Unforgettable Christmas Dreams: Gifts of Joy

by Rebecca York

  The other folders gave up similar information, a folder for each transplant donor.

  So Heller knew where to get to these people…

  The middle drawer produced more folders with similar information. But these folders held information on the recipients, including who each person’s donor had been and how much the recipient had paid to skip to the head of the line for a new shot at life.

  Doug Heller had used his position with Drake Enterprises to run his own illegal business, and right under the nose of his employer. How had he gotten away with it all these years? Simon wondered.

  Well, Heller wouldn’t get away with it anymore, Simon thought as the cold seeped through him once more, straight into his bones, into his soul.

  Time to mete out some justice.

  Simon was so engrossed in his dark thoughts that he didn’t hear the whisper of footsteps until they were practically upon him. Even as he whipped around, he heard a pop followed by an incapacitating pain.

  He barely caught a glimpse of the two wires connecting to him… and then he saw nothing at all…

  Chapter Seventeen

  When nearly a half hour had passed and her daughter hadn’t come back to the table, nor had Lexie so much as caught sight of her, she started to worry.

  “I’m going to go look for Katie,” she told her sister.

  “She’s probably with some other kids her age,” Carole said. “She won’t appreciate your interrupting.”

  An uneasy sensation in the pit of her stomach wouldn’t let Lexie back down. “If she is, I’ll keep walking without bothering her. I just want to make sure she’s all right.”

  Making her way through the crowd was a feat in itself. People were shoulder to shoulder and more were arriving all the time. Lexie looked everywhere — the ballroom, the buffet, the dining room, even the upstairs parlors — but couldn’t find her daughter. That uneasy sensation blossomed into something akin to panic. She began to ask people if they’d seen Katie in the last half hour, but no one had.

  On her way back to alert Carole and her parents, Lexie heard her name. Pulse fluttering, she stopped and turned to see who was calling her.

  “Cliff.”

  His usual jovial expression was missing. “I need to talk to you.”

  Cliff gestured that she should follow and, not knowing what else to do, Lexie did. He crossed the foyer and passed the racks of coats into the front room of the personal wing.

  Facing her, he said, “First, let me say Katie is all right.”

  “Katie?” Lexie’s heart began to pound. “What happened to my daughter?”

  “Apparently, she took herself for a walk out of here and slipped and fell on the road.” Cliff patted her shoulder. “She only sprained her ankle a little, that’s all. She’ll be fine.”

  “Where is she? Upstairs?”

  “No, not here. Tommy Benson found her near his place so he took her home to ice the ankle. Then he called me. He didn’t have your cell number, but he knew you’d be here. I’ll take you to her. Let me get our coats.”

  The pressure in her chest easing a bit, Lexie nodded. “Thanks, Cliff.”

  Tommy Benson was a Jenkins Cove police officer. Good thing he’d found Katie or she might have been out in the snow for who knew how long. What was she doing out on the road? Rebelling against being here and going home in protest? After what Katie had pulled the night before, Lexie wouldn’t doubt it. She figured she was in for a lot more worry over her daughter’s escapades during the next few years.

  Thinking she should let her family know what was going on, she pulled her cell phone from her purse just as Cliff came back with the coats.

  “Here you are.” He held out Lexie’s coat for her.

  She slipped her arms into it. “Thanks. I should call Carole, so she doesn’t send a search party after me.”

  “Maybe you should wait until after you see Katie for yourself. That way they won’t worry like you’re doing right now.”

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  She put her cell back in her purse. Even with Cliff’s reassurance that Katie was fine, Lexie couldn’t help but feel off-kilter. Knowing she wouldn’t feel better until she saw Katie herself, she quickly followed him out of the house to the BMW one of the valets had already pulled up front. Cliff tipped the man who ran around to the passenger side and opened the door for Lexie.

  “Try to relax,” Cliff said as they fastened their seat belts. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Lexie nodded and took a deep breath. As they set off for the Benson place, she couldn’t help wishing Simon were here with her. Sometimes it was so hard being a single parent, especially where her child’s welfare was concerned.

