Tough Justice Series Box Set, Parts 1-8

by Carla Cassidy

  “You couldn’t have known that it would be important almost two years later,” Nick replied and then frowned thoughtfully. “Jamaica Bay. The area around Breezy Point?”

  Breezy Point was located between Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay on the landward side and the Atlantic Ocean. It was a fairly isolated area known for marshlands and sand dunes. It was also a perfect beach area for a man who didn’t want any company, for a man who didn’t want to be found.

  A burst of new adrenaline shot through Nick. If her memory was right and what the man she’d known as Andrew Moore had told her was the truth, then she’d just managed to effectively narrow down the search area.

  He knew that when Hurricane Sandy had roared into shore, Breezy Point had been hit particularly hard. The land between Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean had been flooded, and most of the homes had been damaged or destroyed by the raging high waters.

  He could only hope that when they got closer, Lara might remember another tidbit of information that would pinpoint an exact location that might be where Moretti had spent memorable summer nights when he was a little kid.

  If the story was true...if Andrew hadn’t just been filling Lara’s head with lies in an effort to appear as a good guy gone tragically wrong. God, there were so many “ifs” in all of this.

  He tightened his fingers around the steering wheel as he slowed to proceed through the neighborhood that would eventually lead them to the relatively isolated Breezy Point beach.

  “If I’m remembering things right, there’s about two hundred acres of ocean-facing beach,” Nick said.

  “For a second, I thought he might lure me to my father’s house, to kill me there, but, no, this is where he’ll be,” Lara said with a certainty she hadn’t displayed throughout the long day. “There will be remaining storm damage and closed beachfront. It’s a perfect place for him to sit and think about how clever he’s been. It’s a great place for him to plot just how he intends to kill me.”

  Lightning once again flashed, followed a few seconds later by a rumble of thunder. And once again Nick hoped that any rain would hold off. The very last thing they needed was a late season, raging storm hindering the search.

  Still, it was as if nature was creating a dark and stormy night not only to mirror the emotions that had to be crashing through Lara, but also as atmospheric drama in which to chase a madman. He only hoped that when the storm finally passed, Moretti was back behind bars and Emily was once again in the safety of the Minnows’ loving arms.

  “I’ll call for backup,” Lara announced.

  They could use all of the help they could get, Nick thought as he slowed at a beach entrance that had a blinking Closed sign on a metal pole, and a large sand dune rose up in front of him.

  He gunned his engine and breathed a sigh of relief as they successfully crested the dune and hit the beach. It was illegal to drive on the beaches, but the line between what was legal and what was right had long ago been blurred into oblivion. His driving need now was to rescue not only Emily but, in the process, keep his partner sane.

  The beach was dark and still covered with large pieces of driftwood that had been brought in by the hurricane and had yet to be cleared away despite the time that had passed. He slowed and maneuvered carefully around the obstacles that rose up suddenly in the headlights of his car.

  “Nothing,” Lara said, her voice strained and higher-pitched than usual. “I don’t see anything but sand dunes and water.”

  “You knew this wasn’t going to be a quick find. We’ve only just started, and we can’t even be sure that we’re in the right area,” Nick replied.

  “If he’s hurt her, I’ll kill him. Even if he hasn’t hurt her, I’d love to put a bullet in him.” There was a deadly resolve in her voice.

  If Nick had entertained any doubts as to what she might do when faced with the man she’d once loved, the man who had fathered her child, her words reassured him that Moretti would never have any kind of a hold on her again.

  The wind had picked up, howling inside the car like a banshee gone mad. A little bit of that madness seeped into Nick’s head as the tension twisted tighter in his gut.

  For the next two hours they scoured the Breezy Point beach. A sliver of moonlight danced down from overhead as the wind finally blew the storm out to sea.

  Lara had rolled down her window some time ago, and he could hear the Atlantic Ocean crashing waves to the shore. The scent of brine and fish filled the car interior.

