Mistletoe Reunion Threat

by Virginia Vaughan

  “Yes, that would be good,” Ashlynn said. She couldn’t wait to go home and wash this day from her memory.

  “No need. I’ll take her,” Garrett said.

  Vince looked at her questioningly, allowing her to make the decision.

  “It’s fine,” she said, and Vince nodded.

  “I’ll be in touch, then.” He walked off, leaving Ashlynn alone with Garrett as he hurried back to the scene.

  “You didn’t have to offer,” she said. She didn’t want him thinking she couldn’t take care of herself. She was a successful career woman. She’d built a life without him.

  But the glint of his smile melted her resolve. “I would feel better knowing you made it home safely. Besides, I don’t mind.”

  She hated that he could still have such an effect on her, but she’d been captivated by Garrett ever since he first smiled at her at a friend’s party. She’d been fresh out of college and he was already a decorated soldier home on an extended leave. She’d fallen hard and fast, and his protective manner had made her feel safe and loved for the first time in her life. But she wasn’t that young girl anymore and she didn’t need rescuing...yet she did like the way his hand rested protectively on the small of her back, guiding her and keeping her steady as they walked toward his truck.

  He opened the door for her to sit in the passenger’s seat then walked around and slid behind the wheel. He grinned at her in a familiar manner she remembered so well, and she felt her heart flutter. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. She’d just wanted to get home. But now, the twenty-minute drive to her neighborhood seemed like an eternity. What did one say to the man who’d promised to spend his life with her then left her and her unborn child to pursue his career as a ranger?

  After giving him directions to her home, she decided avoiding anything personal was the best solution. She should call Ken Barrett, her investigator at the DA’s office, and get him started on gathering those names for Vince. But her phone was a charred mess in what was left of her car. “May I borrow your cell phone to call my investigator?” Her first task tomorrow would be obtaining a new phone.

  He handed it over and she dialed Ken’s number, thankful she knew it by heart. He answered, his deep bass voice familiar and reassuring. She had only known him six months, but they had become fast friends in that time, and she often looked to him as a brotherly figure, though they were only ten years apart in age.

  “Ashlynn? Are you okay? I heard about what happened downtown. Is it true someone placed a bomb in your car?”

  “It does look that way,” she admitted. “Vince Mason wants a list of all the threats our office has received, especially any directed at me specifically or any involving explosive devices.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” he said, then in a tone of concern added, “I’m glad you’re safe. I wish you’d be more careful, Ashlynn. I’ve tried to warn you that there are a bunch of crazies out there.”

  “I know, Ken, but I’m fine. I just want to get home. I’ll see you tomorrow at the office.”

  She ended the call, then handed the phone back to Garrett. He slid it into a holder on the dashboard. Suddenly, the silence grew awkward between them, and she realized she should have kept Ken on the phone longer. She could have asked him for an update on any number of cases they were working on together.

  The uncomfortable silence lengthened. At least they were nearly to her house.

  “So, you have a son,” he said. “What’s his name?”

  Her heart hammered in her chest at his question. She didn’t like where this conversation was going. Didn’t want him asking about Jacob. He’d given up that right when he’d abandoned them, and she already had one man trying to pull her child from her. She didn’t need another. She had to keep him at arm’s length when it came to her little boy. How could he ever make up for the fact that he hadn’t wanted her and his child?

  “Jacob,” she said, then thankfully noticed they were nearing her home. “That’s my house,” she said, pointing out the driveway. He pulled in and parked beside Mira’s small sedan.

  “Thank you for the ride,” she said, hoping that would be the end of it and they could each go their separate ways.

  But Garrett was already getting out. “I’d feel better if you let me check inside.”

  “That’s really not necessary.”

  “Someone tried to kill you today, Ashlynn. Who’s to say they haven’t come here to finish the job?”

  “I would know if someone had been here, Garrett. I have a security system.”

  He spotted the car in the driveway. “I guess your husband would have phoned you, huh?”

  It was none of his business about her marriage, and she didn’t want him to think she’d failed without him. “My nanny and son are in the house. Mira would have called me if something was wrong.”

  “Still, I would feel better if you’d let me check it out. It won’t take long.”

  She finally relented and walked to the front door. Anything to satisfy him and get him away from her home and away from her son. However, she stopped walking when she noticed the front door ajar, a flicker of fear racing through her.

  Garrett saw it too and stiffened as he reached for his gun, pushing past her. “Stay here,” he commanded. He shoved open the door and entered the house.

  But she wasn’t going to obey that command. Her son was inside that house. If someone else was there, someone who meant to get back at her by harming her son, she wasn’t going to be still.

  “Jacob!” she screamed, hurrying past him and running up the stairs.

  “Ashlynn, wait.”

  She heard his footsteps behind her but she wouldn’t stop until she knew Jacob was safe.

  Sounds from the TV in the playroom greeted her at the top of the stairs, but she heard nothing else. Jacob was a rambunctious four-year-old and the house was too quiet. Panic ripped through her and she took the last few stairs in a haze of anxiety and fear. She pushed open the playroom door. Jacob’s toys littered the floor and the television was still playing his favorite evening show...but he wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

  “Jacob!”

