Tough Justice: Hunted. Carla Cassidy

chair, she suddenly sensed his presence just behind her. She knew that if she turned around his arms would be there if she needed them.

      But she’d never needed anyone when it came to the emotional scars that would forever live in her soul, and she didn’t need Nick to offer her his comforting arms now.

      What she desperately wanted was for somebody to tell her that Moretti had been found and was now back in custody or that he’d been located and had been killed.

      Why hadn’t he called her yet? Deep in her soul she knew he wouldn’t miss an opportunity to let her know that he was free and had their child in his possession.

      Once again she was aware of the ticking of a clock...the minutes...the hours that had already passed. The Ghost’s words came back to haunt her. Tick tock, tick tock, Lara Grant.

      She whirled around to face Nick but before she could say anything, he grabbed her to him and held her tight against his muscled chest.

      She remained stiff and unyielding until he reached up and placed his hand on the back of her head and softly caressed her hair. She melted against him, feeling the burn of fresh tears.

      His scent was so familiar now, as were the contours of his body against hers. She might not have thought she needed comfort, but for several long moments she felt it radiating from him, and she reveled in it.

      “I swear, Lara, we’ll get Emily back,” he whispered in her ear. “We have so many people working at finding them, so many resources being used to catch him. We’ll find your baby and get her back where she belongs.”

      She nodded and then stepped out of his embrace. She narrowed her eyes as anger once again possessed her, sweeping away the vulnerability and sweet memories that she’d momentarily entertained.

      “We need to get back to the team,” she said curtly. She’d already wasted enough time traipsing back into her past. “We need to find this bastard, and when we do I hope I’m the one who puts a bullet between his eyes.”

      Could she do that? Could she look at the man she’d once thought she was in love with and kill him? She straightened her back and shoved away the self-doubts.

      Hell, yes.

       Chapter Three

      All of the team was still gathered around the conference table except Christina Ruiz, who had apparently disappeared into the tech room.

      “We’re making a list of all of the real estate that might belong to or have meaning to Moretti,” Victoria said as Lara and Nick returned to their seats at the table.

      “He won’t go someplace familiar where the FBI might find him,” Lara scoffed. “He’s too smart to go back to any of his old haunts.”

      “We still need to check them out. We’ve already gotten a report from the Chicago FBI. So far there’s been no sign of any activity in Moretti’s old headquarters or anywhere around the area,” Victoria said.

      “But most criminals, when being hunted, do find someplace they believe is not only safe, but is also familiar to them,” Ty said.

      “Moretti isn’t most criminals,” Lara countered. She placed her cell phone on the table in front of her.

      The clock on the wall read ten minutes to eight. It had been just before dawn when Victoria had first called her to give her the bad news. That meant Moretti had made his escape from the prison sometime around two or so in the morning.