Missing at Christmas

by K. D. Richards

  He gave a moment’s notion to calling Ryan or Gideon and asking them to carry Addy in, but banished the thought almost immediately. No way was he going to let another man carry his woman.

  His woman.

  He’d never once thought of a woman as his before. He’d been a part of protection details on more people, more women, than he could remember, and with each one he’d felt a duty to protect that went beyond collecting his paycheck. This was different, though. As cavemannish as the idea was, the need to protect Addy specifically was primal—and more than a little disconcerting, because he knew that if anything ever happened to Addy, he’d be lost.

  He shook himself out of his introspection and helped Addy from the car and up to the suite. He helped her remove her shoes and get into bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

  He snapped the bedroom door closed and took out his phone.

  “We’re back,” he said when Ryan answered.

  Ryan hung up without a response, and less than five minutes later, a knock sounded on the door.

  “We’ve got to keep our voices down. Addy’s asleep,” Shawn said, letting Ryan and Gideon into the room.

  “She okay?” Gideon asked, taking a seat at the table.

  “Yeah. The glass cut deep but missed everything vital,” Shawn answered.

  Ryan crossed to the couch in the room and sat. “Good. Now, what’s this about a text?”

  Shawn caught Ryan and Gideon up on his strides in Intellus’s case: his trip to the bar last night, the conversation with Jorge and his subsequent text offering Shawn a job loading Spectrum trucks this evening.

  “That doesn’t leave us a lot of time to prepare,” Ryan said, waking the tablet he’d brought into the room with him.

  “No, it doesn’t, and since I don’t want to leave Addy alone, it means there’ll only be two of us,” Shawn countered.

  Ryan frowned without looking up from the tablet. “We don’t have a lot of time to get the evidence we need for Intellus. If Addy stays in the room, she should be fine by herself.”

  Gideon leaned back in his chair, folding arms the size of tree trunks across his chest. A rare smile breaking out across his face. “I hear she’s a hell of a shot.”

  Ryan laughed, but Shawn didn’t join in.

  “She’s on painkillers. Teddy targeted us this morning, and we have no idea where he is. I checked with the hospital while I waited on word about Addy, and no one with a gunshot wound to the arm checked in.”

  Ryan’s serious expression had returned. “Donovan would have alerted hospital staff to notify him if Teddy came in. He won’t show up there.”

  “Probably not, but we can’t be sure he won’t come here trying to finish the job. It wouldn’t be hard to figure out what hotel we’re in, and we don’t know if Teddy is onto me for looking into the fraud or if he wants to keep Addy from searching any further for Cassie,” Shawn said.

  “Could be both.” Ryan stroked his chin. “We still don’t know that Cassie Williams isn’t involved in the fraud, but it’s safe to assume Ben and his buddy Teddy are knee-deep in it. Could be that they want to stop your investigation and Addy’s.”

  Shawn shook his head. “I don’t know Cassie, but she and Addy seem close. I can’t believe she’d allow Teddy to hurt her sister.”

  Ryan shot Shawn a dark look. “It wouldn’t be the first time one family member turned against another. Especially when money is in the mix.”

  Shawn had seen enough close friends and family members turn on each other to know the truth of Ryan’s statement. His gut told him that Cassie wasn’t involved in the fraud. Still, that didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of it—knowledge that could put her life in danger.

  “Gideon can stay with Addy. You can handle surveillance and serve as backup.” Shawn sat on the couch next to Ryan.

  Gideon nodded his acceptance. Ryan’s only answer was a frown.

  Annoyance rumbled through Shawn. He and Ryan needed to have a long talk when they’d closed the Intellus case. Ryan might be president of West Security, but Shawn was as much an owner as he was. It was past time for Ryan to start acting like it.

  For now, Shawn focused his attention on the tablet. He described the exterior layout of Spectrum’s factory and where would be a good spot for Ryan to hide with the video camera. Shawn would be wearing a body camera and mic that would catch the Spectrum employees if they discussed the fraud. It was also his responsibility to get a shot of the chips that were being shipped. That would be hard if the boxes were already sealed, but he’d manage.

