A Knight Before Christmas

by Alicia Dean

  are."

  "Deal," she whispered.

  He turned to Alex. "So, what's your news?"

  His eyes went to Zoe and he had an idea what Alex would

  say before he spoke. There was no mistaking the glow of

  pleasure on Zoe's face, not to mention, Sydney was absent

  from the gathering

  Alex slipped his arm around Zoe's shoulder. "Zoe and I are

  getting married."

  Heath lifted his brows. "Does Sydney know?"

  Zoe laughed and Heath held out his arms to her. She

  hugged him, then pulled back and looked up into his face. "I'd

  like to ask a favor."

  A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "If it's marrying

  Sydney in Alex's place, forget it."

  She laughed again. "Nothing that horrible. I wondered if

  you'd walk me down the aisle."

  A surge of emotion rose in Heath's chest, and he cleared

  his throat. "Sure. I'd like that very much."

  "Thank you."

  249

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Zoe released him, and Heath shook his brother's hand.

  He'd never seen Alex look so happy. "Congratulations, man. I

  think you're doing it right this time."

  "Hey, practice makes perfect, right?"

  "You ought to know."

  Alex punched him lightly in the sternum. "Shut the hell up

  and let's eat."

  "Daddy, you're not supposed to say bad words, and hell's a

  bad word," Macy admonished.

  The room burst into laughter.

  The dinner discussion centered on the last minute changes

  in the wedding plans. Alex explained how he and Zoe had

  fallen in love, and he'd realized that Sydney wasn't the kind

  of woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, or the

  kind of woman he wanted around his daughters. In Heath's

  mind, Alex had definitely made the right choice.

  Although Heath wasn't completely sold on the idea of

  having a new sibling, he found himself warming up to Keeley

  as the evening wore on. Watching her interact with the

  triplets moved her way up in Heath's estimation. She was

  great with them and they seemed comfortable with her. Like

  the saying went, animals and children can sense the

  difference between good and evil. Maybe Keeley didn't have

  horns and a pitchfork after all.

  When it was time to leave, Heath hugged the females,

  except for Keeley, who received a handshake like he'd given

  Alex. He still had a few reservations about her; he didn't want

  her to think she'd completely won him over until she proved

  she could be trusted. After all, her arrival into their lives was

  250

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  precipitated by a lawsuit against his mother. That still didn't

  set well with him.

  As he drove away from the house, Heath thought about

  how his mom had loved his dad, even though he'd cheated.

  Rudy hadn't been loyal to Nic, but Heath knew he could be.

  He and Nic deserved that chance, right? He'd learned a lot in

  the past few days about forgiveness and second chances.

  Look at Alex and Zoe. He'd never seen a couple look at one

  another with so much love. Then there was Keeley. She was

  the one who'd had a rough life, a single mom and not getting

  to grow up with a great father like he had. Yet he was the one

  who'd sat in judgment of her.

  Life was too short for that kind of bullshit thinking. He'd

  loved Nic for years. Maybe she cared enough about him to

  give it a try. He wouldn't ask her to marry him, not right off.

  She had a lot to lose in the community. But he had to try to

  convince her to give love a shot.

  He should wait until the investigation was over, until he

  decided how to tell her Rudy had cheated, until he figured out

  how he could hurt someone who'd had enough hurt in her

  lifetime.

  Right now, he would concentrate on the case.

  Heath drove back toward Northland Playhouse. The last

  performance was to end at around ten, so by now, the crowd

  should be thinned out a great deal. Maybe the blackmailer

  wasn't a theater-goer, maybe he was an employee. After all,

  if he was using their phone, it was likely he worked there. It

  would be unusual for a theater guest to make a call from the

  house phone since everyone these days had a cell.

  251

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Heath had no idea if checking out the theater would pay

  off, but right now, he had nothing. He'd called information

  and gotten Ted Wellington's phone number, but there had

  been no answer, so he couldn't ask if anyone at the shop

  worked part-time, or had any ties, to the Northland

  Playhouse.

  As he'd predicted, the lot was nearly empty. A small group

  of cars were parked at the back of the theatre, in an area

  reserved for employees. Heath cruised back and forth along

  the rows, looking for a familiar vehicle, or a person he could

  speak with who might know something.

  A white Altima caught his attention. He'd seen that car

  before. White Altimas weren't all that uncommon, but this one

  had a dent on the right side. Heath thought he remembered

  seeing a similar dent in one of the cars at the salon. He fished

  for his notepad and pulled out the list he'd made of vehicles in

  Salarber's parking lot. The Altima matched one on the list,

  license plate number and all.