  She rushed into the room, intent on looking in his favorite hiding spots. She tripped over something beside the couch and hit the floor, landing hard on her hands. Ashlynn turned to see what she’d tripped over and saw a leg jutting out from behind the couch. Panic hit her at the sight. It was too big to be Jacob’s leg, but...

  She looked up at Garrett, who now stood in the doorway, his gun drawn. His eyes focused on the leg. She moved to look behind the couch and saw Mira on the floor. The young girl wasn’t moving, her eyes were vacant, and the carpet was stained red with blood around her.

  Ashlynn didn’t need to check for a pulse to know Mira was dead.

  She screamed Jacob’s name and leaped to her feet. If someone had broken in and killed Mira, Jacob might have gotten scared and hidden.

  “Jacob!” She ran down the hall to his bedroom and burst in, searching under the bed and in the closet. He wasn’t there. She checked her bedroom then rushed downstairs. She called for him, frantic with worry as she checked every nook and cubby, searching for any place he might have hidden.

  He was nowhere to be found.

  Panic filled her. Mira was dead, murdered, and Jacob was missing. If something had happened to him...

  Ashlynn dropped to her knees as anguish rushed through her.

  Where was her child? Oh, God, where is Jacob?

  * * *

  Seeing her this way was like a sucker punch to his gut, and all Garrett wanted to do was sweep her up into his arms and make everything better. He checked that response, realizing not only might she object, but her husband wouldn’t be too thrilled with him, either. He’d noticed the family portrait of them when he entered the house. And he no l
onger had that right. Even if she hadn’t been married with a child, there could never be a future for them, not after all he’d seen and all he’d done. He’d walked out of a firefight unscathed when other men, better men with families, had died, and his grief had pushed him to kill and maim all in the name of war.

  But his heart hurt for her. He couldn’t imagine the devastation of having her child ripped from her. She’d already had such a difficult life, having lost her parents in a car accident when she was eight then being placed in an abusive foster home and nearly beaten to death by her foster mother. But it seemed she’d turned that all around now. She had a nice home in a fancy neighborhood, a good job in the DA’s office and a beautiful family.

  He holstered his gun and pulled out his cell phone to alert the police about the dead girl in the playroom and the missing child. This couldn’t be a coincidence. It had to somehow be connected to the bomb in her car earlier today.

  Garrett stopped dialing when he heard a noise from outside the house. His ears perked up and all his senses went on alert. He put away his phone and retrieved his gun. Someone was here. He grabbed Ashlynn’s hand, pulled her to her feet and pressed his hand against her mouth to keep her from speaking. Her eyes widened in fear and her lashes were wet with tears, but she didn’t ask questions.

  “Follow me,” he whispered, his instincts warning him to tread cautiously. He led her away from the front windows but peered out of them from the side, peeking through the heavy curtains. He saw nothing but the setting sun.

  Something was wrong. He felt it in his gut. He sensed someone watching them. His truck was parked in the driveway but the direct route to it would be dangerous if he was right and someone was out there.

  He grabbed a lamp from the end table and waggled it in front of the window. A shot rang out, bursting through the glass and shattering the lamp in his hand. Ashlynn screamed, but Garrett grabbed her arm and pulled her back up the stairs, his heart heavy at the continuing threat against her. Now that the shooter had made himself known, but failed to kill them, he would watch the exits closely or possibly come inside to finish them off. They had to find a way out of the house.

  He led her into the master bedroom and locked the door. It wouldn’t hold off an intruder with a gun for long, but possibly long enough for them to escape. He had his weapon, but it would be no match for the shooter’s gun which, by the sound of it, Garrett recognized as a semi-automatic rifle, a serious weapon with serious intent. He hurried to the balcony and swung open the doors. Their only chance was to get out of this house, and now that they were upstairs this was their only way out. They would have to jump. He glanced down and saw a concrete patio below. It wasn’t a high drop, but it would hurt. He holstered his gun.

  “I’ll go first. Then you follow behind me.”

  She shook her head, fear pooling in her wide brown eyes. “I can’t.”

  “You have to, Ashlynn. You have to stay alive for Jacob.” His words were meant to provoke her to action, knowing she would do whatever she had to in order to find her son. It worked. She considered his words for only a moment before fortifying herself and nodding.

  He crawled over the railing and climbed down, letting himself drop and hitting the ground. Pain ripped through his leg, but he ignored it. He’d sustained worse injuries and kept moving. He looked up and motioned for Ashlynn to jump.

  She nodded and swung one leg over the railing. Just then, he heard the sound of the door cracking open and the shout of the gunman as he burst into the room. Ashlynn’s head jerked up and the dat-dat-dat of gunfire filled the air. His gut clenched as her fingers slipped from the railing and she fell, tumbling backward toward the ground.

  TWO

  She felt herself falling, and her only thoughts were of Jacob and to wonder if he was crying for her. She was going to die without ever knowing what had happened to him.

