Tough Justice: Burned. Carol Ericson

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.”

      Lara introduced Nick to the girls, whose eyes lit up at the sight of him. She didn’t blame them—hot older man, intense, dark eyes and a killer smile. He had them in the palm of his hand at hello.

      As the girls sat at the table, a young man on a bike joined them. “Are you the FBI agents looking for Anna Russo?”

      Nick asked, “Who are you?”

      “Teddy McNamara.”

      Lara made the rest of the introductions. “Do you want to pull up a chair, Teddy?”

      “I’m okay on my bike.”

      “So, the three of you were in Anna’s philosophy class and saw her leave with a woman.” Lara took a sip of coffee, watching the three students over the lid of her cup. “Can you tell us what this woman looked like?”

      Farah tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “She had dark hair, about shoulder length, very thick with bangs. I’m not sure how tall she was because I was sitting down, and I think she had heels on, probably average height.”

      Nick had been writing this down in a notebook and looked up. “About how old?”

      “Maybe in her thirties, maybe younger. She was wearing a suit, so that may have made her look older. Oh, and she was wearing sunglasses—inside—so it was hard to tell her age.”

      “Naw, she was younger than that. If she was thirty, she wasn’t much older...and she had a tattoo.”

      Lara’s heart slammed against her rib cage. “A tattoo? Of what? Where?”

      “I couldn’t make it out, maybe a bird or something like that on her ankle, on the outside.” He shrugged as the two women stared at him. “She had nice legs.”

      “Did you hear what she said to Anna?” Nick tapped his pencil against his coffee cup.

      “I was sitting the closest to Anna, but the woman sort of leaned over and whispered. I didn’t hear anything she said.” Farah rolled her eyes. “And I didn’t notice any tattoo.”

      Crossing his arms, Teddy leaned back on his bike. “That’s because you were looking at her face. I couldn’t tell you what hair color she had or if she even had hair.”

      Nick quirked his eyebrows at Lara, and her lips twitched.

      Farah huffed. “Anyway, she whispered something to Anna, Anna got her stuff, and they left the room.”

      Teddy spun one of his pedals around with his foot. “The car was a black SUV, but I didn’t see a license plate or anything. I wasn’t looking for that.”

      Nick dropped his pencil. “You saw Anna get into a car?”

      “I was by the window, looking out on Broadway. I lock up my bike down there when I have that class. Honestly?” Teddy adjusted his backpack. “I wasn’t looking out the window to follow Anna. I was just checking on my bike. Even if a bike is locked up, people around here will strip it clean if they can.”

      “So, the woman and Anna walked to a black SUV parked on Broadway? Did Anna look like she was in distress?”

      “I don’t think so, but there was a guy with them, too.” His gaze scanned Nick’s casual attire. “He was wearing a suit.”

      Lara turned to the women. “Did you two see anything? Did you see the man?”

      Jenna shook her head. “I wasn’t looking out the window.”

      “Me, either.” Farah hugged a book to her chest. “Is Anna in trouble? Is she in danger? I knew her mom was some kind of federal agent, so I didn’t think anything of it when that woman came into the classroom. She must’ve had some ID, because she showed it to Professor Hutter.”

      “We’re not sure yet what’s going on.” Lara told the soothing lie without blinking an eye. No need to upset the coeds. Moretti wouldn’t be coming after them—she glanced up at the windows of a few buildings—at least she hoped not.

      Nick nudged the front wheel of Teddy’s bike with the toe of his boot. “Black SUV, woman from class and a man escorting her, no struggle and no license plate. Is that about right?”

      “Yeah, and I didn’t get a good look at the man, either. Looked like a typical suit to me. He may have had a beard, and he was wearing sunglasses, too.”

      “Did you notice the make of the SUV?”

      “One of those big-ass gas guzzlers, tinted windows, the whole nine yards.” Teddy held up one hand. “If I thought Anna was being forced into the car, I would’ve called campus police or something. There was nothing like that going on. Tattoo lady walked her