A Silverhill Christmas

by Carol Ericson

  The man flushed as he lifted a shoulder. “I thought she might be going for a weapon.”

  Rio crouched in front of Tori, dressed all in black, and asked gruffly, “You okay?”

  She righted herself awkwardly with her hands cuffed behind her and smirked. “I’ll be okay as soon as you give me that guy’s name so I can report him for brutality.”

  The agent huffed behind Rio. “See? You’re wasting your time. This one’s no lady.”

  “Maybe not.” Rio pushed up, wondering how in the hell Tori had gotten involved in this mess. “But we’d better have a female agent or officer at the police station when we book her to do a full body search, or we will be in trouble.”

  A commotion across the room drew Rio’s attention. A couple of agents pawed through the bags in the corner while Burns hovered over them and Swain screamed obscenities at Alexi’s men and Tori, lined up against the wall.

  Burns shoved Swain out of the way and stomped across the room toward Rio. “We have a problem, McClintock.”

  Burns had no idea. Rio raised his brows. “What?”

  Jerking his thumb over his shoulder, Burns said, “There aren’t any drugs here.”

  Tori’s presence here tonight had nearly floored him. This news was about to finish him off. He charged past Burns. “What are you talking about?”

  Burns kicked one of the bags and several colorful matryoshka dolls tumbled onto the floor. Rio scooped up one of the dolls and pulled off the top. “These are nesting dolls. Did you check them all?”

  Burns pointed to a pile of rounded pieces rocking on the floor. “That’s what we’ve been doing. Apparently, it’s a big surprise to Swain, too, although he won’t admit it.”

  The murdered waiter last night. Tori’s presence at the drop. Dolls instead of drugs. Alexi knew the CIA had him within range. Rio pounded his fist into his hand. They wouldn’t nail him this time. What did that mean for Tori? For Max?

  Who was he kidding? He knew exactly what it meant. His gaze wandered toward Tori, shoved into line with the others heading out of the house, hands shackled. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes wide and glassy.

  She knew exactly what it meant, too.

  TORI DUCKED INTO THE van and inched her way along the bench in the back to make room for the others crowding inside. The side of her head throbbed where that idiot had smacked her with his gun.

  Rio’s fierce expression had both frightened her and given her hope. She’d had to stop him in his tracks before he blew everything, but the fact that he’d wanted to come to her rescue meant that he knew Alexi had coerced her participation in the so-called drug deal.

  And that created a warm glow around her heart, despite the blow to her head.

  When Alexi had come to her room after dinner, she’d been afraid he wanted to renew his passionate kisses. He’d had something worse in mind.

  To prove her loyalty and willingness to work with him to return to Glazkova with Max, he’d invited her to go with his men on a business trip. He’d made it clear that if she refused, she wouldn’t be winning the all-expenses-paid trip back to Glazkova.

  Now what? Alexi had fooled them all. Discovering the possibility that a mole had infiltrated the catering staff, he had swapped the drugs he was going to sell to Grant for those little nesting dolls. What could the CIA prove from that? Only that Grant was stupid enough to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for some babushka dolls.

  Now Alexi had free rein to leave Maui…and take Max with him. And he expected her to go along.

  One of the agents stuck his head into the back of the van, now rank with sweat and fear—mostly hers. “Just because your drug deal didn’t work out how you planned it, boys, doesn’t mean we can’t keep you in jail for the night to trace that money…and those guns.”

  He slammed the door shut, and Alexi’s men mumbled among themselves in Russian. Tori could understand enough Russian to realize the men hadn’t known about Alexi’s switch. They were all breathing sighs of relief now, though.

  The van jostled over the rough road before hitting smooth pavement. In less than an hour, the vehicle jerked to a stop, and the doors creaked open. The agents hustled them out of the van, yelling orders. Frantically searching for Rio, Tori scanned the law enforcement personnel waiting to greet them.

  The agent in charge shoved Tori toward a female officer. “She’s all yours. Bring her to room two and then leave her there for one of our guys to question.”

