Snowbound at Christmas

by Debbie Mason

  He walked over to Molly and George. “Bloody terrifying about Sam, eh? To think we had a murderer in our midst and didn’t know it.” He was getting real tired of being Harry. If he didn’t think he’d get more out of Molly and George playing a British lord, he’d drop the act.

  George rolled his eyes.

  Molly shoved her gloved hands in the pockets of her fur-lined leather coat. “Too bad he missed. He would have done us all a favor. Us, at least. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, don’t play the fool, Halstead. You’ve been after Tessa since you stepped foot on the set. It won’t work, you know. If Phil thinks he’ll get away with it, he won’t. The fans will revolt. They’ll picket the studio.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following you, George.”

  The actor looked away. Molly rubbed his arm. “George thinks that instead of Tessa picking Byron, she picks Rand.”

  “So the scene at the lodge today, I’m in it and not you?” he asked the older man. He could alleviate George’s worries by telling him, no matter what Chloe and his grandmother wanted, this was his last episode. But this might be what they needed to force George or Molly to show their hand.

  “Over my dead body,” George said and stomped off.

  “Sadly, for poor George, I think that’s exactly what’s going to happen.” Molly sighed, then patted his shoulder. “No hard feelings, Harry. I know it’s not your fault.” Her delicate jaw tightened. “If anyone’s to blame, it’s Chloe. I’m sure she’s the one behind this. Numbers start to fall, and she has a meltdown. If she would have just left it alone, none of this would have had to happen.”

  “None of what?”

  “Hmm?” She looked distracted. He repeated his question, and she gave her head a slight shake, lifting her shoulders. “Don’t pay any attention to me. I should probably get to hair and makeup in case I’m in the next scene. Who knows, Harry, maybe I’ll get my Christmas wish, and it will be me and you in bed at the lodge.” She winked and walked away.

  * * *

  Chloe got her Christmas wish. Molly didn’t. And Grayson now understood the lack of a script. Rand and Tessa had exchanged less than four words before falling into bed. Maybe if Grayson really was an actor, the scene wouldn’t have bothered him as much as it did, but he wasn’t. Making out with Cat’s sister was more than a little uncomfortable. He kept reminding himself it wasn’t real. The problem was, he had an uneasy feeling Chloe had confused fantasy with reality.

  Phil yelled “Cut.”

  Chloe, as if she didn’t hear him, writhed on top of Grayson, moaning.

  “Chloe, get—” She smashed her mouth on his, drowning out the words.

  “Cut,” Phil yelled again.

  Grayson wrenched his lips from hers, flipping Chloe onto her back. But instead of stopping like he assumed she would, Chloe wrapped her legs around his waist, fisting her hand in his hair to drag his mouth back to hers.

  “All right, I give up.” Phil laughed.

  Grayson didn’t want to hurt her, but he’d had enough. He grabbed her wrist, forcing her hand from his head and drew back. “Stop it, right now.”

  She looked taken aback by his anger. Surely she couldn’t actually believe he’d been into it. “Get off me.” She moved mechanically, and he rolled off the bed. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to Phil, but he had to do that now. The director needed to start looking for a replacement or change the story line. Just as long as he didn’t tell Molly or George, at least until they’d discovered which one of them wanted Chloe dead.

  Grayson looked for Phil in the group of people congregated behind the cameras. He spotted the director, and to the left of him, Cat and Easton. She had to be upset by what she’d just witnessed. It didn’t matter that she knew Grayson was acting, she knew her sister wasn’t. “Cat.” He started toward her, then realized he had on nothing but a pair of black satin briefs. Searching the floor by the bed, he spotted the black robe, walked over, and picked it up. By the time he had it on, Cat was gone.

  After the night they’d spent together, he didn’t want something like this to come between them. He had to find her.

  “You’re in love with my sister, aren’t you?”

  He turned to Chloe. She’d put on a robe and was standing by the bed. He dragged his hands through his hair. It was too early to say if he was in love with Cat. Falling for her? Probably. “We’re seeing each other.”

