Killer Colton Christmas

by Regan Black

  Dario relaxed slightly. “Yes. I bought it a few months ago. Runs like a dream.”

  “I bet.” The stranger ran his gaze along the car, nodding to himself. “Were the Shelby mods worth it?”

  “Oh yeah.” Dario grinned. “I’ve taken her out to the track a few times. Best money I’ve ever spent.” He stuck out his hand. “Dario Ortega.”

  The man hesitated, then shook his hand. “Rodrigo Artero. I’m one of the ranch hands.”

  Dario nodded. “Artero,” he repeated thoughtfully. “Where have I heard that name before?”

  “My uncle was Fabrizio Artero. Jade’s father.”

  “So that makes you her cousin.”

  Rodrigo frowned as if unhappy to be reminded of his relative. “Yes,” he said shortly. “She is.” He turned and began to walk away.

  “Nice to meet you,” Dario called after him. He climbed behind the wheel and shook his head, trying to make sense of the odd interaction. Jade hadn’t mentioned hiring her cousin, but perhaps she didn’t think it was news worth discussing with him. Still, there was something about the man’s attitude that struck him as wrong, and Dario made a mental note to look into Rodrigo Artero’s background.

  He pulled onto the main road and, after a second’s deliberation, took the first right that led onto the county service road he’d seen earlier. He’d just make one quick check of the site, reassure himself that he’d imagined the handkerchief and be on his way.

  A few minutes later, he was bent at the waist, combing the grass in his own personal snipe hunt. “This is ridiculous,” he muttered. “There’s nothing here.”

  He heard a whisper of sound behind him, but before he could turn around, something cold pressed against his neck and a hard voice sounded in his ear.

  “Don’t move.”

  Chapter 11

  “Where is he?”

  Felicity glanced at her watch for the third time in ten minutes. Adeline had called a meeting in twenty minutes, wanting an update on the Colton, Incorporated, hacking case now that she was back in town.

  She reached for her phone and dialed Dario’s number, but it went to voice mail. Again. She knew he was probably still upset with her after their conversation that morning, but she’d left him several messages explaining the meeting. It wasn’t like him to go silent like this.

  Was he off sulking? Or was something else going on? Her thoughts drifted back to her car and the sight of Dario’s name scrawled on that horrible list. There had been no sign of Livia Colton since that night, but Felicity didn’t think the other woman had disappeared. She was probably biding her time, waiting for the right moment to strike.

  Her worry mounting, Felicity called Jade. She knew Dario had gone out to talk to the rancher about her sabotaged bids, and perhaps he was still there.

  “No,” Jade replied. “He left about an hour ago.”

  Felicity thanked her and ended the call, unable to ignore the alarm bells in her head. Where was he? And why wasn’t he responding?

  She glanced at her computer. There was one way she could find out, but it was a violation of his privacy. Still, given the threats Livia had made against him, Felicity decided she would risk Dario’s anger. She had to make sure he was safe.

  Feeling a bit like a stalker, she pulled up the GPS program that allowed her to track the location of a cell phone and entered Dario’s number. As long as his phone was on, the software could pull his location using cell tower triangulation... It didn’t take long for the software to pull up a map, and she leaned forward, studying the blinking red dot on the screen that indicated the location of Dario’s cell phone.

  “That’s odd,” she muttered. It looked like he was in a field, just off a county service road. She enlarged the area, looking for nearby cross streets. There was an intersection a few miles back, but the location appeared fairly remote. It definitely wasn’t the kind of spot Dario would regularly frequent, and a chill skittered down her spine as her imagination went wild.