  The woman pressed her hand against Tori’s lower back, guiding her forward. “I’m Officer Garrett.”

  Tori kept her head down, her hair shielding her face. She’d been a fool to trust Alexi, but what options had he left her?

  Officer Garrett pulled a key ring from her belt loop and unlocked a metal door and then unshackled Tori. “In here.”

  Stepping into the stark, chilly room, Tori clutched her upper arms. A solid table dominated the center of the room, three uncomfortable straight-back chairs crowding its edges. The airless space had no windows, but a large mirror took up almost one wall. Who lurked on the other side of that mirror?

  “Have a seat. Someone will be right with you.”

  What, no strip search? “Thanks.” Tori rubbed her arms and plopped onto a wooden chair.

  A sharp rap sounded on the door and Officer Garrett opened it a crack before swinging it wide. She whispered a few words and then slipped out.

  When Rio clicked the door behind him, Tori almost rushed into his arms. Instead she glanced at the two-way mirror and murmured, “Is it safe?”

  “Safe enough.” Rio pulled out the chair across from her, his back to the mirror, and placed a cup of tea in front of her. “The other agents know who you are now, and we didn’t tell the local cops any more than they need to know.”

  Tori buried her face in her hands. “I’m so sorry, Rio.”

  “What for?” He shoved the tea toward her. “I’m guessing Alexi strong-armed you into going out with his guys.”

  She nodded, curling her fingers around the cup. “Max. It’s always Max. He uses our son to control me. I’m sick of it.”

  “He found out we had him made.” Rio ran a hand through his long hair. “Do you think he knows you had a hand in it?”

  “I don’t think so. He wants me to go back to Glazkova with him…and Max. To prove my loyalty to him and my commitment, he ordered me to go on this drop. Since he sent the dolls instead of the drugs, he knew I wouldn’t get into any real trouble over this.”

  “True enough.” Rio rubbed the stubble across his jaw, and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, Tori, but he’s going to use this opportunity to spirit Max back to Glazkova.”

  Fear leaped like a flame in her chest. “What opportunity?”

  “Your incarceration.”

  “My incarceration?” She flattened her sweaty palms on the surface of the table, trying to steady her hands.

  “We’re holding these guys for a few days. The circumstances of the meeting permit it—the weapons, the cash. If we hold them, we have to hold you, or at least pretend to hold you. You can’t return to Alexi’s estate or he’d suspect your involvement.”

  The meaning of Rio’s words hit her like a sledgehammer, and she dropped her head to the table. She’d feared this scenario, had warned Rio about it. If the CIA couldn’t bring down Alexi fast and hard, he’d disappear and take Max with him.

  Her head shot up, and she narrowed her eyes. “It’s like I told you before, Rio. We have to rescue Max.”

  “How?” He tapped his long fingers on the table, close enough to her hand that she felt a whisper of his touch.

  All too aware of the two-way mirror, she ignored the feelings that touch ignited. “I know the layout of the place, and I know Max’s routine.” She drew her hands into fists and straightened her spine. “I know when Ivan goes to bed, and I know who’s there with him.”

  “Are you suggesting a kidnapping?”

  She twisted h
er hair around her hand and threw it over her left shoulder. “I always knew it would come to this. Didn’t you…cowboy?”

  Tori held her breath waiting for his protests. She need ed him, but she’d attempt the rescue with or without Rio McClintock.

  He nodded slowly. “I suppose so. Protective custody will be the safest place for you while I carry out the rescue.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” She smacked her hands on the table. “You’re not rescuing my son without me. There’s no time. As soon as we have him, we need to leave. I’m not going to risk the CIA getting involved and using Max as a pawn to lure Alexi into some kind of trap.”

  By the way Rio’s spiky, dark lashes fell over his eyes, Tori knew she’d hit the target. She scooted her chair closer to the table, allowing her knees to bump his. She hooked her foot around his ankle. “Please, Rio. I need to be in on the abduction. I won’t slow you down. I know how to handle a weapon. I’m in good physical condition. And I’m motivated.”

