“You’re coming with me,” he said. “We end this tonight.”
* * *
“Maisy?”
Dalton was hoarse from calling her name. Luna stayed up ahead, racing through the woods until they came out on the other side of the road.
And into the yard with the abandoned car and old, deserted house.
Dalton swallowed the excruciating pain coursing through him. The pain of failure, the pain of knowing he’d been close to the truth the last time he’d been here and he’d found nothing.
Nothing. But now, his daughter might be in there, hurt. Or worse.
Dear God...
He couldn’t finish the words. He hoped God would hear his plea. Luna stopped at the side door of the house. Now she emitted low growls. Her way of warning Dalton while she alerted.
Someone was in there.
Dalton pulled his weapon and prayed Zoe and the chief would follow the trail. His phone buzzed, and he quickly checked the message.
It was Randall Callahan. Josie’s brother-in-law remembered someone inquiring about Josie. A coworker of her husband’s named Wilson or possibly Wilcox?
Dalton put away his phone, his gut burning. They’d been targeting the wrong man.
Josie. He remembered her holding the backpack, her eyes wide with fear and horror. She’d want to help find Maisy. She loved his daughter, too.
Blinking back his emotions, Dalton slowly made his way to the old, battered door and stared into the window. A flashlight lay on the floor, illuminating enough of the room for him to see Maisy sitting in a chair, her arms tied behind her so she couldn’t escape. A slow rage boiled up inside Dalton. He was about to kick down the door when he heard a sound behind him. Dalton turned and found a dirty, scruffy-looking man holding Josie, his arm stretched across her neck.
And a gun jammed against her side.
* * *
Josie shouted, “Dalton, get down.”
The man shot and missed. She cried out, but he held the gun to her head. “I’ll kill her,” he shouted to Dalton. “Put down the gun and hold that dog back.”
Luna’s growls turned to aggressive barks.
Dalton halted her. “Stay.” He held his gun out and slowly lowered it to the ground.
When Josie heard cries of “Daddy” from inside the house, she breathed a sigh of relief. Maisy was alive.
“I’m coming,” Dalton called. “Maisy, honey, stay right where you are. Don’t try to untie your hands. Stay there, baby.”
“She can’t get away,” the man said. “Y’all are gonna have to join her. And then it’ll finally be over.”
Josie gave Dalton a warning glance. “He’s not my brother-in-law. He’s—”
“Perry Wilcox,” Dalton guessed. “The one missing link that we couldn’t find.” He nodded toward the man. “You worked with Josie’s husband, right?”
The man shoved Josie toward the house. “That’s right. I finally found her. This woman ruined my life, so I tried to ruin hers.”
“By threatening her with strange notes and letters and shooting at her?” Dalton asked. “And now, kidnapping a child, too?”
“I had to get everyone’s attention,” the man shouted. “No one ever listens to me.”
Dalton kept his eyes on Josie. She stared at him, trying to convey all that she felt at this moment—gratitude, fear for him and Maisy, hope and dread, and love. A love so strong that she knew she had to survive this, somehow.
“He thinks I caused the accident at the refinery,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Douglas and I had a horrible fight that day before his shift. Mr. Wilcox cleaned up hazardous spills and...something went wrong.”
The man pushed her closer to Dalton. Luna growled low in her throat, her impatience evident in her body language.
“I’ll show you what went wrong.” Wilcox turned, and Josie felt sick to her stomach. He had a horrid scar on the left side of his face. His skin had been scorched and burned. “This! My marriage ended, and I lost my job.” He jerked his arm tighter around Josie. “The accident was Douglas Callahan’s fault. In the weeks before it, he always came to work drunk. He told us how horrible Josie was, how she didn’t want a family or children. How lazy she was. Not a good wife. He was so mad at her, he couldn’t focus and he messed up big-time.”
Dalton’s eyes held Josie’s, an understanding passing between them. “So her actions ruined your life and you had to make her pay, right?”
Wilcox bobbed his head. “Right. I tried to shut down that kiddie corral. And I’m not done.”
Dalton inched closer. “You don’t have to do this. We can help you. I’ll make sure she gets what she deserves.” Josie knew Dalton was bargaining, anything, to make the man think he was on his side.
Wilcox shook his head. “I don’t care anymore. I can’t let her live when my life is over.” He pressed the gun into Josie’s ribs. “Get inside. I want her to tell me how sorry she is. I want her to beg.”
Josie tried to keep breathing. She could get out of this. She had to help Maisy and Dalton. She wouldn’t let them die because of this madman and his misguided sense of justice.
“Just take me,” she said. “Let them go and take me with you. I’ll do whatever you want if you let them go.”
“Ain’t gonna work,” he said. “Now let’s get inside.”
Before the man could force them into the house, they heard a shuffling noise and a door slamming. Startled, Wilcox looked to the left.