  “But I thought… Everything you said to me…”

  “Why don’t you get dressed, Chloe. We’ll talk then, all right?”

  She searched his face, then gave a small nod. She walked into the adjoining room and quietly closed the door. He headed for the bathroom where he’d changed for the scene and got dressed. As he left and strode to the door, a scream tore through the room. Chloe. Grayson ran across the room, throwing open the door. “Chloe, what happened?”

  She was on the floor in front of the bed, her hands at her throat. “Someone… someone tried to kill me. They choked me.” She started to cry, and he crouched beside her to take her in his arms.

  “I’ve got you now. No one’s going to hurt you,” he said, scanning the room while he held her trembling body close. He gave her a couple more seconds to get it together before he drew back to examine her neck. Tipping her chin, he studied the red marks. They appeared to be left by bare fingers, with tiny gouges from nails. “Chloe, did you see who did this?”

  “No, she must have come in through the sliding door. She came from behind and strangled me. I couldn’t breathe. I think I blacked out. She must have thought I was dead and left.”

  He pulled out his cell to call Gage. Chloe closed her hand over his. “D-don’t call the police. I think…” She swallowed, touched her throat, and lifted tear-filled eyes. “I think it was Cat.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Cat saw the look in Grayson’s eyes when he called her name and knew she had to leave before he outed them. No doubt he thought she was upset seeing her sister sprawled on top of him, moaning in ecstasy as she ate his face. Admittedly, it had been uncomfortable, and she’d spent the last fifteen minutes with her eyes averted. She would have covered her ears, but that would have looked weird.

  Part of her discomfort came from knowing that while Grayson was acting, her sister wasn’t. Which was why Cat had to leave. Because if Grayson reacted the way she expected him to, her sister would know they were together. Something Cat wanted to avoid at all costs, especially now. They had enough to deal with.

  She’d witnessed a confrontation between Molly, George, and Phil in the lodge’s parking lot when the director broke the news about the scene Cat had just watched. It’s why she’d been at the taping in the first place. She’d been afraid one of them would make their move. But they hadn’t shown up. So when Grayson turned to pick up his black robe, she figured she’d kill two birds with one stone and check on their whereabouts.

  As she started to walk away, Easton stopped her with a hand on her arm. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m good.” She almost asked the same of him. She’d sensed his tension while he watched the scene.

  “I’m going to grab us a couple of coffees. I won’t be long.”

  She nodded, catching Grayson’s grandmother’s smirk. The older woman was a pain, and worse, she was encouraging Chloe. Cat opened her mouth, then closed it. She turned away. She’d let Grayson deal with his grandmother.

  Cat jogged along the walkway, past the last room, and rounded the corner to the back of the lodge. She’d get a better view into Molly’s and George’s rooms through the patio doors. Obviously, she wasn’t the only one who’d taken the path as the snow was well trampled. George’s room was first up. She could hear him talking. Edging closer, she peeked past the curtains. He was on the phone, his face pale as he ran an agitated hand through his hair and paced the room. No doubt talking to his agent about the new development on As the Sun Sets.

  She waited until his ba
ck was turned and moved on to the next room. Blowing on her bare hands, she gave a cursory glance through each patio door until she reached Molly’s. As far as Cat could tell, the actress wasn’t in her room. She waited a couple of minutes with her ear pressed to the glass, then tried the patio door. Finding it unlocked, she entered Molly’s room. Cat gave up her unproductive search and opened the door to leave when a blood-chilling scream stopped her cold. It was Chloe.

  Slamming the patio door shut, she stumbled along the path as she raced to the room. She pressed her face to the glass where they’d taped the last scene. No one was there, but the door to the adjoining room was ajar. She ran to the next set of patio doors and shoved them open. Grayson looked up from comforting Chloe on the floor. Her sister’s flimsy white robe slipped off one shoulder as she twisted at her waist.

  She stared at Cat with wide, distrustful eyes, then buried her face in Grayson’s chest. “Keep her away from me,” she whimpered.