  Ryan’s job was to get the long shot of the dock while the boxes were being loaded and document which trucks the boxes went into. Hopefully, between them, they’d get the evidence they needed to prove Spectrum was behind the fraudulent Intellus chips tonight.

  Then he could focus solely on finding Cassie.

  They refined their plans and strategy until five, when Ryan left for the factory to get set up without anyone seeing him. They were lucky the days were shorter. Ryan was a master of hiding in plain sight, but the cover of darkness would come in handy. It was probably also why Jorge and his crew were starting the loading so early instead of later in the evening. If the employees cleared out in streams at five thirty like they had the day before, the factory would be deserted by six.

  At five minutes to six, Shawn pulled into the small parking lot at the back of the factory near the loading docks. Jorge, Granger and two other white men waited on the docks.

  Shawn put on square-framed glasses that hid a camera and mic and climbed out of his car to meet the men where they stood.

  “Glad you could make it, amigo,” Jorge said, extending a hand.

  Granger shot a suspicious look at Shawn and ambled away to the other side of the loading dock while Jorge introduced the other men, Harris and Leon, the assistant manager.

  Once he and Leon settled on a price for his labor, Shawn and the other men got started loading the three trucks.

  By the end of the first hour, his arm ached, but he’d been able to peek into several boxes, finding nothing except computer chips marked with the Spectrum logo. A second hour passed, and he finished loading the boxes without finding any evidence of fraudulent chips.

  Shawn pocketed the cash Leon handed him and drove back to the hotel.

  Ryan parked beside him and slammed out of the Expedition. “Please tell me you got something?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  Shawn’s irritation spiked upward at Ryan’s attitude. “Nothing.” He handed Ryan his glasses. “The chips I saw looked legit. They were all marked with Spectrum’s logo.”

  Ryan’s nostrils flared. “Damn it, Shawn. We’re running out of time here,” he snapped.

  Shawn felt his jaw clench. He mimicked Ryan’s stance by folding his arms over his chest. “We both know how these things go. Sometimes you spend hours on a stakeout or days working a contact and get nothing. It’s not the first time.”

  Ryan stepped closer. “Intellus is sure the next shipment of fraudulent chips is going to hit the market in the next day or two, and they won’t be able to keep it out of the press this time.”

  “I know that. I’m doing everything I can,” Shawn ground out. He’d been putting off broaching the idea of telling Addy the whole truth, but if they weren’t able to find evidence that Spectrum was behind the fraud, it would come out, regardless. He didn’t want Addy to find out that way. “Look, Cassie is tangled up in all this somehow, maybe as an innocent, maybe as a player in the fraud. Either way, I think it’s time to tell Addy everything.”

  Ryan shook his head. “We promised Intellus we’d keep this quiet.”

  “And we are. I trust Addy. She’s not going to run to the press.”

  “You’ve known her for, what, a day? Two days? Come on, Shawn.” Ryan snorted.

  Shawn stepped into his brothe
r’s personal space. “Why don’t you just say what you mean? It’s not Addy you don’t trust. It’s me.”

  “Don’t put words in my mouth,” Ryan snarled.

  “I don’t have to. You’ve been second-guessing, checking up and generally riding my ass like I’m some rookie from the get-go. When’s the last time you questioned how Gideon executed on one of his cases?”

  “Gideon doesn’t get distracted. You’re more worried about saving a girl who might not need saving so you can impress her sister than you are about our client.”

  Shawn’s hands balled into fists. Growing up in a household full of testosterone-led males, physical fights weren’t unheard-of. It had been a long time since he’d punched one of his brothers, but at the moment, he itched to clock Ryan. Maturity held him back.

  Instead, he stepped in closer to Ryan so they were only inches apart.

  “Then I guess I’m more like you than either of us realized,” Shawn said.

