Christmas Confidential

by Marilyn Pappano; Linda Conrad

  Andrei shifted his rifle and took a step closer. “I’ll give you the gift of not killing you where you stand. Yet perhaps you would consider that preferable to what is to happen. You will come back with me—not as my wife as planned—but as my property. There will be many, many years for you to consider your treachery and to regret what you have done.”

  Elana turned her head toward Dimitri. “Where is my father? He won’t stand for this kind of treatment.”

  Dimitri took a breath and silently raised his weapon.

  Gage could wait no longer. As a shot rang out and whizzed by him, he grabbed Elana by the shoulder and pulled her behind him. Then, taking a quick shooter’s stance, he fired at Dimitri before the older man could get off his next shot. A bloom of red blood blossomed on Dimitri’s chest, and without saying a thing, he slowly sank to his knees.

  “You killed my father!” Andrei screamed and aimed his rifle.

  Gage suddenly lost his balance as Elana pushed him aside and stepped directly in front of him to block the shot. The two blasts coming from Andrei’s rifle were not as far off the mark as his father’s shot had been. Trying to regain his stance and reach her at the same time, Gage heard the slugs hitting their new target, then watched while she doubled over and cried out.

  “Noooo!”

  At that exact moment, chaos broke out from the front of the cabin as police sirens and the sounds of shooting resounded through the clear, cold air. That was quick. Must be these were the same state highway troopers he’d noticed earlier when they were closing the roads.

  Just then the noise of helicopter rotors overhead caught Andrei’s attention. Ducking his head, Andrei took a couple of hesitant steps toward his father’s prone body but then stopped, swung around and disappeared past the corner of the cabin.

  Gage was torn. Finish off the jerk or take cover with Elana?

  There really was no choice. He put the Glock in his pocket and picked her up in his arms. It was only a matter of a few steps to cover, and as he knelt behind thick scrub he prayed for her life.

  She lay silent and bloody, and as far as Gage could tell she’d been hit by two potentially fatal shots.

  “Oh, God, Elana. Why’d you do it?”

  As he cradled her, spoke to her, she made no sound at all and never opened her eyes. Her breathing was labored and her body was as limp as a rag doll in his arms. She was dying, and he knew it.

  Gage couldn’t believe what had happened. She’d taken the bullets meant for him.

  But why? Why?

  I love you, damnit. You must stay safe.

  Her words, her pleas for his understanding, rattled around loud and true in his brain. She may have lied about many things, but the parts about loving him and trying to keep him safe weren’t lies after all. And he’d never given her a chance.

  Stunned and unable to focus, he stumbled to his feet still clutching her in his arms. He had to get her to a doctor. Nothing else mattered. And no one would stand in his way.

  If she died now, he would never be able to tell her how sorry he was. Her past, her family, none of it mattered. He wanted the opportunity to say that he still loved her. Always had and always would.

  Chapter 11

  Elana’s pain seemed almost manageable today. They’d moved her out of ICU just this morning, and the feeding tubes had come out in time for a liquid breakfast. But how many days had she been here?

  The past hours, days, weeks or however long she’d been in this hospital had gone by in a blur of pain and medicine-induced comas. She vaguely remembered the doctor saying she’d nearly died. That her right lung had been hit and collapsed. And that she’d had emergency surgery to correct the damage done by another bullet that grazed her head.

  She’d asked the nurses about Gage the moment she came to. But she didn’t get an answer until the doctor arrived late last night when she’d been awake. He told her that Gage had survived the shootings and actually carried her out to the main road where a paramedic’s helicopter could land to transport her to the hospital. He’d saved her life by not giving up.

  The doctor also mentioned that Andrei and most of his Russian gang had been captured. Andrei’s father had not made it out alive. The idea that she was finally free of the threat from the Russians hadn’t really sunk in yet.

  “How’s the new room?” One of the nurses she was beginning to recognize came in with her cart full of testing and monitoring equipment—for the fourth time this morning.

  “Have I landed in the never-ending monitoring room?”

  The nurse chuckled. “It will be for today. Your first day out of ICU means we have to keep checking. But by tomorrow, things will calm down.”

  “How long have I been in the hospital?”

  “Your chart says it’s been five days today. It’s Christmas day, you know. Hopefully you’ll be going home soon. We’ll see what the doctor has to say tomorrow. An early release would make a nice Christmas present.”

  “Uh...has anyone been to see me?”

  “Not that I know of. Who were you expecting?”

  Well, not her family, that was for sure. And she supposed Gage had gone back to Texas, too. It hurt thinking that he could save her life and still not love her enough to get past her lies and want them to make a life together. But as miserable as that made her, it might be for the best. Her father would never approve of a match with an outsider. Nor with the man who’d shot his boss.

  Then it hit her. “My daughter. Gay, my little girl. She hasn’t been here?”

  The nurse shook her head. “I doubt the doctor would’ve let your daughter in to see you in ICU. That’s pretty traumatic for anyone, especially a child visiting her mother. Maybe she’ll come now that you’re out.”

  Elana felt her pulse jump. Where was Gay? Still with Brendan? Gage couldn’t possibly save her life and then take her child from her.

