Risky Christmas

by Jill Sorenson

“CC,” Bevy admonished.

  “It’s written all over her face. And Mason flew into a fit when I teased him.” She turned pointedly to her mother. “You saw them last night.”

  “Enough, CC. Chloe, whatever happened between you and Mason, it’s all right. You can still stay here.”

  Chloe shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. I can’t stay here anymore.”

  “I’m going to strangle my brother,” CC said, tucking her blond-streaked dark hair behind her ear, green eyes flashing.

  “Could someone please drive me into town?”

  “Don’t tell me he’s going to screw up another good one,” CC continued on with her anger.

  She meant the last woman he’d loved. Chloe felt stabbing pain go through her heart.

  “Don’t worry,” Bevy said. “He’ll snap out of it.”

  “Yeah. You’re not like the other women,” CC said. “You’re someone he can trust. Everyone can see that about you, Chloe. You’re the genuine article. The real deal. You don’t play games. You don’t lie. You say it the way it is. He’s got to know that. He’s just scared.”

  “I should have known better.”

  Bevy clearly didn’t like hearing that. “No, he should know better. Everyone can see that the two of you are getting close. CC’s right, he’s just scared. Give him some time, Chloe.”

  “I won’t be with someone who judges me based on past experiences. He has to see me for who I am.”

  “He does. He will.”

  He turned away from her this morning like she was practically invisible. Nothing about last night had mattered, least of all her feelings. She wasn’t going to forgive him for that.

  “I wish I could stay, really. I love all of you. This Christmas was the best I’ve ever had. But Mason can barely look at me, and I can’t stand to be treated that way. Please.” She looked from Bevy’s unreadable face to CC. “Will you drive me to town? I’ll find a place to stay there.”

  “You can stay in the guesthouse,” Bevy said, one last attempt to sway her.

  That was so sweet. Chloe shook her head. “No. I don’t want to be anywhere near him. Please. Try and understand.”

  “I understand that after I strangle him, I’m going to give my brother a black eye.” CC stood and folded her arms. “He’s such an idiot!”

  Deirdra entered the kitchen and stopped behind Bevy. “I just came in from the woodshed. The guys are giving Mason hell out there, but he isn’t budging.”

  Bevy stood from the table. “Take Chloe to town, CC. I’ll give Mason the black eye.”

  Mason entered the house, his dad and Teddy right behind him, and stomped his feet. He looked for Chloe. Not seeing her, he was relieved. Last night had him so bogged down he could barely pay attention to anything his dad or Teddy said. Until they’d started grilling him about her. And then Deirdra had overheard and glared at him before turning to go back into the house. His whole family was ganging up on him. They loved Chloe. Already.

  That only made the turmoil inside him worse. Yesterday, the whole day, and last night had been so perfect. He could fall in love with her. That thought had come to him after they’d gone to bed together. And it’s what drove him out of her bedroom. He was so tangled up over her that he had to get away. Run. Chloe knew that. The way she’d looked at him this morning told him. It had also hit him with guilt. His turning away had hurt her.

  Every time he thought about talking to her, he recoiled. Talking to her might lead to more of what had occurred and that was already too much. Best if he ended it now, before things really got out of control. Before she wrapped her heart around his and then left when he least expected it. Maybe if they hadn’t slept together so soon he wouldn’t feel like this. It was happening too fast. Relationships like that never lasted, and he didn’t want a relationship. This had gone as far as he was willing to go.

  Hanging up his jacket, he moved into the living room. His mom stood there with Deirdra, her arms folded and her face in an angry frown. Deirdra just looked smug. Like she was saying, You’re in for it now.

  His dad and Teddy hung up their jackets and stood beside him.

  “What’s this all about?” his dad asked.

  Mason looked again for Chloe.

  “She’s gone,” his mom said.

  “Who?” Teddy asked, but Mason could tell he had a good enough idea. It was more disbelief that made him ask.

  Disbelief that mirrored his own. “Where’d she go?”

  “Away from you,” Deirdra said.

