by Mina Carter
Gripping her upper arms, he turned her to face him, his expression serious and the look in his eyes concerned. “Careful girl. Watch yourself. That one’s a playboy through and through.”
Rudi blinked back the sudden heat of tears. Darrick was rough and ready, always up for a shouting match or a brawl in a back alley, but here he was, worried about her.
To cover, she snorted again with amusement. “Says the guy who treats ‘em mean to keep ‘em keen. What happened with Angela, or was it Amber this week?”
He shook her shoulders with a mock growl. “Seriously, you’re my best girl. I don’t want you hurt. Or I bust kneecaps, okay?”
She smiled, reaching up to brush her hands over his heavily stubbled cheeks. “It’s all good. Honestly. The past is in the past and we can get past it.”
He crossed his eyes. “Okay, way too many uses of the word past there. Does that mean we’re somewhere into next week or three weeks last Tuesday?”
She laughed and pushed him away, slapping his shoulder. “Now you sound like that damn seer, Ris—”
They both turned as the door to the main offices opened. Iliona stepped through it, her voice unmistakable, but it was the small figure behind her and the telltale ring of Christmas magic in the air which made Rudi stiffen.
“Fuck me,” she whispered, hoping she was wrong.
No such luck. Iliona turned to them, a broad smile on her face. “Ah, I’m glad I’ve found you both here. I’d like to introduce a member of Nick’s team from the Pole. She was apparently a little delayed in getting here, but I’m so glad she made it before you guys leave. Darrick, Rudi…this is—”
“Ginger Snaps,” Rudi cut her off as the other woman stepped out from behind Iliona. It was only through sheer force of will she managed to bite back the rage surging through her. After everything Nick had said last night, he’d brought his bitch down here from the Pole. “We’ve met.”
She looked directly at the other woman, not letting her expression falter from cast iron bitch one iota. “Pack your shit and be ready to move in thirty, or we leave without you.”
Chapter Five
There was temper, there was anger, and then there was downright fury on par with the hottest levels of hell itself. Nick was working on the latter, steam virtually rising from his skin as he sat off stage in Santa’s Grotto, waiting for his cue to go on.
Ginger had followed him and somehow convinced Iliona that she…he…they…had always intended to work as a team. Nothing could be further from the truth. He couldn’t stand the woman. Yes, admittedly, he’d had a short fling with her after Rudi had left, but it hadn’t taken long for it to fizzle out. On his side at least. On hers… even five years later she was still chasing him. The stupid elf wouldn’t get the message he wasn’t interested.
And now, the woman’s bullheadedness was fucking up the reparations he was trying to make with Rudi. Nick sighed, running a hand through his still dark hair. He hadn’t shifted yet, wouldn’t until just before he needed to go on because of the effect on Rudi. He knew it hurt her, and he wouldn’t do that to her.
She hadn’t even been able to look at him on the journey over here, keeping her attention on the road ahead. Which wouldn’t have been so bad, but she wasn’t driving. Instead, the pixie, Darrick had been behind the wheel. Not that that had stopped him shooting glares of dire retribution at Nick through the rear view mirror. The sole consolation of the awful, awkward journey was the fact Ginger had been traveling in a different vehicle.
As though the mere thought of her was enough to conjure up the woman like a genie from a bottle, Ginger sashayed through the door. Nick sighed again as he saw what she was wearing.
Although elves at the pole wore sensible clothing suitable for mass production of toys, somehow Ginger had found a red dress trimmed with white fur that was only short enough to cover the essentials, green and red striped pantyhose and high leg boots with…yes, those were bells on the toes. She’d teamed it with a leather vest pulled tight enough to show a good amount of cleavage and topped off her red curls with a jaunty Santa hat. Forget the kids, she was every male parents' frigging wet dream of Santa's naughty little elf.
“Is the big man ready?” she caroled, slinking toward him with a sultry expression.
Before she could reach out and wrap her arms around his neck, he shoved her hands away. “Fuck off, Ginger. I don’t know what you’re playing at, but it’s not going to work.”