  Adrenaline surged through him. This was one thing he

  missed about being a cop. The thrill of the chase, but mostly,

  the elation when closing in on the prey.

  He chose a space in a darkened corner and slid the Tahoe

  in, shutting off his lights and the engine. Now, he'd wait.

  One of the drawbacks to waiting, besides being bored as

  hell, was that it gave him too much time to think. He thought

  about Keeley Jacobs and how he hadn't wanted to like her.

  Not that he loved her or anything, but he didn't hate her, and

  that sucked.

  252

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  It forced him to rethink his plan of action, although

  admittedly it hadn't been the greatest, anyway. Holding out

  after everyone else in the family had accepted his father's

  love-child—a nice girl who was totally blameless—and pouting

  about a mistake his father made nearly forty years ago,

  wasn't exactly brilliant military strategy.

  He smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to have Keeley

  around during the holidays. Jesse could use a little female

  competition. She'd had all the King brothers' loyalty and

  devotion for long enough. Although, if he was reading the

  signs right, one particular King brother wanted to give Jesse

  something a little more intimate.

  Before his thoughts could turn to how and when, or

  whether, Heath would tell Nicolette that her dead husband

  had not only kept his drug use from her, but had also been

  banging another woman, the back door to the theater

  opened. A small group of peop
le exited, then headed to

  various vehicles. No one went to the Altima.

  Heath shifted in his seat. This could take all night. What if

  the Altima owner had left with someone else? Heath had

  searched the sea of faces as they exited the theater and none

  had looked familiar, not like anyone he might have seen at

  Salarber's, but then, his position didn't allow a close look.

  It only took a few moments for the door to open again.

  This time, a lone man exited and headed straight to the

  Altima. Heath's adrenaline spiked higher when he recognized

  the guy. He couldn't place him exactly, but he'd seen him

  somewhere before.

  253

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Heath started the engine and followed the Altima out of

  the parking lot. He didn't want to confront the guy at the

  theater, not with the likelihood of someone interrupting. He'd

  see where the car went and hope it was somewhere he could

  have a nice, private chat with the driver.

  Heath and the Altima drove for five miles or so before the

  car slowed and pulled into the lot of a strip club. Great. The

  asshole was going to dole out Nicolette's money to pole

  dancers, probably a few bucks at a time.

  When they both parked and the guy stepped out of the

  car, Heath got out and approached him as he was thumbing a

  key fob to lock his door. He was short, maybe in his late

  twenties, with close-set eyes and a long, thin nose.

  "Hey, pal," Heath called. When the guy looked up, Heath

  recognized him. He'd been sweeping floors at the barbershop.

  "What? Who are you?" The guy seemed more puzzled than

  frightened, but when Heath grabbed him and shoved him into

  the open door of the Tahoe, he made a grunting sound, then

  yelled for help.

  Heath shoved him over and climbed into the driver's seat.

  Clamping his hand over the guy's mouth, Heath held his head

  down on the seat while he drove around to the back of the

  club. An alley stretched behind the strip club and the other

  businesses in the shopping center. Quiet. Deserted. Perfect.

  When Heath released his hold, the guy sat up and started

  slapping at him like a sorority girl. "Let me go. What are you

  doing? Who the hell are you?"

  254

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  "Knock it the fuck off." Heath opened his door and tugged

  the guy out by his collar, then slammed him against the side

  of the Tahoe, retaining his grip.

  "Hey, what the fuck!" He looked around the darkened

  alley. "Help! Please, somebody help!"

  Heath grabbed the back of his hair and jerked downward

  until the guy was staring directly up at the night sky. "Pipe

  down, or I'll snap it right off."

  His Adam's apple protruded with the strain of holding his

  neck in that position. He managed an almost imperceptible

  nod.

  "I'll let you go," Heath said, "but if you scream again, I'll

  put you back in the truck and take you on a trip you'll never

  come back from."

  Heath released him, and the guy pressed his lips together

  tightly as if not trusting himself to keep quiet. He blinked

  back tears and rubbed his throat, then peered closely into

  Heath's face. "I've seen you before. At the shop."

  "Yeah. You sweep the floors there. What's your name?"

  His lips tightened again, and Heath said, "Look, I'm going

  to get your name one way or the other. Might as well make it

  less painful on both of us."

  "Barney Frost," he bit out resentfully. "What do you want

  with me?" He was panting heavily, fear making his eyes large

  and round.

  "Just want to have a little chat."

  The eyes narrowed. "About what?"

  "Do you know Nicolette Morgan?"

  255

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Something flickered in his eyes before he looked away.

  "Never heard of her."

  "You don't lie very well. Blackmailers should be a little

  better at it."

