Classified Christmas Mission

by Lynette Eason

  “Really? Why?”

  “That hill was mighty steep. And slippery.”

  He sighed. “I helped her, Tiff. I already told you that. There was an abuse situation. She’s safe for now so let’s just leave it at that, okay?”

  “Did you bring her here? Is that why you need someone watching your place?”

  He was tired of the questions. “Look, Tiff. Could you just please watch the house tonight?” He could ask Justin and Handy, but they weren’t trained for this kind of thing. Having to put them on guard was bad enough. He wasn’t going to ask them to be target practice for a killer. Not that he wanted to put Tiff in the line of fire either, but she was trained.

  She shot him a small smile. “Sure, I’ll make the rounds every so often and holler if I notice anything that shouldn’t be there.”

  “Thanks.”

  “But I want the full story eventually.”

  “And eventually, I’ll probably tell it to you.”

  She slipped out the door and Lance settled himself onto the couch and closed his eyes.

  * * *

  Amber rolled from her small section of the bed where she’d slept next to Sam. Sort of slept anyway. Sam had muttered in his sleep from time to time, but she couldn’t make out what he’d been saying. Once, he’d sat up, looked at her and reached for her hand. Surprise had held her almost motionless then she’d squeezed his fingers and he’d laid back down to sleep once again.

  Her heart was full this morning. Sam’s small act of reaching out told her so much. He knew her and he knew she loved him and that was enough to give him comfort. She supposed that was all she could ask for at the moment. And it was enough. For now.

  She slipped into the connecting bathroom and dressed in the clothes from yesterday. When she reentered the bedroom, Sam sat up and rubbed his eyes. He blinked when he saw her then looked around the unfamiliar room. His brows dipped into a frown. Amber walked over to him and took his hand. He pulled away but she didn’t let it bother her. “Are you ready to get something to eat?”

  “Breakfast.”

  “Yes.”

  “The Classic. Two eggs scrambled, three slices of bacon, crisp, hash browns, grits and toast. Seven dollars and ninety-nine cents plus seven percent tax in Tennessee is eight point five four nine three. Round up. It’s eight dollars and fifty-five cents. Plus fifteen percent tip is twelve dollars and eighty-three cents please.”

  “You astound me, young man. Let’s go see what we can rustle up in the kitchen.” She sniffed. “I know I smell coffee.”

  “Coffee is extra,” Sam said.

  She laughed. “Yes, I’m sure it would be.” She studied him. While he was in a talkative mood—at least talkative for him... “Sam, what does one thirteen mean?”

  “One thirteen. One thirteen. Two forty-four. Two forty-four.” He sat on the floor, crossed his arm across his belly and started rocking. “Number One Dad. Number One Mom. Number One Mom.”

  Amber’s heart nearly split in two. Obviously, the number was distressful to him. It made him think of his parents and not in a good way. “Never mind, Sam,” she said softly. “It’s all right. Let’s go eat. I think I smell bacon.”

  At first she didn’t think he would respond, then he stood and walked past her and out the bedroom door. She followed him to the kitchen where she found Lance already there—and he was scrambling eggs, bless his heart. And definitely frying bacon.

  Sam went to the table and sat down. Lance looked at her. “Morning.”

  “Good morning.”

  “Did you sleep?” he asked.

  “Some.” She glanced at the clock. “Ten o’clock. Wow. I never sleep this late.”

  “It was an adventurous night.”

  “That’s one way to look at it.” Not to mention the fact that was the first night in many that she’d actually felt like she could rest for an extended period of time. He handed her a cup of coffee. “Thanks,” she murmured. She dumped two creams and three sugars in it and stirred. “I noticed your deputy walking the perimeter of the house a few times.”

  “Yes.”

  “I hope she didn’t stay out there all night. It’s freezing.” Amber took a sip of the brew and felt her senses start to come alive.

  “Nope, she came in off and on. We took turns watching.” He met her gaze. “She knows I’m protecting someone, though, and that you’re here. Well, not you specifically, but that someone is here. She found your car and knows that I helped the person from the car so...”

  “Ah, so now she knows you brought home a stray.”

  “Yeah. Clay managed to get me on the radio.” He nodded to the device sitting on the kitchen counter. “Several cell towers are down. It doesn’t look like anything but weather related. Crews are working on them.”

  “That’s a relief. But what’d you tell Clay?”

  “I didn’t give him details, just told him I needed him out at the house and that I’d explain when he got here. I also told him to put a security detail on his family’s places, that there’d been a threat made and they needed coverage. Of course he wanted to know details then, but I told him to quit wasting time talking to me and to get to work on keeping his family safe. He said he would and then he’d be right over.”

  She frowned, but nodded. “Good.”

  “So, who’s Vivian Watson?”

  “Me. Why?”

  “Tiff managed to get a look at the plates and ran them.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment. “Great. That’s going to come back to bite me. I’m going to have to get out of here fairly quickly now. Vivian Watson is the name I used while I was working with the Pirhadi family as Sam’s nanny. And that’s what all the paperwork will say if anyone digs any deeper into it.” She pulled in a breath. “However, it may lead my handler to my location if she gets wind of someone digging into Vivian.”