  Where in the hell was Moretti?

  With each minute that passed Nick was quickly losing any optimism he might have vaguely entertained about finding the man.

  Their phones had remained silent. No Moretti. No viable leads.

  “There!” Lara exclaimed suddenly with excitement. “Up ahead, there’s a car parked on the beach.”

  He narrowed his eyes as he stared out into the distance. The silvery moonlight gleamed on the hood of the vehicle, although they were still too far away for Nick to be able to discern the make or model.

  “It could just be some other agents checking out the beach,” he said.

  “But it’s parked, and it looks like it’s a Lexus. How many agents do you know who drive that kind of a vehicle?”

  The car in question had its lights off and didn’t tear away as Nick drew closer. He pulled within about fifty feet or so from the vehicle and then stopped and put his car into Park. His headlights shone on the car’s driver side, but the windows were up and darkly tinted, and there was no way to tell who might be inside.

  “Maybe it’s just a drunk sleeping it off,” he said cautiously.

  “Maybe,” Lara replied dubiously.

  At that moment the driver’s window slid down, revealing the barrel of a gun.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The world suddenly moved at a dizzying speed. Lara ripped off her seat belt; but before she could pull her weapon from her holster or do anything else, Nick used the back of his arm to force her against her seat while at the same time he pointed his gun across her body and out of her passenger window.

  Frantically she reached up and shoved the barrel of his gun to point at the roof of the car. “You can’t shoot,” she cried. “We don’t even know if it’s him, and we don’t know where Emily is.” Even if it was Moretti, they couldn’t kill him before they found out where Emily was, if she wasn’t in the car with him.

  Nick lowered his gun to point out of the window once again and fired four quick shots, the blasts momentarily deafening Lara and filling the car with the acrid scent of gunpowder. She screamed in both outrage and fear. She surged forward and hit his gun once again.

  “I shot out the tires,” he yelled. “Whoever is in that car isn’t leaving this beach until we check them out.”

  A bullet pinged off the front of their vehicle. Lara jumped. “We’ve got to get out of the car. We’re sitting ducks.”

  She gave a quick glance at the car where the gun still pointed out of the driver’s window. She couldn’t get out of the passenger door. She’d be right in the line of fire.

  She quickly maneuvered herself up and over the seat and into the back of the car where both she and Nick could leave the vehicle by the driver’s side.

  Another bullet slammed into the side of their car. Nick reached up with the butt of his gun and slammed it into the overhead light, breaking not only the plastic cover but also the bulb that would have blinked on when the car doors opened.

  “On the count of three,” Nick said. “One...”

  Lara pulled her gun and placed her hand on the door handle.

  “Two...”

  Every muscle in her body tensed. They hadn’t had time to make a plan. All she knew was that they had to get out of their car, and they had to somehow approach the other vehicle and see who was behind the wheel.

  “Three.”

  Both she and Nick exploded out of the car and hit the sand. They crouched beside the wheels with their weapons drawn. Nick motioned to her that he w
ould go around the front of the car, and she should go around the back.

  As Lara’s hearing began to return, she was aware that other than the rhythmic sluice of the water reaching the shore, the night had gone eerily silent. The wind had stopped blowing, and it was as if almost all of nature held its collective breath.

  Despite the coolness of the air, perspiration slicked her hold on her gun. Her heartbeat bucked and kicked like a wild beast trapped inside of her while she slowly worked her way through the thick sand to the back bumper of the car.

  She peeked around the corner. She could now see that the Lexus tires on the driver side were flat and the window where the gun had appeared was once again closed.

  It was impossible to tell who was in the vehicle. Frustration itched inside of her. Was it Moretti? Was he out here all alone or were there others in the car with him? Was Emily there? So achingly close now?

  As often as she had fantasized about putting a bullet through Moretti’s head, she now was afraid that he’d be killed before they knew where he might have her baby stashed.

