Christmas in Hiding

by Cate Nolan

  He opened the throttle and they flew over the fields. Shots sounded behind them, and Callie clung tighter as he zigzagged down the road to make it harder to hit them. Hearing the car engine rev, Jackson took off across a rutted field.

  Callie wondered if she hadn’t been so exhausted, cold and scared of men shooting at her, if she might have enjoyed this ride. They followed a path into the woods and back out across a frozen river and over more snowy farmland. When they came to another lake, and it became clear Jackson wasn’t going to stop, Callie squeezed her eyes shut and buried her head against his back.

  Jackson laughed wildly. Clearly someone was enjoying this now that the enemy was left in the dust. “It’s safe,” he shouted and pointed to the huge sign indicating the ice was thick enough for vehicles. They hit the lake and flew ahead. He clearly knew what he was doing, and Callie had to admit it was an exhilarating experience to race across the frozen lake surface.

  It was almost a letdown when they finally came to a town big enough to have a rental agency. They switched the snowmobile for a car and made arrangements to have the snowmobile returned to the family Jackson had borrowed it from.

  “I wish I felt safe enough to rent a room and stay here the night.”

  “I know. We’re not far enough away. It’s okay. If you can stay awake to drive, I can deal with being a passenger.”

  Jackson grinned at her. “After that ride, I may never need to sleep again. The adrenaline rush is like an entire pot of caffeine.”

  His excitement was infectious. Callie smiled back. “I get it. Someday, when I’m not running for my life, I might actually like to try it again. But now,” she pleaded. “Can we get some food and turn on the heat so I can thaw?”

  * * *

  Miles receded beneath the wheels as Jackson drove along the dark highway. Callie was asleep in the back and his heart had finally stopped feeling like it was pounding out of his chest. His brain was still racing as he mentally played out the various possible reasons why they could constantly be found. He’d checked Callie’s phone and his own. They’d switched cars so many times that nothing could possibly be based on that. He was left with only unacceptable choices. Either Callie wasn’t who she appeared to be, or someone within WITSEC couldn’t be trusted.

  He drove through the night, and dawn was edging the eastern sky when he felt his phone vibrating on the seat beside him. Given his train of thought, he was wary about answering. The display indicated it was his boss, so he had no choice but to pick up. Maybe there was news. “Sir?”

  He knew the conversation would be tense when it opened with Mr. Logan demanding to know why he’d gone off radar.

  “There’s been some trouble,” Jackson said.

  “So I hear.”

  “I have the witness safe.” Maybe that would be enough to placate the higher-ups.

  “That’s what matters.”

  Jackson drew a breath of relief. “How’s Ben?”

  After hearing that his mentor was on the road to recovery, Jackson glanced in his rearview mirror. Callie was still asleep, or pretending to be, so he asked the question that had been preying on his mind. “About what we discussed before.” He waited until his boss asked if he meant about Callie being innocent. “Yes. Are you still certain?”

  The silence that yawned over the phone was answer enough. “We’re not sure. I had a long talk with DEA and the assistant US attorney. They’re the reason the trial’s been postponed. They want Callie. Want to find out what else she knows.”

  “I’m not bringing her in. Not until someone can unequivocally guarantee her safety. There have been at least four attempts to grab her. Three of them have happened within the past week. That tells me someone’s running scared.”

  “Or she’s involved.”

  No. Jackson thought of Callie enduring the incredibly hard conditions that they’d faced. No one would voluntarily go through that to escape unless it was life and death.

  “It doesn’t matter. Our deal is with her. Even if she’s involved, she’s small potatoes. We need the big guys, Jackson. You know that. Too many innocents have been hurt by these guys. If she was involved and gets away with it, it’s a small price to pay for a bigger justice.”

  Jackson swallowed hard. The protein bar he’d snacked on felt lodged in his chest. This was the part of his job he really struggled with—letting lesser criminals go in order to catch the bigger ones.

  “Jackson?”

  “I hear you. So everything else is still in place?”

  When he’d received an affirmative response, he disconnected the call.

  He could hear Callie stirring in the back. Was she awake? How much had she heard? He kept his eyes on the road and said nothing. He wasn’t ready to talk to her yet. He needed to get his thoughts clear.

  And then there was the kiss. He’d almost kissed her on Christmas Eve, and he had kissed her last night. He couldn’t stop thinking about those stolen moments. Kissing a witness he was protecting went against every instinctive sense of right and wrong for this job. He knew it was wrong. But he’d done it anyway.

  It had felt so right. So...God-given.

  Now where had that thought come from?

  He shook it off as Callie’s influence and forced his attention back to the news that his boss had delivered. The trial was definitely postponed, and they couldn’t be sure Callie was innocent.

  WITSEC would continue to protect her no matter what, but maybe Jackson needed to start protecting his heart.

