His Christmas Assignment

by Lisa Childs

  Garek would need his family. All of his family. Milek knew that—he knew the loss Garek would feel—because he lived with that loss, with that gaping hole where his heart had once been.

  He began to pray they found Candace alive, so his brother didn’t have to live in the hell of regrets where Milek lived.

  *

  Candace’s teeth chattered uncontrollably, snapping her jaw together. Afraid the noise might reveal her location, she tried to clench her jaw. But it was numb, her face chafed from the wind and the cold despite her having wrapped her scarf around her face. She had dressed for the elements—or so she’d thought—in her heavy coat, gloves and boots.

  She had lost the feeling in her feet a while ago, though. But she trudged on through the snow, leading whoever was pursuing her farther and farther away from Mrs. Payne’s home. She had been close enough she could have run back to her—could have used her phone to call for help. But help wouldn’t have arrived before the men would have found her. She would have led whoever was after her right back to Mrs. Payne.

  And she knew someone was following her. At first she had managed to run—to stay ahead of them. But she had slowed down as she’d grown colder—the chill penetrating deeply into her bones.

  She had thought they had slowed down, too. Maybe she’d hit at least one of them with all the shots she had fired. She’d been lucky they hadn’t hit her when they’d returned fire.

  So many shots had been fired—driving into the snow near her, whistling past her head and shoulders as she’d crouched beside her vehicle. When the gunfire had ceased for a moment—probably while they’d reloaded—she had turned and begun to run.

  There had been at least two of them, and maybe another behind the wheel in the big black truck that had driven her off the road. Maybe that was who was coming after her now—because he moved faster than the other men. Those men had been big—like the guy in the alley. They had lumbered down the bank—their footsteps slow and heavy.

  This man moved differently. She could hear his footsteps—his quick footsteps—crunching in the snow as he rushed forward. He could probably see her easily since the moonlight reflected off the snow, making the night as bright as day.

  She couldn’t outrun someone moving that fast. She was too cold. Too exhausted—both physically and emotionally. Because even while she ran, all she could think of was Garek. Was he okay?

  Had Chekov already gone after him?

  Was he dead—before she’d had a chance to talk to him? Before she’d had a chance to tell him that she’d been wrong about him? And she’d been wrong to resist him for a year. If only she’d given him a chance earlier…

  Now they might not have a chance at all. But Candace was a fighter. She wouldn’t easily give up.

  So she hurried toward cover—toward the shadows of a stand of pine trees, their boughs heavy with snow. She ducked under those branches, knocking snow from them. It rained down onto her head, sliding beneath her scarf and down the back of her neck.

  She gasped at the shock of it and shivered again. That gasp carried on the cold.

  Those footsteps paused for a moment. He must have heard her. He knew he was close.

  And now since the wind had stopped blowing, he could easily follow her tracks. He would come for her.

  She glanced down at the glint of the gun she clutched in one of her gloved hands. Her fingers were so numb she hadn’t realized she still held her weapon. Unless she could find the strength to swing it at her pursuer’s head, it was useless.

  She had emptied the magazine earlier—as the men had come down the embankment toward her, their guns drawn. And she hadn’t had time to grab another magazine from her purse—which had been wedged somewhere under the passenger’s seat. If she’d been able to grab that, she would have had her pepper spray, TASER and knife to use as weapons, too.

  Now she had nothing but her wits and physical strength. And paralyzed with cold, she wasn’t sure how she could fight. But she wouldn’t go down without one.

  The sound of the crunching snow grew softer but only because the footsteps had slowed. But the sound grew closer as the person neared the stand of pines. He had found her.

  So she drew in a breath and shifted her grasp on her weapon. She clutched it in both hands and prepared to swing it like a hammer.

  The element of surprise was her only defense. If she could hit him hard enough to knock him out, or at least daze him long enough so she could get his weapon from him…

  It was her only chance of survival.

  Chapter 16

  His heart pounded as quickly and heavily as when he’d been running—as when he’d been anxiously searching for her. And it had nothing to do with the fact that she had almost killed him. Or would have, if she had any strength left…

  If the men had found her before he had…

  He shuddered at the thought of what they would have done to her—how they might have hurt her. It wouldn’t have just been a job to them to get rid of Candace. It would have been vengeance—because he was pretty sure she’d hit at least one of them with a bullet. That was why their tracks had eventually turned back toward the road—why their vehicle hadn’t been parked there.

  At least one of them had obviously needed medical attention. He worried Candace needed medical attention, too. For hypothermia for certain. Maybe for other injuries, as well. She could have been shot, too, or hurt in the crash.

  “I’m lucky your gun was empty,” Garek said as he carried Candace back toward the road. He held her carefully—hoping not to exacerbate any injuries she might have. But he needed to get her out of the cold—back to warmth.

  Her lips, blue in her pale face, barely moved as she murmured, “I wouldn’t have shot you…”

  She’d swung her empty gun at him, though. Fortunately her blow had struck his shoulder and glanced off—instead of hitting his head. If she had knocked him out in the cold, they both might have died out there—wherever the hell they were. She’d walked—or run—more than a mile from the crash site.

