Read Online WOULD-BE CHRISTMAS WEDDING by Debra Webb - Free Book Online

anything?”
    The Specialist on the other end of the line hesitated. “Not much. We have prints and faces on the two men who tried to steal your sister’s purse as she walked back to her hotel.”
    “She was mugged?”
    “No, sir. The assailants were subdued.”
    “Was she hurt? What about Holt?”
    “I don’t have a clear answer yet. As I said, we’ve lost her trail. By the time we hit the scene, the potential victims were gone and the assailants unconscious.”
    “You left them for the local police to deal with.”
    “Yes, sir. Seemed like the best option.”
    Thomas agreed. “So the man hired to kidnap my sister might have just accomplished the job?” It didn’t help matters any that Holt had been highly trained in evasion techniques and could effectively disappear without a trace in less than an hour.
    After Nadine had spilled her sketchy information, Thomas had gone through Holt’s office with a critical eye. An extra identity remained in Holt’s office safe, but Thomas knew there should have been at least one more, and the cash earmarked for emergencies was gone.
    He wasn’t prone to displays of temper, but he was about to lose it this time. This was his sister they’d lost. Every scattered bit of information he had said she was likely in the clutches of a traitor. A traitor with skills and a past no brother wanted to think about.
    “Do we have anything close to a lead?”
    “No, sir. We’re about to run down cab companies. It’s the fastest way they could clear the area.”
    “Or the bus or—”
    “No, we’ve hacked those cameras. She hasn’t boarded any of the shuttles or the metro.”
    It could be worse. That was the prime source of his problem, knowing exactly how much worse it could be. The betrayal cut deep. He had handpicked Emmett Holt to replace Lucas when he retired. How the hell could he have been so wrong about a guy with a pristine record?
    He let the two agents he’d put on her go do their jobs. Nadine was monitoring the police scanner in the area, but he also tasked an analyst downstairs with the same job to make sure she didn’t miss or withhold anything he needed to know.
    His cell phone chimed with a new text message. He grabbed it, ready to chew Lia out for turning off her GPS and dodging the protective tail, only to see Casey’s number on the display.
    He dialed her number when he saw the message: Call when you can.
    “Hello,” he said warmly, trying not to let on that her mother was missing. “Did Levi’s flight get in on time?”
    “Yeah. We’re great. Mom moved over to the hotel tonight.”
    “I know.”
    “Thought you might. Does the team in the van have any crime-scene equipment?”
    “What van?”
    “Mom says there’s been a van parked in front of the Millers’ place for days. She assumed they were here on your orders.”
    “It wasn’t me.” Damn it. What exactly had Holt put into motion?
    “Levi and I can check it out.”
    She sounded too ready for action. “Wait. Just leave it alone. I’ll have someone deal with the van. Why didn’t you call the police if you need a crime tech?”
    “Because we’re not sure we have a crime.”
    “Explain.”
    Casey took a big breath that rushed across the line. “We found a bug in the kitchen, then searched the house and found two more. The office and the bedroom.”
    Thomas cringed at the implications of those positions. Cecelia didn’t work with sensitive information in her current position at the CIA, but that would change if she made the switch to ops.
    “Go on.”
    “It’s just a hunch, but I think someone’s been here. Obviously to plant the bugs, but I mean tonight, when I went to the airport to pick up Levi.”
    If someone had been in the house, why hadn’t the Specialist he’d assigned reported anything? His first instinct was to get over there and take a look personally. He used his computer to message Nadine, asking her to get a status report.
    “I’m probably overreacting. It’s not like