Christmas Under Fire

by Michelle Karl

  “Ugh.” He changed tactics and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes instead. “Listen. You get the rest you need. And you’re forgetting that Leo relieved me for a number of hours last night at the station. I might still have a mild sleep deficit, but I’m not running on empty. I’m going to spend the night right here on these stairs, where I can hear everything in the house and react as needed. If I start to nod off, Starbuck will wake me up—she’s our first line of defense. Makes a great proximity alarm. Plus, if I know my dad, he’ll try to relieve me in a few hours anyway.”

  Uncle Zarek sauntered over and tapped Cally on the arm. “Get some rest, Callandra. Get changed and go to bed. I’m sure things will look better in the morning.” He suddenly grinned and whipped out his phone. “We didn’t get to take that selfie for your mother, though! Now?”

  Cally almost groaned, but she couldn’t exactly say no. He made a good point, that it would calm her mother down. “All right.”

  Her uncle moved closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, then frowned. “Why are you still dressed like you’re in the middle of a snowstorm? This house is nicely heated. Your mother will think you’re living inside an igloo.”

  “Just press the button, Uncle,” she said, but when he started to protest, she reached up and pressed the camera button for him. A semi-blurry photo appeared onscreen of the two of them, with half of Aaron’s face at the edge of the picture. “Good enough.”

  Her uncle frowned again, looking nervous. “Callandra—”

  She couldn’t deal with this right now. Her uncle’s insistence on sending a pleasant photo to her mother while people were actively trying to take her life was the strangest situation she’d found herself dealing with in a long time. “We’ll take another one in the morning, all right? There’ll be better lighting and it won’t be blurry.”

  He sighed and busied himself on the phone for a moment before grunting as if frustrated.

  Cally didn’t want to take the bait, but she loved her uncle and, despite the inconvenience of his visit, was grateful that he cared enough to travel all this way to see her instead of returning home after what had likely been a draining business conference. “Is something wrong?”

  Uncle Zarek pointed at his neck. “Your locket. Don’t tell me you’ve lost it?” His features pulled together sharply with worry. “Or stopped wearing it?”

  “Oh!” She pulled on the chain and raised the metal oval from inside her layers of clothing. “No, it’s still here, under everything. I’m not sure I’ll ever stop wearing it. It’s just easiest to keep it under all the fabric.”

  His relief was palpable. “Well. For a moment there...” His eyes flicked to Aaron and back to her. She swallowed hard on a sudden lump in her throat. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. What was he trying to imply?

  “I’m not ever going to forget him,” she said, her voice lowered to a near whisper. “No matter what happens or where life takes me. When you love someone, you love them always. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more love. It’s not a finite resource.”

  “Oh, Callandra. That’s not what I meant at all. I’m sorry.” Uncle Zarek’s face fell. “I...we’ll talk in the morning. If you’d like, I can even polish it up for you, as its shine is looking a little dulled. All right?”

  She nodded, suddenly unable to speak. As her uncle crawled beneath the blankets of the pull-out couch, her eyes heated up and began to water with emotion.

  Aaron’s hand landed on her arm. “Hey. Are you going to be okay? Is there anything I can do?”

  There was. She just wasn’t sure if he’d be open to it. “Can I...uh...sorry, this might sound really strange, but...”

  The corner of his mouth lifted in a kind, understanding smile. “Did you want a hug?”

  She did. So much.

  With a quick nod, she fell into his open arms, feeling the safest she had since she’d stepped off the airplane two days ago.

  “If you weren’t playing bodyguard for me, what would you be doing right now?”

  Aaron chuckled. “I’m not sure. Watching an action movie with Leo, usually, but he’s kind of busy these days. Maybe reading some alternate history, or browsing for rescue dogs online.”

  Cally sat up and pulled back. “Really? I’ve always wanted a dog, but we only owned cats while growing up. I don’t think I’ve ever read an alternate history book, either.”