  She could feel the pressure of Rio’s knees against hers as he studied her from beneath lowered eyelids. “Can you row?”

  Her leg jerked. “What?”

  “A boat. Can you row a boat?”

  “Hell, yes. I grew up in the great outdoors.”

  She had? He’d always figured her for a princess through and through. “We take a Zodiac in to keep it qui et. Stay close to the shoreline. I can get one of my bud dies from the Agency to meet us around the bend with a power boat and another to pick us up via helicopter farther out once we have Max.”

  She blinked several times and licked her lips. “How do we get into the house?”

  “We’ll figure it all out once we get you out of here, but we have to move fast. Alexi will probably hightail it off Maui before the police release his guys and you from jail.”

  She shoved back from the table and hunched forward. “What are we waiting for?”

  “We need to sneak you out of here so none of Alexi’s men see you. With a few of his guys in the slammer, Max’s rescue should be easier.” The comforting words rolled off Rio’s tongue. Nothing about this operation would be easy. Tori’s tight mouth and narrowed green eyes showed she didn’t buy a word of it.

  Crossing her arms, she asked, “Where are you going to stash me until game time?”

  Rio raised his brows. “You’re coming home with me.”

  TORI GRIPPED HER UPPER arms as a creeping warmth spread to her cheeks. Why had this sudden modesty flashed through her body? She’d been waiting to hear those words from Rio’s lips ever since he dragged her down that hill and she got a look at his deep brown eyes. Dropping her arms, she tilted up her chin. “Not the hotel. I’d be a little conspicuous there.”

  “No. My former digs before I upgraded. I gotta warn you though, where we’re going you can’t order a massage on demand…you might have to wait five minutes while I find my hot oil.”

  Tori grinned for the first time in hours. “What are we waiting for?”

  Working with the local cops, Rio spirited Tori out of the station and into his rental car. Tori slumped in the passenger seat with a hat pulled low over her eyes while Rio checked his mirrors and wound his way through de tours to make sure no headlights suddenly appeared be hind them.

  Tori slid a sideways glance his way. “That drug-bust-that-never-was made life a lot harder for you, didn’t it?”

  He shrugged as he adjusted his own hat. “Blew my cover, but then I don’t intend on hanging around too much longer.”

  Rio swung his rental car off the main highway onto a smaller road where the headlights from the car illuminated lush vegetation. He turned onto a dirt road that climbed a sloping incline before parking the car in front of a small house set down beneath an old, twisted banyan tree.

  Tori hoisted herself up and leaned forward. “This is beautiful. Why would you ever want to leave this place for that soulless resort in Kaanapali?”

  “To look after you.” Rio pushed the car door open and swung his keys around his finger. “Come on. We have a lot of planning to do.”

  Hours after midnight, as the moon touched the crest of the hillside with gold, Tori sat curled up in the corner of the sofa, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea. She’d just listened to Rio on the phone with his two CIA contacts discussing powerboats, Zodiacs and helicopters. They made it sound so easy, but she knew better.

  The furrow between Rio’s brows told her the truth.

  “He’ll kill you.” She gazed into the brandy-colored tea, unable to meet Rio’s eyes.

  “He has to catch me first.” Rio kicked his legs onto the coffee table, folding his arms behind his head, and yawned. “I’ve been doing this kind of work for a while, Tori. Trust me.”

  “I do trust you, Rio.”

  “Do you have enough faith in me to take my advice and stay out of this? You can go with Derrick on the helicopter. I’ll bring Max to you.”

  “Max will never go with you.” She clinked her cup on the table. “I have to be there or he’ll put up a fuss. Who knows? He may even put up a fuss with me. I haven’t had enough time with him to gain his trust.”

  “You’re his mother. That’s a bond that can withstand the toughest test.”

  “You sound like you speak from experience. Did your relationship with your mother withstand a lot?” Tori hadn’t heard much about Rio’s mother from the McClintocks—just that she’d left Silverhill when she found out about her pregnancy.