It was all the distraction Josie and Dalton needed. Josie elbowed him in the ribs, stomped on his foot and then shoved him back. She dove to the ground a few feet out of his reach. Dalton grabbed his gun and rushed the man. Luna started barking again.
“Attack,” Dalton called, rolling away so Luna could do her job.
Maisy came running around the building, holding a large tree branch. When Josie saw the girl, she grabbed her and held her back. “It’s okay, Maisy. I’m okay. We’re all okay.”
Maisy dropped the big limb and turned and fell into Josie’s arms, her sobs echoing out over the stark woods. “I kept working at the ropes until I could slip through them.”
“You did great, honey.”
When they heard more barking, Dalton called off Luna and cuffed Perry Wilcox. “Don’t move!”
Then he turned and hurried to his daughter and Josie. “It’s over,” he said. “It’s all over.”
Christmas Day
Josie stood in her kitchen and smiled at the man sitting with his daughter on the couch. Dalton and Maisy had opened their presents at home, and now they’d come to spend Christmas with her. Dalton was admiring his gloves, and Maisy was wrapping her scarf in much the same way she’d seen Josie wearing hers.
Josie thanked God for this scene. When Dalton got up to refresh his coffee and grab another cinnamon roll, she couldn’t help it. She hugged him close. “Thank you for the hand lotion.”
He sniffed her hair. “You always smell so good, it reminded me of you.”
“It’s so good to be alive,” she said. “We’re so blessed.”
He nuzzled her ear. “Yes.”
The horror of her encounter with Perry Wilcox still held her, though. “I’m just glad it’s over.”
They had Wilcox in custody. The eyewitness had identified him as the man she’d seen in the town center parking lot, and the can of red spray paint left behind was what was used on her fence and her car. The lab had actually found a partial print on the can that was a match.
“We’re here, together, and it’s cold, but we’re warm and safe,” Dalton said. “I’m cleared to start my assignment next week in Canyon County instead of Flagstaff. I won’t have to leave you.”
They glanced at Maisy and Luna, curled up together. Maisy was now reading a book she’d r
eceived from Santa, and Luna enjoyed a chew bone from her doggie stocking.
“We have a big day,” Josie said. “Zoe, Sean and Patrick are coming over for dinner and bringing Freya, and then we’ll go over to my aunt’s for even more food.”
“I love it,” Dalton said. “And I love you.”
Josie’s heart dipped and lifted. “I thought we were going to take this slow.”
“We will,” he said. “But I can love you while we do that.”
“I love you, too,” she admitted. “I love Maisy and I owe Luna my life.”
“I’ll remind you of that every day for the next fifty years.”
She smiled at him, and then he dipped his head to give her a quick but thorough kiss. “Let’s hurry up and take this slow.”
When the doorbell rang, Maisy jumped up. “May I get it?”
Dalton laughed. “Make sure you know who it is first.”
He’d had a talk with his brave daughter. She’d untied her hands in spite of his warnings. Or because of his warnings, since he’d tried to teach her how to survive in any situation. Maisy was bold, but he wanted her to be cautious, too.
Dalton gave Josie another kiss before the house filled with laughter and joy. Freya greeted her friend Luna with a doggie woof and then settled down beside Luna to enjoy the day.
Maisy took Patrick by the hand. “Wanna see what I got for Christmas?”
The little boy grinned and showed her his gift, his speech still slow and stilted but improving. “I got a game.”
Zoe hugged Josie and gave her a reassuring smile, while Dalton offered Sean a drink. “You sure look happy.”
“I am,” Josie replied. “I can’t believe the police department volunteered to throw us a party and help us rebuild the day care.”
Sean grinned and held up his drink. “And we’re keeping our children with you. We trust you, Josie.”
Josie found it hard to speak. “I can’t wait to get back to work.”
“Well, meantime, your aunt has the situation under control,” Zoe said. “She was licensed to care for children in her home for years, and she’s still good to go.”
After they gathered around the dining table, Josie took Dalton’s hand. “Will you say grace?”
Dalton looked sheepish. “Yes, I’ll be glad to. I have the best Christmas gift. My family.”
When he finished, Maisy screamed and ran to the window. “Daddy, look. It’s snowing!”
Josie couldn’t believe it. Beautiful, delicate snowflakes fell like lace and covered the ground.
Maisy grabbed Patrick. “This is a perfect Christmas.”
Josie looked around the table and then met Dalton’s gaze. Maisy was right. After so much pain, they were able to celebrate the gift of Christ together. She was home.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed ROOKIE K-9 UNIT CHRISTMAS,
look for the rest of the ROOKIE K-9 UNIT series:
PROTECT AND SERVE
by Terri Reed
TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES
by Lenora Worth
SEEK AND FIND
by Dana Mentink
HONOR AND DEFEND
by Lynette Eason
SECRETS AND LIES
by Shirlee McCoy
SEARCH AND RESCUE
by Valerie Hansen
Keep reading for an excerpt from CLASSIFIED CHRISTMAS MISSION by Lynette Eason.