  “History was my favorite school subject, believe it or not. If I wasn’t in law enforcement, I’d probably be a high school history teacher. Or a full-time horse trainer. Or both.”

  Cally smiled and tucked back into his shoulder. “With a house full of rescue dogs?”

  He laughed again. “Obviously. What about you? What would you be doing if you had an evening alone, danger-free?”

  She thought of her couch at home, the warm blanket and pillows she’d longed for more than once since arriving in Fort Mason. “I’d be under a giant pile of blankets either reading or watching home renovation shows and knitting. I find it calming.”

  “I can understand that. You work from home, right? Must be difficult to relax and separate work from downtime.”

  “It is. But I can work from anywhere, which is nice. It gives me a lot of freedom, which opens up possibilities for the future in terms of expanding my client base, traveling, and so forth.”

  Aaron’s arm tightened around her. “I’m in awe of people who are self-employed. It takes a lot of grit, determination and hustle to succeed and make a living, but the be-your-own-boss trade-off is appealing. You’re a remarkable woman.”

  Her cheeks warmed at his words. She’d never heard anyone talk about her career aspirations with such understanding. The security and acceptance she found in his embrace was, in a way, alarming. She’d realized some time ago that her heart would let her know when it was ready to expand its capacity for love, to let someone else in and give back in return. But she certainly hadn’t expected to feel its urging so soon.

  And definitely not for a man whose life would only intertwine with hers for a short while.

  Because despite his kindness, despite the hug, despite his fierce protection, he’d admitted as much tonight—she was a convenient circumstance to potentially advance his career. He hadn’t meant it that way, but she’d read between the lines.

  She wondered if he could read between hers...but she had a sneaking suspicion that at this very moment, as she clung to him and he pressed her cheek into his shoulder, they weren’t even speaking the same language.

  FOURTEEN

  He hadn’t expected her to fall asleep in his arms.

  They sat side by side on the stairs, Cally one step above him with her head buried in the crook of his shoulder, and within minutes of holding her she’d fallen fast asleep. He was trying very hard not to be distracted by her beauty—by the rise and fall of each breath, by the way her lips parted ever so slightly. He wished he could reach inside of her and take away her pain, leaving behind only beautiful memories of the people she loved. He hoped that whoever captured her heart again—if ever she was willing to give it—respected those memories and allowed her to treasure them as much and as deeply as she needed to.

  All he wanted was for her to find someone, or something, that made her smile again the way she was smiling in the photo tucked inside her locket. If she wanted to sit and tell him stories of her life with Esai, he’d gladly listen for hours. She deserved that much, after everything life had handed to her.

  I can never be the one to make that happen, Lord, I know that. But won’t You bring someone into her life who can?

  As the night wore on, he flinched at every sound—the creaks of the house settling, the rustle of the dog turning over in her bed, the rap of the branches brushing the side of the house every time the wind gusted. He couldn’t have fallen asleep even if he wanted to. Updates via text
from Hatch let him know that the suspect who’d tried breaking into the station had escaped on a snowmobile—or at least that was Hatch’s suspicion—which aligned with Aaron’s belief that the culprit or culprits were getting around on these high-speed, off-road vehicles.

  An update from Leo told him that his brother had been unable to interview the rental shop’s owner last night—he was having trouble tracking down the man—but Leo was heading back to make another attempt first thing in the morning.

  Speaking of morning, I also need to...

  He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to think through the new information—and then startled back to wakefulness, immediately conscious of the fact that he’d fallen asleep on the stairs, Cally’s head on his shoulder. And that there’d been no overnight attempt on their lives.

  He extricated himself from Cally, carefully balling up his sweater to place it under her head so she could lean against the wall instead of his shoulder, and called his brother.

  “I’m heading to the rental place right now,” Leo said as soon as he answered. “I’ve got Hatch on welcome duty, since we have officials and officers arriving around noon. Power is back on throughout town, and back at the station, too. How’d the night shake out?”

