Christmas Protection Detail

by Terri Reed

  “The other night you asked me what had happened to make me so distrusting.”

  In the moonlight streaming through the front window, Nick’s face was bathed in a warm glow. His dark eyes were alert and focused on her. He nodded.

  “I’m ready to tell you.”

  * * *

  The chill that swept through Nick had nothing to do with the temperature outside or his freezing toes. He was about to hear Kaitlyn’s story. He was afraid to breathe in case she changed her mind. He could see the vulnerability shining in her eyes and hear it in her tone of voice. He wanted to take her in his arms, but he sensed that if he moved at all she would shut down. So he kept himself as still as he could, but his body shook and his teeth chattered as the cold seeped into his bones. He really didn’t want hypothermia or to miss even one detail of her tale. So he snuggled deeper into the thermal Mylar blanket covering him and willed his body to settle down.

  “I was a sophomore in college at the University of Denver. I had a job at the local bakery. It was only part-time but it was great. I mostly worked the front counter and made coffee drinks. I really enjoyed it. Occasionally, I helped out in the back of the house with the prep. The owner of the bakery was a graduate of the university and he liked to employ college students. He and his wife were really good people.”

  There was a sadness in her voice that made Nick’s heart ache. He was touched that she was finally sharing this with him.

  “One day this guy, who’d come in a few times before, asked me out. He was handsome and charming. It was very flattering and new. I hadn’t had a lot of experience dating. I’d been too focused in high school on my horses and getting good grades. In college, I really wanted to concentrate on graduating at the top of my class.”

  “You’re very competitive,” Nick observed quietly. “I actually like that about you.”

  She tilted her head. “You always know what to say to make me feel better.”

  He did? That was news to him. But he’d take it. He wanted her to feel good about herself, about life. She was important to him.

  “Anyway,” Kaitlyn continued. “He asked me out and everybody seemed to like him. The owners knew him and said he was a great guy. I agreed to dinner. He was a real gentleman. So I continued to go out with him. He checked all the boxes. I also discovered he was very affluent and didn’t mind letting everyone know.”

  Nick winced, knowing Kaitlyn couldn’t abide braggarts.

  “Things were great for a while. But then, as time went on, he became—”

  Nick held his breath, waiting. A sense of dread gripped his chest.

  “I guess possessive is the only way to describe his behavior. He didn’t like me spending time with anyone else and would be put out when I would turn down dates with him to study or when I wouldn’t skip school or work to be with him.”

  Nick knew guys like that. Men who wanted to be the sole focus of everyone.

  “He arranged with my boss for me to have time off from work. That really upset me. He was messing with my finances. He kept saying not to worry about it. But I did.”

  “That was very presumptuous on his part,” Nick said, not liking this guy at all.

  “Yes. He presumed a lot of things. And when I wouldn’t take the relationship farther, like he wanted, he grew really nasty.”

  Nick had a sinking suspicion he knew where this was going. His fingers curled into fists at his side beneath the blanket. “I’m so sorry, Kaitlyn.”

  She let out a wry laugh. “Don’t be. You have to remember, I’m used to bending twelve-hundred-pound beasts to my will. A hundred-and-thirty-eight-pound man was nothing. But I embarrassed him, and he vowed revenge.”

  Nick’s tension eased slightly. “You’re a strong, capable woman, Kaitlyn. No one should underestimate you. Ever.”

  “Again, you have a knack for the right thing to say. I don’t understand it. But I do appreciate it.”

  He was happy to hear her say so. If only that meant she could open her heart to loving him. But he wasn’t going to push any boundary she’d set. “What sort of revenge did he exact?”

  “He got me fired. Told my boss lies. Said I was skimming product and trash-talking him and his wife. They wouldn’t believe me when I denied the accusations. Jason’s family had supported the bakery for years. They were one of the bakery’s biggest clients. Whenever Jason’s family came into town, they would have the bakery cater all their parties. My boss and his wife weren’t willing to lose their patronage over me.”