  “Which she will if she has you flagged in the system.”

  “She does.”

  Lance fell silent while he put food on Sam’s plate. Then he filled two more plates and handed her one. Amber placed her plate on the table next to Sam and sat. Lance set a glass of milk in front of Sam.

  “Thanks,” Sam said.

  Lance started to ruffle the boy’s hair but stopped short and pulled his hand back. “You’re welcome, Sam.” Then Lance sat down, as well. Sam put his fork down and looked at his food.

  “What’s wrong?” Amber asked him.

  “Say grace.”

  “Oh yes, I’m sorry.” She looked at Lance. “Do you mind? His mother was a Christian. She prayed before each meal when her husband wasn’t around. Which was pretty often.”

  “Of course.” Lance bowed his head.

  “Thank you for this food, Lord. And please keep us safe,” Amber prayed.

  “Amen,” Sam echoed.

  SIX

  “Amen,” Lance whispered. He’d be the first one to admit he needed to nurture his spiritual self more. He’d been so hurt by his past that he’d simply tucked the pain away, pushed God to the side, and bulldozed on. Maybe it was time to let go of the past and start looking to the future. He let his eyes rest on Amber.

  Maybe.

  How had he not noticed how beautiful she was before now? While her head was bent over her plate he took in her dark hair pulled into a tight ponytail that swished with each movement. And had no trouble envisioning her sapphire-blue eyes. Both were traits she’d inherited from her father and shared with her brothers. But she was definitely a good-looking woman. He cleared his throat and tucked in to his food.

  Once they were finished eating, Amber carried her and Sam’s plates to the sink and turned on the faucet.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Lance said. “I can get it later.”

  She shrugged. “I don�
�t mind.”

  Lance’s phone rang and he grabbed it. “Hello?”

  “I need your credit card number, dear brother.”

  “Janine?”

  “Are you okay? You said you were going to call me yesterday and I hadn’t heard from you so—”

  “Yeah,” Lance said. “Right. I’m sorry. I’ve been a little distracted.”

  “With what?”

  “A case. But let me get my wallet.” He and his sister were going in on their mother’s Christmas present. He’d agreed to put it on his card and Janine would pay him later. He reached for his wallet and patted his empty back pocket. He frowned. Then his heart almost stopped. “Ah, Janine, I’m going to have to call you back. I have to find my wallet.”

  “You want me to use my card?”

  “No, no, it’s okay. Just let me call you back.” She’d already told him she didn’t have any room on her credit card.

  “All right then. Talk to you soon.”

  He hung up and swung around to face Amber. She was staring at him with a frown. “What’s wrong?”

  “Please tell me when you grabbed my keys, you got my wallet, too. I’d set them both on the end table when I walked in. I should have kept them in my pocket, I guess, but...” He shrugged. “I didn’t.” Of course he hadn’t expected to get into a gun battle either.

  She shook her head. “I didn’t see anything but the keys on the floor.” Her frown deepened the grooves between her brows. “I remember crashing into the end table and the lamp went down. We were in a huge hurry and...”

  He rubbed a hand down his face. “I’ve got to go back to the cabin and look for my wallet. If they return to search the place, my license will lead them straight here.”

  “Game,” Sam said. “Please.”

  Amber turned and frowned. “You want your game?”

  “Game,” Sam affirmed.

  Amber bit her lip. “Where is it?” She pressed a hand to her forehead and groaned. She looked at Lance. “I think I left it at the cabin in our rush to get out last night.” She pulled out her phone and handed it to Sam. “Here, use this for now, okay?”

  Sam set the phone on the table and pushed it away from him. “Game.”

  “Come on, Sam, just play with that for now, okay?” Amber pleaded.

  “No thanks. Want favorite game. Number one game. Please.”

  She bit her lip. Her gaze snagged Lance’s. “He’s not going to be distracted. If I don’t get his game for him, he’ll escalate into a full-blown tantrum—which is a behavior I know I need to address, but there’s time for that once we’re safe. Right now, I just want to keep him happy and alive.” She sighed. “But, most important, we’ve got to get your wallet back. We can’t let them find it. I’ll have to go get it.”

  “No,” Lance said. “You don’t need to take a chance on someone spotting you. I’ll go.”

  She hesitated, and at first, he thought she might argue with him. She finally gave a reluctant nod. “You’re right but be careful.”

  “Of course.”

  “Game,” Sam said.

  Amber took his hand and Lance noticed the boy didn’t pull away from her. She knelt in front of him. “Lance is going to get it for you, okay?”

  “Game’s at the cabin,” Sam said. “Game’s at the cabin.”

  “I know. We’ll get it.”

  “Game, please.”

  “Does he like television?” Lance asked.

  “Sometimes,” she said. “It depends on what’s on.”

  Lance ran a hand through his hair then shoved his phone in his pocket. “Tiffany’s gone home to rest. Clay will beat me back here.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll deal with my big brother.”

  “I’ll try to raise him on a secure frequency on the radio and give him a heads-up that you’re here.”

  “Sure, you do that.”

