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“Yeah. With me bringing these people to justice.” Nathan ended the call and turned to Alisha. “So you heard. Your pursuers managed to escape. You’re not safe.”
He saw the shudder she tried to hide. “What they did was horrible. I can’t get it out of my head.” Looking out into the darkness, she whispered, “I should have done something for those officers.”
“You did the only thing you could do—you got away. It was probably too late for the one who died at the scene and hopefully, the other one won’t die.”
He didn’t want her to meet that same fate.
“That will be in the news, too. His poor family. To lose him at Christmas. Maybe I should have gone back to Reading.”
“No.” Nathan couldn’t tell her that he was glad to see her, glad to help her. “No. You need to be with family right now.”
She nodded, her head down.
“Tell me what you saw tonight,” he said in a gentler tone, wishing he could touch her, hold her and make her feel better.
But that would be the worst idea he’d ever had and he’d had a few bad ones at times.
She nodded and started speaking, her voice strained and weary. Once she’d finished, Nathan couldn’t stop himself. He reached over and took her hand. This reeked of a professional hit. But he wouldn’t tell her that until he did some digging.
“You’ll be safe at the Campton Center for now.”
She stared down at his hand and then pulled hers away. “Of course I will. It’s solid.”
“And I’ll be there to make sure.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“That means we’ll be spending Christmas together,” he replied with a soft smile. “Because I’ll be staying there with you until we find these killers.”
THREE (#uda613ac7-f9c6-5b42-8ed0-6a1cc5fc147d)
“Oh, no,” Alisha replied, the shock of his statement overtaking the shock pumping through her body. “That is not going to happen.”
“It’s happening,” he retorted as he took all the back roads she’d planned on taking. “I’m not leaving you alone.”
“I won’t be alone. I have my grandmother and Mrs. Campton.”
“Right. Two elderly ladies who have to use an elevator to get downstairs.”
He had a point but Alisha wasn’t ready to concede. “And a good security system.”
“That helps but we both know a good criminal can work around that.”
Right again. But Alisha wasn’t about to let him hang around. Yes, she’d called him in a moment of panic but reason was taking over now. “Nathan, I’m a big girl. I can hide out there while I do some checking. For all we know, they might give up on me and go into hiding.”
“I’m not willing to wait and see if that happens. Are you?”
She shook her head. “No. I have a week before I go back to the office in Reading the day after Christmas.”
“Call your boss and make that two weeks. Just until the New Year.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can. Explain the situation. Take some vacation time.”
“I’ll take the time I have allotted and I’ll use that time to track these killers.”
“You do realize Christmas is not the time to work, right?”
“Yes. But watching a gunman shoot up a Christmas market five days before the holidays kind of puts a damper on things.”
“Are you going to tell the ladies the truth?”
“I have to,” she said, hating the idea. “They need to be warned so they can be aware.”
“And they need protection, too.”
“Maybe I should stay somewhere else.”
“No, this is the best plan for now. But, Alisha, I’m going to stay there with all of you whether you like it or not. I know the place has a couple of extra bedrooms in the main house. I’ll bunk in one of those.”
Bad idea. So why did she feel safer, just knowing he’d be nearby?
Because she was frightened, shaken and... She’d need his help. Nathan Craig was good at his job and he could go where others didn’t dare go. He found people. Good people. Scared people. Lost people. And sometimes, the worst of people.
“I can see those wheels turning inside your head,” he said when she didn’t retort right away. “What are you thinking?”
She twisted to stare at him as they turned onto Creek Road. “I don’t have much of a choice. I need you—I mean I need your experience and expertise.”
Her head told her to be logical, while her heart shouted that she did need him, too. She’d always needed him.
But she’d been fighting that need since she’d first met him the summer after her senior year. Funny, how he’d been on the fringes of her life for most of her life. Around but always out of her reach. Once, they’d been so close. Teenage sweethearts. But they were both adults now. Professional and on a case. Nothing more. Because neither one of them had anything more to give.