  His gaze rose back to Heath's face. "What? I don't know

  what you're talking about."

  "The hell you don't. I have video of your car going into the

  parking garage where you accosted Nicolette. I have your

  voice recorded in several of the calls you made to her. I called

  the voicemail on your phone and did a voice print

  comparison. They match. You were caught on camera at Dave

  and Buster's." Most of that was a lie, but Barney Frost had

  the look of someone who could be easily bluffed. He was.

  "Okay, man. You got me. You're a cop?"

  "Not a cop. Just a friend." He pulled Barney with him and

  reached into the open Tahoe door. Digging through his brief

  case, he pulled out a tape recorder, then shoved Barney

  sideways into the driver's seat, while he remained standing

  outside, blocking the guy's escape. "Tell me everything, and if

  you can convince me you won't bother Nicolette anymore,

  and that you'll pay back the money you took from her, I'll

  consider not calling the police."

  That was also a lie. Although Nic wanted to keep the

  blackmail out of the media, there was no way in hell Heath

  would let a criminal walk, especially not one who'd threatened

  her and made her life hell for all these months.

  "You're going to record me, man? Why, if you're not going

  to turn me in?"

  256

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  "Insurance. As long as I have this tape, I know you'll keep

  your word."

  Barney frowned and crossed his arms mutinously. "I don't

  know."

  "Offer expires in sixty seconds. After that, I'll let you deal

  with the authorities. I have enough on you that they'll make a

  case. Your choice."

  "Fuck." Barney reached up on either side of his head and

  clenched his hair in his fists. "I'm fucked either way."

  "Yeah. But you'll be literally fucked if you go to prison.

  Talk." Heath pushed the record button and lifted his brows

  expectantly.

  "Fine." Barney released his hair and shook his head. "I'll

  tell you everything. You got a smoke?"

  "No. I have Pez candies."

  "What?" He frowned and shook his head again. "Never

  mind. Okay, here goes. I work in the shop right? Cleaning up.

  Half the time, the stylists don't even know I'm around. I see

  Rudy Morgan come in every six weeks or so, and he's this big

  shot, you know? Noah does his hair and everything's normal

  in the beginning. Except, after a while, they seem sort of

  chummy. I always figured Noah was gay, but he swears he's

  not. Don't know why he'd deny it. These days, there's no

  shame, no reason to hide it. Either way, though, I don't think

  for one second Morgan has a gay bone in his body. One day,

  I'm leaving the same time as Noah and I decide to follow him,

  keeping my distance, you know?"

  257

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

 
; When Heath nodded, the guy went on, his voice becoming

  more animated as if now that he was caught, he enjoyed

  telling the story.

  "Noah drove to a park at the river. He got out and walked

  down the bank toward a guy standing near the water. I'm still

  behind him, but staying back. I'll be damned if it wasn't Rudy

  Morgan waiting on him. I didn't know if they were going to

  start some guy on guy sex or what, but Noah pulled out this

  pipe and the two of them start smoking crack. I couldn't

  fucking believe it."

  Barney shook his head and gazed out the windshield of the

  Tahoe with a faraway look, as if picturing the scene in his

  mind.

  "And?" Heath prompted.

  "Anyway. Long story short, I knew the guy was rich. I

  don't make jack shit with both jobs combined. I followed

  them a few more times, took some pictures, and called

  Morgan. I didn't even feel bad. The asshole ran a charity to

  get people off drugs, and he was a crack head himself. So,

  that's when it started. Blackmailed him for ten G's a month."

  "What'd you do with the money? You're still working those

  jobs that don't pay shit."

  "Yeah. For now. I was going to wait until I had a hundred

  grand, then get the fuck out. Go to some Mexican island or

  somewhere in the tropics and disappear forever.

  Margaritaville and shit, know what I mean?"

  "So why did you kill Rudy. He was paying, right?"

  258

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Barney's eyes got big and round. "Kill him? I didn't. No

  fucking way. Blackmailing just about made me piss my pants.

  No way could I kill someone."

  "But you can attack helpless women in a parking garage."

  Heath bit back his fury at the thought of this asshole's hands

  on Nicolette.

  "I didn't hurt her, man. Just wanted her to know I was

  serious. She seemed about to put a stop to it."

  "You say Rudy deserved it, so you didn't feel bad. But

  what about Nicolette? She'd lost her husband. She kept the

  charity going, and she wasn't doing drugs. You sleep okay at

  night after what you've done to her?"

  He shrugged. "Once I got going, I didn't want to stop until

  I had enough to get the fuck out of here for good."

  "Yet you left clues all over the place. You practically drew

  me a road map right to you."

  "So, what was it that tipped you off?"