  TWELVE

  Callie had awoken in the backseat to the sound of voices. One was loud. She recognized it as Jackson’s. The muffled one, coming through the phone apparently, belonged to someone from his office. She couldn’t make out the words from the other end, but it didn’t take much to realize they were talking about her. Tension vibrated in Jackson’s voice and it provoked a similar reaction in her, though it also saddened her. Something in the conversation, the tone more than the specific words, had conveyed a sense of disapproval.

  Disappointment sank over her like a sodden blanket. After the near kiss she’d lain awake half the night, dreaming that possibly something was building between them. She was still processing last night’s kiss, but she knew she’d fallen hard, and it was for all the right reasons. Jackson was a special man. Cute guys were a dime a dozen, but cute guys who were true gentleman and who would go out of their way for you were, in her experience, a rarity.

  Jackson was all that and more.

  But apparently he didn’t feel the same way about her. She was his witness to protect—nothing more.

  After he’d hung up the phone, Callie waited for him to say something. Did he think she was still sleeping? It didn’t matter. If he’d had something to say, he would have said it. She tried to doze back into her dream world where they actually had a chance at a future together, but reality had closed that door.

  “I know you’re awake.”

  Callie pretended to yawn. So now he wanted to talk. “I am now. I’ve been dozing on and off. Your voice woke me earlier. Was that your boss?”

  She felt his hesitation. “Yes. He had some information.”

  “And?” Maybe this would help explain his mood.

  “There’s a rest stop a mile up the road. Let’s wait until we get there. I need coffee and I don’t want to have this conversation while I’m driving.”

  That didn’t bode well. Callie thought she might get sick.

  Jackson pulled into the rest stop a few minutes later. “Do you want anything to eat?”

  “No.” She got out of the car and joined him in the front seat. “I just want to know why you’re so upset.” There. It was out there. Let him deal with it now.

  “You were right,” he said. “That was my boss on the phone.”

  Guilt swamped her. �
��How’s Ben?” She’d barely even thought of him these past few days while she and Jackson were on the run.

  “Recovering.”

  Callie offered a silent prayer. Thank You, Lord. Ben was safe in Your hands even though I neglected to think of him.

  Callie’s brow furrowed in confusion. “So what has you upset?”

  “I’m not upset.”

  “Concerned, then. What has you so concerned that we had to pull over to talk?”

  Jackson rested his head against the steering wheel. Fatigue seemed to weigh more heavily than usual and Callie’s alarms sounded. “Jackson, what did he say?”

  Jackson looked up and the sadness in his eyes spoke to her heart.

  “They picked up the driver of the car. The one used in the kidnapping attempt in New York.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?”

  “Yes. Of course. He talked. A little.”

  When he paused, she prompted, “And—”

  “The men who grabbed Ms. Davis, the assistant US attorney, weren’t intending to kill her.”

  “Oh, that’s good.” She smiled at him.

  Jackson didn’t return the smile. He sucked in his breath, then let it out slowly. “We were right that they really meant to take you.”

  “Oh.” They’d been pretty sure that was the case, but in that instant Callie learned there was a world of difference between thinking it and having it confirmed. Her stomach felt suddenly hollow, and heat flashed through her body followed by chills that wracked her frame despite the heavy coat.

  “There’s more.”

  More. She didn’t think she could take more. Enough. She raised one trembling hand to her lips while the other one grabbed for support, something to anchor her in a world that had tilted off axis yet again.

  “He gave them a lead on one of the other kidnappers. DEA went to pick him up, but he was killed in the attempt.”

  Callie went pale. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “It’s not. But once the driver heard about his partner’s death, he found his voice and squealed like a stuck pig.” Jackson paused, swallowed hard. “He told the feds the reason they were after you was not because of the men awaiting trial back in Texas.”

  “What?” Callie was totally confused. “Then why bother with me at all? I thought they wanted to protect their own men.”

  “The men are on their own. Big boss doesn’t care about them. He wants you.”

  “How could that be? What does it mean?”

  “That’s what DEA is trying to figure out,” Jackson responded.

  “DEA. Like Drug Enforcement Administration? That was the other agent at the meeting? The one who saved the assistant US attorney.”

  Jackson nodded.

  “He looked familiar. I think he was there the night Rick was killed. Part of the team of feds. At least I think it was him. DEA. Maybe. I really don’t remember. It makes sense they would have been called in, though, right? Or was it FBI?” She gave a nervous laugh that held a tinge of bitterness. “Their jackets all look alike with those big letters.” She had this vague memory of thinking she could play a kindergarten letter game with their jackets. “It sounds so much more serious with them involved.”

  “Callie.” Jackson’s voice was infused with frustration. “How much more serious does it have to get?”

  “I know. That was a stupid remark.” She buried her head in her hands. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled through her fingers. “It doesn’t really get much more serious than murder, does it?”

  “It does when innocent people’s lives are affected. That takes it to a whole new level.”

  Callie didn’t want to lift her head. His voice had gotten so harsh. And she had the worst feeling that she wasn’t the innocent person he was speaking of. Up until tonight, she’d felt they were on the same side. Suddenly she wasn’t so sure.