  Fear that had nothing to do with his heart flared into a raging flame. “What? Where is she?” He put his jacket back on. “You let her go?”

  “She didn’t want to spend another second around you,” his mom said. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her so upset. “You bring a nice girl into this home and then you dare to treat her with anything but respect? I’m ashamed of you.”

  That pierced him. “Mom. There’s a criminal on the loose who saw her with me.”

  Deirdra gasped and his mother’s face paled.

  “Forget about that.” As angry as his mother had been, she’d gotten careless. “Where is she?”

  “CC took her into town. I told her to take her to the apartment above Hank’s.”

  Mason didn’t wait. He dug into his coat pocket for the rental keys.

  “I’ll go with you,” Teddy said.

  “So will I.” His dad followed.

  Teddy he’d take, his dad, no. Mason stopped him with a hand on his chest. “You stay here with the girls.” If anything happened, there’d be someone here to protect them. At least, that’s what he wanted his dad to think. The truth was, Teddy knew what he was doing. His dad didn’t.

  Karl nodded. “Good thinking.”

  “We’ll call you as soon as we find her and CC.”

  “How much is this going to cost?” Chloe spun in a circle inside the cute two-bedroom apartment. Two bedrooms! And it was furnished like a cottage and a dream.

  “Rent’s paid through the end of March,” The balding owner of the gift shop downstairs said. “Last tenant had to move in a hurry. You pay a five-hundred-dollar deposit and the utilities and we’ll call it square. After that, we’ll talk.”

  Chloe glanced over at CC with a big smile.

  “Looks like everything but Mason is going your way.”

  With the mention of Mason, Chloe’s cheer fell flat. Hank handed her a key and she gave him cash. She’d need to find a bank to deposit her severance check.

  “Bevy said you’re good with greeting cards.”

  “Yes. I’m looking for a place to sell them.”

  “I’ll give you a few names. The distributor I work with will be able to help you.”

  “Thank you.” That was what she’d been missing in Chicago. Connections.

  Hank left and Chloe put her luggage on the bed in the master bedroom. When she came back out, CC had her car keys in her hand.

  “I better get back. Mason’s probably blown a gasket by now.”

  “Hmm.” Good. He needed a few gaskets blown.

  A series of thumps interrupted them. Chloe went to the door and opened it, peering down the stairs that led both outside the back of the shop and into the shop itself. Hank lay at the bottom. Too late, she saw a man standing adjacent to the door at the top. His shaved head gave her a jolt of recognition. His eerie gray eyes sent her into fight mode. Axel. Leaping in front of the doorway, he kicked the door and shoved her, sending her falling backward.

  CC screamed.

  Axel tackled Chloe before she could position herself to fight. Then something hard hurt the side of her head.

  “Get up.”

  Staring up into pale gray eyes, Chloe nodded. His dark, thin mustache looked drawn on.

  While pointing the gun at her, he said to CC, “Move and your friend is dead.”

  Her frantic breaths revealed her panicked state. Chloe wished she wouldn’t give this dirtbag that much power. When the time was right, they’d fi
ght back.

  Axel wanted Mason, not her and CC. He wouldn’t do anything too terrible until he lured his enemy. She tried to communicate something to that effect to CC, but CC was too frightened right now.

  “Both you girls are going to go down those stairs and out the back door. I got a car out there. You’ll get in, and you…” He jabbed Chloe’s forehead with the gun. “You’re going to drive.”

  “Just take me. Leave her,” Chloe said. “You don’t need her.”

  “Shut up. Move.”

  “You don’t need her. I’ll go, but leave her.”

  Drawing back the gun, he hit her temple. CC screamed again while Chloe tripped and corrected her balance. She debated whether to fight him then. He swung his aim to CC and that stopped her.

  “Scream again and I’ll shut you up for good,” Axel said. “Now go out the door ahead of us.”

  Trembling, CC backed away instead.

  “Now!”

  She looked terrified as she sought Chloe’s eyes.

  “It’s okay, CC,” Chloe said. “Do what he says.”

  Stumbling, CC went through the door. Chloe followed with Axel changing the position of his gun to her kidney.