  Felicity pushed to her feet, committing the map to memory. It was probably just some glitch in the system, but she was going to have to check it out or else she’d drive herself crazy coming up with ever more fantastical theories about Livia Colton and her hired goons. She scribbled a note for Adeline, then grabbed her keys and her phone, and after a quick debate, she reached into her desk drawer for the small revolver she’d taken to carrying as Livia’s threats had escalated.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said to herself as she climbed behind the wheel of her rental car. Talk about a wild-goose chase! But she had to see for herself. No matter how much she had tried to keep him at arm’s length, Dario had gotten under her skin and she truly cared about him. Even though they had no future together, she had to make sure he was safe. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to him, something she could have prevented.

  “Here I come.”

  * * *

  Dario froze, his mind going blank as he realized he had a knife to his throat. His assailant took advantage of his shock and pulled his cell phone free of his pocket, tossing it away where it vanished in the tall grass. Then the knife was gone, and Dario spun around to see a petite, dark-haired woman glaring up at him.

  “Livia.” She was immediately recognizable, despite the dye job to disguise her signature blond hair. “I should have known.”

  She offered him a tight smile. “I believe you have me at a disadvantage,” she said, her Southern-belle manners in full effect. “You are?”

  “Dario Ortega. I’m the one who figured out you’re behind the hacks on Colton, Incorporated. Do you still go by Livia, or should I call you Sulla?”

  Recognition flared in her eyes and she laughed, a pretty, musical trill that seemed at odds coming from such a monster. “You say that like I should be impressed. I didn’t exactly make it hard for you.”

  “Why’d you do it?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Why do you think? To get revenge on my family! They betrayed me at every turn. It was only fair I punish them for it.”

  Dario shook his head, stunned by the raw hatred in her voice. He’d never imagined a mother could view her children with such scorn—it simply wasn’t natural.

  “How long have you been squatting on Jade’s property?”

  “Long enough,” she said easily. “It’s been the perfect place to hide in plain sight. No one thought I’d have the guts to come back here, after everything that happened.”

  “So what’s your plan now?”

  She jerked her chin at his car, parked about fifty yards away. “You and I are going to take a little ride.”

  “I don’t think so,” he replied. He had a good six inches and at least fifty pounds on the woman, and even though she had a knife, he liked his chances.

  Livia lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing the butt of a gun that was tucked into her waistband. “Think again.”

  “Or what, you’ll shoot me?” The sight of the gun unnerved him, but Dario knew if he cooperated with Livia, his odds of survival got considerably worse.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I’ll do. And then I’ll go into town and pay a visit to that pretty little thing you’ve been spending time with. Do you think she’ll see me coming?”

  The bottom dropped out of Dario’s stomach. He knew it wasn’t an idle threat. His mind racing, he turned and began to slowly walk to his car. Livia fell into step a few paces behind him.

  “How’d you do it?” he blurted. “That’s the one thing I haven’t been able to figure out. You’re no master hacker. How did you manage to infiltrate the Colton, Inc., systems and the Realtor’s computer?”

  “I didn’t,” she said. “My associate did.”

  “Rodrigo Artero,” he said, the pieces falling into place. No wonder the man had grown cold at the mention of
Jade Colton. Had Livia poisoned him against his own cousin?

  “That’s right,” she confirmed. “Good old Rodrigo. He’s so gallant—excellent manners. His uncle was one of my former husbands, who died tragically.” She tsked in false sympathy. “He’s had it out for me ever since. When I told him my husband had been killed by that scheming bitch Livia Colton, he was only too happy to put his considerable technical skills to use to help me take my revenge on the family.”

  “He doesn’t know who you are?” It was hard to believe. Livia’s face had been plastered everywhere in the wake of her escape from prison. How had the man not recognized her?

  “Rodrigo has only recently left Argentina,” Livia said. “Jade hired him, thinking she was doing her cousin a favor. Little does she know he hates her and the rest of the family, and has been working to sabotage Colton, Incorporated, and Jade’s business as well.”

  He must have helped hide her presence on the property as well, Dario realized. No wonder Jade hadn’t known about the campsite until recently...

  “And he never suspected your motives for the hacking?”