  “Try to distract Sam with a show, and I’ll be back soon. I’ll take the snowmobile.” Lance grabbed his coat, gloves and hat. “Watch the windows.”

  “You know I will.” Her hand went to her weapon and he knew she’d be on guard.

  Lance walked through the kitchen door into the garage where he snagged a key from the hook on the wall. He could be out at the Landers cabin in less than ten minutes, grab the game, then be back home in another ten. Hopefully he’d be gone less than thirty minutes.

  He cranked the snowmobile, pulled the helmet over his head, opened the garage and rode out. He shut the door behind him and headed down his long drive toward the road. His mind spun. He almost laughed when he thought about it. What were the odds he’d find himself in another dangerous situation?

  After his dead wife’s betrayal, then his friend Aaron’s brush with a demented man intent on killing the woman who was now his wife, Wrangler’s Corner had seen its share of evil. And Lance had been right in the middle of it thanks to his position as deputy. Now Amber had brought home another round of danger. Her family just didn’t know it yet.

  Which made Lance extremely glad Amber had agreed to bring Clay in on everything. He would have honored her wishes in keeping her presence a secret, but he was very worried about the Starke family. The radio on the snowmobile was connected to the Bluetooth set in the helmet. Lance pressed the button to activate it. “Dispatch, come in.”

  The radio crackled. “This is dispatch. Go ahead.”

  “Hey, Diane, I need you to patch me through to Clay.”

  “He’s on his way to your house. You rattled him like I haven’t seen him rattled in a long time.”

  “Sorry about that. Put me through, will you?”

  “Sure thing.”

  After several seconds, he heard a click. “Lance, what are you doing? I’m almost to your house.”

  “I had to go back out the Landers place. But go on to my house and I’ll be there shortly. And Clay?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Amber’s there.”

  Silence for a brief moment. “Amber? As in my sister, Amber?”

  “Is there another one?”

  “Good point. And does the gunfire at the Landers cabin and the car that I had disconnected from the trunk of a tree and hauled up the hill an hour ago have anything to do with her?”

  “Yep.”

  “You got some serious explaining to do.”

  Lance grunted. “I’m leaving that one up to Amber. See you in a few.”

  Clay’s low growl came through the line, but Amber’s brother hung up. Lance gunned the engine and leaned forward, glad that it had stopped snowing again. At least he could see through the goggles. Five minutes later, he was close enough to see the cabin. He pulled closer, parked the snowmobile next to the cabin and scanned the area. It looked quiet. Of course looks could be deceiving. He pulled his weapon from the holster at his side and slid off the snowmobile. Lance’s senses tingled. The hair on the back of his neck stood at attention even as he walked toward the cabin. Yet nothing moved.

  He continued his journey to the back door and twisted the knob. Unlocked. Well, they hadn’t exactly had time to lock up last night. And actually, he didn’t remember shutting the door behind them. There was no crime scene tape around the area, which meant the crime scene unit hadn’t been there yet. Sometimes weather interfered with everything.

  Lance pushed the door open with a cautious hand. When nothing happened, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. It was cold in the cabin thanks to the broken windows but he ignored it and looked at the place where the end table was. He picked the lamp up and spied his wallet among the broken glass from the bulb. With two fingers, he grabbed it and shook it then shoved it in his back pocket. Relief filled him. Being at his home was probably still safe for a while longer. Now for the game. He moved to the hall where he’d last seen Sam with the ga
me.

  And there it was. Lance snagged it and shoved it into his coat pocket then zipped the pocket to make sure it didn’t fall out on the ride back to his house. He walked to the front door and stepped outside. Again he had the sensation of being watched. But when his gaze probed the area, he saw nothing. He walked down the steps and over to the place where Amber’s bullet had found its mark. The ground was white, but he knelt and swept aside the top layer of snow. He moved methodically, in a grid-like pattern until he found what he was looking for.

  Blood.

  He pulled the plastic bag from his back pocket and, using a leaf, scooped some of the wetness into the bag then sealed it. The wind gusted and he shivered. Lance stood and walked around the cabin to the back where he’d left the snowmobile. Within seconds, he was back on it and headed home.

  He heard the crack then felt the impact of the bullet slam into the machine.

  * * *

  Amber opened the door to Clay’s thundercloud face. “Hey, big bro, it’s good to see you.”

  “Really? It’s good to see me?”

  She stepped back and motioned for him to come inside. He did and she shut the door. “Really. I’ve missed you.”

  “You sure have a funny way of showing it. You missed Seth and Tonya’s wedding. You missed Thanksgiving. You missed Aaron and Zoe’s wedding and they even met because you sent Zoe here when she needed a place to stay. I can tell you missed us.”

  Amber sighed. She’d known this day was coming and now that it was here, she could tell it wasn’t going to be any easier than she’d imagined. She was going to have to read Clay in and convince him to keep the rest of the family out of it. Clay, the big brother, her protector. And the guy who thought she was a travel writer.

  “Game, Number Two Mom. Game, please.”

  Amber turned to find Sam pacing in front of the fireplace. She’d distracted him with a show on television about animals, his second favorite thing next to numbers. “I know, Sam, Lance is bringing it back soon, okay?”