  Suddenly it hit her… Simon… at Cliff’s place…

  In her worry for Katie, she’d forgotten about what he was doing. Surely he was done searching the Manor.

  So why hadn’t he called? No matter what he’d found or hadn’t found, he would call to tell her about it, even if he was still angry.

  Great. Now she had two people she loved to worry about.

  Suddenly she realized they were slowing and she looked for Benson’s house, but only saw twin redbrick pillars with wrought-iron gates decorated with a fancy C and D.

  “This is the entrance to the Manor,” she said, keeping her voice even, though her pulse jagged a warning. “I thought you said Katie was at Tommy Benson’s place.”

  “I need to stop for something. It’ll just take a minute.” He completed the turn and started on the long drive, but he didn’t stop in front of the door.

  Her pulse picked up and rushed through her head so that she could hear it. “Cliff, I’m really concerned about Katie—”

  “You’ll see her soon enough.”

  But Lexie didn’t think so. Had Simon been caught? Was the game up? Was that why Cliff had brought her here? Had she been wrong about him all this time?

  Cliff stopped the BMW near the guesthouse. Thinking she could run, then call the police, Lexie tried the door handle.

  “You won’t get it open, Lexie.”

  “What are you doing, Cliff?” Lexie kept her voice as even as she could. The words fought her as she spoke. “Where’s Katie?”

  “Katie?” He opened his door and hopped out. “At the ball, I assume.” Slamming the door, he walked around to the passenger side and opened her door. “Get out.”

  “No. Take me back, Cliff.” She stiffened when he grabbed her arm. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing—”

  Her words were cut off when he jerked her out of the car. Lexie fought him, but despite his playboy persona, Cliff was every bit as strong as Simon.

  “Why are you taking me here?” Pulling against him only meant she tripped as he dragged her to the guesthouse. “What’s going on, Cliff?”

  “I don’t have to tell you, Lexie. You already know.”

  Simon… Dear Lord, he’d been caught!

  Suddenly breathless, she stopped fighting and stumbled after him. Once inside the guesthouse, she saw Simon in a chair facing the door. He didn’t even look her way. He was slumped in his chair, hands behind his back, and his head lolled to the side. His eyes were only half-open.

  Directly opposite Simon, Doug Heller held a knife as if he knew how to use it.

  Feeling like a fool for believing in Cliff, she looked to him, unaffected by his regret-filled expression. “You’re in on this together?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Old Cliffy works for me,” Heller said.

  “Not exactly!” Cliff repeated, this time with more emphasis.

  “Oh, right. We’re business partners. I do all the work and he takes half the money in exchange for access to his ships and yachts and properties.”

  So they’d done it, Lexie thought. They’d nailed the heads of the human trafficking operation.

  Now the question was this: would she and Simon live long enough to tell the authorities what they’d learned?

  ***
<
br />   That Heller was talking so freely made Simon’s gut roll. The killer wouldn’t be admitting to anything unless he planned to get rid of both him and Lexie.

  Not that Simon would go down without a fight. He’d stop the bastard any way he could, and if he went down with Heller, so be it. He probably deserved to die.

  Why hadn’t Heller killed him already?

  What was he waiting for?

  Heller had used a Taser on him, the reason he hadn’t been able to get his hands on the man. Simon remained half-slumped in the chair, his eyes at half-mast, so Heller wouldn’t realize that he was starting to recover from the powerful shock. For several minutes now, he’d been working at the knot in the rope that tied his hands behind his back, and it was starting to loosen.

  “What are you going to do to us, Cliff?” Lexie asked. “Kill us?”

  “The two of you pose a real problem, Lexie.” Cliff shook his head. “I saved Simon’s hide once, but I don’t know if I can do it again.”

  “You saved my hide?” Simon echoed, making his voice sound unsteady, as if he were still weak from the Taser blast.

