Tough Justice: Countdown Box Set

by Carla Cassidy

  “I see.”

  “I double-checked, of course. I didn’t just take her word for it.” Her hands flew out in front of her when she talked. Christina was obviously used to communicating with her fingers. “I searched the calls that were made from this building, and since I knew when she’d made hers it was easy to pinpoint. It was going to your father’s office.”

  “Did you talk to Eloise about this?”

  “Yeah, I confronted her immediately before she left. Asked her what was going on. She said working for Francis Delano was what had allowed her to be here, since, like I said, he was footing most of her bill. She said your dad had contacted her, wanted info from her, had just wanted to make sure you were safe. That this bomber was crazy and he was scared for your life.”

  Nick wasn’t sure if Eloise was truly on the up-and-up like Christina said. If she was, Nick was sure Francis had made a pretty compelling argument about his son’s safety. He could be the consummate actor when he wanted to be.

  But the truth was all Francis had been concerned about was the secrets Halpert might have revealed. Secrets attached to Trevor Dunbar and therefore Francis Delano. Dunbar’s secrets ran deep and wide and Nick’s father was right in the middle of a lot of them.

  “A third party must have gotten hold of the information when Eloise sent it,” Christina continued. “Because your dad obviously didn’t send a sniper to the park. I’m sure he doesn’t deal with that type of stuff and also you weren’t in any danger at that time so it doesn’t make any sense.”

  Nick studied Christina for a long minute. Nothing about her demeanor or nonverbal communication suggested she suspected Francis was guilty of anything more than being an overprotective father. Definitely didn’t suspect him of hiring a sniper to kill Halpert.

  Like the rest of the world, Francis Delano had Christina fooled. They thought he was an upstanding citizen. A champion of the community. Loving husband and father.

  Nick knew Francis wasn’t any of those things when you looked a little deeper. And now, it seemed his father was also a murderer. Even though Francis had not admitted guilt in any way, Nick knew Halpert was dead because of his father.

  “Can the call be traced to a specific office inside my father’s building?”

  “No.” Christina shook her head. “Only into the central routing system. After that we can’t know exactly where the call went.” She bit her lip. “Nick, I didn’t even try to search further than that. I just took her word that she was talking to your dad. It made sense. But that’s a big place. What if she was talking to someone else?”

  Nick schooled his features. She still didn’t suspect Francis.

  Unless Nick started announcing it, nobody else would ever suspect him either. And Nick had to face it: he wasn’t going to accuse his father, not without proof. His father knew him well enough not to admit a crime to him, so Nick knew he had to let it go.

  “Yeah, let’s not worry about it. The important thing is that Halpert was stopped and no more lives were lost. That’s a huge part in thanks to the work you and Eloise did.”

  Christina’s breath came out in a whoosh. “I’m so sorry, Nick. I know you wouldn’t have brought Eloise in if I hadn’t vouched for her. I feel responsible.”

  “We might not ever have stopped Halpert if it wasn’t for her, so we’ll deal with any fallout if we need to. Right now let’s assume there won’t be any fallout. Nobody needs to know about this except us.”

  And just like that, with one sentence Nick took a step in a direction he’d never been before. He was deliberately not going after his father. Despite his hunch—no, it was more than hunch, it was a certitude—that his father had hired the sniper to kill Halpert, Nick was going to look the other way.

  Would this be the secret that the next Halpert ten years from now would hold over Nick’s head like Halpert had done to Victoria?

  All Nick knew was that he had just started down a path where colors which had always been crisply black-and-white would now forever be shades of gray.

  “Oh my gosh, Nick. Thank you. I wasn’t sure if I should talk to you or Lara or—” she grimaced, rolling her eyes “—Mercer. I was going to say something to someone. I promise.”

  The tension in his gut tightened just a little more. Christina was thanking him because she thought he was protecting her.

  “No, it’s fine” he told her again, “I believe you. And now it’s handled so we don’t need to take it any further. Let’s just not bring in Eloise again in the future.”

  “Yeah.” Christina nodded. “And I’ll be sure to more thoroughly vet anyone we do bring in.”

  Nick walked to Christina and gently squeezed her shoulder. “How long has it been since you’ve gotten a full night’s sleep?” She’d been working longer hours than any of them.

  “I don’t know.” She shook her head. “When did Halpert come into the picture exactly? I haven’t gone home since then.”

  “Then it’s beyond time. Take the rest of today off. Tomorrow, too. Your debriefing can wait until you’re not so exhausted.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got this Supervisory Agent thing down.” Christina smiled as she walked toward the door.

  “Yeah, it’s growing on me.”

  “How is Lara feeling about the position?”

  Nick looked out the door of the office into the bullpen. Lara had apparently already brushed off everyone’s sympathy and concerns and sent them on their way.

  “I think she feels the position plays more to my strengths than it does hers.”

  Christina nodded. “That’s definitely true. She certainly has got her strengths, but I don’t know that a supervisory position is for her. Lara is awesome, but she’s constantly walking in the gray, you know what I mean?”