Tonight, he’d saved her. Alisha couldn’t forget that.
“Don’t worry,” he said in a tight tone, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. “I’ll stay out of your way. I’ll have plenty to keep me busy.”
Justice. The man always wanted justice.
Well, so did she, but she sure hadn’t planned on getting it with Nathan’s help. She didn’t want to spend her holidays chasing after a killer, but her instincts told her the murderers would keep chasing after her.
“I’ll be busy, too,” she said. “I just want this over.”
“Are you referring to this murder investigation or being forced to keep me around?”
“Both,” she admitted.
Nathan pulled the truck up to the quiet, looming house and switched off the motor. “We’ll have to wake them and I’ll need to hide my truck in the garage.”
Alisha stared at the stately redbrick mansion trimmed in white columns, the rows of tall windows now looking vulnerable instead of comforting, the big evergreen wreath on the door reminding her of all the holidays she’d spent here.
Too many memories for tonight, coupled with Nathan being here beside her. A great weight of fatigue and shock pushed at her soul. “Yes. Let’s get inside and do what we have to do.”
Nathan quickly came around the truck and opened her door, his gaze scanning the old oaks and high shrubs and then the driveway and parking areas. “At least the backyard is gated and fenced.”
“We have security lights and alarms everywhere.”
He helped her down, his hands on her waist. Alisha stared up and into his eyes, really seeing him for the first time in a long time. He had always been good-looking, but that world-weary cragginess that shadowed his face made him handsome and mysterious. His eyes, so cobalt blue and shimmering, held too many secrets and his dark hair, always unruly, curled against his neck. A rogue sweep of heavy bangs shielded his frown while his gaze held hers.
He was off-limits and yet, right now, she wanted to reach up and brush those thick curls off his forehead.
“Thank you, Nathan,” she said instead.
“You can thank me when this is all over,” he replied, removing his hands as if he’d been burned.
Alisha accepted that, the loss of his touch already moving through her with aching clarity. Grabbing her briefcase, she hurried to the double doors of the carriage house entryway, where an open portico separated the garage and the upstairs apartment from the main house. Glancing up at the enclosed upper breezeway, which allowed people to move from the garage and second-floor apartment to the main house during bad weather, Alisha breathed deeply and shivered in the late-night cold. She had a key but she rang the bell instead so she wouldn’t scare her grandmother by slipping into the house.
“Alisha?”
Hearing her grandmother’s sweet voice over the intercom brought tears to Alisha’s eyes. “Yes, Granny. It’s me. Sorry I’m so late.”
“Come on up,” Bettye said, buzzing the door open.
Relief filled Alisha’s soul but with it came the letdown of adrenaline and the horrible realization of what she’d witnessed. Her hands started shaking but she held her briefcase with a death grip to keep from falling apart.
Nathan stepped up and placed his arm across her shoulder, tugging her close. He then took the heavy bag. “I’ve got you,” he whispered as he pushed open the door for her. “Don’t fall apart on me now, okay?”
Alisha swallowed her fears and the delayed reaction to everything she’d been through in the last few hours. “I’ll be all right.” She didn’t want to fall apart and she didn’t want him to be kind to her.
But she didn’t push him away. She did need Nathan. And not just to help her stay alive. The strength of his grip reminded her that he’d once made her feel so secure. That feeling had returned tonight, but she’d have to get it out of her system.
Bettye Willis met them at the landing where the stairs from the portico doors met the second floor in a wide entryway. A small table held a sparkling ceramic Christmas tree, the smell of cinnamon-and-spice potpourri lingering in the air.
Bettye took Alisha into her arms in a tight hug. “Alisha, we were beginning to get worried.” Stepping back to get a good look, she said, “I sent Judy on to bed.”
Then her grandmother saw Nathan there in the shadows. Her surprised gaze moving from Alisha to him, Bettye asked, “Mr. Craig, what are you doing here?”
