Soldier's Christmas Secrets

by Laura Scott

Mike hid a grin and Hawk knew that his buddy was enjoying this, far too much.

  It wasn’t that long ago that the situation was reversed. Mike was protecting his wife, Shayla, and his son, Brodie. Shayla had been stubborn back then, too.

  They’d managed to survive, breaking open the case surrounding Mike’s father’s murder without anyone getting seriously injured.

  Hawk could only hope and pray that this situation would turn out the same way.

  He couldn’t imagine a future without Jillian and Lizzy in it.

  * * *

  Jillian did her best not to let Hawk know how much his attitude toward her coming along to get the envelope stung, but it wasn’t easy.

  “Mommy! I don’t wanna wear my pajamas anymore.”

  She went into the living room to find Lizzy unzipping her footie pajamas. “Honey, we don’t have anything else for you to wear, so you need to keep your pajamas on.”

  Lizzy’s lower lip trembled. “I wanna wear my pink leggings.”

  They were her favorite, Jillian knew, but there was nothing she could do to fix it.

  “We can stop to pick up some stuff for her on our way back,” Hawk offered. “I don’t blame her for wanting something else to wear.”

  “Pink leggings,” Lizzy repeated, gazing up at Hawk as if he’d given her the world instead of a change of clothes. “With a flowery skirt on top.”

  “Pink leggings and flowery skirt,” Hawk repeated. “Got it.”

  “Maybe something Christmassy, too,” Jillian suggested.

  Lizzy nodded and excitedly hopped from one foot to the other. “I wanna look like an angel, like in the Christmas program.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Jillian promised. It made her feel better to have another reason to go with Hawk to Brookland Elementary. She doubted Hawk had a clue how to shop for a four-year-old.

  “Maybe we should leave early, stop at the store along the way,” Hawk suggested.

  “Fine with me.” She knew her voice was cool but didn’t care.

  Moments later the sound of an approaching car had both Hawk and Mike heading over to the door. She stayed by Lizzy, only relaxing once the two men put their respective weapons away and greeted the newcomers.

  “Come on Lizzy.” She took her daughter by the hand. “Do you want to meet the doggie?”

  “Yes!” Lizzy ran into the kitchen but stopped abruptly when she realized Duchess was at eye level. “Big doggie.”

  “Duchess, friend.” A man who looked similar to Mike placed his hand on Lizzy’s head. “Friend,” he repeated.

  “Scary big doggie,” Lizzy said, huddling close to Jillian’s legs.

  “She’s very friendly, Lizzy,” he said with a smile. “Hold out your hand and let Duchess give it a little sniff.”

  Lizzy held out her hand, and Duchess lowered her nose and took in the little girl’s scent. Then Duchess licked Lizzy’s fingers, making her laugh. Lizzy stroked the dog’s fur and Duchess licked her again.

  Lizzy ran back into the living room with Duchess on her heels. Jillian was reassured by how well Duchess interacted with her daughter and knew Lizzy would be unrelenting in her demand for a puppy of her own, after this.

  Hawk introduced her to Noah and Matt, then got down to business. “I need you two to stay here with Lizzy while we head back to Brookland,” he instructed. “Shouldn’t take us longer than two hours to get there, find the envelope, stop to pick up a few things and get back.”

  Noah and Matt nodded in agreement. Matt asked, “Anything we can do while we’re here?”

  Jillian saw the indecision in Hawk’s blue eyes.

  “We need to dig into Senator Barton’s background,” Mike said when Hawk remained silent.

  “It may be too dangerous. I’ll do it when I get back,” Hawk quickly interjected.

  “We have time,” Noah said. “May as well be productive.”

  “Don’t worry, Hawk.” Mike clapped him on his injured shoulder, making Hawk wince. “We can handle the heat.”

  The last bit of anger Jillian had been clinging to instantly evaporated. Hawk wasn’t just being overly protective of her but of his friends, as well. He didn’t want any of the Callahans or their brother-in-law to be in danger from investigating the senator.