  Nick’s head swung around to meet Christina’s gaze, shocked by the words so similar to his thoughts just a few moments ago.

  Christina misread what his surprised look meant. “I don’t mean Lara’s not a good agent, I just mean leadership requires a certain transparency, you know? Someone who sees things in black-and-white. Like you do. Not someone who guards themselves all the time and protects their secrets no matter what.”

  “Right.” Nick forced himself not to pull on his collar to ease the tightness in the throat.

  Christina said her goodbyes and made her way out into the bullpen. The words she had meant so innocently stuck with Nick long after she left.

  Because no matter what, he would be starting his role in leadership with his own secrets. Because he refused to do everything in his power to follow up and see if Halpert’s death really did lead back to his father. Nick was half afraid he’d be able to prove it. Half afraid he wouldn’t. So this time, he wouldn’t even try.

  But that secret would always be there. Dogging his footsteps. Haunting him. And no matter what he did, he would never be able to escape it.

  Chapter Nine

  Walking into the CMU offices three days later, it was obvious to Lara—hell, obvious to even the most casual observer—the whole team had been irrevocably changed.

  Yesterday, Mercer had arrived and made Nick’s promotion official and public. When the three of them had met privately the day before, Lara had confirmed what she’d already told Mercer over the phone. That the supervisory agent position wasn’t for her.

  At the official meeting between the three of them, Mercer had demanded to know what had caused Lara’s change of heart.

  Except instead of asking Lara the question, he’d asked Nick.

  “So? Why is Lara withdrawing from the selection process?” Mercer had sat back at the head of the conference room table and linked his hands behind his head.

  Nick had glanced at Lara and she’d wondered—just for a second—if he would take this chance to spell out exactly why she wasn’t fit to run the
CMU team. God knew Nick had a pretty established case against Lara. Hell, she might not even have a job at all at the end of it if Nick told Mercer everything.

  But Nick had kept his cool. Had her back. The way he had since the first day they’d become partners. “I wouldn’t presume to speak for Lara, particularly not while she’s in the room.”

  Mercer’s eyebrow raised higher than Lara would’ve thought possible. “Not even if it meant the difference between you getting the promotion or not?”

  Nick refused to let Mercer pit them against each other. “Nope.” Nick popped the p as he said it.

  Mercer brought his arms down from behind his head and glared at both of them. “Something else you two need to tell me then? Perhaps some illicit fraternization going on between the two of you? Intimacy?”

  Lara responded this time, struggling to keep her temper under wraps. “We’ve been partners for over a year now, Mercer. After all the hours we’ve put in together, Nick knows me better than almost anyone on the planet. And I know him. So yeah, there’s an intimacy there. One all partners have.”

  She’d jumped in so quickly to try to save them both. She doubted Nick would’ve admitted to the sexual side of their relationship, but she didn’t want to put him in a place where he had to lie.

  And besides, the sexual side seemed to be very over anyway.

  “If you’re asking if we’re sleeping with each other, the answer is no,” Lara continued. That was the truth. Whatever physical intimacy had been shared between her and Nick, it was now over. He wasn’t going to be able to forget or forgive how she’d cut the team out of the loop when Halpert had offered the information about her mother’s murder.

  Lara narrowed her eyes at Mercer when it seemed he might pursue the matter. “But I will answer your other question. The one about my reasons for withdrawal.”

  Mercer studied her, obviously trying to decide whether her offer helped his endgame, whatever that was.

  “Fine, Agent Grant. Please proceed.”

  “Nick and I have different sets of skills. Different ways of studying situations and cases. Victoria Russo saw it and knew, correctly, that it would make us good partners.”

  Mercer’s brows snapped together at Victoria’s name, but Lara didn’t stop.

  “But Nick has an ability I don’t have. He’s a communicator. Able to see what others need and help them before they even ask for it. He’s able to look at a situation and study it thoroughly and objectively, taking multiple facets into consideration.” She leaned her elbows on the table, getting closer to Mercer as if she was telling him a secret. “Perhaps most importantly, he doesn’t try to pit people against each other and play political games.”

  Lara smiled innocently as she said it, but she fully expected to get blasted from her boss. The man was too intelligent and self-centered to not realize she was talking about him and what he was doing right now.

  To Lara’s surprise, Mercer just smirked. “Then it does seem like he’s good choice for the position.” He turned to Nick. “Would you give the same glowing compliments of Agent Grant?”

  “Lara’s right. I am better for this job than she is.”

  Lara winced. Even knowing his words were true, hell, even just having admitted the words were true herself, it still stung a little to hear him say them out loud.

  Mercer smirked again, gloat smeared all over his face. “I guess not as close of partners as you thought, Agent Gr—”

  “You didn’t let me finish, sir,” Nick cut in. “I am better for this position for the reasons Agent Grant graciously listed. But moreover, the team would lose something critical—downright invaluable—by taking her out of the field and putting her in an administrative position. Agent Grant’s communication and administration skills may not be as superior as mine, but her instincts are unparalleled.”