  “Surprisingly uneventful, if tense. Hang on, Hatch is calling us through the radio. Hatch, go ahead.”

  Even through the crackle of the radio speaker, Hatch’s excitement was palpable. “Guys, you’ll never guess what I just heard from Fort St. Jacob. They called to let me know they’re on the way and we got to chatting—”

  “The news, Hatch.” Aaron heard a creak on the stairs and looked down to see Cally awake and standing, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

  “It’s Tricia. Your Tricia, Aaron.”

  “She’s not my Tricia, but that’s irrelevant. What about her?” Aaron’s insides tightened. “Has she been found?”

  “Better and yet somehow worse,” Hatch continued. “She’s at the hospital in Fort St. Jacob. Her car went off the road last night, slid into the ditch and had to be towed out. Speed and alcohol might have been a factor, charges are pending. She’s not seriously injured, but waiting in the ER to be checked over. Last I heard, she blew pretty close to the legal limit at the scene.”

  Aaron thanked his fellow officers, hung up and glanced at Cally. “You heard that, I assume.”

  She nodded, stretching her shoulders and arms. “I hope she’s okay.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Is the tree lighting still happening tonight? I don’t suppose I’ll be going.” She wrapped her arms across her stomach.

  What’s the right move here, Lord? “I’m honestly not sure.” He crouched to scratch the dog, who’d wandered over, excited and happy that humans were finally waking up. “Here’s where we’re at. We know of one male involved in these attacks. Body type suggests there may be two people, but we can’t say for certain. The only person we can pinpoint with a possible motive is Tricia, with jealousy as that motive, but the timeline doesn’t really fit and she doesn’t have a history of violence or priors on her record. Just...”

  “Manipulation.” Cally yawned. “You did say she’s gone out of her way to interfere more than once when it comes to you and relationships, though you only told me the one story. It’s the type of behavior that tends to get worse over time, until there’s a breaking point—yours or theirs.” She chuckled bitterly. “I hit mine with my family and flew to Canada for Christmas, but that’s a different situation altogether.”

  “I have been thinking about this, and all I can manage is that it’s plausible that Tricia organized the attacks against you. Not likely, but plausible, so it can’t be ruled out. She might have learned via spa gossip that you were my assignment and grown concerned. Maybe that’s a stretch, but I’m just thinking out loud here.”

  Cally tilted her head, looking much like the confused dog under his fingertips who’d grown concerned at the sudden lack of ear scratches. “Why would she fatally target me specifically, though? From what you’ve told me, her behavior up to this point has been more of a general ‘keep you away from other women’ mode of operating, which doesn’t explain the level of violence toward me.”

  Aaron could have laughed aloud. “You’re right. The targeting has been more general in the past, and this definitely isn’t. But, Cally...you’re a competent, self-employed, breathtakingly beautiful career woman who speaks...how many languages?”

  “Oh! Five. But how—”

  “The RCMP sent over a file on you with my assignment, but it’s information easily found online. Tricia might have read up on you, seen your photo and grown concerned.” When Cally didn’t react, he took a deep breath and continued, about to say words filled with more honesty than she could ever know. “Concerned that I’d fall for you.”

  Her cheeks immediately flushed pink, a heart-stopping sight against her deep beige complexion. “Oh.” She formed the word softly, eyes lowering for a single moment before snapping back up to meet his with a ferocity that demanded truth. “And have you?”

  The world seemed to come to a standstill. Even the dog had grown quiet, as if everything hinged on this moment, on his answer to a simple question that really wasn’t simple at all.

  He didn’t know why Cally had come into his life. Why God had sent this woman whose life was worlds away, but with whom he felt a connection unlike with any other person he’d met before. He didn’t know if answering with the truth would bring joy or pain, but he did know that he absolutely, unequivocally, could not lie.

  “Yes,” he said, and she gasped. “Moment by moment.”