  Livia shrugged. “He thinks I’m Jane Damian, a poor rancher’s widow who lost everything, thanks to the Coltons.” She sounded smug about her deception.

  They were almost to the car and Dario slowed his pace, trying to stall. There had to be something he could do to stop Livia! But his fear for Felicity kept him from trying to act. He knew if he tussled with Livia and lost, she’d head directly to the office to kill Felicity. He wasn’t naive—he figured as soon as Livia had disposed of him she’d focus on Felicity next, but if he could draw this out just a little bit longer, maybe Felicity would realize he was missing and could take steps to protect herself. It was a long shot, but he had to try.

  He pictured Felicity’s face, then planted his feet and turned.

  And all hell broke loose.

  Chapter 12

  Felicity crouched in the grass, waiting for the right moment to strike. She saw the bulge of the gun in the woman’s waistband and knew if she gave away her position too early, the woman—Livia, she thought; who else would it be?—wouldn’t hesitate to shoot Dario in the back.

  Sweat ran down her cheeks but she ignored it. Her time in the Corps had taught her to block out physical distraction. It had also left her in excellent condition, which was how she’d been able to park her car a mile back and hike into the area without being detected.

  She’d told herself she was overreacting a million times. But as soon as she’d rounded the bend and seen the two distant figures—one tall, one small—her doubts had vanished. Felicity had yielded to her training then, employing all the tactics she’d learned to creep up on the pair, her weapon at the ready.

  What she wouldn’t give for her service rifle right now! If she’d been holding her M16A4, this wouldn’t even be a contest. She eyed the small .38 Special in her hand with some misgiving. It was a solid enough gun, but it was a close-range weapon. She’d get only one chance to do this right.

  Dario and Livia approached his car, which was parked about fifteen yards to the west of her. Just a few more steps, and Livia’s back would be to Felicity’s position. If Felicity played her cards right, she could break from cover and have her gun between Livia’s shoulder blades before the other woman even knew she was there.

  Come on, she coaxed silently. Just a little farther...

  Dario stopped a few feet away from the car and turned to face Livia. At this angle, they were both in profile to her, so she couldn’t move without risking exposure. She cursed silently. Keep moving! she shouted in her mind.

  In the event, it didn’t matter. Just as Livia reached for her gun to threaten Dario, a man ran out from behind Dario’s car. He let out a horrible cry and swung at Livia. Felicity heard the thump as the pipe he was carrying connected with Livia’s head. Livia crumpled to the ground, and the man stood over her, screaming in Spanish.

  Dario put out a hand and the man turned on him, clearly intending to hurt Dario next. Rage and fear propelled Felicity to her feet. “Stop!”

  Her voice split the air and both men froze. Dario wore an expression of almost comical disbelief as he watched her approach, while the stranger gave her a quick once-over and turned his attention back to Livia. He lifted his arms again, ready to beat her with the pipe.

  “I said stop,” Felicity repeated. She was close enough now that the man heard the click of the hammer as she cocked the gun. He froze and shot her a look of such anger it made her stomach quaver.

  “Drop the pipe,” she instructed.

  He did, but she still didn’t trust him. “Step away from the woman.”

  “She is not a woman,” he said, sneering. “She is a monster.”

  “I won’t argue with you on that,” Felicity said. “But she’s down. Move away.”

  He took a reluctant step, and Felicity nodded at a patch of grass a few feet to the left. “Sit there.”

  “Felicity—”

  She spared Dario a quick glance, enough to assure herself he was unharmed. “Do you have any rope?”

  His face went blank. “Uh, I have jumper cables in my trunk.”

  She’d used worse before to restrain a man. “Get them. Tie him up.”

  Dario quickly obeyed her orders, and only when the stranger was secure did she relax. “Call the sheriff.”

  “I can’t,” Dario said apologetically. “Livia threw my phone into the grass. I have no idea where it is now.”

  She pulled her own free and tossed it to him. “Here you go.”