  Nadia, Ryan’s wife, had been a client of West Security when they’d gotten together.

  Ryan glared.

  For a moment Shawn again thought they might come to blows, then Ryan let out a deep sigh. “We don’t have time to argue. We still need proof Spectrum is behind the fraud.”

  Shawn took a step back, a tacit agreement to a truce. “Then I suggest we go up and plan out our next steps. If my instincts are correct, the girl you think might not need saving and the fraudulent chips are connected. And if we’re running out of time, so is she.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Shawn and Ryan found Addy and Gideon finishing dinner when they returned to the suite. The first thing Shawn noted was that sleep seemed to have done a world of good for Addy. The ashen pallor that dusted her face in the hospital was gone, and she attacked the Thai noodles on her plate with her usual vigor.

  She turned a brilliant smile on him, sending a punch of desire through him.

  “We got enough for both of you,” she said, pointing to the takeout containers in the center of the table.

  He smiled wanly and dropped into the chair next to her, reaching for the food. “Thanks.”

  Addy shot him a questioning look, but he focused on the curry chicken in front of him.

  Ryan picked up the last takeout container. “I’m going to bring this back to my room.”

  “I’ll head out, too,” Gideon said, rising and tossing his empty container in the garbage.

  Moments later, Ryan and Gideon were gone.

  Addy tilted her head, looking at him. “It couldn’t have been anything I said.”

  “It’s not you. Ryan’s pissed at me. Don’t worry about it.” He speared a piece of chicken and chewed.

  “I guess whatever you two were up to tonight didn’t go well.”

  He shook his head. Finding Addy awake meant he, Ryan and Gideon weren’t able to talk about the Intellus case. He was sure Ryan would take care of bringing Gideon up to speed, but they’d have to wait until they could be alone to plan their next steps.

  Not that he knew what the next steps should be.

  He was confident Ben was at least aware of the fraud. The chip he’d found in Ben’s desk seemed evidence enough of that. But was he in on it? And how did the fraud connect to Cassie’s disappearance?

  Addy seemed content to let him eat and ruminate. His phone ringing broke the silence in the suite.

  “Shawn West.”

  “I didn’t have anything to do with you getting shot at.” Ben’s shrill, almost frantic voice rang out.

  Shawn put the call on speaker, motioning for Addy to stay quiet as he did.

  “I have a really hard time believing that, Ben,” Shawn replied, his voice hard.

  “I didn’t, I swear. I mean, Mr. Raupp saw that note you left for me asking for a tour of the factory. I called to ask him if it was okay to take you on a tour of the factory, but I didn’t know he’d send Teddy after you.”

  Lance Raupp. It made sense. Ben was in the perfect position to orchestrate the fraud, but he lacked the mental firepower to pull it off. Not like Lance, who was smart enough to organize the scam and offer up Ben as the fall guy.

  Of course, Ben’s declaration of complete innocence rang hollow. Ben had taken that two-lane county highway on purpose, leading them right to Teddy. But arguing with him wasn’t going to get Shawn what he wanted, so he put it aside for now.

  “This whole thing is out of control,” Ben screeched into the phone. “I just wanted to make some extra cash.”

  “What’s out of control? Why would Raupp send Teddy Arbury to shoot at us?”

  “Oh, man. This is really bad. Teddy, that guy isn’t all there.”

  “Ben?” Shawn was quickly losing patience with the conversation.

  “Look, all I did was package and deliver some fake computer chips. No big deal, but then Cassie figured out what was going on and Raupp said she needed to be dealt with.”

  A strangled squeak came from Addy’s throat. Shawn squeezed her hand and lifted a finger to his lips, indicating she should remain quiet. He didn’t want Ben realizing she was listening in and clamming up.

  His instincts had been spot-on. Cassie was mixed up in the fraud, but she’d discovered it—she hadn’t been a part of it.

  “How did you deal with her?” Shawn asked.

  “Me? I didn’t do anything but help Suri get a job out of town. Teddy is the one who dealt with Cassie.”

