Tough Justice Series Box Set, Parts 1-8
Page 46
“You were right, though. Moretti is doing all this because of me.”
But Xander shook his head. “You’re not responsible for what he does, any more than I am. The entire agency helped bring him down. This is all on Moretti. He’s the only one to blame.”
“I guess.” But she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d feel that magnanimous if he knew the entire truth about what she’d done. If he knew that she’d actually had sex with that monster... She just prayed he wouldn’t find out.
“Anyhow, it’s nearly over now,” he added.
“You think so?”
“Yeah. Victoria has pulled out all the stops. She’ll get those lab results before breakfast, and it’ll all be downhill from there. Once we arrest the blond guy, he’ll give up the goods on Moretti and lead us to The Ghost.”
“I hope you’re right.” She’d give anything to have it be that simple, to have all this end in a matter of hours. But she hated to get her expectations up only to have them come crashing down, as she feared they would.
Still, as she climbed out of the car and headed into the hotel, she couldn’t quell the glimmer of hope his words had sparked.
Because they were long overdue for some happy news.
* * *
Xander was wrong. Victoria didn’t get the lab results by breakfast, but she did have them by lunch.
“Fastest results in the history of science,” Victoria bragged as the team gathered in the conference room, the tension palpable in the small room.
“What did you have to do to pull that off?” Nick asked her.
“You don’t want to know.” She shook her head, feigning disgust, but Lara could tell she could hardly contain herself. Whatever they’d discovered was big.
“So, what did you find out?” Xander demanded, sounding as impatient as Lara felt.
“I’ll start with the bad news. The fingerprint results came back, and he isn’t in the system.”
Lara exhaled. “Damn.” So he probably wasn’t a criminal, or at least not one with a record, which definitely set them back. She’d been counting on establishing a link to Moretti and getting him under arrest.
Of course, this worked out better for her sister. Meghan’s boyfriend wasn’t a criminal, which was welcome news. He was apparently just a blond guy in a baseball cap who happened to like wearing sunglasses indoors, as coincidental as that seemed.
Lara hated coincidences.
“But,” Victoria continued, shifting forward. Excitement brimmed in her eyes. “The DNA results were a little different.”
“Different how?” Lara asked, even more on edge.
“We were able to get an identification from them. But you’re not going to believe who it is.”
Lara waited without breathing, her heart embarking on a crazy sprint.
“It seems impossible. It is impossible. But they ran the test several times, and there isn’t any doubt.”
She glanced around at the team. Everyone leaned toward her, the tension rising to the breaking point.
“It’s Moretti.”
“What?” Lara stared at her in shock.
Victoria’s eyes turned grim. “You heard right. The blond is Andrew Moretti. Which means we’ve got one hell of a problem on our hands.”
* * * * *
Justice is worth every sacrifice.
A brand-new 8-part reading experience starting January 12, 2016!
FBI agent Lara Grant has finally put her life as an undercover operative behind her and started a new assignment in New York City. But her past and present collide and become ever more twisted as a spate of murders sends a message that is cruelly, chillingly personal...
Tough Justice: Exposed (Part 1 of 8) by New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy
Tough Justice: Watched (Part 2 of 8) by Tyler Anne Snell
Tough Justice: Burned (Part 3 of 8) by Carol Ericson
Tough Justice: Trapped (Part 4 of 8) by Gail Barrett
Tough Justice: Twisted (Part 5 of 8) by Gail Barrett
Tough Justice: Ambushed (Part 6 of 8) by Carol Ericson
Tough Justice: Betrayed (Part 7 of 8) by Tyler Anne Snell
Tough Justice: Hunted (Part 8 of 8) by New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy
Available January 12, 2016
www.ToughJusticeSeries.com
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Collect all 8!
Tough Justice: Exposed (Part 1 of 8) by New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy
Tough Justice: Watched (Part 2 of 8) by Tyler Anne Snell
Tough Justice: Burned (Part 3 of 8) by Carol Ericson
Tough Justice: Trapped (Part 4 of 8) by Gail Barrett
Tough Justice: Twisted (Part 5 of 8) by Gail Barrett
Tough Justice: Ambushed (Part 6 of 8) by Carol Ericson
Tough Justice: Betrayed (Part 7 of 8) by Tyler Anne Snell
Tough Justice: Hunted (Part 8 of 8) by New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy
ISBN-13: 9781460393666
Tough Justice: Twisted (Part 5 of 8)
Copyright © 2016 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Gail Barrett for her contribution to the Tough Justice series.
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A sinister surprise is lying in wait...
With her trusted team all focused on getting justice, Special Agent Lara Grant is relieved to finally see some progress, even if their investigation has now turned to delving into some gruesome events from over twenty years ago.