  Closing his eyes, Rio leaned his head back. “My mother was flighty, irresponsible. I never knew my father, but he already had a family.”

  Rio’s lips twisted in a bitter smile, and Tori wanted to reach out and smooth away his pain. She knew Rio could have that family for the asking. The McClintock brothers, Rio’s half brothers, would accept him as one of their own in a heartbeat. Well, Rafe, the youngest, would anyway. Rod and Ryder would eventually come around.

  Tori doubted the wisdom of keeping her knowledge of his family a secret. Would he feel betrayed? Maybe, but she couldn’t spring that on him now. Coward.

  She traced a pattern on the rough denim covering her thigh. “So she left your father?”

  “Onto the next adventure.” He sat forward and snapped his fingers. “Just like that. While she was pregnant she joined a commune in New Mexico where I was born, and then it was ‘have baby knapsack, will travel.’ She jaunted all over the country with me strapped to her body.”

  “She must’ve loved you a lot to keep you with her like that.”

  He shrugged. “I think the novelty of a baby wore off quickly. She’d leave me with friends, boyfriends and even relative strangers while she worked as a waitress, ski instructor, stripper and even a bit-part actress when we got to L.A. She pursued her dreams at the expense of mine.”

  Tori’s fingers inched toward his hand, clenched into a fist. She traced over his knuckles. “And what were your dreams?”

  “Stability, family, going to the same school for one solid year instead of being the new kid all the time.”

  “Life’s funny, huh?” She closed her hand over his fist. “I had all that growing up and I threw it all away for a life of excitement and adventure. I guess it’s a case of being careful what you wish for. So when you grew up, why didn’t you seek the life you desired as a child? Why join the military and become a spy? Why not an engineer or a doctor?”

  “Because it’s all I knew.” He placed his other hand on top of hers, sandwiching it between his own. “I turned out just like my mother—rootless, disconnected, on the move.”

  “Well, not exactly like her.”

  Rio tilted his head, his dark eyes like pools of melted chocolate.

  “You were never a stripper, were you?”

  He threw back his head, his loud laugh bouncing off the walls of the little house. Without releasing his hold, he dragged her into his lap. “You’re amazing, Tori Scott. We’re hours away from staging a dangerous rescue of your son, and you can still laugh.”

  “I learned
a long time ago, if I couldn’t laugh I’d drown in my tears.” She wound her arms around his neck. “It’s going to be okay, isn’t it, Rio? We’re going to get Max?”

  His hands encircled her waist, his thumbs resting on her ribcage. “I promise we’re going to get him out of there, but we’re going to need some rest first. The sun’s already coming up.”

  Snuggled in Rio’s lap, her heart racing at his warm touch, Tori hadn’t given a thought to rest. Just like in the hotel room, Rio was shutting her down. She slid from his lap, disappointment lancing her belly. “B-before I take a nap, I’d like to take a shower. This place does have a shower, doesn’t it? I didn’t notice one in the bathroom.”

  Rio grinned. “I’ll take you to the shower.”

  Grabbing her hand, he shot up from the sofa and tugged her toward the back of the house. He threw open the backdoor and pointed to a showerhead rigged to a pipe and poised above a square of tiles.

  Tori’s jaw dropped. “You weren’t kidding about the rustic nature of this place. Is that outdoor contraption really the only shower?”

  “Change your mind? You don’t have to worry about privacy. There’s no reason for anyone to come down this road and after I get you a towel, I promise to wait inside. Then it’s my turn.”

  Tori turned toward him and bunched his T-shirt in her fists. “Let’s conserve water.”

  His hands caressed her shoulders, a questioning light in his dark eyes.

  “I know you didn’t want to mix business with pleasure when we were at the hotel, at least I hope that’s the reason you left me hanging off a cliff.” She yanked at his shirt. “But who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, Rio? I can’t just let this…whatever this is between us…dry up and blow away. Can you?”

  Rio’s eyes grew as black as molten lava and then a smile split his face. He jerked away from her grasp and jumped off the wooden step of the porch. “Last one in has to go back for the towels.”