Tough Justice: Burned

She raised her eyebrows at him. “What are you doing here? You should be at home taking it easy.”

He patted his arm. “Because of this little scratch? Don’t think so.”

Lara shrugged out of her jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair.

The activity in the room ceased when they realized she was back. Nick tilted his chin toward her. “Did Moretti tell you anything?”

“Only that Anna was a special target.”

The room erupted again in chatter, and the team pummeled her with questions, snatches of words and phrases assaulting her.

“Hold on.” She crossed one index finger over the other, holding them in front of her face. “That’s all I know. That’s all he told me.”

“You were there a long time for that bit of information.” Nick scratched his stubble, and Lara felt the suspicion beneath his words.

“He wanted something in return.”

A muscle jumped in Nick’s jaw. “They always do.”

“Are we still granting that piece of crap favors? I’ve got a better way of getting intel out of him,” Xander added.

Crossing her arms, Lara wandered to the whiteboard that sported a diagram of Moretti’s organization. “He wanted to know how we’d gotten a line on his business, how he got on our radar.”

A soft sigh escaped Cass’s lips. “Did you tell him?”

“I did.” Lara’s gaze darted to Victoria. “We want to get Anna back. That’s all that matters right now. Besides, we’d never made a secret about how we got a bead on Moretti.”

Victoria nodded. “It’s not classified information.”

“And in exchange for that, all he told you was that Anna was a special target?” Mei tossed her long hair over one shoulder. “Generous, isn’t he?”

Ty spread his hands in front of him. “Sounds like he’s playing you, Lara. How can we trust anything this guy says?”

“It’s all we’ve got right now.” Victoria laced her fidgeting fingers in front of her. “He said Anna was a target, and Anna went missing, supposedly going with some agents. If he says she’s a special target, I believe him—on this point, anyway.”

“We need to find out more about these so-called agents,” Nick added. “Columbia is a busy campus. Someone had to have seen something. I think we should all go back and canvas the area, get a roster of students in that class and find out if Anna told one of them something before she split.”

Cass interrupted. “I’m working on that right now, and I think I’d be more useful here in front of my computer than running around Columbia.”

“Mei and I will take one car and hit up the professor.” Ty plucked his jacket from the back of his chair. “Mei still looks like a student herself, so she’ll fit right in.”

“I’m going, too.” Victoria held up her phone. “I’ve been in touch with a couple of Anna’s friends, and I’m going to meet them on campus.”

Xander ran a hand through his blond hair so that it matched Victoria’s errant strands. “C’mon, boss. I’ll drive you over.”

Nick grabbed his leather jacket and eased his wounded arm into the sleeve. “I guess that leaves us, partner.”

“One second.” Lara crossed the room and hovered over Cass’s shoulder. “Can you contact some of those students and set up a meeting for us on campus?”

Cass nodded, never lifting her busy fingers from the keyboard. “I’m on it. Watch your phone for my text message.”

“You’re the best, Cass.” Lara squeezed the other woman’s shoulder before joining Nick at the door.

On the drive over, Nick kept glancing at her profile, until she turned to face him. “What? You’re studying me like I’m a bug under a glass.”

“You look...tense.” He touched her arm.

Even through the thick material of her jacket, she could feel the heat of his touch, soothing her frazzled nerves—but not if he was going to start asking questions about Moretti.

“Aren’t we all tense? We need to find Anna.”

Nick snatched his hand back and gripped the steering wheel. “That man, Moretti, he set you on edge. He always sets you on edge.”

“Yeah, well, he’s a bad guy, Nick. You’ve seen his handiwork.” Her cell buzzed in her hand, and she held it up. “It’s from Cass.”

“Did she set up something for us on campus?” He rolled his shoulders as if trying to release his own tension.

Tapping the display, she said, “We have a meeting outside the bookstore, near Butler Library. She was able to reach three students from that class who might have some information about Anna’s departure from campus. She included a campus map.” She pointed out the car window. “You can head up Broadway to 114th.”

Nick parked the car on the street in a no-parking zone, their government plates ensuring they’d be immune from a ticket. As they walked onto campus side by side, Nick’s hand bumped hers occasionally. All she had to do was grab it and hold on for dear life.

She wanted to, more than anything, but they were two agents, on the job—partners who shared a kiss. A mind-blowing kiss...

Clearing her throat, Lara held her phone in front of her face, looking at the map. “When we get past the library, we turn left.”

They rounded the corner, and Nick pointed to a table. “Let’s hold court there. Do you want a coffee or something?”

“Since we probably have a while before the students show up, I’ll take a coffee—black.”

“I’ll be right back. Hold down the fort.”

Her eyes followed Nick as he ducked into the coffee house. Even in his dark jeans and leather jacket, he looked too mature to be a student. He could pass for a professor of... Not art history. Not philosophy. Journalism? Political science?

Someone coughed, and Lara jerked her head to the side.

Two young women with long, straight hair parted down the middle hovered at her elbow.

The taller one spoke first. “Are you the FBI agent?”

“I am.” Lara glanced at her watch. “That was fast. And your names?”

Cass had texted their names, but Lara always played things close to the vest.

The first speaker said, “I’m Farah Marshall, and this is Jenna Holt.”

Jenna stuck out her hand, glancing at Lara’s jeans. “You’re Agent Grant?”

“Yes.” Lara shook her hand and tipped her head toward Nick, approaching the table with a cup of coffee in each hand. “This is Agent Delano.”