Christmas Justice

by Robin Perini

  Daniel nodded.

  “Strickland and Krauss are gone, but there are more coming.” Garrett pulled Strickland’s phone from the evidence bag. “Once I turn this on, sooner or later someone will track it, or the traitor at the other end will call.”

  With a solemn nod, Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. “Then press the button and let’s get this damned thing over with.”

  * * *

  GARRETT DROVE THE TRUCK several hours from Trouble before he pulled off to the side of the road. He didn’t want anyone being led to Laurel.

  He dozed, dreaming of lying next to Laurel and cuddling her warm body with his. Afternoon sunshine filtered into the pickup. The phone hadn’t revealed the blocked number, so his only choice had been to wait for the call. He’d signaled Daniel with a text, and CTC would triangulate the signal.

  Just past twelve-thirty the phone rang.

  “Derek Bradley, I assume?”

  Garrett immediately texted Daniel: The tracking began.

  “Strickland and Krauss are dead, I understand. That must feel good, Mr. Bradley, considering Strickland blew up your family right in front of you.”

  “Not particularly. But then again, I don’t get off on killing people.”

  “Should I even ask what you want, Mr. Bradley? Or should I call you Garrett?”

  “A bargain. For the lives of Laurel McCallister and Molly Deerfield. They walk away. No one follows them and they’re left alone.”

  More silence, and a prickle of unease rocked down Garrett’s spine.

  “That could be possible. Ivy Deerfield was a better detective than you were, Garrett. She infiltrated my organization farther than I would have expected. She collected information I wish returned to me. Returned and destroyed.”

  “I have her evidence.” Garrett waited for several moments. He had to keep the traitor on the phone.

  “Your proposition has merit.”

  Interesting. Whoever was on the other end of the phone felt vulnerable.

  “I can come to you,” Garrett offered.

  “It may very well be time we meet. Then you might begin to understand.”

  Anticipation coursed through Garrett’s blood. He knew he was walking into a trap.

  It didn’t matter.

  “Tell your friends that their attempt to triangulate my location won’t work. Besides, you don’t have to guess where I’ll be, Sheriff. Come to James McCallister’s home. Alone. It’s a fitting spot for our...reunion. You have until midnight tonight to be here. Or I will finish my original plan and eliminate Laurel McCallister and her niece.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Laurel awakened without warmth next to her. She stretched her palm across the motel-room bed, but the sheets were cool to the touch. She didn’t have to call out to know Garrett was gone.

  Keep him safe.

  The silent prayer filtered through her mind. She tucked her legs up. Her skills hadn’t brought them the answer. Ivy’s investigation had done nothing but incriminate their father, just as he seemed to have done to Garrett. Which was probably why Ivy had thought about leaving the organization.

  Garrett would never stop trying to prove his innocence and avenge his wife and daughter, though. And he wouldn’t stop now to protect her and Molly.

  He was that kind of man. A hero, but the kind of man who could get himself killed in the name of justice.

  There had to be something they were missing. That Ivy had missed.

  Laurel sat up and rubbed her eyes. How long had she been out?

  She slipped on her shoes and opened the door. Daniel stood near her room, his body watchful, his weapon at his side.

  “Molly?”

  “With Raven and Trouble next door. She’s fine.”

  “I need to see her,” Laurel said.

  “Sure thing.” Daniel took a scan around and met the gaze of a CTC operative at the other end of the motel. “Go on.”

  Laurel rushed the five feet to the next room and opened the door.

  “Aunt Laurel!” Molly grinned, gave Trouble a pat, grabbed her stuffed lion and raced over. “Trouble and me are bestest friends now. Can I have a dog like him? I’ll take good care of him and feed him and give him water, and take him for walks, and pick up his poop.” She wrinkled her nose. “If I have to. Miss Raven said you were resting. I’m glad you’re done. Where’s Sheriff Garrett?”

  Raven sat cross-legged, hosting a makeshift picnic on the bed.

  Laurel fingered Molly’s blond hair, able to breathe for a moment, knowing her niece was safe. “He left, Molly Magoo.”

