Deadly Noel

by Margaret Daley

  “Did you?” She stared at his hand on her.

  He scowled. “What? Shoot at you? If I had, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “But why are you here?”

  “You’re in trouble. I heard the shots from my house.”

  She sagged back. The effort of tensing along with the elephants stampeding inside her head hurt.

  “Sit still. Let me check to see if anything is wrong besides the cut over your eye.” He tunneled his hand into her hair, pressing gently to feel for any other injuries. “Where do you hurt?”

  “My head mostly. I think I can get out. No ambulance.”

  He continued his inspection, his fingers lightly moving along the column of her neck. “I have a feeling that’ll hurt later.” He peered down. “You weren’t wearing your seatbelt.”

  “My thoughts were preoccupied. Why didn’t the airbag deploy, though?”

  “The sensors weren’t triggered because of your speed or braking most likely.”

  When he straightened, his arms falling to his sides, she sighed with relief. His gentle touch sent her pulse racing. Her stomach knotted at his nearness, not because she was afraid. No, it was worse. Her body reacted as if she was attracted to him.

  “I expect you’ll feel more than a headache tomorrow morning.”

  She carefully swung her legs around in preparation of moving from her car. She needed space between them. She was going to stand on her own. Her mind still focused on the feel of his hands on her. “I’m fine. Just a little shaken.”

  One of Gabriel’s eyebrows lifted. “Just a little? Someone was shooting at you.” He gestured toward the front of the Chevy. “There are a few bullet holes to prove it.”

  She started to rise, but weakness attacked her legs. Sitting again, she gripped the steering wheel and seat to give it another try.

  “Here. At least let me help you out of the car.”

  “No, really. I’m fine.” She closed her eyes to gather what energy she needed.

  He muttered something about stubborn women and reached inside to assist her from the car whether she wanted it or not. His arms supported most of her weight as she slipped from the front seat. He brought her flat against him, her hands on his shoulders.

  When she looked up at him, the car’s interior light accentuated the hard planes of his face. She wanted to step away, but she felt trapped by his smoldering look. With a hard shake of his head, he moved back although his hands still rested at her waist. Intensity poured from him. It went under her skin as if he were probing deep into her soul for answers. She wasn’t sure she wanted him to read her that intimately, for anyone to get that close to her ever again.

  Finally, he glanced away. “I’ll help you back to the house where you can call for assistance with your car. Then I’m taking you to the hospital.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “This is not up for negotiation. You need to see a doctor. You probably have a concussion. Let’s go.” He slid his arm around her again to help her up the incline.

  Remembering why she was in this situation in the first place, Kira pulled away. “I need to check something. I want to take a look at the damage to my car before it’s completely dark.”

  “You wait here. I’ll take a look. You don’t need to move around anymore than necessary.”

  “Did anyone ever tell you that you’re bossy?”

  Ignoring her question, he circled her Chevy, pausing a few places to inspect closer in the dim light from the car. “Someone besides me doesn’t like what you do for a living.” He came to her, dusting off his jeans where he’d knelt. “Have you made anyone angry lately?”

  “Besides you? My job is to prosecute criminals.”

  “And innocent people,” he muttered until his breath.

  But she heard it. “I work hard not to do that.”

  “Obviously not hard enough.”

  “Until recently Pinecrest has been a quiet town with the occasional drunk driver, assault, burglary.”

  “But not murder.”

  “You know as well as I do the last one was four years ago and that was an easy case for the county assistant DA. Keith Johnson shot his wife in front of about half a dozen people at his New Year’s Eve party. This situation is much different.” The thought that an unknown assailant was using her for target practice unnerved her more than she wanted to acknowledge. The peaceful hometown she’d returned to was no longer the haven she had been seeking.

  She was caught in a nightmare, playing the starring role with no idea what the script would require her to do next. The myriad possibilities chilled her, further fueled by the darkness that had completely settled over the terrain.

  Is the shooter still out there watching us?