  The time he’d spent surviving on his own in the Appalachian Mountains must have really changed him.

  “The computer can’t be traced to us,” Matt added. “We’ll be fine. As long as Lizzy accepts us being here with her.”

  “Duchess has already won her over,” Jillian said with a smile. “I think she’ll be fine.”

  “We’ll bring dinner back with us,” Mike said, glancing around the kitchen. “That way we can continue working without interruption.”

  Hawk appeared to be resigned to the arrangements. “Let’s go, then. We have a lot to do.”

  Before they got into Mike’s SUV, Mike and Hawk smeared mud over the front and back license plates. She assumed that was to make it difficult for anyone to trace the vehicle to them.

  The ride to Brookland seemed to take forever. Jillian rode up front as Hawk drove, but the two men kept up a stream of conversation that centered around Mike’s new job, the rest of the Callahans and other things she didn’t know anything about.

  When they passed a store that carried both children’s clothes and toys, Jillian tapped Hawk’s arm. “Let’s stop there, first.”

  “Sure.” He pulled into the parking lot and found a parking space. They were all out in the open so there was no way to hide their vehicle.

  Inside the store, Jillian quickly headed for the children’s clothing section. It didn’t take long to pull out two outfits for Lizzy, the pink leggings with a flowery skirt that she’d requested and a green-and-red one with a Santa elf on the front. She hoped the elf would be okay in lieu of an angel.

  “Size 4T,” Hawk murmured, peering at the tag. “What does that mean?”

  “Four Toddler,” Jillian and Mike replied at the same time.

  Hawk still looked confused but let it go. A toy display was strategically placed near the children’s clothing. Hawk picked up a box containing a doll wearing a puffy gold dress and held it out to her. “Do you think Lizzy would like this?”

  She was touched by his question. “She’d love it.”

  “Good.” He tucked the doll dressed in gold into the cart beside the two outfits. “Do you need anything, Jillian?”

  Her cheeks went warm and she quickly shook her head. “Maybe some groceries for breakfast and lunch.”

  They bought the basics, which Jillian sensed was more than Hawk had anticipated, then headed over to the shortest checkout lane. Hawk insisted on paying with cash, and soon they were back on the road. Dusk was falling early as it was the shortest day of the year.

  Jillian provided directions to Brookland Elementary. Hawk pulled into a parking spot near the front door and shut down the engine.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She nodded and pulled the keys out of her coat pocket. As she approached the door, she sucked in a harsh breath.

  The door wasn’t locked, the mechanism clearly having been broken.

  “Get behind me,” Hawk said in a low tone as he pulled out his gun. “Mike, cover from behind.”

  “On it.”

  They carefully entered the building. Jillian was glad to see that the main school corridor looked the same as it had when she’d left the previous day, which seemed like a week ago rather than just over twenty-four hours.

  But when they approached her classroom, they found the door handle was broken there, too. And when she pushed open the door, she saw the classroom was a disaster.

  Desks were turned over, their contents spilling over the floor.

  “They found the folder before we did,” Hawk said in a resigned tone.

  Jillian
stepped closer to her desk. Every drawer had been opened, and the three-ring binder containing her lesson plans that she’d left on her desk was lying on the floor.

  She picked it up, flipping to the back pocket.

  The brown envelope was still there, tucked inside. The assailants who’d ransacked the place had missed it! She took it out and handed it to Hawk. He looked at her name written in his handwriting from over four years ago, and then opened it up.

  “Photos,” he said, an edge of excitement in his voice. “We have what we need, let’s go.”

  Jillian was happy to leave, although she felt she needed to report the school break-in to the police.

  As they headed outside and climbed back in the SUV, the sound of gunfire rang out.

  Hawk hit the gas and drove like a maniac out of the parking lot.

  They’d been found!

  SEVEN

  The back wheels of the SUV fishtailed as Hawk took a hard left out of the parking lot in a desperate attempt to ditch the gunmen. He couldn’t afford to assume there was only one gunman: there may very well be another one stationed along the single road leading away from the school.