  Hopefully in those split seconds in the car when she’d fought Nick, he’d gotten the message that if it was, indeed, Moretti, then he had to be taken alive.

  She narrowed her eyes and scanned the darkened landscape, seeking some sort of cover that would aid in her getting closer to the car.

  At the moment they were in a standoff. The Lexus wasn’t going anywhere with the deep sand and the two flat tires, but knowing the person in the car had already fired a gun at them made it suicidal to approach it out in the open.

  What was Nick doing? He was ocean side and would have more trouble finding any kind of viable cover. She wished they’d had just a moment to talk about strategy. Once again she gazed across the lunar-lit area.

  Her heart quickened as she saw a large sand dune nearby. Maybe if she was lucky enough, the high-flying clouds would drift over the moonlight for just enough time that she could run to a position behind the dune.

  She tensed, preparing herself to spring into action when the moment was right. She was just about to make a run for it when she heard a grunt and then a loud groan coming from Nick’s position.

  No... No! A loud alarm screamed in her head. Oh, God, something had happened to Nick. What? She whirled around from the corner of the car to check her back.

  “Nick?” she cried tentatively. There was no response. “Nick!” she screamed loudly and still he didn’t answer her.

  Was he dead? In the chaos of the first few seconds when they’d taken fire had somebody left the Lexus and outflanked them?

  Frantically she pointed her gun behind her and then in front of her, unsure what to expect and where danger might potentially jump out of the darkness.

  She couldn’t think about Nick right now. She had to keep herself alive, because if he was hurt...or dead, then that meant she was the only person left to do what needed to be done.

  “Special Agent Lara Grant.” A deep, unfamiliar male voice filled the night air. “I have your partner.”

  Two things shot through her head. The first was that this had to be about Moretti. An unknown entity wouldn’t have known her name. The second thought was much more complicated...a rush of relief that Nick wasn’t dead and the dreadful reality that somehow, someway the man she despised had once again gained the upper hand.

  She swallowed a stunned gasp as she peered around the corner of the car and saw in the moonlight a tall, burly man facing her position and Nick standing in front of him.

  There was no way she could fire off a shot. Nick was being used as a shield, and she could only guess that the man had a gun shoved in her partner’s back.

  “Come out, come out wherever you are,” the unfamiliar man said tauntingly.

  “Lara, stay where you are,” Nick yelled frantically. “No matter what happens, don’t show yourself.”

  A keening wail threatened to escape her as she tightened her grip on her gun and kept her back pressed against the bumper of the car.

  “Lara Grant, come out with your hands up, or I’ll shoot him,” the man warned.

  Lara hesitated only a moment. There was no way she could allow her partner to be killed in cold blood because of her. She had enough bodies on her conscience. Nick was not going to be added to that list. He’d had her back in so many ways through the course of this case. If they died, then they would die together.

  Drawing a deep breath, she stood. She shoved her gun into her holster, raised her hands and stepped out from the cover of the car.

  “Ah, Lara,” Nick said with a groan.

  It was over and they had lost.

  CHAPTER NINE

  As she stood there she watched as the Lexus’s driver door opened, and Moretti stepped out.

  “Hello, my Eve.”

  An unnatural cold calm swept over Lara as she faced the monster she’d once believed she loved.

  She would probably die tonight. She could only hope that her teammates would keep hunting for this man, that they would eventually be able to get him back behind bars and get her baby back into the loving arms of David and Faye Minnow. She might not live to see that happen, but she had to believe that it would.

  “Hello, Andrew,” she finally said. For almost a year it had been easier to think of him as the evil Moretti, but now as she gazed at him, his two faces finally coalesced together.

  He was Andrew Moore as well as Moretti, the head of a terrible crime syndicate. A man without any moral compass.

  He took several steps in her direction. “I knew eventually you’d show up here. I’d counted on you being smart enough to figure it out, and you haven’t disappointed me.”

  So, this was the ultimate setup, his grand finale, and once again she’d been foolish enough to not see it coming, to let him win.