  Down the stairs, CC whimpered as she stepped over Hank’s body. Chloe saw his chest moving so she knew he was still alive. His hair was bloody, though, so he must have a head injury.

  Outside, she searched for anyone who might be able to help them. The back alley was empty and likely sparsely traveled in this small town. She could see the street from here but no cars passed. It was cold. Neither she nor CC had their jackets. They were still up in the apartment.

  Axel released her to grab CC. CC screamed again. “I said shut up. You hear me?”

  “Please don’t hurt us,” CC pleaded.

  “Drive,” he ordered Chloe. She hurried to the driver’s side of the dark gray sedan and got in while he shoved CC in the back. She whimpered again with fear when Axel slid in beside her, putting the gun to her head.

  “Please let us go. Please.”

  “It’s okay, CC,” Chloe repeated. They had a better chance if they were both calm. She met CC’s eyes through the rearview mirror and tried to reassure her silently.

  “Drive north out of town. I’ll tell you when to stop.”

  Chloe watched her surroundings. Cars passed the other direction but no one noticed them. People walked along the sidewalk on both sides of the street. A man saw them and looked as they passed. Did he see the gun against CC’s head?

  Moments later they were driving on a desolate road, thick forest on either side.

  “What are you going to do?” Chloe asked.

  “What I shoulda done the minute I first met your boyfriend. It would have saved me a lot of trouble.”

  “What good will it do to kill us?” He hadn’t said he’d kill them, but he hadn’t answered her question, either.

  “You’re going to bring him to me.”

  So, he’d use them as bait and once he had Mason, kill them all. She wouldn’t tell him he’d be outnumbered. CC’s brother would surely join Mason, and Chloe wasn’t about to stand around and let them do all the work. She planned on making it out of this alive.

  “Up here on the right, turn.”

  Chloe saw the turn. If it weren’t for CC, she’d drive the sedan into a tree or something. Anything to put Axel off-balance long enough to take his gun.

  “Don’t do it, Chloe,” CC said.

  Chloe turned. Now wasn’t the time to fight back. She drove up a narrow road that wasn’t plowed, but there were tracks. Tracks that Axel had made. A small cabin came into view. She stopped where the road dead-ended in front of the small structure. Another vehicle was parked there.

  “Open the door and get out.”

  CC opened the door and Axel forced her toward the cabin. Chloe followed, trying to figure out what to do. If he tied them they were finished.

  Axel wore a black leather jacket and thin gloves. The jacket would slow him down. Despite the cold, Chloe was glad she wasn’t wearing her own jacket.

  Pushing the door open, Axel shoved CC hard as she stumbled into the cabin. She tripped and fell against another man wearing a black ski jacket and no gloves. He was slightly bigger than Axel and had light brown hair that came to his shoulders. His brown eyes were shrewd. Patient. Axel started to turn on Chloe. His gun was no longer on CC and the other man was busy helping her correct her balance.

  Chloe jumped up and swung herself nearly horizontal for a roll kick. The element of surprise always worked for her. No one expected a girl to move like this. She wacked the gun from Axel’s hand with one foot and rammed the heel of her boot right into his mouth before her roll was complete. Landing like Catwoman with her hands ready, she picked up the gun as Axel sprawled facedown on the floor.

  He started to roll onto his back. Chloe straightened and kicked him to let him know she was watching. “Don’t move or I’ll shoot.”

  Looking up at the other man, she demanded, “Let her go or he’s dead.” Now he had his gun pressed against CC’s head. Her eyes were wide but not as afraid after seeing Chloe fight.

  When the man didn’t do as she asked, Chloe knelt next to Axel and jabbed the gun against his head, satisfied with his grunt of pain. “Do it or I’ll kill him.”

  The man shoved CC and she tripped toward the still open door, leaning against the frame and waiting there for Chloe.

  “Now drop your gun,” she told the man.

  He hesitated.

  “I’m not kidding around. I’ll kill him.”

  “Drop your damn gun!” Axel yelled.

  The man did.