  She endured the nurse’s tests and then asked for a phone. The nurse told her it would take a little while to order one for the room. Then she left.

  Elana never felt so all alone in her whole life. She wanted out of this place. Now. Today. She had to find her daughter.

  It would be hard enough to go on through life without Gage’s love now that she’d found him again. But to be deprived of her daughter’s love, too, would be the worst thing imaginable.

  Her eyes glazed over in a veil of unshed tears. She wouldn’t be able to go on. Wouldn’t want to take another breath.

  With her mind and heart consumed with thoughts of her baby, she missed the door to her room opening.

  “Hey. How’re you feeling? Better?” Gage’s warm voice washed over her as she turned to see him coming close.

  But she couldn’t speak. Was afraid this could be a dream.

  “Think anyone would mind if I sat on the edge of the bed?” Gage smiled and eased a hip next to her. “I don’t care about anyone else. Do you mind?”

  She shook her head, too surprised to say anything. But when Gage took her hand, her voice returned with a vengeance.

  “Where’s Gay? What’s happened to my daughter?”

  “Calm down. She’s fine. She’ll be in to see you in a little while. I needed a few moments alone with you first. Okay?”

  Breathing a sigh of relief, she finally looked up at his face. What she saw almost took her breath away. That same loving look she remembered so well was back in his sensual gray-blue eyes. It made her suddenly remember the bandages still around her head and that she probably looked like death warmed over after five days in the hospital.

  But Gage didn’t seem to notice. “You look better. The doctors promised me you would make it, but for a while I thought...” A lone tear escaped the corner of his eye as he swiftly wiped it away.

  “You’ve been here? You came?”

  “Of course.” His voice was rough and he had to clear his throat. “They refused to let me in ICU, but I sat right outside watching you through the glass. Every day I sat and I prayed. It was touch and go for a bit.
But you’re a fighter.”

  “Gage, I...”

  “No, my turn first. I love you. I have loved you since the very first moment I laid eyes on you. And I don’t care what name you use or where you want to live. You’re going to have a danged hard time shutting me out of your life ever again. I will follow you the next time. Right to the grave if I have to.”

  “Oh, Gage. I love you, too. No more hiding. And I want to be with you wherever you want to be. But my father. My family. Now that they know where I am, they’d never accept us.”

  Gage dropped her hand and swiped a palm across his mouth. “I have some very bad news for you. Are you strong enough to take it?”

  Drawing in as much air as she could, she fisted her hands in the sheets and nodded her head. “Go ahead. What’s happened?”

  “Did you ever wonder how I ended up in Piñon Lake and spotted you?”

  “Sure.” Wondering what this had to do with her family, she put her questions aside and said, “I knew it couldn’t have been a coincidence. How’d you find me?”

  “I received an email telling me to look in Piñon Lake for someone lost. I thought the note was talking about my little sister, but that’s not what it was about. Turns out that email came from your father. He wanted me to find you.”

  “My father? But how’d he know where I was? Why didn’t he come for me himself?”

  “Elana... Is it alright if I call you Elana? Alicia doesn’t seem right anymore and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to saying Amara.”

  She nodded but wanted him to keep talking.

  “Yeah? Okay. Well, it seems your father always knew where to find you. Even when you were living with me. Your cousin Brendan’s wife kept him informed through the years. But your father knew better than to say anything to the Russians.”

  “All this time? He knew and he never said anything.” She could barely comprehend what Gage was saying.

  “I guess it was hard for him to keep the secret. He didn’t even tell your mother. And it must’ve been especially difficult to hold his tongue when Gay came along. But Maeve sent pictures and let him know where you were. He wanted you to be safe, Elana. Remember that.”

  “Where is he now? And why’d he want you to find me?”

  “He sent me that email when the Russians got wind you were still alive. He knew it would only be a matter of time before they found you, and he thought I could do a better job of protecting you and Gay than either the Keanes or you alone could do.

  “And he was right,” Gage muttered as his mouth turned down in a frown. “Despite what you thought. You needed my help to beat the mob.”

  Blinking back the rising panic she began to feel, she asked again, “Where is my father, Gage? Why isn’t he here?”

  He pursed his lips as though he couldn’t—wouldn’t—say the words. Finally he whispered, “Dimitri tortured him to find you, and your father didn’t live through the punishment he received. I wish I could’ve thanked him. But...”

  Her tears flowed freely. “Oh, my God. He...he...”

  Gage cuddled her next to his chest and let her sob against him. “I know. I know.” He spoke softly in her ear. “This news couldn’t be more terrible. He was a hero for contacting me. But he wanted you to have an opportunity for a different kind of life. The kind of life you once had with me. Don’t ever forget that.”

  “I won’t.” She fought against collapsing in her grief. She needed to keep going. Gay depended on her. And maybe...

  “About what you were saying earlier. You think we could...um...start over? Have you given any thought to—?”

  Gage kissed away her words, the most tender, most loving kiss he’d ever given her. “I haven’t thought of anything else since the moment you were shot. The Russians are out of the picture. Their boss man is dead and your fiancé will be in jail for his whole miserable life. You say the word and nothing will stand between us. Not ever again.”