  Cat’s shoulders rose and fell on a resigned sigh. It was too late. Grayson had told Chloe about them, and now her sister hated her. She ignored the stab of guilt in her chest and took a step forward. “Chloe, I can explain—”

  The outer door flew open, framing Phil, a couple of grips, and Easton, who all took in the scene. “I have it handled, Phil,” Grayson said in an authoritative voice. “Easton.” He lifted his chin at the door.

  “Out.” Easton closed the door on their shocked faces, then rounded on Grayson. “What the hell happened?”

  “Chloe was attacked,” Grayson answered Easton, but his eyes remained on Cat.

  She moved toward her sister. “Oh God, Chloe, are you all—”

  Grayson cut her off. “Cat, where were you?” He distractedly patted Chloe’s shoulder when she once again whimpered.

  Cat frowned. “I was searching Molly’s room. Why?”

  “Did anyone see you?”

  “No.” She placed her hands on her hips, irritated by his line of questioning. “I may not be a cop anymore, Grayson, but give me some credit, I know—”

  “Chloe was attacked by a woman. She thinks that woman was you.”

  Cat’s arms fell limply to her sides as the emotion in his eyes finally registered. It was suspicion. He actually thought she was capable of this. She shouldn’t be surprised or hurt. After all, she’d been his primary suspect from the beginning.

  “Bullshit,” Easton snapped, moving to Cat’s side. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Chloe, you look at your sister right now and make that accusation to her face.”

  Cat was startled at what Easton seemed to be implying. Did he honestly believe her sister would do something so heinous as falsely accusing Cat of attacking her? There would be no reason for Chloe to do such… Other than the man comforting her.

  Cat didn’t know what made her do it. Maybe it was because she was sick to death of being accused of something that she didn’t do. Or maybe it was because the man she’d been falling in love with wasn’t the one calling bullshit. But whatever the reason, she strode to where the couple sat on the floor.

  “You told her we were together, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, but Cat, you can’t actually believe that she…” He lifted Chloe’s chin, revealing the faint outline of two thumbs. Chloe wrapped her arms around her waist, tears sliding down her cheeks as she averted her gaze. “… would do this to herself for attention?”

  No, she didn’t want to believe it. And faced with the evidence, she started to doubt herself.

  Easton walked over, crouching down to skim his fingers over the marks. Chloe shivered and bit her bottom lip. “What were you doing when you were attacked, Chloe? Where were you standing?”

  “Here, and I was listening to an audiobook.” She pointed to her earbuds and iPad lying on the floor. At least that explained how she could be taken unawares. Cat had given her sister lessons in self-defense, at which she’d excelled. When she wasn’t worrying about having a heart attack from overexerting herself.

  Grayson helped Chloe off the floor, guiding her to the end of the bed. “Sit down,” he said, draping the comforter over her shoulders.

  “Thank you,” Chloe whispered, touching her throat.

  “So you’re saying the person came in through the patio doors, attacked you, then left that way, but you didn’t see them. Or you did see them and it was Cat?”

  “I didn’t see them. I must have blacked out, and they left me for dead.” She stared at her hands folded in her lap.

  “How do you know it was a woman? Seems odd they didn’t speak to you.” Easton grilled her while Grayson watched her closely. Cat did the same.

  “They were the same size as me. I smelled their perfume. They may have said something, but I didn’t hear it.” Chloe’s fingers whitened as she clutched the comforter, her chin lifting. “I was the one who was nearly murdered. Shouldn’t you be out looking for whoever did it instead of questioning me, the victim?”

  Easton muttered, “Victim my ass.”

  “That’s enough, McBride,” Grayson said. “So the perfume was the reason you thought it was Cat?”

  “Yes.” She gave two quick nods.

  “Chloe, you know I don’t wear perfume, unless it was my shampoo you smelled. Did they have gloves on?”

  “Stop it. All of you just stop it. Maybe I was wrong and it wasn’t you, Kit Kat. But I saw how you looked at me after the taping. You were jealous, and angry, really angry. I could see it in your eyes. So when I… was attacked, I immediately thought of you. I was in shock.” She flapped her hands in front of her face. “I feel… faint.” She swayed on the end of the bed.

  Automatically, Cat reached for her.