“Oh come on, Nick. Games?” She pouted, hands on her hips as she stuck her hip out. He knew her tricks of old. The movement was coquettish, designed to draw attention to her figure. “You’re the one who’s playing games. Disappearing off down here just before Christmas when you know everyone is expecting a big announcement at the wrap party.”
She blinked, a sudden light in her big green eyes and she smiled brightly.
“That’s it, isn’t it? You’ve come down here to get me one of those pretty engagement rings like Candy has, haven’t you?” She squealed with delight, jumping up and down on the spot and clapping. “Oh, you are a total darling!”
“You’re fucking delusional.” Nick sidestepped as she tried to throw herself on him again. Grabbing her arms, he gave her a little shake as he glared at her.
“When will you get it through your thick head that you and I are not together? There will be no ‘big announcement’. I have not come down here to get you a ring. I’ve come down here to find Rudi, and make it up to her. Maybe one day, if I’m lucky, she might actually fucking forgive me. Maybe. I don’t blame her if she doesn’t because Christmas knows I’ll never forgive myself for cheating on her.”
If he hadn’t been looking right at Ginger, he wouldn’t have seen the little shift in her expression or the guilty shadow which crossed her eyes. Only for a fraction of a second but long enough that he caught it.
What the sleigh? He growled, gripping her tighter.
“Ginger…what did you do?”
Tears sparkled in her huge green eyes. “Y-you weren’t paying attention to me. What else was I supposed to do?”
This close to Christmas magic was thick in the air, just waiting for the right trigger. Like a Claus’s fury. It gathered around him, swirling in agitation.
“What did you do?” His words were almost a shout, and a pause outside the grotto proved they’d been heard.
“You preferred her…so I had to get your attention somehow. But you wouldn’t notice me.” Tears streamed down Ginger’s face as she squirmed in his hold, trying to get free. “So I decided to get her attention instead. A-after you two fought, you were drunk. I-I-I…and….w-w-we…she saw us. In bed. But you were asleep, I lay on top of you… If you hadn’t been so drunk we really would have,” she threw at him sharply, wrenching herself away and disappearing out the rear exit of the grotto with a sob.
Nick leaned his head back. Breathing out, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. The feeling was indescribable. For five years, he’d been wracked with guilt because he thought he’d cheated on Rudi, but it had all been faked. He hadn’t. Hadn’t cheated on her.
“Thank fuck,” he whispered. He wasn’t the man he’d been punishing himself for being. Even though she still thought he was.
“Pssst, we kinda need the big guy out here,” a voice hissed from the curtain separating the backstage area from the grotto. Nick opened his eyes. One of the werewolves from the PPA team stood there, waiting for his answer. He nodded and the guy disappeared back outside. A few moments later a voice filtered through the set dressing.
“And now, I think…yes, we might have a very special visitor…can you hear the sleigh bells, children? Be very quiet because I think Santa is here!”
This time, Nick didn’t close his eyes. Gathering the magic of Christmas, he swirled it around himself and…changed. Years hit him like a freight train, his body bulked up and filled out, giving him the traditional Santa paunch. His beard and hair grew, turning silver at the same time and, at the last minute, the magic sw
itched his clothes out to the famous red suit.
“Ho Ho Ho!” he called out as he swung the newly appeared sack over his shoulder and strode out to meet the children.
***
Rudi hated Ginger with every fiber of her being. Wait, no, she didn’t.
To hate Ginger meant she’d allowed the other woman and the entire situation to get under her skin. It had taken her years to get where she was. Five years of hard-won independence and she wasn’t going to let anyone take that from her.
It helped to be in her deer form though. As soon as Darrick had pulled the SUV to a stop, she’d flung the door open and shifted. There was no chance anyone would see her in a below-ground garage, and they needed to maintain the illusion the grotto staff were all human.
At least, that’s what she’d told herself. In reality, it meant she didn’t have to speak to Nick, and when he moved closer to try and run a hand over her back like he always used to, she lifted a leg in warning. He’d backed off so fast he’d almost fallen over his own feet. She didn’t blame him, she had a kick that could crack concrete.