  “Let’s get back to the house. I’m sure the gunman is gone by now, but I don’t want to take any chances.” He reached in and switched off her headlights then shut the door.

  “You’ll get no argument from me.”

  Again he wrapped his arm about her to support her while they climbed out of the ditch. On the walk back to his house, Kira’s knees wobbled and walking in a straight line proved impossible. She clung to Gabriel’s side, afraid that she would collapse at his feet. Now that would be a sight he’d probably like to see—her at his feet, helpless. She chuckled at the thought.

  “I’m glad you can laugh about what happened.”

  “I think shock is setting in.”

  “Cold?”

  Far from it. The night temperature was dropping fast, and she should be cold with only a long sleeve blouse to protect her. “No, I feel…unsteady.”

  That was a good word to describe what she was experiencing. He would chalk it up to the accident, which was partially true, but also his presence disturbed her, not because he was responsible for shooting her car but because he was a dangerous man—ruthless, relentless, and if Marcie were right, unforgiving.

  He nestled her more firmly against his side, which sent her pulse rate rocketing. She tried to concentrate on all the stories Marcie told her about her husband when they were going through their divorce, but she couldn’t remember any. All she thought about was he’d come out to check on her when he’d heard the gunshots. The man Marcie described would never have done that.

  At Gabriel’s house, he unlocked his front door and let Kira enter first. The scent of onions sautéing on the stove filled her nostrils. When he relocked the door, what had happened to her was reinforced, along with the fact that he thought the person could still be outside. She hugged her arms to ward off the sudden coldness now sweeping through her.

  “You can make your calls in my office.” He walked to a room at the right of the entrance hall. Inside, he indicated the phone on his desk. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Kira waited until he left before sinking down onto the chair he sat in while working. Her hand trembled as she picked up the receiver and placed her first call to her automobile club. Then she made a second one to the police chief. The dispatcher put her call through to Chief Bill Shaffer in his car.

  “This is Kira. I’ve had a problem I need you to check into. I’m at the Michaels’ ranch—”

  The police chief swore. “What are you doing there? Are you all right? If that—”

  “Bill, I’m fine,” she cut him off before he began ranting about Gabriel. “My car was shot at a few minutes ago when I was leaving the ranch. Gabriel wasn’t responsible.”

  “How do you know? Did you see who it was?”

  “No, but I know he didn’t,” she said with a conviction she truly felt. “Gabriel helped me back to his house. A couple of my tires are ruined, along with several bullet holes in the side of my car. He risked his own life to come see if I was all right.”

  “If you didn’t see who did the shooting, then how do you really know?”

  How do I? She thought back over the past thirty minutes and realized how. “The shots came from the highway. He couldn’t be in two places at once. I know this is out of your jurisdi
ction, but please check into it for me, and Bill,” she paused and took a deep breath, “please don’t accuse him of anything. We’ve put him through enough.”

  “We followed the leads we had at the time. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

  And if Bill had his way, Gabriel would still be in prison. Marcie played on the fact Bill had a crush on her, and she used to wrap him around her little finger. “We put the wrong man behind bars. I don’t call that right. I’ll be at the hospital if you need me.”

  “I thought you told me that everything was all right.”

  She released a long sigh. “Gabriel insists I see a doctor. I hit my head on the steering wheel. I have the beginnings of a bump that’ll probably rival Mount Everest before it’s over with.” She closed her eyes because the pounding behind them was intensifying, and she really did believe that shock was finally setting in. Goosebumps covered her from head to toe. She could have been seriously injured or dead. One shudder after another rippled through her.

  “I’ll let you know what I find, Kira. Probably nothing much before morning.”

  “Thanks.” When she hung up, she swiveled around to find Gabriel leaning against the doorjamb watching her. Warmth crept up her face. “Do you eavesdrop often?”

  “Only when I’m the subject of the conversation.” He pushed away. “Are you ready to go?”