  Everything within Laurel longed to assure Molly that Garrett would be back soon, but the words simply wouldn’t come. Laurel not only couldn’t be certain; she feared the worst.

  Molly stilled; a frown tugged at the corners of her lips. “He didn’t even say goodbye. That’s not polite. And I wanted to show him my star. I kept forgetting before. It’s just like his when we first met him.”

  “You have a star?” Laurel asked in confusion.

  “Mommy put it on my lion.”

  Molly held out Mr. Houdini. Laurel stared at the small charm hanging from the lion’s collar. She dug into her pocket and retrieved the charm bracelet that her father had sent to Ivy. No charms were missing from it. Every other silver shape had meaning—a seashell representing the last vacation with their mother, a horse for when they’d learned to ride, a ballerina from the terrifying lessons both girls had endured before their mother let them quit.

  But a sheriff’s star. It had no meaning in their lives.

  Except in reference to Garrett.

  “When did she put this on, Molly?”

  Molly’s forehead crinkled in thought. “The day I got sick. She said it was a special star. Grandpa sent it and I had to protect it ’cause I was a brave girl just like the man who wore the star. That’s Sheriff Garrett, right?”

  “Yes, I think it is.” Laurel could barely speak past the thickening of her throat. “Can I borrow it, honey?”

  Her niece’s face went solemn. “You’ll give it back?”

  “I promise, Molly Magoo.”

  Laurel slipped off the lion’s collar and returned the animal. She opened the door and motioned Daniel over. “Do you have a magnifying glass or a microscope?”

  Daniel’s brow rose. “What’s up?”

  “Maybe nothing. Maybe an answer.”

  Daniel rounded the back of one of the black vehicles swarmed in the motel’s parking lot. He dug into a duffel bag in the back. “Raven is always telling me I carry weird stuff in my bag.” He handed her a small magnifying glass. “I’ve had it since I was a kid. My father taught me to build fires with it.”

  Laurel sat down at the table in the motel room and laid the charm down. She studied it closely. Molly had carried that lion everywhere. She’d almost left it behind in Virginia when’d they run that very first night.

  After studying one side and seeing nothing, she gently turned it over and there it was.

  “A microdot.” She looked up at Daniel. “We have to find out what’s on it, fast. It could save Garrett. And my father.”

  * * *

  LAUREL SAT CROSS-LEGGED on the bed, staring at the computer file that the CTC technicians had pulled from the microdot.

  Page after page of all the proof she needed that Garrett and her father were innocent. Except for one thing—the true identity of who was behind all the transactions.

  But why had her father and Ivy kept it secret?

  “Oh, Ivy, where do I go from here? Who were you going to give this to? If only Garrett were here. He might see something unusual.”

  She opened the motel-room door and called out to Daniel. “Any word yet?”

  He shook his head. “They haven’t broken radio silence. They will as soon as they can. All I can confirm is that they landed in D.C. a few hours ago.”

  “D.C.? No. Garrett’s walking into a trap.” She frowned at Daniel. “You know that.”

  Worry crease
d Daniel’s forehead. “You have to trust him. I’ve looked into who Garrett used to be. The man was very good at his job.”

  Laurel scrubbed her face. This wasn’t the same situation. He was a known traitor to the rest of the world. The moment law enforcement recognized he was alive, if someone killed him, not that many questions would be asked.

  The answer was in that file. Laurel had to decipher it. She had to save him somehow. She needed someone who could help her see what she was missing.

  She closed the door on Daniel and paced the motel room. She wanted him here, with her. Safe. She longed for him to hold her in his arms, to talk this over with him. She had to call in her last resort.

  She toyed with the phone in her hand. Garrett had wanted to keep Fiona out of it, but with the new information from the microdot, Fiona might be the only other person who could help. She could put the word out Garrett was innocent, and that her father was innocent. Save their lives.

  Maybe even help Laurel decipher something hidden in the file—something Ivy and James had known about, but that Laurel couldn’t identify. Then Garrett wouldn’t have to go through with whatever risky plan he and his CTC friends had come up with.