  “Their loss,” Nick stated.

  “Sound like idiots to me,” Frank piped up.

  “Shhhh,” Nick hissed at the man.

  A small smile curved her lips. “Thanks. Both of you.” She sighed. “It was maddening. It made me feel so...”

  When she didn’t continue, he said, “Small and insignificant?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I would imagine much the way you felt when you weren’t believed as a child.”

  “True.”

  “The difference was, I was a grown woman. There was no evidence to support any of Jason’s claims. It was very unjust.”

  “I realized long ago that sometimes justice isn’t given here on Earth,” Nick stated softly.

  “I know one day Jason will have to come to terms with what he’s done, and so will my former boss and his wife. I don’t wish them ill, but it did leave a mark, as you said.”

  Now he understood why she’d been so resistant to a relationship with him. To her, he was just another rich boy who thought he could get away with whatever he wanted. He hoped and prayed she had come to realize he wasn’t as carefree as he sometimes acted. That his behavior was just his way of keeping the world out. Much the way her icy demeanor and independent stubbornness kept the world at bay for her.

  “We’re quite a pair,” he said. “Both of us trying not to let our guard down or let anybody get too close to us.”

  “That’s true,” she said. “It’s hard to break down those walls.”

  “Yes, it is, Kaitlyn. But necessary to let love in.”

  “I’m not ready for that,” she said quietly. “Maybe someday, Nick, but not yet.”

  She was asking him for time. He understood and really wanted to honor her request, but his heart cried out in despair. Waiting had never been one of his strong suits. Maybe God was trying to teach him patience. And if that was the lesson he was to learn, then he had to just be content with it.

  In the meantime, the best he could do was shore up his defenses and concentrate on the love of a little baby who was waiting for him at home. “Kaitlyn, you heard Harrison. He doesn’t know who Rosie’s father is. Please, tell me you aren’t going to look for him.”

  “Nick, I can’t make that promise.”

  No, the woman who always did the right thing wouldn’t promise something she could not deliver.

  “The baby’s father is not going to be bothering you,” Frank interjected.

  Nick’s gaze zeroed in on the man. “What are you saying?”

  “Marcus was the baby’s father,” Frank said.

  “And Marcus is?” Kaitlyn asked.

  “The guy who was shot in the hospital,” Frank said.

  For a moment, Nick was speechless. No wonder the guy had wanted Rosie. And he’d asked about Lexi. He must’ve cared for her on some level. “Did he know about the fake birth certificate?”

  “Yes. They both knew they’d pay if the boss found out about the two of them,” Frank said.

  In the end, they had both paid the ultimate price. “Is there a real birth certificate?”

  Frank shrugged. “Beats me. But I doubt Marcus would have put his name on one.”

  A noise in the distance, like a low humming, grew closer. The sound was familiar. Nick tilted his head, straining to listen. “Do you hear that? A helicopter.”

 
“Yes!” Kaitlyn scrambled out of the plane. Then she was running. Nick moved to the doorway. A bright light swept over the area and stopped on Kaitlyn. The helicopter hovered over the crash site. She waved her arms.

  From the helicopter, a deep voice rang out clearly. “Deputy Lanz, glad to see you are alive. Search and rescue are on their way.”

  Nick leaned against the doorjamb. Their rescue had arrived. He was grateful and couldn’t wait to get off this mountain. But the future stretched before him in uncertainty. His heart ached, knowing that part of that uncertainty was Kaitlyn. Would she ever let him into her heart?

  FIFTEEN

  Kaitlyn could barely hear the roar of engines in the distance over the noise of the helicopter hovering above. As the sound drew closer, she recognized the purr of snowmobiles coming in fast. One by one, four search-and-rescue team members arrived on mountain performance motor sleds, forming a half circle around the crash site.