  Her lips parted as if she didn’t know how to respond, and the silence stabbed at him in a way he hadn’t anticipated. How could her reply to his confession matter so much when he hadn’t ever expected to even admit his feelings to her in the first place?

  “Aaron,” she finally said, and he braced himself for the twist of the knife. She took a step closer. He couldn’t remember how to breathe. “Me, too.”

  * * *

  Now what? She couldn’t believe she’d said it and admitted to herself, let alone the man in front of her, that she was actually falling for a Mountie.

  She’d expected him to say no to her question, to laugh and shrug it off and tell her they needed to get back to business. But he hadn’t, and that made everything both relieving and terrifying at the same time.

  “What are we going to do?” she murmured. He hadn’t moved or breathed since her own admission.

  His answer was resolute. “Nothing.” Her heart sank, and it must have shown on her face because he exclaimed with alarm. “Oh! No, not...that’s not what I mean. Right now, nothing. Later, something. But right now, Cally, I have to focus on keeping you safe so that we can do something about it.”

  She exhaled with relief. “Of course. So, without a culprit in custody...do I go to the tree lighting tonight or not?”

  Aaron sighed and glanced out the front window. The weather appeared to have grown milder overnight—the trees were still and no more snow fell from the sky. Cally thought she even saw a patch of blue poking through the perpetual gray.

  “Here’s the dilemma,” he said. “Either you stay here alone with my father—who is a capable former officer, mind you—or you hole up in the station with Hatch, or I bring you to the tree lighting, where you’ll be in public, fully visible and surrounded by twelve armed RCMP officers in a controlled area. If a civilian tries to pull a weapon on you in the middle of the town square...like I said, there are twelve armed officers scheduled to be there, some of them mounted on horseback, plus there’s typically a minimum of five hundred attendees. My professional opinion is that it will be safer for you in public with law enforcement around than sitting in a building with one other person, but I won’t force you to go if you’re concerned.”

  Cally’s insides roiled. The thought of walking out
into the open after everything that had happened seemed more frightening than she’d anticipated—but Aaron knew what he was talking about. She trusted him. He wouldn’t put her in intentional danger. He’s falling for me.

  That still threw her for a loop.

  The more she thought about the tree lighting, and the more she envisioned staying inside the house while the town and the public’s focus was elsewhere, the more her nerves flared. Even going to the police station seemed like an unwelcome alternative. After all, Tricia had waltzed right inside the police station, and she’d seemed perfectly normal until Cally knew the whole story—and then Tricia had become a suspect and vanished. Even if Tricia wasn’t involved, what would stop someone else from trying the same trick to get close to her? Especially if the person knew she was in the station and that every officer save one was manning the event in the middle of town?

  Safety was relative, no matter where she went.

  She planted her hands on her hips with firm resolve, her body stiff and shaky after a long night on the stairs drifting in and out of sleep.

  “All right,” she said. “I trust you. You were chosen to protect me for a reason, because the people who gave you this assignment trust you. Let’s go to the square.”

  Was she still afraid? Of course. But with Aaron and his colleagues looking out for her, she had faith that everything was going to be okay.

  She desperately hoped her faith wasn’t misplaced.

  FIFTEEN

  Aaron stood in the town square with his arm around Cally, who shrank against him. She’d seemed so confident until they’d stepped outside, and though he’d given her the option of returning to his parents’ house or the station, she’d declined. He wanted nothing more than to prove the trust she’d given him was not misplaced.

  The Fort Mason town square was packed with attendees. More folks from the surrounding area had driven up to take part in the festivities than he’d anticipated at the beginning of the week, when the weather was awful. But after a day filled with sunshine and with the snow glistening as early twilight descended, the scene was a stark contrast to the stormy, abandoned streets of only a few days prior. Aaron could almost imagine what it would be like to enjoy the tree lighting rather than be standing on high alert, watchful and waiting just in case Cally’s attacker—or attackers—decided to reveal themselves. But the uncertainty was beyond frustrating.