  As she sat there feeling sorry for herself, a new thought struck her. She sat back her seat, stunned. “That poor woman, the attorney. She had to go through that, an attempted kidnapping, just because she was working my case.”

  “It’s one of the risks we take.”

  Callie fell silent. She sat there in stunned shock as she tried to process it all. This day just got worse and worse. Had it been only two days ago that she and Jackson had lazed on the sofa watching movies? Now he had nothing but curt replies. Despair pulled at her. He was her only hope. Her only connection to the world. She turned and stared at him, knowing all her desperation was probably showing in her eyes. She had no pride left, so what did it matter if she had to plead? “What am I supposed to do now?”

  “What do you mean? Nothing’s really changed. We keep you safe until you can testify.”

  Nothing had changed. Except his feelings about her. Except the tone of his voice. Except...whatever. Only one thing mattered now. “I have a condition,” she told him, trying to sound firm. “I have to stay away from other people. I don’t want anyone else hurt because they happen to be near me.”

  He appeared to think on it. “Agreed. As much as feasible.”

  Was it possible that his voice had softened just a bit?

  He wasn’t finished. “Before I make any promises, we have to figure out how they keep finding us. You’re honestly not contacting anyone?”

  The question perturbed her. “You’re with me practically every waking moment. How would I be contacting anyone? More to the point, why would I want to?”

  He didn’t answer immediately, and his silence was a light bulb moment for her. “Wait a minute.” She swallowed hard, almost gasping for breath, struggling with the depth of his doubt. “You think I was in on it. You think I’ve been behind all of this.

  “I thought.” She swallowed again. Her mouth was so dry, she could barely breathe. There was no way she was going to tell him she’d thought they were building some kind of relationship. “I thought we were getting along well. But if...” She closed her eyes against the pain, fought for calm. “If you thought I was guilty...” Her voice died off as she thought of how he had kissed her before he went searching for the snowmobile. How kind he had been to her. All of that suddenly felt different. The kiss suddenly felt tawdry.

  Why had he kissed her if he thought she was complicit in these crimes? Why had he gotten close to her at all? There were too many questions and she had no answers.

  She was stuck with him. She had to rely on a man who didn’t trust her to protect her. A part of her thought she might prefer to take her chances with the enemy. At least she always knew where she stood with them.

  She turned and faced the side window as Jackson restarted the car and pulled back onto the highway. He hadn’t gotten his coffee. The silly thought popped into her head, but she didn’t have the strength to question him. Maybe his appetite had vanished like hers had.

  Miles of yellow lines passed by in a continuous blur because of the tears in her eyes. Would she ever find anyone who truly cared for her?

  Despair swamped her until finally she remembered to pray. Rote prayers at first because that’s the way she had learned as a child to calm herself. She reminded herself that God loved her, and she prayed over and over until her breathing calmed and her anguish eased some. Little by little she tried to focus on her own words. Dear Lord. You have a plan in this. Help me to accept Your ways even when I don’t understand them.

  When she felt she had calmed enough, Callie broke the silence. “So how do I prove it’s not me?”

  * * *

  She startled Jackson after being silent for so long. She sounded calm, in control. He guessed she’d been praying instead of crying as he’d assumed.

  How did she prove it wasn’t her? That was the question really. Was it true? Could she really not know anything, not be a part of it? Was it possible that she was as innocent as he wanted her to
be?

  The question hit like a punch to the gut, taking him down, hollowing him out. Jackson knew he had crossed some invisible line. Despite having good reason to suspect her, he was attracted to her and actually wishing they could pursue a relationship. Apart from the obvious problem of her heading into a new life with a new identity, she was his job, not his future.

  He glanced at her but didn’t say anything. He just waited. She finally continued. “You may think it’s me, but it’s not. I want to know what you’re going to do to keep me safe. Whether you believe me or not, I want nothing more than to put these men away. Not just the men in jail. All of them.”

  She choked on the words for a minute. “They destroyed my life. Took everyone I loved from me, stole my dreams and killed my future. I have nothing to live for right now other than seeing them pay.”

  There was steel in her voice. It made her sound believable. That didn’t necessarily make it the truth. The fact that he wanted so badly to believe her made him force himself to doubt.

  “My job is to get you safely to trial. I will do that. You can take it from there.” That was the best he could do. Keep it professional. “I’m tired. There’s an airport in ten miles. Let’s trade cars there, find someplace to stay and get breakfast. So long as neither of us alerted anyone, we should be good.”

  There was a bit of challenge in his voice but he didn’t care. “Once we’ve eaten and I’ve slept, we can decide where to go from here.”

  Callie agreed, so he headed for the airport.

  They hadn’t gotten five of those ten miles when he caught sight of their tail. Pounding his fist against the wheel, Jackson stepped on the gas and took off down the highway.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Her voice was less fearful and more resigned. As if she knew this was never going to end well.

  “We seem to have found some friends again.”