  Nick sat up straighter in his chair and looked at Lara. “Lara stares unflinchingly into situations that would give most people pause. She refuses to back down, even if that means putting herself at risk. I might be the right choice to lead the team, but believe me when I say this team cannot function as effectively without her.”

  They nodded at each other, both ignoring Mercer, both understanding that from here they would move forward. This was a new beginning.

  It wouldn’t be the same as it was before, wouldn’t be intimate, but it would at least be something.

  Mercer evidently decided he had heard what he’d needed or maybe that they weren’t going to turn on each other and make things interesting.

  “Fine. Congratulations, Nick, I will put in the paperwork for you to officially become the Supervisory Agent and unit chief of the CMU.” He stood and shook Nick’s hand. “I have no doubt your team will be excited to have you on board in this capacity.”

  He turned to Lara. “Agent Grant, glad you’re able to see your own strengths and weaknesses. It speaks highly of you.”

  Mercer turned and walked toward the door. Lara appreciated his words. Maybe he wasn’t the asshole she thought he was.

  As Mercer put his hand on the doorknob, he turned back to them. “But I fully expect you both and the CMU team not to screw everything up as royally as you did with this Halpert situation. What a clusterfuck.”

  He turned back and walked out, calling for everyone’s attention and announcing that Nick would be the new unit chief of CMU.

  “You definitely drew the short straw,” Lara muttered as they walked out behind Mercer to greet the team.

  “That’s for damn sure,” Nick had muttered back. “You owe me one.”

  Lara had laughed. Maybe someday she would regret not choosing to stay in the running for the position, but right now she didn’t. Right now she knew she would still be doing what she did best: investigate.

  But all that was yesterday.

  Now it was a new day. Lara brought her bag and set it over at her desk. The stuff from Nick’s desk, which used to be next to hers, was now officially gone. Moved into his new office.

  “Howdy, partner.” James slid his rolling chair back and stuck his head to the side so Lara could see him around the computer monitor.

  “Seriously, you’re going to take Xander’s desk? He’s only on a leave of absence for two months, you know.” Spending time with Maddy.

  The daughter that was his no matter what anyone else tried to say.

  Since Ty and Jennifer had worked out their partnership issues and there didn’t seem to be any more tension between them, Xander’s leave of absence and Nick’s promotion had left Lara and James to be partners. At least for the next two months.

  Lara had no hesitation about partnering with James. He wasn’t the same cocky junior agent she’d met a year ago on the docks with the Moretti case. What had happened with Halpert had changed him. Matured him. There was a depth of pain that had sharpened James in a way nothing else could. Not just the death of William, but the exposure of all his secrets, destroying everything James had thought he’d known about his brother.

  That edge she now saw in James? That darkness? Lara recognized it from her own demons. Maybe she and James would be able to fight their demons while they were fighting crimes.

  “Hell, yeah, I’m going to take Xander’s desk,” James said. “It’s closer to the coffeepot. He’ll have to challenge me to a duel to get it back. I’ll be practicing.”

  Okay, maybe not so mature.

  Lara had a ton of things that needed her attention on her desk. Not the least of which was the insurance forms from her dad’s house that had exploded. She’d been by there twice. Once to make sure she had pictures that the insurance company would insist on seeing. She could’ve gotten those from the arson report, but she’d wanted to go by herself.

  She’d gone by again last night, just after the sun had set, so she wouldn’t be so noticeable. No pictures this tim
e. She’d just stood on the sidewalk across the street and cried.

  Cried for the loss of the only house she’d known with her mother. Cried because Halpert had taken away something from her that could never be replaced. Even cried in joy that no other homes on the street—littered with family and children—had been destroyed. No one had been hurt or killed in the explosion.

  Mostly she’d cried because she knew she had to make peace with the fact that she wasn’t ever going to have the details about her mother’s murder. Halpert had made sure to dangle them in front of her then snatch them away with this death.

  She had to accept that she would never know about those other ten cases and needed to just move on with her life.

  That acceptance had lasted until this morning.

  Because screw that. She would research whatever minute details she could remember from the ten cases Halpert had shown her when he had her trapped in her chair. She would pull on every string available to her until one of them unraveled this entire thing.

  Mitchell Halpert would not dictate what Lara did or did not find out about her mother’s death.

  She would focus on doing her job—her way. It wouldn’t always be the popular way, and she might come to blows with her boss—Nick or Mercer. But she would take that in stride. Her way involved sacrificing for justice, whatever that might mean in context.

  But for now they had reports to file, not Lara’s favorite part of anything. As a matter of fact she’d rather be chasing down just about anyone than filing—

  “James, Lara, your reports are going to have to wait.” Nick stepped out of his office and called to them. “I need you in my office now. We’ve got a new case. Serial killer targeting redheads.”

  Lara got her badge and gun out of her office drawer. She grinned over at James who was doing the same.

  “Time to catch some bad guys.”