  “I wouldn’t let Heller kill you. I agreed to let him ship you off to be part of a paramilitary army that would keep you busy and away from here for a few years. He arranged everything.”

  Though he was sure he already knew, Simon asked, “Why?”

  “I didn’t want you to die. I figured you didn’t see anything really, and by the time you came back to Jenkins Cove, any evidence would be destroyed and your memory of that night would have faded. Killing people wasn’t part of the deal.”

  “But people did die… Dad.”

  Cliff locked gazes with Simon. “Wh-what?”

  Though he appeared shocked, he didn’t deny the relationship, making Simon’s gut tighten.

  “Rufus and I had a heart-to-heart this morning. He spilled his guts.” But Rufus hadn’t known the identity of Simon’s biological father, and now Simon wished he didn’t know, either. “So, you couldn’t kill your own flesh and blood?”

  “No! I never killed anyone, Simon. I swear to you, my hands are clean.”

  “Clean? You knew what was going on. You made money on people’s misery!”

  “They wanted to come here, to live in this country. They have better lives here. They’re happy—”

  “Maybe those who are still alive. What about the ones who didn’t make it because they didn’t have the proper medical follow-up? Who died of complications, like Lala Falat? Or those who were shot to death like the kid in the woods? Or bludgeoned to death with a yachting trophy?”

  “I wasn’t responsible for any of that!”

  “Stop whining,” Heller demanded. “It doesn’t suit you.”

  “Now I know why you’ve been so good to me and my family over the years,” Lexie said to Cliff. “You knew Katie was your granddaughter. After all you’ve done for us, surely you won’t let Heller kill us now.”

  Simon stewed inside. They couldn’t kill Lexie. She was innocent. He’d gotten her mixed up in this. He couldn’t let her pay for his sins. Even as he thought it, the knot gave and the binding holding his wrists together loosened. He worked one hand out, then the other.

  Cliff asked, “Simon, are you willing to drop this investigation of yours and remain silent about what you’ve learned? I could make this as financially rewarding for you as it has been for me.”

  Insulted that this man who was of the same blood thought they were anything alike, Simon felt heat creep up his neck. “No way in hell. Too many people were harmed or killed because of you.”

  “All I did was rent my ships and properties to Doug and—”

  “Knock off the sanctimonious act, Cliff!” Heller shouted. “It’s not going to get you a pass.”

  Cliff turned on his partner. “The human trafficking operation was your idea. You ran it!”

  “But if the authorities found out about us, you’d be held equally responsible for everything that happened.”

  “We won’t tell,” Lexie suddenly said.

  Heller cocked his head and seared her with his gaze. “Now, why don’t I believe you?”

  Simon didn’t believe her, either. She was stalling for time. What was she up to? His head clear of the effects of the Taser and his hands free, though still behind him, Simon gathered himself together and waited for an opportunity to strike. Heller should have done a better job of restraining him.

  His mistake.

  “Really,” Lexie said, inching closer to Heller. “I mean the operation is over now, right?”

  “For the time being. We don’t have a doctor who can do the surgeries.”

  Which sounded like he was planning on starting up again as soon as he found one, Simon thought. He wondered what Lexie was planning to do by getting close to Heller, who held the knife as if he was looking forward to gutting someone with it.

  Too bad Heller had searched him and found the knife in his jacket, Simon thought. Too bad he had no other weapon on him other than his bare hands.

  They would be enough, he vowed.

  “Cliff, I’ll make a deal with you,” Lexie said. “I believe you when you said you never meant for anyone to be hurt. You don’t have to go on letting this man use your resources. Agree to stop doing that and we’ll forget everything we learned. You’re my daughter’s grandfather. I don’t want to see you go to jail. Heller can take off, disappear to another country or something.”

  What the hell was she saying? Simon almost protested when she turned her attention to him.

  “Cliff’s your father, Simon. You don’t want him in prison any more than I do, right?”