  “You bastard,” Nick shouted. He released a stream of curses.

  “Shut up,” the man holding him exclaimed and cuffed Nick in the side of his head with the butt of his gun.

  “Stop it,” Lara cried as the man raised his gun to hit Nick once again. “Don’t hit him anymore.” She looked back at Andrew, who was now close enough that she could easily see his features.

  Sharp speculation flooded from his dark eyes and a knowing grin slowly spread across his sensuous lips. “Ah, very interesting. You naughty girl, you’re sleeping with your partner, aren’t you, Lara?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she scoffed. The last thing she wanted him to know was that Nick was, or had ever been anything more than just a partner to her.

  “And now you’re lying to me,” Andrew replied in amusement. “And I know more than anyone what a good liar you can be, Eve.”

  “I was doing my job. What’s your excuse?” she retorted. Just looking at him, having any kind of a conversation with him, twisted her gut with revulsion. How could she have ever believed herself to be in love with him? He was nothing more than a vile criminal.

  He laughed and then shot a quick glance at Nick. “Man to man, she’s a hot little number under the sheets, isn’t she? Did she do that thing with her tongue on you?”

  Nick released a deep growl. “Ignore him, Nick,” she said hurriedly, not wanting him to do anything that would force the thug behind him to pull his trigger.

  Andrew didn’t have a gun in his hands. He obviously had confidence that his armed henchman could handle things. If she could just lower her right hand and grab her gun, she thought desperately.

  If only she could just figure out a way to do something that wouldn’t immediately put Nick’s life at risk. But with the big goon holding Nick at gunpoint she couldn’t do anything rash. She wasn’t willing to sacrifice Nick.

  Maybe if she kept Andrew talking long enough, other agents would appear on the beach. Victoria had known that they were searching the Breezy Point area. Surely eventually some other law enforcement would arrive here. It was a tiny glimmer of hope that she tried to cling to.

  Andrew chuckled once again, obviously enjoying needli
ng them both. “I still remember how you mewled with pleasure when I fucked you, my sweet Lara. You were definitely a great piece of ass that I won’t forget easily.”

  His crudeness surged a wave of humiliation through her. “Where’s Emily?” she asked. “Where is my daughter?”

  “Emily? You mean my daughter, Valentina? She’s someplace where nobody will ever find her. But, I’m not finished talking about our shared past. Tell me, Lara, was it really in your job description to sleep with the enemy?”

  All of the self-recriminations, all of the guilt and doubts she’d ever entertained about herself rushed into her head. She’d been a bad agent. While she’d been undercover she’d lost her objectivity, made choices with her heart and not her head. She hadn’t been worthy of the title of FBI Special Agent.

  “No. But, ultimately I got you,” she said, hating the weakness in her own voice. “I got you,” she repeated more forcefully.

  “And now I have you,” he countered. “I will always have you, Lara. Every time I look into Valentina’s eyes, I’ll have you. I was in prison for a short period of time, but if you somehow manage to walk off this beach, then you’ll be in a prison of your own making for the rest of your life knowing that I have our child.”

  “Where is she?” she demanded. He merely laughed at her question. “You’ll never get away with this.” Please, let help arrive. She knew that there was no way he was going to let her or Nick just walk off of this beach.

  She and Nick would eventually be found by somebody, and they’d leave the beach in body bags. Andrew would disappear once again, and the odds of anyone ever finding him and her daughter would be astronomical.

  “Every law enforcement agency in the world will be hunting you,” she continued, despite her thoughts of utter death and destruction. “For the rest of your life you’ll be looking over your shoulder with each move that you make.”

  “My brother and I have been smarter than anyone else for a long time,” he replied.

  “Your brother is crazy,” she retorted.

  “Crazy like a fox,” he replied with obvious pride. “Mason managed to get into your coworker’s head, didn’t he? He’s the one who let me know that I was a father.”