An exhumation is necessary to unravel all the knots of this case, but Lara is surprised by how close their quarry is... In fact, he’s just one step ahead, almost teasing them by how near he is...
Part 6 of 8 in the chilling, high-octane FBI thriller TOUGH JUSTICE from New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy and authors Tyler Anne Snell, Carol Ericson and Gail Barrett.
On Carol Ericson:
“From the first page, Ericson’s story will grab readers and cannon them through adventure, tears and terror.”
—RT Book Reviews on Eyewitness
AMBUSHED
Carol Ericson
Carol Ericson is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than forty books. She has an eerie fascination for true crime stories, a love of film noir and a weakness for reality TV, all of which fuel her imagination to create her own tales of murder, mayhem and mystery. To find out more about Carol and her current projects, please visit her website at www.carolericson.com, “where romance flirts with danger.”
Books by Carol Ericson
Harlequin Intrigue
The Pregnancy Plot
Under Fire
Secret Agent Sa
nta
Navy SEAL Spy
CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
EPISODE SIX
Ambushed
Special Agent Lara Grant joined the Crisis Management Unit to have a fresh start at solving crimes. A fresh start at life. Instead she’s being dragged back to the past by a man who can’t let go. Moretti has been playing them all from the start, but the time for games is over. With the lives around her in jeopardy, including her own, Lara’s next move had better be the right one—if she wants to stay alive...
CHAPTER ONE
How could the DNA be a match for Moretti’s?
Not possible. Lara ground her palms into her temples in an effort to stop the spinning of her head. She doubled over, almost touching her forehead to her knees.
The others in the conference room were all talking at once, but their words washed over Lara in a confusing froth. She couldn’t even put two coherent thoughts together in her own head, let alone trying to process the exclamations from everyone else.
Suddenly, her head shot up. “The brother! Mei figured it out when she saw that photo from the sewer. Andrew Moretti’s identical twin, who was supposedly dead, burned beyond all recognition. It has to be. Damn. I should have put it together earlier. When Mei asked about dyslexia and I said no, she nodded, as if the final piece fit. She also had Moretti’s background file on her desk. She knew but never got the chance to tell us.”
“So unless Moretti is a magician, in two places at once—” Victoria drew two black circles on the whiteboard “—his twin, Mason, didn’t die in that fire.”
“Who did?” Xander dragged a hand through his hair, shaking his head as if trying to clear it.
Lara didn’t blame him. A definite fog had encompassed her brain, too. She took a gulp of coffee. “If the death in the fire was an accident, why would the brothers perpetuate the hoax that Mason died in the house?”
“And if it wasn’t an accident?” Ty snapped the tab on a can of soda, the liquid promptly fizzing over and down his hand. He didn’t seem to notice. Didn’t seem to care
“That would mean—” Victoria circled the black dots on the white board “—two seventeen-year-old boys plotted murder and deceit for some future goal.”
Lara gripped her upper arms. At seventeen, boys should be focused on saving money to buy a car, making first string on the football team, asking a girl to the prom.
Not cold-blooded murder and mayhem. Her gaze shifted to the black circles on the whiteboard, disconcertingly like Moretti’s own dark eyes.
“If the blond is Mason Moretti, and it appears that he must be—” Lara jumped up from her chair and paced the room “—where’s he been all these years? Has he been hiding out? Working behind the scenes for his brother? Running a parallel syndicate in another country?”
Xander snapped his fingers. “What if we have the wrong brother in prison? What if Mason was the Moretti when the bust went down?”
“Then we wouldn’t have the wrong brother, because there wouldn’t be a wrong brother.” Cass poked two fingers beneath her glasses and rubbed her eye. “If they both played at being the boss, then they’re both guilty of unspeakable crimes.”
Parking herself next to Nick holding up the wall, Lara chewed on her bottom lip. “Identical twins don’t have identical fingerprints. That’s why Mason’s prints from the glass weren’t in the system. He’d been booked a few times as a juvenile offender, but his records are missing.”
“I’m still working on recovering that deleted file, but nothing yet,” Cass added. “That hacker was good...but I’m better. I just need more time.”
Nick leveled a finger at Xander. “Following his line of thought, the fingerprints don’t matter. Andrew Moretti’s prints weren’t in the database, either, since the US Army’s records were also hacked and deleted. The only prints we have are from the syndicate bust.”
“Wait, wait.” Lara pushed off the wall. “So, the Moretti we have locked up could be either brother, and the same for the man walking the streets dating my sister.”
“That’s right.” Nick dipped his chin to his chest. “The brothers could’ve been switching identities whenever it suited them.”
Ty smacked a folder on the table. The papers fanned out, and a few drifted to the floor.