  The helicopter flew away, leaving the area dark except for the headlights on the snow machines. Though Kaitlyn had never ridden one of the snowmobiles, she was impressed. Each motor sled was outfitted with two skis in the front and a large traction belt in the back. She was glad to see the machines were fitted with seats for two people. She didn’t relish the ride to civilization on a rescue litter.

  A woman removed her helmet and got off her machine. “Deputy Lanz?”

  “Yes, I’m here,” Kaitlyn said as she hurried forward to greet the woman, holding out her hand. “Call me Kaitlyn. Where are we?”

  The woman tugged off her glove to grasp Kaitlyn’s hand. “Bev DeSalvo.” She released Kaitlyn’s hand. “Glacier National Forest. About forty miles outside Eureka, Montana. I apologize we were unable to make it sooner. There was an avalanche on the other side of this mountain that trapped a couple of people. Once that rescue was completed, we had to regroup and restock equipment. Then we followed the locator beacon. We knew we were going the right direction when we saw the plumes of smoke. You’re doing okay?”

  Grateful to have been found, Kaitlyn said, “Yes, we’re good now.”

  “Well done on the bonfire. We’ll douse it before we leave,” Bev said with approval. “Do you have any injured?”

  “Our pilot might have an issue with his feet.” Kaitlyn prayed Nick didn’t have frostbite. “We should get him into town for medical attention ASAP. Also, I have a suspect that escaped into the woods.”

  “We have a medic. Greg!” Bev signaled for one of the riders. “He’ll check all of you to be on the safe side. I’ll have to send another team out to search for this suspect. We’re spread thin right now.”

  A man climbed off his machine and strode forward with a red medical bag. “What do we have?”

  “This way.” Kaitlyn directed the man to where Nick sat inside the plane.

  Greg tended to Nick’s feet. “No frostbite, yet. Good thing we arrived when we did.”

  Nick held up his soaking socks and shoes. “Any chance you have some dry ones available?”

  “Yes, sir,” the medic said. “Hang tight.” He used his radio to talk to another team member who rushed forward with dry socks and fleece-lined rubber boots.

  While Nick put on the footwear, the medic checked on Kaitlyn and Frank, and deemed them unharmed. Kaitlyn released Frank from his seat, then retied his hands together. “Don’t try anything,” she warned.

  He shrugged. “I’m cold and hungry. Right now, even jail sounds good.”

  She escorted Frank out of the plane. To Bev, she said, “I need to talk to the police chief. This man is under arrest. The suspect who escaped on foot took off about an hour ago.”

  “I’ll radio the chief.” Bev waved over another team member. “John can take care of this guy.”

  A big burly man stepped forward. Kaitlyn handed Frank off, explaining the situation.

  “Don’t worry, ma’am,” John said in a drawl that made her think he was from the South. “He won’t get away from me. We’re set up for this sort of issue.” He took Frank by the arm and led him to his snowmobile, securing him on the back seat by looping a rope through his tied hands and attaching it to a metal ring on the seat. If Frank tried to jump off, he’d be dragged alongside the motorized sled.

  “All right, people, let’s move.” Bev whirled her hand in the air as a signal to move out. To Kaitlyn she said, “You’ll ride with me while your friend will ride with Greg.”

  Nick got on the back of the medic’s snowmobile. They were given helmets and goggles and were wrapped in fresh Mylar blankets.

  Then they were off, headed toward the search-and-rescue team’s headquarters in the town of Eureka, Montana.

  A police vehicle and an ambulance, their red and blue lights dancing through the darkness, waited for them in a plowed parking area at the trailhead as the snowmobiles emerged from the forest. They were on the outskirts of a place that reminded Kaitlyn a lot of Bristle Township, quaint with rustic charm. Snow was piled on the rooftops and at the sides of the roads.

  Bev introduced Kaitlyn to the police chief. He was a tall, lanky man with dark hair beneath a winter hat. “Chief Warren Kirkland.”

