeper, to her everlasting remorse.

      “Either way, we need to find that sniper,” she continued. “And we don’t have time to waste. So how do you want to tackle this?”

      Nick’s penetrating gaze didn’t waver. He sat back and crossed his arms, and she knew he didn’t want to let this go. But at the moment, they had something more pressing to worry about—trying to find that sniper before another innocent person got killed.

      He finally seemed to relent. “All right. Let’s go over what we have.”

      “It isn’t much,” Lara admitted. “None of the witnesses in the shootings saw him. We’re still waiting for the ballistics report to come back, so we don’t have any clues there. The only thing we know for sure is that he’s good.”

      “Exactly. He’s not your typical hired gun. His MO is different, for one thing. Most killers do their work up close. Even the amateurs—the ones some SOB pays to knock off an unwanted spouse—usually stalk their victim and wait until they get him alone. They don’t do it in public or from a distance like this guy does.”

      “So, he’s a pro.”

      “More than that, he’s smart, focused, disciplined. He can get into his bubble and stay detached. He pays attention to detail and makes his shots precise. And he isn’t likely to make a mistake.”

      Lara swallowed hard, her eyes settling on Nick’s right biceps where he’d been shot. The sniper’s aim had been precise, all right. He’d injured Nick just badly enough to warn him, but without doing lasting harm.

      “So, what do you suggest?”

      “A guy this good...” Nick shook his head. “We’ll never catch him in the act. He knows how to hide. He knows how to avoid detection, even after the fact. But somebody has to know him—a friend, a relative or neighbor, other killers... He doesn’t live in a vacuum. Even in a city as big as this one, word of an assassin that skilled gets around.”

      “But will anyone talk?” That was the question. Anything connected to Moretti struck terror into even the most hardened hearts. And those who did talk wound up dead.

      “Eventually, yeah. We just need to find the right person. Someone out there knows what’s going on.”

      Sure. Moretti. She bit back another sigh. “So, we need to do some legwork.”

      “Right. I’ve got some informants we can ask. But, Lara...” He waited until she met his eyes. “You heard the boss. We’ve got to be careful. This guy’s patient. He blends in to avoid detection. He studies his enemies and knows how to exploit their weaknesses.”

      “By enemies, you mean me.”

      “I mean us. We’re all his enemies now. So if there’s anything you need to tell me...”

      “I’ve already told you everything I can.”

      “I hope to hell you’re right. Because when he gets tired of toying with us...” His grim expression caused a chill to lodge deep in her gut. “He won’t hesitate to go for the kill.”