  Weariness blanketed her. The aches and bruises were starting to emerge. She wished she could talk him into taking her home. But he was probably right about seeing a doctor. That didn’t mean she had to like it. “Yes.”

  “My daughter and sister will ride with us.”

  “Don’t trust yourself to be alone with me?”

  “You never know when you’ll need an alibi that can stand up in court. Of course, my sister’s and daughter’s would be considered biased according to you and the police.”

  She started to tell him she was sorry again but realized they were only words, which wouldn’t mean anything to him. She figured the only way he would really forgive her was if she could miraculously give him back the past months of his life as a free man. She couldn’t, so she would have to live with the fact that this man wouldn’t forgive her or ever trust her. There was a part of her that didn’t blame him. She certainly had no intention of forgiving Jonathan for what he’d done to her.

  As she passed Gabriel to go into the hallway, he murmured, “Neither Jessie nor Abbey know anything about someone shooting at you. I told them your car backfired and you wrecked it. I would like it to remain that way. They don’t need to be frightened any more than they already are with the events of the past few weeks.”

  She heard the protective ring to his voice and nodded.

  “If I could leave them here, I would.”

  “But they aren’t safe?”

  “Safe? No one in Pinecrest is right now.”

  “You think it’s the murderer who shot at me?”

  “Maybe. Either way I intend to find the person responsible.”

  The steel thread that ran through his declaration underlined the element of danger Kira sensed surrounding Gabriel. He was very capable of carrying out any threat he made. In this instant, she understood how he felt. His home and family were being threatened, and he wouldn’t stand by idly and let that happen.

  “You can’t take the law into your own hands.” She didn’t want anything else to go wrong for him.

  “The gunman made a big mistake when he trespassed on my land,” Gabriel whispered, looking beyond Kira. An iron determination glinted in his eyes.

  She turned.

  Abbey stood next to Jessie. Gabriel’s sister didn’t look anything like him. Petite, she had long blond hair and blue eyes. Right now those eyes were conveying a message of hatred, directed at her.

  “Kira!” Abbey grinned.

  She offered the eight-year-old a smile, aware of Abbey’s father behind Kira, alert, ready to pounce if she said or did anything to alarm his daughter. “Hi. I haven’t seen you in a while.” Every time she saw Marcie’s daughter, she couldn’t help but think about her friend. They looked so much alike.

  “Daddy told me you had an accident.” Abbey approached Kira, a tiny frown lining her brow as she stared at Kira’s forehead and handed her a plastic bag with ice. “Maybe this will help. Aunt Jessie fixed it for you.”

  Kira took it from Abbey. “Thanks. I’m sure it will, honey.”

  “We’re taking you to the hospital,” Abbey said in a serious voice, her gaze glued to Kira’s forehead.

  She waved her hand as though to dismiss the bump that was probably growing before their very eyes. “This is nothing, but I should get it checked out to be on the safe side. I’m glad you’re going to ride with us. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

  “I’ve been at my grandmother’s house until lately.”

  Which was a fortress. If only Marcie had been living with her mother, a matriarch of a powerful, wealthy family, and not in one of the houses her mother rented out, she might not have died. But Marcie had hated being at the estate and had wanted her freedom from her controlling mom—had all her life.

  Tension radiated from Gabriel, and he reached out and gripped Kira.

  She glanced at his hand on her arm as though he often touched her. She didn’t want Abbey to sense any tension from her toward her father. “I hope you’ll fill me in on how school’s going for you. I hear you have Mrs. Carter. I had her when I was in elementary school.”

  “Yeah, she’s ancient.”

  Kira smiled at the comment. Mrs. Carter was probably forty-five years old and wouldn’t appreciate being called that. “I can remember having tons of homework.”

  “Spelling, math, and reading every night,” Abbey said with a moan then followed her father out onto the front porch. “But Daddy and Jessie help me with it.” The little girl took Gabriel’s hand while he slung an arm over Kira’s shoulder as they all walked to his black F-150 parked at the side of the house.