  Her finger paused over the numbers. Garrett hadn’t wanted to trust anyone else, but even he had recognized Fiona’s knowledge. With a deep breath, Laurel dialed Fiona’s personal number. No way Laurel could risk her call being recorded.

  “Fiona Wylde.” The woman’s voice was pleasant, welcoming. As it always was. This woman could very well marry her father someday.

  “Fiona, it’s Laurel.”

  The woman gasped. “But...I thought... Oh, my God, James and I thought you were dead.”

  Laurel’s knees buckled and she sagged onto the bed. “You’ve seen my father. Is he okay? Is he safe? I’ve been so worried about him.”

  “Oh, honey.” A sob came through Fiona’s voice. “He’s been through hell, but he escaped yesterday and found his way home. We thought...” She could barely choke out the words. “We thought we’d lost everyone.”

  Laurel’s hands trembled. “Can I...can I talk to him?”

  “Of course.” Laurel heard fierce whispering in the room. “I’ll put it on speakerphone. His hands...have been injured. He’s weak, but it’s all okay now.”

  “L-Laurel?”

  Her father’s voice sounded tired, hoarse.

  “Dad. Oh, Dad. You’re okay?”

  “I’ve been better.” He let out a chuckle, then started coughing.

  “I have proof you aren’t a traitor, Dad. And neither is Garrett.”

  “But how?” Fiona asked. “We’ve been trying for so long. I thought we’d have to leave the country. I couldn’t find anything but horrible corroboration that your father was dealing with terrorists.”

  “I-Ivy. You know what happened—?”

  Fiona cut Laurel off. “I’m so sorry, Laurel. Look, your father is hurt. Badly. And he has to lie down, but we need to talk—”

  A grunt sounded through the phone, then a crash.

  “James!” Fiona shouted. “Laurel, your father just fell. I have to go to him.” Muffled whispers filtered through the receiver. “James, darling, stay still. You’ve torn the stitches.”

  The phone went silent. Laurel gripped the cell tight. “Fiona, is Dad okay?”

  “For now. I’ve had to treat him myself.” Worry laced Fiona’s breathless voice.

  “Garrett Galloway is going to Washington. He needs help. Please.”

  “I have to get back to your father. I don’t know what I can do. We felt it better to keep James’s reappearance and Galloway’s identity a secret. I could make it worse. Things don’t look good at the agency.”

  “But if you looked at the file, maybe we can discover who is doing this.”

  “You have the file? With you?”

  “Yes. Please, Fiona.”

  “Don’t send it to me,” she said sharply, all business now. “Come to his house, Laurel. I have someone I trust who can bring you. Are you still in the U.S.?”

  Laurel took in a deep breath. “I’m in Texas.”

  “What are you doing—? Oh, Garrett.”

  “You knew about him?”

  “Of course. James and I share everything. But we had to keep it quiet.”

  “I wish I’d known.”

  “I understand. Listen to me, Laurel. I have to get off this phone. It’s been almost three minutes. We can’t risk surveillance. I’ll send a plane for you. Your father needs to see you.” She lowered her voice. “And, Laurel, don’t tell anyone where you’re going. Anyone. Do you understand? Not until we end this. Once and for all. Trust no one but me.”

  * * *

  THE BLACK ESCALADE idled on the side of the road. Shep glared at Léon. “You got us lost. Do you know what the boss does to people who make mistakes?”

  “I watched you blow Strickland’s head off,” Léon snapped. “I get the picture.”

  “We should have taken out the woman and girl first?”

  Léon fiddled with the GPS receiver. “Do I need to explain this in small words, Shep? Galloway’s the hard target. We kill him first. He’s the biggest risk.”

  Shep thrust his fingers through his hair. “Well, we’re pretty close to finding him right now, aren’t we?”

  The device in Léon’s lap beeped. He smiled. “Maybe I just saved the day.”

  The tablet blinked on again. Shep let out a curse. “Are you going to be able to fix that thing or not?”

  Léon tugged out a small tool set. “I’ll fix it. Be patient.”

  “Tell that to the boss.”

  The phone sitting between the two men rang.

  “Are we bugged?” Shep pressed the speakerphone button. “Yeah, boss?”