  Though her words sounded like a capitulation, the tension in her expression and the denial in her eyes when she locked her gaze onto his told Simon otherwise. She was playing Cliff to get closer to Heller.

  Simon’s muscles coiled.

  “This is bunk! Don’t believe a word out of her mouth!” Heller said, charging to his feet and coming too close to Lexie for Simon’s comfort.

  The way he was handling the knife like he was getting ready to use it on someone made Simon prepare to launch himself at the bastard. But Lexie was too close. And Heller wasn’t stupid. He kept a sharp eye on Simon.

  “Lexie has never lied to me,” Cliff argued. “She’s the most honest person I know. Her child is my blood.”

  Simon indicated that Lexie should get out of the way. Though understanding colored her expression, she ignored him. Her eyes flashed to a nearby table.

  “Then take her damn child!” Heller yelled at Cliff. “Adopt the kid. I don’t care! But you’re not going to let these two go. I’m not going to prison because you’re a gutless wonder, as usual!”

  As the men argued, Lexie reached for a heavy metal sculpture on the table — a Maryland crab.

  “Watch what you say!” Cliff warned.

  “Or you’ll what? If you hadn’t convinced me to let your bastard live thirteen years ago, we wouldn’t be in this situation!”

  Lexie grabbed the crab and swung it at Heller’s knife hand. The man’s sixth sense must have warned him because he stepped away and the sculpture barely brushed him. While Heller’s attention was diverted, Simon lunged at him and made contact, knocking him back and away from Lexie.

  Heller struck out at his gut with the knife, but Simon was faster and arched away so that it missed anything vital, only slicing through the leather sleeve of his jacket and nicking his arm.

  Pain seared him, but Simon was blinded with hatred and the need to make this man pay, not only for putting him on that transport ship to hell, but for threatening Lexie’s life, for taking the lives of people he didn’t even know.

  He kicked out and made contact, knocking the knife from Heller’s hand. Heller tried to go after it, but Simon tackled him. They went rolling across the floor, trading punches. Heller was heftier and definitely strong, but Simon was trained for battle and a black rage coursed through him. Rolling on top of Heller, he hit the man in t
he face with a series of stunning blows, then grabbed him by the throat and put pressure on his airway.

  “Do you have any idea what it feels like to know you’re going to die?” Simon demanded, totally focused on his enemy. He squeezed tighter so the other man was choking, trying to get air. “I do. I was certain of it day after day. I felt like I was already dead and living in hell. A place that will welcome you with open arms.”

  He increased the pressure on Heller’s throat even more. The man’s face turned red and he tried to say something, tried to pry Simon’s fingers away, but he couldn’t budge Simon.

  “Simon, stop before you kill him!” Lexie’s cry unnerved Simon just for a second. It was all Heller needed.

  Heller ripped Simon’s hand from his throat and knocked his arm on a nearby table. The knife wound came in contact with the table’s edge and pain reverberated through Simon so that he saw stars and gasped for breath.

  Heller threw him off, got up and ran straight through the open front door. By the time the pain lessened enough to allow Simon to get to his feet, the man was gone. His mind focused on only one thing, he stopped in the doorway to visually track the man’s footprints, visible in the night. The snow had cleared and the moon was out. The footprints ran straight into the fog coming off the bay.

  “Heller’s headed toward the boathouse,” he said, feeling invisible hands pushing him in that direction. He heard a silent chant in his head, urging him to stop Heller. “There’s a speedboat docked at the pier.”

  “Don’t go after him!” Lexie pleaded, hanging on to the back of his jacket. “What if he has a gun?”

  An invisible struggle pulled Simon in two different directions. The dead wanted their justice. Lexie wanted him alive.

  As he looked at the woman he loved, Simon felt the darkness and the voices in his head recede. He couldn’t leave Lexie here alone with Cliff. He had to protect her.

  Turning, he saw Cliff pick up something from the floor where Simon had attacked Heller. When the man straightened, his brow was furrowed. He crossed the room, holding out a delicate chain with a gold and emerald pendant.