Page 22 of Ultimate Justice

His cell phone buzzed. FBI Denver. “McGarry,” he answered.

“It’s Brett and Deck. You’re on speaker.”

“What’ve you got?” He tucked the phone between his shoulder and chin as he slipped the photo back into his wallet.

“We took a quick look at what forensics dumped from Manello’s computer. There are more photos, twelve other kids. Some are closeup shots, like they were posing for school photos. Those file names have the kids’ first names and ages and are dated about a year ago.”

“That’s good,” he answered. “The teams can start searching for reports on missing kids by their first names.”

“There’s more,” Deck said. “The other shots are of kids playing in their yards or at a park, like they don’t even know they’re being photographed. Those files are recent. They’re dated last week, and they don’t have names.”

That wasn’t good. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Like Noah had said, Manello was scouting for more kids to grab. “How many recent shots are there?”

“Six.”

“I’ll be back in the office in about an hour.” He wanted to pore through every file forensics had downloaded, then brief the teams on what they learned.

“Hold on,” Brett said. “I emailed you a document you should look at. Now.”

“Stand by.” He cued up his email and opened the file. It was a blank chart with column headings. Name, sex, age, delivery date, personal. This was an order form for children. Jesus.

He cranked the engine. “Don’t wait for me. Give those photos to the teams and get them searching for missing child reports. Have them coordinate with the missing children’s center.”

Marlie reached for the door handle, but he stopped her. “I’ll drive you to the hospital. It’ll be faster that way, and I need to ask Noah more questions.”

“Can’t that wait until after I get him home and settled in?”

“No. It can’t.” He looked in the sideview mirror and pulled from the curb. Looked like Manello was actively on the hunt. Finding that camp fast was even more important now.

Marlie crossed her arms. “As his legal guardian now, it’s my job to protect Noah.”

Ignoring her outrage, he gunned the Expedition toward the hospital. “And it’s my job to protect all children, including the ones Manello’s about to grab.” That took priority.

Over everything.

Chapter Seven

Marlie watched June Bug get smaller and smaller in the sideview mirror. She didn’t like leaving her truck parked on a city street for too long, but for now, she’d go with McGarry’s need for urgency.

As they drove to the hospital, she glanced at his profile. To describe it as “chiseled” would be an understatement. Mainly because he hadn’t stopped clenching his jaw, which only served to flex all the muscles in said jaw.

Was there a single body part on the man that wasn’t packed with hard muscle? From what she recalled during her sidewalk meltdown, his chest had been loaded with them.

Stopped at a red light, he tapped his long fingers on the wheel. Patience definitely wasn’t his strong suit. Despite that, he’d been unexpectedly gentle with her while she’d sobbed her heart out. On the embarrassment scale, that definitely rated a ten. Yet, in his strong embrace, she’d experienced something she hadn’t realized until that moment she’d so sorely needed: comfort.

She scratched Blue beneath his chin. She’d always planned on getting a dog for Aiden. Someday. That day had never come, and now it never would. Blue turned to her, stretching so she could access more of his neck. The dog was beautiful, with a classic brown and tan coat but with the most amazing smoky-blue eyes. Hence the name Blue, she assumed.

When the light turned green, McGarry headed for the hospital entrance. What he’d divulged about his sister—his twin sister—certainly explained what was behind all that intensity and his drive to find missing children.

He parked in a designated spot for police vehicles and threw a placard on the dashboard. The three of them, including Blue, walked in silence into the hospital. The silence continued right up until they’d gotten to the elevator bank.

“Agent McGarry,” she said. “While I—”

He pushed the up arrow. “Call me Evan.”

“Fine. Evan. While I share your concern for the other children at the camp, at this point, Noah is my main concern.”

“As it should be,” he agreed with a curt nod.