Shaking her head and ruffling her fur, she’d led them out of the garage with her head held high. Fuck Nick, or not, she didn’t need anyone to validate who she was and what she did. She was a PPA operative, which meant she was a bodyguard, assault trooper, and absolute badass all rolled into one.
She stood to one side of the reindeer pen and cast an experienced eye around her. At her insistence, they’d stood down the non-shifting deer, so she was the only occupant of the pen. Darrick’s team were all in place, blending unobtrusively with the regular mall security…if they could be seen at all. Darrick himself was nowhere to be seen. As though he knew she was looking for him, a red dot appeared on the floor in front of her hooves. She would have smiled had she been in her human form, but as it was, she lifted her head to look in the direction the dot came from.
“Up a little higher, babe.” Darrick’s voice filtered through the earpiece he’d insisted on taping into her ear. The thing wasn’t designed with reindeer in mind, but somehow they’d managed. “You really do look awesome like that. I didn’t know female deer had antlers.”
She chuckled mentally and waggled her head so he could get a better look. When she’d first arrived, she’d been astounded to learn people assumed Santa’s reindeer were all male. Deer of both sexes pulled the Claus’ sleighs, and all of them had antlers, the male deer not shedding them as would be normal for the time of year. Well, apart from Uncle Harold, who’d gotten a cold one year and ended up doing the Christmas run without them when he’d shed unexpectedly. He’d gained the nickname ‘Baldy’ for that one.
Satisfied everything was as ready as it would ever be, she shook herself all over. It felt great to be in her deer form again. To feel the air over her fur and her feet spread out. Being in human form for so long, then shifting… it was like the delicious feeling of relief when taking shoes off at the end of a long day, but all over her body.
Ginger’s laugh cut through the air. Purposely, Rudi didn’t look that way. So Nick had played her for a fool to get her into bed? She wouldn’t be the first and she certainly wouldn’t be the last. Besides, she had told him it was only for one night.
She chuffed to herself and stomped the straw at her feet flat. In front of her, the gates finally opened and hordes of excited children poured through. They crowded the edges of the reindeer pen, looking through the bars at her with wide eyes. Even in this affluent area, she doubted many of them had seen a real reindeer up close.
Ambling over, she reached out her nose and sniffed delicately at the first hand. It belonged to a little girl with bright blonde curls and blue eyes. She squealed in delight, turning to glance up at the woman with her.
“Mama! Look, she likes me!” she gasped, reaching out further to stroke Rudi’s fur.
“It looks like it, darling,” the mother replied. “Be gentle and don’t hurt her. She’s so pretty, isn’t she? I bet this is one of the very reindeer who pull Santa’s sleigh every year.”
You’re closer than you realize, lady.
Rudi moved closer, letting the child’s hand move tentatively over her fur until they reached her antlers.
“Ho Ho Ho! I hear there are some children here who have been waiting for me?”
Nick’s voice cut through the air and Rudi stiffened a little. The magic of Christmas swirled thick around the grotto, making it difficult to breathe as a pang of homesickness so complete hit her, she almost staggered. Thankfully, with Santa now on the scene, most of the children were more interested in him than her so her little movement went unnoticed.
“Bye bye, pretty deer.” The little girl leaned in, kissed her hand and patted Rudi’s nose. “I’ll make sure to leave you an extra carrot...” She grimaced, as though she couldn’t imagine anyone, even a reindeer, liking carrots. “Unless you’d rather have chocolate?”
Now you’re talking, sister.
Although she wasn’t supposed to, Rudi turned her head slightly to the side and winked at the girl. She gasped, her eyes wide, then grinned. When her mother pulled her away to see ‘Santa’ she gave Rudi a shy wave over her shoulder.
Rudi couldn’t return the wave, but the little gesture warmed her heart through. Turning, she shook her head again to make the bells on her harness jingle, delighting the children in the queue as they waited to meet Nick…err, Santa. Whatever.