Nathan smiled at Bettye. “That’s a long story, Mrs. Willis.”
“He’s here to help me, Granny,” Alisha said, hoping her grandmother wouldn’t press. “We can explain in the morning.”
Bettye scoffed that away. “I was up reading,” she said. “Come into the kitchen and I’ll make you something to eat. And then you can tell me what’s really going on.”
When they hesitated, her grandmother put her hands on her hips. “You do realize that while I’m old, I’m not completely hapless and senile. Alisha, you would not bring Nathan Craig here in the middle of the night without an extremely good reason.”
Alisha shot Nathan a warning glance. “I’ll explain then, Granny. No need to keep you up all night wondering.”
“That’s unbelievable,” Bettye said after Alisha retold what had happened to her. Turning to where Nathan sat in front of a half-eaten roast beef sandwich, she patted his hand. “I’m so thankful Alisha thought to call you, Nathan.”
Nathan stared at the cookie waiting by his plate and then glanced at Alisha, concern hitting him in the gut. What if he hadn’t answered his phone? What if he hadn’t been at the cabin?
He wouldn’t think about that. He was here now with her and she was safe. “Me, too, Mrs. Willis.”
“Call me Bettye,” the older woman said. She wore a blue flannel robe to keep warm in the wee-hour chill of the spacious art deco–style kitchen. “More coffee?”
Nathan held up his cup, thinking he wouldn’t get much sleep tonight anyway. “Thank you.”
Alisha sat holding her mug, absorbing the warmth. Her grandmother had found her a cozy sweater and a pair of jeans. Alisha kept some clothes here since she often worked pro bono into the late hours and spent the night now and then.
“So, you’re going to be our protector,” Bettye said, nodding her head. “We’ll explain all of this to Mrs. C in the morning. She’ll certainly agree that this is the safest place for both of you right now.”
“I don’t want to put you or her in any danger, Granny,” Alisha said. “This is just for a couple of days.”
“Until after Christmas,” Bettye said. “Remember, you have the whole week off.”
“Maybe until the New Year,” Nathan repeated again.
“I hope it won’t take that long,” Alisha replied, a stubborn glint in her green eyes.
“No matter,” her feisty grandmother replied. “As you know, Alisha, the center will be closed for the next few days and we have lots of baking to do and packages to wrap. We go visiting the Amish during Christmas. You can help with all of that.”
“Okay, Granny,” Alisha said. But her voice held little enthusiasm. She would work day and night to solve this thing.
“I’ll take a room in the main house,” Nathan said to Bettye. “But at least I’ll be on the premises.”
“I feel better already,” Bettye replied. “Now, let’s get you both settled in. I’m sure you are exhausted. We’ll continue this discussion in the morning.” Getting up, she added, “You two must not have been hungry.”
“I’ll save my cookie for later,” Nathan said.
“I’m sorry, Granny. Hard to eat.” Alisha took her own sandwich to the sink. “I’ll do the dishes and then I’m going to my room.”
Nathan lifted his eyebrows, questioning.
“Relax,” Alisha said. “My room is right across from Granny’s. This place has three bedrooms. The big suite where Mrs. Campton stays and two smaller bedrooms across the hallway, with a bath and small sitting room between them.”
“It’s quite cozy,” Bettye said with a shrug.
“Yeah, cozy. I vaguely remember the layout.” Nathan thought of all the things that could go wrong. “Do I need a key or a code to get to the main house?”
“I’ll show you,” Alisha said, her tone anxious.
“I’ll wait here then,” Bettye said, her grandmotherly gaze taking in all the undercurrents flowing around them. “Then we’ll lock up tight.”
Nathan nodded and thanked Bettye for the food. “I’ll be close if you need anything.”
Remembering the house from his time here before, Nathan guided Alisha to the glass door that led to the enclosed breezeway, where two rows of windows provided views of the big front yard and the sprawling tree-lined backyard and lighted pool area.
“Too many windows,” he said, holding her elbow while he scanned their surroundings.