  At that moment the door opened and she could barely believe her eyes. Gay came skipping into the room with Elana’s mother trailing silently behind her. Elana smiled at her mother, who tentatively smiled back. That’s when she knew everything would be all right between them—eventually.

  Gay, the too-smart kid, looked up at her own mother’s bandaged head, then glanced toward her father, who was already holding her mom in his arms. And even a tiny little girl could’ve seen that all was right in her world, too.

  She came to stand beside the bed next to Gage. “Up, Daddy. I want to see Mommy.”

  Elana gulped back surprise. “She’s already calling you Daddy?”

  Gage laughed as he lifted Gay up to the bed. “Don’t try telling her any different. She’s a tad determined.”

  “Stubborn, you mean.”

  But by then, the little girl who suddenly looked so much like her father was leaning against her mother’s side and looking up at her with big tears in her eyes. “Mommy got hurt.”

  Gage gathered them both into his arms. “Don’t worry, baby. We won’t let Mommy get hurt again. We’re a family now, and nothing can ever hurt us again as long as we’re together.”

  Speechless and contented, Elana couldn’t believe her luck. She’d been given a second chance.

  And this time, she promised her dearest father in heaven, this time no more lies. She vowed to make it work with her Chance—now and forever.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt of The Cop's Missing Child by Karen Whiddon

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  Chapter 1

  The bright sun felt warm on his skin. If he’d been here for no reason other than a desire to enjoy the weather, Mac Riordan would have stopped and turned his face up to let the bright rays try to heat blood that these days always seemed chilled. Instead, he glanced around while keeping his quarry in sight, taking in the lush greenness of the park crowded with citizens enjoying the early spring air.

  He couldn’t believe the hunter’s rush he felt at this planned-for encounter. Finally, after all this time, he’d meet the woman who had, inadvertently or not, stolen everything he had left to live for.

  He’d planned this carefully, just happened to take a stroll along the tree-lined, paved walking path when the very woman he’d come to town to find strode past him on her daily walk—Emily Gilley. He’d been watching her for a week, after all, and figured an accidental meeting in the park would be a great way to meet her.

  True, if he wanted this to appear unintentional, keeping up with her confident pace without looking as though he was stalking her might prove difficult, though not impossible.

  He doubted she’d find him suspicious. From what he’d heard about the east Texas town of Anniversary, everyone was friendly and trusting and looked out for each other. If this was true, then Emily Gilley would have no reason to worry about a friendly stranger.

  He allowed himself the slightest of grim smiles. If only she knew.

  So far, he’d been careful. After all, he’d only been in town for three weeks. It was just long enough to establish his brand-new trucking business and to put out a few feelers about her, the woman he’d spent several years trying to locate: Emily Gilley, twenty-nine-year-old widow of one of the most notorious drug dealers on the Eastern Seaboard. She’d changed her name, taking back her mother’s maiden name Gilley, and altered both the cut and the color of her hair
, all to help her disappear. But for someone with the far-flung resources to which he had access, finding her had been a matter of time and a tenacious effort. He was fortunate to still have a lot of the tools from his law enforcement days at his disposal.

  Her long, blond locks were now dark, short and spiky. Instead of designer fashions, she wore clothing that looked off the rack at a big bin department store. She’d gone from a glamorous life in Manhattan to this: a tiny lakefront community ninety miles east of Dallas.

  As he hurried around a bend at the end of the trail, trying not to appear in too much of a rush, he nearly ran into her. She’d stopped at the weathered wooden bench that marked the entrance to the paved parking lot of Sue’s Catfish Hut, which was crowded with lunchtime patrons.

  She was stopped and turned to face him, apparently willing to wait for him to catch up.

  This was going even better than he’d hoped, he thought with some satisfaction. And then he got a look at her annoyed expression.

  Hands on her hips, she glared at him, her brown eyes full of anger mixed with only the barest hint of fear. “What do you want? Stop following me! If you’re trying to creep me out, you’re succeeding admirably.”

  He dipped his chin, sending her an abashed smile he hoped she’d find reassuring. “My apologies. I had no idea this was a private trail.”

  Instead of growing flustered, she shook her head, sending her shaggy spiked hair rippling. “It’s not. But I walk here every day on my lunch break, and I know almost everyone in town. Every time I look up, you’re right behind me. You never pass me or fall back. And while this is the first time I’ve seen you here, you have to understand how such behavior can make a woman feel threatened.”

  “Threatened? Interesting choice of words.” He crossed his arms. “I’m new here, and I mean you no harm. I wasn’t aware being a newcomer and taking a walk were crimes.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she studied him, apparently not buying his too-easy, confident patter. In his experience, overly suspicious or outright paranoid people usually had something to hide. But then again, she had a point. He was a stranger who was following her, and her former husband had been a drug dealer. No doubt, looking over her shoulder had been deeply ingrained in her psyche. She’d be foolish not to worry. And one thing he’d learned about Emily Gilley, formerly Cavell, was that she was anything but stupid.