  “She’s playing you, Cat. She’s not going to faint,” Easton said.

  Chloe’s gaze jerked to Easton, and she lurched off the bed. The comforter fell at her feet as she got in his face, stabbing him in his chest with her finger. “You have no idea what it’s like to know that someone wants you dead. That any second may be your last. So excuse me if I’m a little emotional.”

  He looked down at her, and with the tip of his finger, moved her robe back onto her shoulder. “Preaching to the choir, Scarlett. You’re talking to ex–Special Forces, ex-cop, and an FBI agent. Now drop the act and tell the truth.”

  “I don’t know why you’re all so mad at me. You all agree someone is trying to kill me yet you haven’t arrested anyone, and I’m still a target.” She moved away from Easton and turned her back. “Cat, choke me.”

  “I’ll do it,” Easton said.

  “McBride.” Grayson shook his head. “Do it, Cat. Chloe’s judgment won’t be impaired by fear or surprise.”

  Chloe smiled at him over her shoulder.

  Cat stepped up behind her sister, placing her hands around her neck. A few minutes earlier, she would have been tempted to squeeze. Grayson came to stand in front of Chloe and traced the outline of Cat’s fingers, holding her gaze as he did. She wondered if he felt the same electrical buzz she did when his fingers brushed hers. A buzz she wished she didn’t feel. If she had her hands around his neck, she’d give in to the urge and choke him.

  “Chloe, close your eyes. Put yourself back in the moment. Was the person of similar height and build to Cat?”

  She shook her head. “No, taller and more voluptuous. I’m sure it was Molly. She’s already a suspect, so it makes sense she’d try to murder me now that she’s found out Paula is going to be killed off.”

  Cat groaned. “Don’t tell me you were behind the change in the story line.” She felt her sister tense. “Dammit, Chloe, you didn’t need to give Molly and George another reason to want you dead.”

  Chloe ignored Cat, biting her thumbnail. “You know, I think I might be mistaken. It could have been Lady Darby, she’s tall and curvy, too.” She shrugged, turning with a smile. “See, everything worked out for the best. I stopped Grayson from calling the police, so no one knows—”

  “You falsely accused your sister,” Easton finished for her.
<
br />   She ignored him too and continued. “… I thought it was Cat. And now you can arrest both Molly and Lady Darby based on my testimony. Once you interrogate them, they’ll break down and confess to hiring Sam to kill me.” She held up her hands. “Ta-da, case is solved.”

  The door flew open. “Phil said something happened to… Why are you all looking at me like that?” Ty, wearing a dark wig, short skirt, tight sweater, and thigh-high boots, placed his palm on his cheek and laughed. “Oh right, I forgot. I decided to go undercover. I wanted to see what Sam had been saying to the crew. Thought they’d be more likely to open up to a hot woman than me. What do you think?”

  That he fit Chloe’s description. He also had access to Cat’s snowmobile suit, helmet, and gun. Cat pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn’t believe the thought had crossed her mind. She was as bad as her sister. The case was getting to her, and so was the man she thought she was in love with.

  “Okay, I’ve seen and heard it all now. I’m outta here. Do you need a ride, Cat?” Easton asked as he opened the door.

  “Yeah, just give me a minute. I need to speak to you,” she said to Grayson.

  “Ty, is that my sweater?” her sister asked.

  “Umm, no. Hey, what happened to your… Oh my God, someone tried to choke you to death. You poor thing.” He took Chloe in his arms, rocking her back and forth.

  Chloe sniffed. “Are you wearing my perfume?”

  Grayson rubbed his hand over his face. “Ty, stay with Chloe while I talk to Cat.” He took her hand and led her out the door, closing it behind him. “Look, I know what it sounded like, but I didn’t believe you attacked Chloe.”

  “No, you were just going to call the police without giving me a chance—”

  “No, I wasn’t. Chloe hadn’t accused you yet.”

  They both turned at the sound of a car door slamming. Gage walked toward them, his expression grim. “Cat, you’re going to have to come to the station with me.”

  “Gage, I don’t know who called you, but it was a misunderstanding—” Grayson began.