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Dear Reader,
I enjoyed being part of this novella collection with my friend Valerie Hansen. It was good to revisit Desert Valley, Arizona, and see what was happening with some of the K-9 Unit characters a few months later.
My heart went out to Josie and Dalton. Josie wanted a family but she’d almost given up. Dalton once had a family, but the loss of his wife devastated him and his little girl. Maisy wanted to protect everyone because she thought she had failed at protecting her mother. I think we all have felt this way at times. We wish we could protect everyone we love and keep them from pain. I hope that if you’ve had a sad event in your life, this book might help you to see that God’s love covers all hurts, and our faith can help us to heal. The K-9 dog in this book is named after my granddog, Luna. Luna is protective of those she loves and we all love her, too.
Until next time, may the angels watch over you. Always. :)
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Classified Christmas Mission
by Lynette Eason
ONE
CIA officer Amber Starke pressed the gas pedal and prayed that she wouldn’t slide over the cliff and into the ravine below. She was trying to escape killers, not plunge to her death because she got careless in bad weather. But she couldn’t see the road she needed. It was around here somewhere, but her childhood memory was vague, the exact location of the drive refusing to rise to the surface. Of course it was dark and her windshield resembled a field of white.
The sun continued to drop along with the temperature and the snow-stressed windshield wipers slowed as ice started to form on them. Amber knew it would be time to find a place to hole up and she had just the destination in mind.
If they could get there.
She’d been driving for the last seventeen hours stopping only for restroom breaks and food. She hadn’t planned to do so, but her young passenger hadn’t protested so she’d kept going. Yesterday it had been fifteen hours of the same. She didn’t know why Sam had been so agreeable in riding almost nonstop, but she just counted her blessings and kept going.
She glanced in the rearview mirror and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the sleeping child. The six-year-old who didn’t like change had just had his life turned upside down. With a dead mother and killer for a father, Amber knew she was the child’s only hope to live to see seven. She just prayed she could make that happen. But in order to do that, she had to figure out how to coax the secrets from his brain before his father caught up with them. Fortunately, Sam loved road trips. She had a feeling it was because there were very few distractions and plenty of game time on his phone to entertain him. She’d gotten him a special phone that was encrypted and untraceable. He didn’t know that, but it sure made her feel better.
Amber saw the sharp curve ahead and lightly pressed the brakes. The sedan slowed, but she could feel the ice building on the road.
Great. She remembered the harsh winters from her childhood and this looked to be one of the harshest. She wanted to kick herself for n
ot checking the weather before heading east from California, but getting away from the people trying to kill them had taken precedence.
The wipers continued to slow, becoming heavy with snow and she knew she couldn’t keep going much longer. She had to get to the cabin. They’d be safe there, she was certain of it. In all the years she’d been with the agency she’d never been traced to her hometown of Wrangler’s Corner. But the deciding factor in making a beeline for home was that she had documents, passports and money hidden away that would allow her and Sam to disappear for good. She just had to get to it.
She slapped the wheel. The weather! She did not need this snow. Her brain kicked in, trying to come up with a plan should she need it.
She supposed as long as she could keep the car running and the heater on, they’d be all right but after a glance at the gas gauge, Amber saw that wasn’t going to be an option. She was pushing empty. She hadn’t liked the looks of the two men at the last gas station so had simply circled the pumps and kept going.
She might have enough to get to the cabin. She glanced behind her. Had she been followed? She didn’t think so, but the people after her and Sam were good. Scary good. Her fingers flexed on the wheel. Her heart still cried for her friend, Sam’s mother, who’d died two days ago, killed by Sam’s father before the cancer could claim her life. She’d died too soon. A violent senseless death that caused the rage to boil in Amber’s soul when the memories pressed in.
“Home. Number One Mom.”
“What?” She looked in the rearview mirror. Sam was awake.
His dark eyes wouldn’t meet hers. “Home.” He clasped his arms around his middle and began his familiar rocking back and forth. “Go home.”
She blinked against the tears that wanted to well. “Hey, Sam, I know you want to go home, but we can’t right now, okay?”
“Home! Number One Mom.”
With Sam’s autism, Amber wasn’t sure exactly what he understood and what he didn’t. He was verbal sometimes. Other times the day would pass without him uttering a word. And he loved numbers. He numbered everything and it seemed to appease him even if she didn’t have a clue what it was he was numbering. She knew Number One Mom referred to the woman who’d given him birth. Amber’s friend who now lay cold in her grave.
Rookie K-9 Unit Christmas Page 19