  “Get down.” He pushed Jillian’s head toward her lap. He needed to get away. Instincts had him making a quick right, then right again, then left.

  Jillian was murmuring something that sounded like a prayer. Hawk continued to make random turns, doing his best to get far away from the school without being tailed. As he drove, he was grateful for Mike’s idea of putting mud over the license plates.

  Mike had opened one of the back windows and was peering behind them, with his gun held ready.

  “See anyone following us?” Hawk asked.

  “Negative.”

  It was good news, but he couldn’t afford to assume they were safe. Not yet.

  Maybe not ever.

  Five tense minutes passed. Hawk concentrated on putting distance between them and the school while Mike kept his gaze on their tail. The interior of the SUV grew cold, but Hawk ignored the discomfort.

  After a total of fifteen minutes passed, Mike sat back in his seat and rolled up the window. “We’re clear.”

  Hawk nodded but continued to keep one eye on the rearview mirror just in case. He couldn’t afford to be caught off guard again.

  Jillian sat up, pushing her red hair out of her face. “God has been watching over us,” she said softly.

  “Amen,” Mike agreed.

  Hawk wasn’t sure how to respond. Despite the holes in his memory, he could remember a moment he’d sat in church with Jillian, but it had been so long ago. Before his deployment to Afghanistan. Before he’d caught a glimpse of Rick Barton in the Afghan mountains.

  Before their plane had crashed into the Appalachian Mountains, killing everyone on board except for him.

  Knowing that Jillian and Mike had maintained their faith made him wonder if he’d given up too soon.

  Was it possible that God had been watching over him for the past five years?

  He shrugged the thought aside and focused on getting back to the cabin motel without taking a direct route. In fact, he’d gone further east than he’d intended, so he took a left and headed north for a bit, before turning again to head west.

  “Don’t forget we need to bring dinner back,” Mike spoke up from the back seat.

  Hawk nodded. “Let me know what you want.”

  “Jillian, what do you think? We need something that Lizzy will like, too,” Mike said.

  Hawk mentally kicked himself for momentarily forgetting about Lizzy. Being a father, Mike had automatically remembered they were feeding a child. Hawk needed to remember he had a daughter. He cleared his throat, awkwardly. “Whatever Lizzy and Jillian want is fine with me.”

  “How about pizza?” Jillian offered. “We can get a small cheese pizza for me and Lizzy, and a large loaded with everything for you guys.”

  “Works for me,” Mike said. “Okay with you, Hawk?”

  “Sure.” Hawk wasn’t concerned about food, although the antibiotic was making his stomach feel queasy. He was preoccupied with how the gunmen had gone to the school to find the envelope, which meant they’d traced Jillian’s call. Had they gone to the school prior to sneaking into her house? It made sense, but while he felt certain that had been the sequence of events, there was no way to know for sure.

  At least they still had the envelope. He’d only taken a quick glance at the two photos inside and had been disappointed not to see Rick Barton’s familiar face. He’d have to take a closer look to see if he recognized who the guy was and whether there was something incriminating in them.

  There must be, or the senator wouldn’t have sent men wearing ski masks with guns to get it.

  “There’s a pizza place up ahead,” Mike said, tapping him on the shoulder. “We’re only about ten minutes from the cabin motel, so it’s a good place to stop.”

  Hawk grunted in agreement. The next exit was three miles away, and he took the exit, keeping a wary eye on the road behind them.

  As darkness had fallen, it became increasingly difficult to keep track of a tail. Headlights came and went, some round, some square, but it was almost impossible to tell makes or models of the vehicles they belonged to.

  No cars followed him off the interstate. He dug in his pocket for money to pay for the pizza, but Mike waved him off. “Stay here, I’ll get them.”

  The door shut behind Mike, leaving him with Jillian. He glanced at her, trying to think of something to say.