  “I have a job for you.”

  “Kill our three targets and dispose of the bodies,” Shep repeated.

  “No. I want you to pick up your targets just outside of Trouble, Texas, and bring them to me. I’ll give you the location.”

  “We could dispose of them more easily here.”

  “Are you questioning me, Shep? Strickland started using his brain—that’s why you had to blow it away.”

  “Of course not.”

  The boss rattled off a rendezvous point. “I want them both alive. I need them unharmed. At least for another few hours.” There was a slight pause. “After that, you can use them as target practice.”

  * * *

  JAMES MCCALLISTER’S VIRGINIA home appeared deserted.

  Garrett glanced at his watch one more time. Five minutes to midnight. He looked over his shoulder. Rafe had parked a second vehicle down the block. They both recognized this was a trap, but they also knew it was important that the mastermind behind this plot believe Garrett had come alone.

  He’d taken every precaution he could, because he wanted to survive. He wanted to see if what he’d experienced with Laurel was real. It felt real—almost too good to be true, which made Garrett distrust it all the more—but, oh, how he wanted it to be real.

  He’d never thought he could love anyone again, not after his heart had been destroyed when he’d lost Lisa and Ella, but Laurel had put her faith in him, despite the doubts that had to have raced through her mind more than once since they’d met.

  They hadn’t known each other long, but Garrett had been dead inside long enough to know what he felt. He had two very good reasons to make it out of this op alive.

  He glanced at his watch. One minute before the agreed-upon time.

  Garrett slammed the door on the vehicle and walked up the concrete sidewalk. When he reached the familiar front porch he hesitated. He might never come out. And he hadn’t told Laurel how he felt. He’d tried to show her, but he hadn’t been able to say the words. If he died tonight, he didn’t want the words haunting her, but right now he wished he’d said something. He prayed she knew how special she was, how much she deserved to be loved with all a man’s heart and soul.

  He wanted her to know what wa
s between them meant something more than two people seeking comfort. She truly was an amazing woman, and he wanted to see her again. He wanted to tell her he loved her.

  Garrett pressed his finger on the doorbell.

  The front door slowly opened. His shoulders tightened. Silence greeted him from the house. He stepped inside. Behind the door, tears streaming down her face, Laurel McCallister had let him in.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Garrett reached out to her, but Laurel stepped back.

  “I invited her.”

  Garrett turned around.

  “Fiona?”

  Fiona Wylde. James’s lover. A woman he knew well. Strike that. Based on the gun she had drawn on him, Fiona was a woman he’d thought he knew well.

  “You’re a difficult man to kill.” She nodded at a man standing in the shadows. “Disarm him, Léon.”

  A man gave a quick nod. He walked over to Garrett, patted him down and removed the Beretta from his back, the knife from his ankle holster and the small pistol hidden within his boot.

  Léon met Garrett’s gaze and patted his other boot, right over where a second knife was hidden. What the hell?

  “Cuff him and bring them both downstairs. We’ll have a family reunion.”

  Garrett slid a glance over at Laurel. “Damn it. Why are you here?” She was supposed to be safe, with Daniel, with CTC.

  “I found a microdot Ivy left. It contains proof of your innocence and my father’s, too,” she said, her gaze resigned. “I called Fiona thinking she’d help us.”

  “Oh, darlings, after tonight, you’ll never have to worry again.” Fiona led them down to the basement. She hit a code in a panel on the concrete wall. A door to a small room opened up.

  James McCallister sat slumped over in a chair, his arms and legs tied in place. He couldn’t lift his head.

  Garrett saw the flicker of James’s eyes, but his clothes were in tatters, his face bruised. Burns smoldered his pants.

  “Dad,” Laurel shouted.

  “Aunt Laurel?” Molly’s cries sounded from behind a door. “Let me out! Please, let me out!”

  “Tie them to the chairs,” Fiona ordered. “We end this today.”

  Léon shoved Garrett toward a steel chair and pushed down on his head, indicating for him to sit. The man took nylon rope and secured his hands and feet. A second man did the same to Laurel.