Lara shot a worried look at Ty. Ever since Mei’s death, he’d kept his anger and frustration bubbling just beneath his usually cool exterior. She didn’t want to be around when he exploded.
Cass tossed her glasses on the table next to her laptop. “I’m confused. Do you mean the man we have locked up might be Mason instead of Andrew?”
“You said it yourself.” Nick crossed his arms and drummed his fingers against his bicep. “It doesn’t matter, does it? We have at least one Moretti, thanks to Lara and the takedown team, and we’ll get the other son of a bitch so he can join his brother.”
Lara dropped back into a chair, extending her legs in front of her. Which brother had she gotten to know? Whoever had played the arms commander role in the syndicate had fooled her—and turned out to be Moretti, or at least the Moretti they’d nailed in the end.
Ty bent over to sweep up the papers he’d knocked to the floor. “This is all interesting, but we have two other issues to deal with here.”
Lara interrupted, her heart pounding. “Number one, what’s Moretti doing with my sister?”
Xander added. “And who’s the poor sap taking up space in Mason’s grave?”
Victoria dipped her head. “We’re going to have to order an exhumation of the Moretti body.”
A muscle jumped in Lara’s jaw as she clenched it. An exhumation? She’d have to be there, whether she wanted to be or not.
Cass looked up from the computer. “Wouldn’t law enforcement have ID’d the body after the fire?”
Nick perched on the edge of the conference table. “Absolutely, but with everything we’re learning about these two, it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that they planted DNA or did something to cover those bases. Poor Andrew Moretti was completely distraught and traumatized that his twin died in the fire, probably wailing and gnashing his teeth that he couldn’t save his brother. Why wouldn’t they believe him? The brother disappears and the deception is born.”
“At seventeen?” Xander leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. “Shit, I was trying out for my prep school’s lacrosse team.”
“I was—” Nick’s gaze shifted toward the window as he dragged the pad of his thumb across his jawbone “—never mind.”
Victoria hovered over Cass’s shoulder. “I don’t want to overburden you here, Cass, but along with finding Mason’s juvenile records, can you look into putting together an order for the judge for an exhumation?”
“No problem.” Cass clicked the laptop buttons with a flourish. “Burial site would be The Evergreens Cemetery in Brooklyn? King’s County?”
“Yes, alongside their parents.” Victoria dusted her hands together as if knocking off tasks on a list. “Now we need to find out what the hell the other Moretti brother is up to with your sister, Lara.”
Lara pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut for a second. “I’m going to have to talk to Meghan, find out what’s been going on.”
“Looks like you’re preparing for a root canal instead of a conversation with your sister.” Nick nudged her with his elbow. “Do you want some company?”
Crossing her arms, she hunched her shoulders to her ears. “This is something I’d better do alone. I can’t imagine Meghan is going to welcome the news that the man she’s been dating has an ulterior motive other than his overwhelming attraction to her.”
Xander whistled. “And the fact that the ulterior motive is you is really going to piss her off.”
Nick asked, “Are you sure you don’t want some backup?”
“Backup?” Lara pushed away from the conference table. “Meghan’s my sister, not a perp. I can handle Meghan.”
As Victoria started issuing orders to the team, Nick drew Lara close. “I know how difficult it is dealing with an uncooperative sibling. I’m there if you want some help.”
She squared her shoulders. “I don’t need help with Meghan.”
A veil dropped over Nick’s dark eyes, and pinpricks of guilt needled the back of her neck. The man had been through hell and back on this investigation. He deserved a better partner—one he could trust. He’d even been willing to open up to her.
“I appreciate the offer, Nick.” She cleared her throat. “I know you know what it’s like, but I have to do this by myself. I think having anyone else there to witness her embarrassment would drive Meghan even further into the abyss.”
“She has nothing to be embarrassed about. The Moretti brothers are master manipulators, and she got played.” He lifted one brow. “No shame in that—especially for a civilian.”
Lara’s stomach rolled. No shame for a civilian but plenty of shame for a seasoned law enforcement professional. Is that what he was implying?
Meghan wasn’t the first to be bamboozled by the twins—and wouldn’t be the last. Even behind bars, Andrew continued to pull strings that had far-reaching consequences—deadly consequences.
“I’d better go deliver the bad news before she heads to work tonight.”
“I suppose it’s a stretch to believe Mason will show up at the Hot Spot tonight.” Ty grabbed his jacket and stuffed his arms in the sleeves.
“Probably, but we’ll be there anyway if Lara’s sister is working.” Victoria pointed at his jacket. “You leaving early?”
“If something urgent comes up, call me on my cell.” He picked some lint from his jacket. “I gotta go home and check on Mei’s cat.”