  He focused on their tracks, but the road—and help—seemed too far away. “Where are you hurt?” he asked. “There’s blood on the snow.”

  She shook her head, and her hair—cold and wet with snow—brushed against his face. “It isn’t mine.”

  “But I used it to track you down.”

  “I must’ve hit one of them,” she said.

  He had already figured as much. Candace was an excellent shot. She wouldn’t have emptied her gun and not hit at least one of them. The men had to have left to seek medical attention. Or else they wouldn’t have stopped until they’d found her.

  He could call Agent Rus to send agents or officers to the local emergency rooms. They would be able to track down these guys—if they weren’t already dead. Or if they had really left…

  He heard the crunch of snow—of footsteps carrying on the cold. Candace must have heard it, too, because she tensed in his arms. They were no longer alone.

  And from the noise, it sounded as if there was more than one man. More than two.

  Maybe the men had left for help but not medical help. Maybe they’d gone to get backup. They’d obviously needed it against Candace.

  Her voice a hoarse whisper, she asked, “Do you have bullets in your gun?”

  He nodded. But before he could reach for his weapon, she’d drawn it from his holster. And as a shadow stepped into their path, she pointed the gun—at his brother.

  Milek held up his hands. “Don’t shoot!”

  Her breath shuddered out against Garek’s throat. “I couldn’t have pulled the trigger,” she murmured, as she slumped in Garek’s arms.

  She wasn’t unconscious; Candace was no fainter. But she was struggling for strength.

  “How much farther is the road?” Garek asked his brother.

  Milek sighed. “It’s a ways yet. Logan and Parker are right behind me.”

  But Milek would have rushed ahead. He didn’t care about getting shot—probabl
y wouldn’t have minded even if Candace had been able to pull the trigger. He’d lost what had mattered most to him.

  Until now—until Garek had worried he’d lost Candace—he hadn’t understood the depths of his brother’s grief and despair. But Candace wasn’t out of the woods yet—figuratively or literally. He rushed forward and nearly stumbled and slipped in the snow.

  Milek reached for her and offered, “Let me help.”

  But Garek’s arms instinctively tightened around her. “No. I have her.” And now he never intended to let her go.

  “Is she okay?” Logan asked as he and his twin joined them. “We saw the blood.”

  “We called 911,” Parker said. “There’s an ambulance on its way.”

  Candace shook her head. “I’m fine…”

  But her skin was as pale as the snow except for her lips. They were nearly as blue as her eyes. Her lids drooped over her eyes, though, as she fought for consciousness. If he hadn’t found her, she might have just lain down in the snow and fallen asleep.

  It was often what happened when people died of hypothermia. They just went to sleep and never woke up. He tightened his arms around her, trying to warm her. And he tilted his head, listening for the telltale sound of sirens. With as cold as it was, the sharp noise would carry. They would hear the ambulance long before it neared. But he heard nothing yet.

  Still he hurried toward the road, with his brother and brothers-in-law helping him through the snow. No one tried taking Candace from him. They must have known he wasn’t letting her go without a fight.

  Not again…

  Never again…

  *

  The ambulance doors swung shut, closing on Candace and Garek, before the emergency vehicle raced away. Candace hadn’t gone without a fight; she had insisted she didn’t need medical attention. But Garek had insisted she get checked out. And he’d refused to leave her side.

  A sigh slipped through Stacy’s lips. She was torn. Had she done the right thing in tracking down Candace for her brother? She glanced down at the wreckage of the female bodyguard’s car and shuddered. Or had she put the woman—her brother obviously loved—in danger?

  He had barely acknowledged her presence—when he’d come up the bank with Candace clutched so tightly in his arms. The look on his face—the worry and the love—had struck her heart with a painful pang.

  “I’ll bring his car to the hospital,” Milek murmured as he tried to slip past her.

  Stacy reached out and clutched his arm. “Thank you…”

  He shrugged off her hand and her gratitude. “I did it for Garek.”

  He was making it clear he didn’t need her. But he needed her more than Garek did. Garek had found Candace; he’d saved her.

  Milek had never been given the chance to save the woman he loved.

  “I should have told you,” she admitted. “I shouldn’t have kept Amber’s secret.” She’d grown up with the woman. Amber had been more than a friend. She’d been a sister to Stacy—a lifeline to sanity in her crazy Kozminski world. She missed her, too.

  He nodded in silent agreement.

  She wished he would yell at her. Scream. Throw things. But Milek never lost his temper. He just withdrew—completely. He’d even withdrawn from Garek until she’d asked him to help. Now, seeing the bruises on his face, she realized she shouldn’t have done that either. Instead of helping her family, she’d put them in danger.

  As Milek walked away, she shivered—not at the coldness outside but the coldness that was all he ever offered her. Then strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close.

  “You should have stayed at the house with Mom and baby Penny,” Logan said.

  “I thought Garek might need me,” she said.

  Logan sighed. “He found Candace. She’s tough. She’ll be all right.”

  This time. But until whoever was after her was caught, there would be a next time.

  “I really screwed up,” she said. “I shouldn’t have had Nikki find her.”