  It only took a moment for Dario to make the call. He hung up with a nod. “Knox and some deputies are on their way.”

  “Good.” Felicity relaxed a bit more at the knowledge the authorities would soon be there. “Why don’t you tell me what happened while we wait?”

  Dario launched into his story, but after a few minutes, he turned to the other man. “This is where you come in. What were you doing out here?”

  “I followed you,” he said simply. “I didn’t trust you after meeting you in the parking lot, and when I saw you take a right instead of leaving the ranch, I knew you must be headed here. So I grabbed a horse and raced out here.”

  Dario frowned and glanced around. “I don’t see your mount.”

  The man nodded at a copse of trees on the other side of the road. “I left him there. I didn’t want to alert you to my presence. I snuck back over, intending to help Jane.” His face darkened, and he glared at Livia’s limp form. “But then I heard her talking and realized who she really is.” He spit in Livia’s direction. “Evil witch. She lied to me, making me think she had suffered at the hands of the Coltons as I had. I trusted her, helped her in her quest for revenge against that horrible family. But I was wrong.”

  A swell of pity rose in Felicity’s chest. Livia had obviously tricked him into hacking Colton, Incorporated, a decision he clearly regretted. “I’m sorry she hurt you,” she said. Given his involvement with Livia, he probably wasn’t of lily-white character, but since he’d saved Dario’s life she was willing to cut him a little slack in that moment.

  “What about you?” Dario asked, stepping closer. “How did you find me?”

  Felicity glanced down, feeling suddenly shy about telling him. “I used GPS to track you,” she confessed. Dario laughed, but a flash of movement caught her eye. She watched in horror as Livia raised her arm and pointed the gun at Dario’s unsuspecting back.

  Before she could scream a warning, Livia fired. Dario fell against Felicity with a grunt. A second shot rang out, and Rodrigo grunted in pain. Acting on instinct, Felicity dropped to the ground and took aim, squeezing off round after round at her target.

  Livia’s body jerked, and blood bloomed on her shirt. She fell to the ground, a frozen smile on her face as her eyes stared up at the sky.
Felicity ran over and grabbed the woman’s gun, tossing it far away from her body. Then she turned back to Dario, her heart already breaking at what she knew she would find.

  She spared a glance at Rodrigo, who was clutching his leg, cursing a blue streak in rapid Spanish. She knew she should help him, but her priority was Dario.

  He was lying on the ground, a stunned expression on his face. “My God,” he gasped, reaching up to clutch his shoulder. “That hurts!”

  Felicity dropped to her knees, hardly daring to believe her eyes. “Dario?” she whispered, running her hands across his chest. “Don’t try to talk. Just stay quiet. The ambulance will be here soon.” Her view went blurry and she realized she was crying. She moved his hand to press her own over his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. “It’ll be okay.”

  “I know it will,” he said. His voice was heavy with pain, but he was surprisingly lucid for a man who’d just been shot. “She hit my shoulder. It hurts like you wouldn’t believe, but it’s not going to kill me.”

  It took a moment for his words to sink in. She blinked away her tears and realized he was right. His bleeding was slowing down, and the wound seemed to be centered in the fleshy part of his shoulder, just below his collarbone.

  “Now I’ll have a scar to match my brother’s,” he said, trying to smile.

  Felicity stared down at him, unimpressed by his attempt at levity. “You could have been killed!”

  He winced, and she realized she’d shrieked at him. But her emotions were all over the place, and she couldn’t control the volume of her voice. “I thought you were dead,” she said, choking back a sob. “I thought I was going to have to watch you die. And you think this is funny?”

  “No, I—”

  She shook her head and buried her face in her hands. “I killed her, Dario. I took her life because I thought she had taken yours.”

  “You did the right thing,” he said.

  The wail of approaching sirens saved her from having to make a reply. Not that she knew what to say. Even though she had been to war and seen combat, Felicity had never killed anyone before.