  Tremors shook Addy’s body.

  Shawn prayed the answer to his next question wouldn’t break her. “Is Cassie still alive?”

  “I...I’m not sure. I think so,” Ben stammered.

  Addy’s breath released in an audible whoosh.

  “I overheard Raupp and Teddy talking about keeping her alive until the next shipment of chips goes out. Look, I need your help. I know you’re some big-shot PI from New York City. The last shipment goes out tonight. Once those chips are delivered, Raupp won’t want to keep either of us alive.”

  Could Ben be playing them again? Shawn hadn’t been able to look inside every box he’d loaded earlier that evening, but none of the ones he’d opened had contained fraudulent chips. Their best bet was to get their hands on Ben and get the whole story as soon as possible.

  “Where are you?” Shawn asked.

  “I’m...I’m at my grandmother’s old place—it’s been empty for years. I figured it was a good place to hide under the radar for a while, but Raupp is bound to look here eventually. I need to get out of town.”

  “What’s the address?” Shawn grabbed the hotel notepad from the television stand. He jotted down the address while Addy keyed it into her phone’s GPS.

  “You have to come get me,” Ben demanded.

  Addy turned her phone screen outward so Shawn could see it. The GPS put the address about twenty minutes away from the hotel.

  “Sit tight,” he said ending the call and immediately making another.

  “What’s wrong?” Ryan asked when the call connected.

  Shawn filled his brother in on the call from Ben. Before he’d finished, a knock sounded on the suite door.

  “Could be another trap,” Ryan said, striding into the suite.

  Gideon followed with a large black duffel bag that Shawn knew held a number of devices useful for various excursions.

  “That’s why I need you and Gideon to go with me.”

  Ryan set the laptop he carried on the table and went to work. Shawn knew he was pulling up maps of the area as well as real estate info and whatever other information he could find on the address Ben had given them.

  “Ben said Cassie was still alive,” Addy added. She’d been silent since Ben’s call. Shawn hadn’t pushed, allowing her space.

  Shawn took her hand in his. “Ben has a lot of reasons to lie right now.”

  “I’ve got to hang on to hop
e.”

  The last thing he wanted to do was to take away her last fragment of hope. If this was another ploy by Ben to attack them, they’d cross that bridge when they got to it.

  “Let’s go, then,” Addy said, looking from Gideon to Ryan before her gaze landed on Shawn.

  Shawn shook his head. “You’re staying here.”

  “No way. I’ve come this far, and I will see this to the end.”

  “I put you in danger once already today.” He put a hand on each of her shoulders, turning her toward him. “It’s not going to happen again.”

  Addy gripped his wrist. “Shawn, I am a grown woman. I understand there are risks, and I’m willing to take them.”

  He shook his head.

  “If you leave me, I’ll just drive myself.”

  His mind worked overtime to come up with a way to keep her at the hotel. Given Teddy’s determination this morning, Shawn wasn’t comfortable leaving Addy at the hotel alone, anyway. He wasn’t taking any chances this time. He needed Ryan and Gideon for backup when he approached Ben. Taking Addy with them would keep her close, and if she waited in the car while they secured Ben, she should be safe.

  “You’ll go with us, but you have to do what we say. It’s the only way we can be sure you’ll be safe.”

  Addy’s mouth turned down, but she nodded.

  Ryan’s gaze moved from the computer screen to Shawn. “Gideon and I picked up a rental after we left the hospital. We can follow you two to the house.”

  Minutes later they were in their respective vehicles and rolling toward Ben’s grandmother’s house. A light snow fell as they drove, reflecting off the car’s bright headlights.

  Ben’s grandmother’s neighborhood was older, built when homeowners expected more than an arm’s-length worth of land between their home and their neighbor’s. The houses that lined the street in a neat row of symmetrical brick squares were worn and time battered, the occupants more concerned with survival than home repair. Here and there, multicolored lights had been strewn around a tree or an inflatable Santa waved from a front yard.