  “Did you see them?” Logan asked. “See how they were together?”

  She sighed. “I could hear them arguing even after they closed the ambulance doors.”

  Logan chuckled. “Who does that remind you of?”

  She tilted her head back to stare up at the man she loved more than she had ever thought possible to love anyone. And she smiled.

  “I didn’t see it,” he said with a head shake of disgust. “But you were right about them.” His gaze left hers as he glanced down at the man examining the car wreckage.

  “Special Agent Nicholas Rus investigating an accident scene?” she asked skeptically.

  “And you were right that there’s more to this assignment of Garek’s…”

  She had been right about Candace’s and Garek’s feelings for each other. But she hadn’t been right about everything. She’d misjudged her brother. Milek wasn’t the only one to whom she owed an apology.

  But an apology would never be enough for Milek—not with all he’d lost. Hopefully Garek would forgive her interference—if he had the chance.

  “He’s in danger, too,” she said.

  Logan nodded. “We’ll protect them,” he promised. “Nothing will happen to them.”

  She wanted to believe her husband. She knew he always worked hard to keep his promises. But some things were beyond even his control.

  *

  “Where did you bring me?” Candace asked.

  She should have been grateful he hadn’t made her stay in the hospital. The emergency room doctor had wanted to admit her and keep her overnight. But she hadn’t wanted to risk the safety of the other patients—in case those men dared to track her down there.

  There was no way they could have followed Garek from the hospital. He’d driven like a maniac—but with such skill and control she hadn’t worried. She also didn’t question he had lost whoever might have been trying to tail them. Chekov’s men or Nicholas Rus’s.

  She did question where they were, though, and not just because she wasn’t certain to which area of the city he’d taken her. It wasn’t as remote as Penny Payne’s home. But it was suburban. The house sat off the road on a big lot. Pine boughs and lights had been strung from a low picket fence in front of the home. The first light of day glinted off the sparkling windows of the traditional brick home, making it look as if it was winking at her—like Garek had winked at her the past year when he’d mercilessly flirted with her.

  “This doesn’t look like a safe house,” she mused as he pulled his SUV into the attached garage and quickly lowered the door behind them. She appreciated his precaution, but she doubted anyone would have looked for them here.

  “It’s not.”

  Before he could walk around to open her door, she pushed it open. They’d warmed her at the hospital with some special blankets and IVs. Her strength had returned, as well. But she shut the door softly and followed him to where he punched in a code on the keyless lock for the house.

  He probably could have cracked the lock easily enough, but he seemed to know the code. He held open the door to the house for her.

  She walked into a mudroom area and kicked off her boots. But she kept walking, fascinated with the home. While it was a completely different style, something about it reminded her of Penny Payne’s house with its bright colors and rich trim. Maybe because it felt like a home…

  There was even a Christmas tree standing naked in the front window, waiting for someone to decorate it. Bags of new decorations lay on the floor beneath it. Someone wouldn’t have willingly offered this place as even a temporary safe house. They wouldn’t want it damaged in case they were tracked down here.

  “Who owns this home?” she asked.

  “Me.”

  The admission shocked her more than anything else she’d learned about Garek Kozminski. She shook her head in disbelief. “But you have your apartment.”

  He shrugged. “I bought the house right before…”

  “You took the assignment workin
g for Viktor.” He obviously hadn’t had plans to go back to work for the mobster.

  “I’m not working for Viktor.”

  He’d said it before. But she’d thought then it was just semantics—because he actually worked for Payne Protection.

  “You’re not working for Logan either,” she said, because it was obvious their boss had had no clue what was really going on with Garek.

  He shook his head. “I’m working for the FBI.”

  She was right. Or rather Penny Payne had been right. If Candace hadn’t talked to the matriarch, she might not have figured it out. And if she hadn’t been attacked again, would he have told her?

  She’d been attacked twice before, and he hadn’t told her what was really going on. Since he’d told her now, he hadn’t kept his secret before because Agent Rus had sworn him to silence, or he wouldn’t have just revealed the truth.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

  “It’s an undercover assignment.”

  Milek’s comment about things not always being what they seemed suddenly resonated with her. “Your brother knows.”

  “I needed his help,” Garek said.

  Anger coursed through her and she slammed her hands into his chest. “What about me?”

  He hadn’t turned to her for help. Had he thought she wasn’t capable of keeping a secret?

  She had worked undercover with the River City Police Department. Sure, most of those assignments had been as a prostitute, but she knew how to maintain a cover.

  He could have confided in her—if he’d wanted. But he hadn’t wanted her to know the truth. He’d wanted her to think the worst of him.

  He hadn’t just been running from her; he’d wanted her to run from him, too. He hadn’t wanted to give them a chance.

  Pain joined her anger. “I want to go home,” she said.

  He shook his head. “It’s not safe.”

  It wasn’t safe for her with him, either, because he kept hurting her worse than even the men who’d driven her off the road. “I’m not staying with you!”

  He reached for her, trying to pull her into his arms. And she felt the panic she’d felt when her car had tumbled over the embankment. So she shoved him again.