  She slammed into something hard and felt Garrett’s arms surround her as they both fell to the ground. He scrambled up before she could even process what was happening and pulled them both toward the safety of the house as the shooter fired over the balcony. Garrett’s arm tightened protectively around her and Ashlynn was surprised by the way her heart picked up speed at being this close to him. She chided herself. Her son was missing and someone was shooting at her, but she felt safe swept up in his arms.

  Garrett pulled his gun and fired upward into the balcony. Tension was rolling off him in waves. The shooter scrambled back into the room to avoid the shots.

  “Run to my truck now,” Garrett commanded, and Ashlynn did as she was told without question. She heard shots and screamed at the fear that ripped through her, but she didn’t stop running. She was also keenly aware that Garrett was beside her, matching her steps and stopping every now and then to return fire into her house before easily catching up with her. The Christmas lights she’d placed on a timer flickered on, illuminating her bullet-riddled home and making this entire situation seem less real and more like a terrible action movie gone wrong.

  She reached the pickup and slid into the passenger’s seat. He jumped behind the wheel and started the engine, roaring away a moment later. The shooter started firing again and shots hit the vehicle. One pinged the rear windshield, causing it to shatter. Ashlynn winced as glass spilled over her but she knew it could have been so much worse.

  She glanced in the side mirror and saw a masked man with a long gun run toward a waiting car.

  “Hang on,” Garrett said, then punched down on the accelerator, putting distance between them and the man, their attacker.

  * * *

  Ashlynn was shivering by the time they reached the downtown police precinct and it wasn’t from the chill in the December air. Whoever had been shooting at them either hadn’t been able to keep up with Garrett’s driving or had given up. It didn’t matter if they didn’t kill her right then. They had her son, which meant they could have whatever they wanted from her. She would do anything to get him back.

  Garrett led her inside, telling the on-duty officer about the incident. Within minutes, the precinct was on alert.

  Garrett slipped his jacket around her shoulders and tried to offer her comfort as he led her to a quiet office. “They’ve got officers headed to your house right now to process the scene. They’re also trying to contact your husband. Is it possible Jacob is with him?”

  She saw a hopeful look in his expression, but she knew that wasn’t the case and shook her head. “Mira doesn’t live with us. If Stephen had picked up Jacob, she would have gone home.”

  “You don’t live together?” Garrett asked, surprise coloring his face.

  She shook her head. “He lives on Barrister Avenue in the Wood Hills subdivision. We divorced a few months ago.” She didn’t want to discuss such personal matters with Garrett, and thankfully, he didn’t ask any further questions about her and Stephen. It was embarrassing to admit to him that her marriage had broken down.

  Ashlynn felt numb. Her thoughts were all about Jacob. Her arms ached at the thought of not being able to hold him and her heart broke at the idea that he was probably crying for her. It wasn’t fair! Ripping a child from his mother’s arms was the cruelest thing anyone could do.

  She’d never been much of a praying woman. Her anger at God was too strong. He had allowed too many bad things to come into her life. She’d foolishly thought things were turning around when she’d met Garrett, but then he’d turned against her, too, choosing the rangers over her and Jacob. And now it seemed God was still not on her side.

  Vince arrived at the station, his hair tousled and his clothes dirty. Since she’d known him, he’d always been cool under pressure and presented a well-kept appearance. It was the first time she could remember seeing him look so disheveled. He apologized for not being there when they’d arrived and explained he’d had to leave to fix his wife’s car that had stalled on the i
nterstate. Garrett filled him in on what had happened, how they’d entered the house and found Mira dead, then been attacked by an armed gunman.

  “Did you see the man?” Vince asked her once Garrett told him about the incident on the balcony. “Can you describe him?”

  She thought back, reliving the terror of the man bursting into the room and raising his gun at her. But she wasn’t able to offer much in the way of description. “He was wearing a dark mask over his face, like a ski mask, and he was dressed all in black. I couldn’t see any of his features, but he was a large man, tall with big shoulders.”

  “He had an automatic weapon,” Garrett added. “I would say by his tactics he’s probably had some military experience. He came prepared.”

  Vince nodded. “The question is, did he come prepared to take the child or was it an impromptu decision? And why kill the nanny if Ashlynn is the one he wants?”

  “We didn’t see Jacob, but he could have had him tied up in the car.”

  Vince’s face grew grim. “Whoever this guy is, he has access to both automatic weapons and explosives.”

  Ashlynn shuddered and folded her arms around her. They were talking so clinically, as if it wasn’t her child missing or her world falling apart.

  “Did Mira have any family that needs to be notified?” Vince asked her.

  Ashlynn nodded. “Her parents live in Memphis.”

  “Is it possible this is about her?” Garrett asked.

  “It’s possible, but unlikely given the bomb was in Ashlynn’s car.” Vince looked at her. “What about your husband? I understand you divorced recently. Was it an amicable split?”

  Ashlynn swallowed hard and wished Garrett wasn’t listening to every word she said. She didn’t like sharing information about her personal life, especially unpleasant details. She nodded. She doubted Stephen was involved in this. He was a good man and loved Jacob like his own son. “Stephen isn’t a violent person. I can’t believe he would try to kill me.”