While Darrick and his men kept an eye on the surroundings, her position was the ideal location to study the queue. She’d read the file the local police had sent over; they suspected the gang posed as visitors, then ‘unmasked’ themselves just before the critical moment.
In each of the previous attacks, the security cameras had all gone on the fritz at the critical moment, and forensics had ruled out any cyber-hacking of the system. Said it was more like the cameras had all broken at the same time. Rudi didn’t believe that for a moment, and neither did the technical department at the agency. Instead, they said it was far more likely the gang had a spell-slinger among them.
Settling into a relaxed stance, she gave her best ‘bored reindeer’ impression and watched the queue. They ranged from the glammed-up moms with perfect hair and nails, through to nannies, and into working moms and dads, all with excited kids in tow. She watched the patterns, seeing the ebb and flow of demographics until, suddenly, she frowned.
Something didn’t add up.
Standing upright, she stamped her back feet. A typical animal type movement but one the team around her knew meant she had a feeling. She didn’t know what it was yet, but she’d long ago learned to trust her instincts.
“Okay, furry girl, whatcha’ got?” Darrick’s deep voice filtered over the comm, all trace of teasing gone. He could be an asshole most of the time, but when on an operation like this, he was totally professional.
Unable to answer, she looked at the queue. There at the front, fourth in line and then just inside the door… three groups who didn’t match with the rest of the visitors. Sure, their clothes were smart casual and blended in, but their shoes were wrong. Combat boots, heavy duty. Which wouldn’t have been enough to trigger an alarm but for two things… The kids they had with them looked terrified, and when the male fourth in line shifted his arm, she caught sight of the edge of a distinctive tattoo.
Pixies. Shit.
Before she could say anything, or sound the alarm, all four men threw open their coats to reveal assault rifles.
“Everyone down!” the guy at the front bellowed, firing a short burst over his head.
Screams filled the air as people panicked. Rudi sneezed as magic filled the air. Not Christmas magic, that she could handle, but other magic… magic that was sharp and abrasive to her heightened senses. A glittering fog arched over their heads, and she could hear Darrick shouting overhead as the armed team’s view was cut off.
“Give us your valuables, and no one gets hurt,” the ringleader, revealed as another pixie when he swept his hat off, shouted.
“Resist and the kids get it first.”
Shit. That was why they were so effective. Rudi had to admit, they were slick and ruthless. Three of the men kept their weapons over the visitors, the fourth covering Nick and the werewolf elves, as the three kids with them collected watches, jewelry and wallets. Given the sort of clientele the mall attracted and the admission price for the grotto, they’d make a killing.
“No! You’re not having my mama’s things!” A shrill voice broke the silence. Rudi’s head snapped around. It was the little girl who’d waved at her. In a show of defiance, she was fighting off the boy who had hold of her mother’s purse, determination on her little face.
Fear ran a cold torrent down Rudi’s back as the nearest pixie turned, the muzzle of the rifle arcing toward the child and her mother. Rage burst through her, burning the fear out of her system as she exploded into movement. Gathering all her strength, she charged out of the pen, shattering the fence as she ran down the pixie about to shoot.
“Rudi! NO!” Nick roared, but it was too late.
Although average in height and weight as a human, as a reindeer Rudi had been one of the largest females at the Pole. So over three hundred and fifty pounds of pissed off reindeer thundered across the fake snow. Bullets from the other pixies peppered the air around her. Ignoring them, she dropped her head to bring her antlers down into the attack position.
The pixie turned, eyes wide and tried to swing around, but it was too late. She drove her antlers, as sharp as swords, up and into his stomach, picking him up and flinging him away from the girl and her mother. Spinning on her hooves, she bellowed a challenge to the downed man.
He had rolled to the side. Even though his stomach was gored, blood dripping scarlet onto the white floor beneath, his face was set in a snarl as he lifted the rifle. Each second moved slower than the next as the muzzle swung around. Rudi didn’t think. She just turned and dropped to the floor in front of the pair, protecting them with her bigger body.