  “Deputy Lanz.” Kaitlyn shook the man’s hand. “I have a suspect I need housed until other arrangements can be made, and we have another fugitive on the run somewhere on the mountain.”

  “We can head to the station.” Kirkland gestured toward his vehicle. “I’ll coordinate with Bev for a search.”

  “I’ll be right back,” she told the chief.

  While John and the police chief got Frank settled in the back of the Eureka PD’s official SUV, Kaitlyn hurried over to Nick.

  “I’m fine,” Nick said. “Greg and the paramedics said there won’t be lasting effects on my feet. They suggested the Bluebird Hotel down the way.”

  “Good news,” Kaitlyn said. “I’ll arrange for you to be taken to the hotel while I get Frank settled in over at the police station. I need to touch base with Alex and let the FBI know about Harrison. I’ll see you later at the hotel.”

  Nick nodded. “Sure. You do what you need to. Don’t worry about me.” His gaze held hers, his expression serious. “Thank you, Kaitlyn, for everything.”

  She frowned. That sounded so final. Like he was saying they wouldn’t be seeing each other again. Had he decided that he was done with her because she’d put him off without giving the response he wanted to his declaration of love? Surprised and hurt, she mentally took a step back. Of course, Nick was, after all, a wealthy man used to getting his way. Maybe she’d been fooling herself, thinking he wasn’t like Jason.

  With a sharp nod, she turned away and headed back to the police car. “I’m coming with you to the station, Chief, if you don’t mind. I want to make sure Frank gets safely put into a cell. And I need to contact the FBI.”

  The chief nodded and gestured toward the vehicle. “Come on and let’s get going.”

  The chief took them to the police department, which shared the town’s Justice Center with the courthouse and other official public departments. Snow had been shoveled from the sidewalk and piled high on each side.

  Somebody had made a snowman, complete with mismatched button eyes and a carrot for a nose. The bit of whimsy made Kaitlyn smile. And it also made her think of Nick. Building a snowman on the Justice Center’s lawn seemed like something he would do. She could imagine him out on the expansive backyard of the Delaney estate, rolling large snowballs to make a snowman. One day Rosie would be old enough to help him.

  Kaitlyn’s heart ached to think she would not witness such a precious scene.

  She didn’t want to miss that. But if things kept going as they were, she would not be a part of Nick and Rosie’s life.

  Why?

  Because of her pride and stubbornness and fear. All things that were hard to let go of, but she would need to let them go if she hoped to ever have a future that
included Nick. She knew in her heart of hearts that Nick was honorable and honest.

  As she followed the chief and Frank into the building, she berated herself for holding back in a vain attempt to be better than anyone else by not letting anybody get close. What a sham she was!

  She wanted to be part of the family Rosie and Nick made. A swell of certainty and determination engulfed her. She was going to tell Nick what she wanted as soon as she saw him again. But first she needed to do her job.

  Once Frank was settled on a cot in the police department’s cell, Kaitlyn used the police chief’s landline in his office to call Alex, who gave her the number for the special agent in charge at the FBI. She dialed and the agent answered on the first ring.

  “I have the flash drive,” she said to the man. “You’re going to need to come and get it. I’m headed back to Colorado as soon as this storm breaks. Harrison Reece is on the loose. I’m sure he’ll head to Canada. He claims to have a plane waiting at the Calgary airport.”

  “That man is going to be the bane of my existence,” he said. “I will send agents to Montana right now to find Reece, and by the time you get back to Bristle Township, I’ll have a team waiting to take possession of the flash drive.”

  Kaitlyn breathed out her relief and hung up, her mind turning back to Nick. She planned now to go to the hotel and talk to him. Would he accept her apology for being so prideful, so fearful?

  A commotion in the outer office drew her attention. She left the chief’s office to find a young officer leading an older man sporting a head wound. Blood had run down his face and soaked the front of his jacket.