  Trying to ignore his closeness, Kira searched for something to say. “You’re lucky, Abbey. I didn’t have anyone to help me.” She slid a glance toward Gabriel and his daughter and envied their close relationship. She’d never known her father, and her mother had been too busy with the men in her life to sit down and help her with anything.

  “What about your mother or father?” Abbey asked while she and Jessie climbed into the backseat of the pickup.

  After Kira slipped into the front with Gabriel’s help, he rounded the hood, climbed into the driver’s seat, and switched on the engine. She wasn’t sure how to answer the girl. Kira saw the white-knuckled grip Gabriel had on the steering wheel and realized the subject was an uncomfortable one for him. He was being very protective of his daughter where her mother was concerned, but he wouldn’t be able to shield her for long. Life had a way of intruding when least expected. “Once my mom hired a math tutor, but that was all. And my grams was always supportive.” The second she mentioned her grandmother thunder descended over his features. Abbey’s grandmother was a force to be reckoned with, and no doubt, she’d made Gabriel’s life miserable. Few people went up against the woman, but he had when he’d married Marcie.

  He headed for the highway. “Speaking of homework, sweetheart, did you get your spelling sentences done and that page of math?”

  Silence greeted his question.

  He glanced at his daughter then his sister. “I gather that’s a no.”

  “Daddy, I was going to after dinner.”

  “Now, you’re going to when we get home.”

  Kira tensed the nearer they came to her wrecked car. Suddenly she remembered she didn’t have her purse. “Stop!”

  He slammed on the brakes. “What’s wrong?”

  “My purse is in the car. I need it.” Kira started to open the door.

  Gabriel mumbled something under his breath. “I’d better get it. There’s a flashlight in the glove compartment.”

  She handed him the distinctly pink torch. He smirked before mak
ing his way to her car. In the darkness, she found it hard to tell what he was doing. The interior light came on when he opened the door, but still she couldn’t see well because of the Chevy’s angle in the ditch. She scanned the terrain, feeling as if someone were watching her like yesterday. The feeling crawled up her spine and sent goose bumps through her body.

  Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, Kira twisted toward Abbey and Jessie. “When I came to your house, I smelled something cooking. Was that dinner?”

  “Yes,” Jessie said in a clipped voice. “We haven’t eaten yet.”

  “I was helping Aunt Jessie make my daddy’s favorite.”

  “What is it?” Kira asked, feeling the drill of Jessie’s stare. Gabriel’s sister’s anger churned the air, and Kira was reminded again of yesterday in the grocery store when Mary Lou blamed her for what happened to Gabriel.

  “Daddy loves spaghetti. Not out of a can but made from scratch. I chopped the green peppers for Aunt Jessie and was making the salad. She was making the sauce. She’s a great cook.”

  “The extent of my cooking abilities is popping something in the microwave.” Kira glanced out the window.

  Gabriel climbed out of the ditch.

  “Jessie, I’m sorry I interrupted dinner. Is it salvageable?”

  “Yes,” she answered as the door opened and the interior light illuminated the inside of the vehicle. Jessie’s narrowed gaze and mouth firmed into a frown greeted Kira.

  She wished she’d remained quiet earlier. There was no way Abbey didn’t sense the hostility. She hoped the child thought her aunt was mad because of the interrupted dinner.

  Gabriel climbed into the truck and tossed her purse to her. “It was on the floorboard.”

  “Thank you.”

  Kira gripped her black leather bag and tried to relax. She’d learned she couldn’t change the past, and fretting over it wasn’t worth the anguish. She could only influence what happened in the future, and she intended to make sure whoever was murdering these women would be brought to justice soon. Then maybe she could find some peace concerning Gabriel, Marcie, and the other two victims.

  When they arrived in Pinecrest, Gabriel pulled up in front of Al’s Diner. “Jessie, I want you and Abbey to get some dinner. I’m going to take Kira to the hospital then come back for y’all after I make sure everything is all right. Just wait inside for me.”