  She lifted a weary hand. “Don’t say it. I already know you were right. I shouldn’t have insisted on coming along.”

  “That wasn’t what I was going to say,” he protested. “It’s true I hate putting you in danger, but I have to admit that if you hadn’t been there, we may not have found the envelope.”

  There was a brief silence before she asked, “Do you think they wrecked my house, too?”

  Although he wanted to protect her, he couldn’t bring himself to lie. “Yes, I believe they searched your house, too. Why stop at the school and not go all the way? It’s probably the first thing they did after we left.”

  Jillian looked as if she might cry but then surprised him by muttering, “Those rotten jerks.”

  “Yeah.” He wished he had the right to pull her into his arms to offer comfort. Regardless of the fact that the gunmen had followed the envelope to Jillian’s home and school, it was only because he’d sent it to her.

  Why would he do such a thing? It went against his nature to put his wife in danger. Although he hadn’t known about Lizzy, but still...

  Then again, he hadn’t anticipated being in a plane crash, either. It must have been right after he’d seen Barton in the mountains that he’d sent her the photos. Right after they’d been told they were being put on a plane to Washington, DC, to be debriefed.

  And it had sat dormant all this time. Until Jillian had decided to clean out the box of his stuff.

  “I hope the photos are helpful,” Jillian said, breaking into his thoughts.

  “Me, too.” He thought about pulling them out now but caught sight of Mike heading toward the SUV carrying two large boxes of pizza.

  “That didn’t take long,” Jillian said, glancing back at Mike as he slid in behind Hawk.

  “Nope.” Mike grinned and patted the boxes. “I got two large pizzas, one with half cheese and half with the works. I figure the guys will be hungry.”

  “Good plan,” Jillian agreed.

  Hawk started the SUV and drove out of the parking lot. Instead of heading immediately west, he took the ramp going on the opposite direction. He sensed Jillian eyeing him curiously, but she didn’t say anything.

  After five miles, he got off the interstate and took a highway headed south. He knew from previous trips that the highway would eventually take them to the cabin motel. I
t was longer, but worth the effort to make sure they weren’t followed.

  “Must be the scenic route,” Mike commented from the back seat.

  “Yep.” The tantalizing scent of pizza sauce and cheese made his mouth water. “Won’t take much longer.”

  “Hey, I’ve got the food back here, I won’t starve,” Mike joked.

  “Save some for Lizzy,” Jillian admonished him.

  Their banter was an effort to lighten the somber mood. Hawk appreciated it but couldn’t shake the memory of the close call. He needed to find a way to stay one step ahead of these guys, since the senator had more money and resources than they did.

  When they reached the cabin motel, the pizza was greeted with enthusiasm. Jillian took the bag of clothes they’d bought for Lizzy and quickly took her daughter into the bedroom to change. It wouldn’t be long before she’d need to put her jammies on again, but that didn’t seem to matter. When Lizzy came out wearing the pink leggings and holding the doll in her arms, his heart thumped crazily in his chest.

  “Thank you, Mr. Hawk.” From the way she said that, he knew she must have been prompted by Jillian.

  “You’re very welcome,” he managed in his usual hoarse voice. He longed to take his daughter in his arms but knew it was too soon.

  At least she wasn’t crying at the mere sight of him.

  “Are you hungry?” Jillian asked, putting a pillow on the kitchen chair so Lizzy could reach the table.

  “Yes,” Lizzy agreed, holding the doll in one hand while trying to climb into the chair with the other.

  “Let’s put Belle over here, shall we?” Jillian suggested. “We don’t want her to get messy.”

  “Okay.” Lizzy was content to have her doll placed in the living room.

  “Let’s say grace,” Mike suggested.

  Hawk wasn’t surprised and took note of how Jillian eagerly participated in the brief prayer.

  As the others dug into the pizza, he took a moment to pull the two photos out of the brown envelope. The top one was a clear view of a soldier meeting with a man who looked to be an insurgent, based on how he was dressed and the AK-47 he cradled in his arms.