  Chloe picked it up and stood, aiming each weapon at each man as she backed toward the door. Axel rolled onto his rear and elbows, watching her with a little incredulity.

  “Who are you?” Chloe asked the other man.

  He cocked his head at her mockingly.

  She decided not to waste time forcing him. “CC, go to the car.”

  Hearing CC’s running feet, she continued to back through the doorway, and then running after her, keeping watch on the doorway. She could see Axel emerging. At the car, she shot the second vehicle’s front and back tires on the passenger side before getting behind the wheel. With CC already in the seat next to her, Chloe put the guns on her lap and started the car. She saw Axel walking out of the cabin with a gun raised.

  “Stay down!” She spun the sedan around as bullets hit the exterior. He must be aiming for the tires, copying her tactic. She should have checked them for spare weapons.

  Driving too fast down the narrow, icy road, the tires slipped and she skidded. The rear end hit a tree and then the front sailed into another. She tried backing up. The tires spun.

  “Damn it!” She twisted to look behind her.

  Axel and the other man were walking toward them.

  Chloe opened the door and fired both of the guns she had. The men ducked out of sight.

  “Run through the trees!”

  “What?”

  “We’re stuck and they’ll kill us if we stay here. Now run!”

  “Chloe!”

  “CC, don’t think. Just do what I tell you. Run through the trees. Head for the road. Do it!”

  CC ran. Chloe ran behind her, looking back to make sure Axel and the other man weren’t in sight.

  “Which way?”

  “A little more to the right. The road is that way.” She pointed. CC had been too scared to notice details, but Chloe was no stranger to dangerous surroundings. Or dangerous people.

  Another check behind them and Chloe spotted Axel. Where was the other man? “Keep running!”

  She stopped behind the cover of a tree and tucked one gun in the front of her pants. Then, inching out from behind the tree, aimed the second gun. Fired. Bark from the tree inches from Axel’s head sprayed. She heard him curse.

  “That’s right, dirtbag,” she yelled, “I’m a good shot!”

  Firing some more, she ran out of bullet
s. Tossing that gun to the ground, she turned and ran, weaving in and out of trees and glancing back several times. She didn’t see him. But he was there. He’d just be more careful now. Searching around for the other man and not seeing him, Chloe ran faster.

  Mason screeched to a stop in front of Hank’s Gift Shop. Teddy alighted from the Yukon with him and they entered the store. No one was there. Not even customers. Mason led the way to the back. No one. At the back door, he exchanged looks with Teddy and the two drew their weapons. Mason opened the door.

  Hank lay there in the open space of a back entry.

  Teddy already had his cell phone out while Mason checked for breathing. Hank groaned. His eyes blinked open.

  “Hank?”

  “Man…hit me.”

  “I know, just stay still. Help is on the way.”

  Mason looked up the stairs and saw an open door. Sick with dread, he took the stairs three at a time. Inside, he saw CC’s purse and then Chloe’s. Both girls were gone.

  Axel had taken them. Fury roared into a forest fire inside him. His sister. Chloe…

  He fought for control. After this morning…

  A siren grew louder as he rejoined Teddy in the area at the bottom of the stairs. Teddy still had his phone to his ear and had crouched beside Hank.

  “I’m fine,” Hank said grumpily.

  The sheriff’s car came into view and stopped near the entrance. That was fast. Mason looked down at Teddy, who shrugged. Straightening from Hank, he moved to stand beside Mason just outside the door.

  Sheriff Murphy got out of his car. “One of you two call in a man with a gun?” He saw Hank and alarm changed his expression.

  “I said I’m fine, damn it!” Hank roared, rubbing his head.

  Just then a man came running toward them from the street. “Sheriff!”

  Teddy spoke into his phone and ended his call, turning expectantly toward the man.

  Breathless, the man came to a stop before them. “I saw someone holding a gun to a woman’s head in a dark gray Impala. Another woman was driving.” After he caught his breath he described all the people in the car.

  Chloe.

  “Which way were they headed?” Mason demanded.

  “North.”

  North, out of town.