Silent Night Standoff

by Susan Sleeman

  “Find Skyler.” Logan’s words came out in a strangled cry.

  “Everyone hold positions except Cash,” Jake commanded, standing guard over Logan. “Be quick, Cash, but don’t take any chances.”

  Logan jerked Eaton’s hand away and pressed the blanket against his chest. The fabric was soon saturated. “Get Darcie in here!”

  “Once the house is cleared,” Jake replied, his usual calm tone missing.

  “There’s no time,” Logan said frantically.

  “I’ll give her a heads-up.” Jake tapped his microphone. “Eaton’s got a gunshot wound to the chest, Darcie. He’s fading in and out of consciousness. Call an ambulance. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to tend to him.”

  Logan stared at his bloody hands. Bright red lifesaving blood. He pressed harder. Eaton’s eyes flashed open, and he tried to focus on Logan, but Logan didn’t think he managed it.

  “Skyler—where is she?” Logan demanded.

  Eaton opened his mouth as if to answer, then it went slack and his eyes closed again.

  “No!” Logan screamed and checked Eaton’s pulse. “He’s still alive, but barely.”

  Cash barreled into the room. “We’re clear.”

  “And Skyler?” Logan shot a look at Cash. The shake of his head told Logan everything he needed to know.

  Skyler was out there somewhere and the only man who knew her whereabouts was bleeding out and could die before revealing her location.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Skyler gave up. Not on being rescued or finding a way out of this car on her own, but on struggling against the panic as she’d been doing for the past hour.

  She leaned her head back, closed her eyes and did her best to ignore the icy cold settling into her body.

  Father, help me let go of my fear. To be brave and trust You to take care of me. To find that peace You always provide in a time of crisis.

  She took deep breaths. In and out. Over and over until blood flowed to her muscles, relaxing them. On a positive note, the cold had taken her mind off the dull ache that remained from her concussion. She opened her eyes to check her watch.

  Five o’clock.

  Logan’s press conference was over and he’d gotten his job. How she wished he’d chosen her instead and was searching for her, but her last words to him made sure he wouldn’t come looking for her ever again.

  She’d closed the door on him instead of working things out. The very same thing he’d done to her years ago, and she knew how he must feel right now.

  She blamed her childhood of neglect. She’d thought she’d worked through all her issues, but obviously they still affected her, much like Logan’s past affected him. He’d been neglected, too, by emotionally unavailable parents. But that’s where the similarity in their lives ended.

  The faith she’d been so fortunate to find through a friend in high school allowed her to take a more carefree approach to life. Logan had decided to control his environment to avoid pain.

  In reality, her decision not to open her herself to love had left her life nearly as empty as his.

  Something she needed to remedy. And she would.

  If she got out of this mess alive—no, when she got out—she’d work with him to find a compromise between their lifestyles and their insecurities. Then they’d both find the kind of love and peace she was sure God wanted them to have.

  * * *

  Panic made Logan light-headed as he sat behind Eaton’s computer. Darcie and Archer had accompanied Eaton in the ambulance while the rest of the squad searched the house for a lead. So far nothing.

  Logan jiggled the mouse to wake up Eaton’s computer. The monitor flashed to life and a video playing on the screen caused Logan to gasp.

  “What is it?” Cash came up behind him.

  “Skyler,” Logan managed to get out as he watched her sitting in a car, the windows all around her covered in snow, making him think of a tomb. The overhead light shone down on her, revealing her hands cuffed to the steering wheel. She lay back with her eyes closed. For a moment, he thought she might be dead, but then she moved and his heart soared.

  Cash pointed at the screen. “What’s that?”

  “I don’t know,” Logan replied, seeing something moving behind her.

  “Increase the video size.”

  Logan clicked the mouse and the video filled the screen. The object in question was an electronic clock with a timer underneath counting down from ninety minutes.

  “You think he put a bomb in the car and we’re already too late?” Logan asked, panic threatening to take him out.

  Cash sucked in a breath. “Time is current on the clock. We have ninety minutes to rescue her.”

  Logan jumped to his feet, knocking the chair to the floor. He jerked off his tie and started pacing. “We have to find her.”

  “Then you need to calm down,” Jake said as he and Brady joined them to watch the video.

  Logan took a few deep breaths, but he didn’t feel even the slightest bit more in control.

  “We’re now looking for anything that will give us the car’s location.” Jake sounded imposing, but Logan saw his hand tremble. “Let’s tear this place apart. Brady, you take the upstairs. I’ll finish this floor. Logan and Cash, keep on the video to see if there’s anything in it that might give us the location.” Jake eyed Logan. “You good to do this? If not, I’ll take over.”

  “I’m good.” Logan hoped if he spoke the words, they would actually become true.

  He picked up the chair and sat, his eyes going straight to Skyler. “She looks so calm.”

  Cash nodded. “She’s got an inner well of strength we could all only wish to have.”

  Cash was right. She was strong, and that strength came from God. Logan needed the same strength if he was going to keep his panic at bay and maintain a logical train of thought. He offered a heartfelt plea, hoping God would answer his prayers despite his absence in the past few years. Then Logan went to work.

  “Maybe we can trace where the video is streaming from.” He grabbed his phone and dialed Wagner to give him the web address.

  “I’ll get an analyst working on it,” Wagner said. “But if Eaton’s smart enough to pull off this abduction, he’s likely bouncing the signal through proxy servers across the globe. I doubt we’ll be able to find her this way.”

  Logan didn’t want to hear it, but he knew Wagner was right. He looked at the video and another idea hit him.

  “Hang on a minute, Wagner.” Logan rewound the video to see if the taping started before the snow obscured the view. He started playing it again.

  Cash tapped the screen. “Looks like something in the background.”

  Logan squinted. “A sign maybe, but I can’t make out the words.” He turned his attention to the phone. “I need this video enhanced.”

  “We can do that,” Wagner said. “I’ll have the tech download the file from the internet. If he can enhance the screenshot, I’ll text it to you the second I have it.”

  Logan hung up and returned his focus to Skyler. Brave, strong Skyler. Only one word came to mind.

  Home.

  He’d come home. Not to Portland. Not to his family. But to Skyler. The woman who made his life more fulfilling. Real. Honest. Emotionally available Skyler.

  He needed to do everything within his power to repair things between them for a chance at happiness he’d only have with her.

  First, he needed to find her.

  Jake stepped into the room. “Darcie called. Eaton didn’t make it.”

  “Did he tell them where Skyler is?” Logan asked, then held his breath in fear of the answer.

  Jake shook his head in slow, sorrowful arcs.

  Logan slammed his fist on the desk.

  “We’ll fin
d her,” Jake said. “We all just need to stay calm and look for leads.”

  Panic rooting deep, Logan returned to browsing through the computer as the rest of the squad continued searching the house. His phone chimed. He grabbed it, nearly knocking it to the floor in his haste.

  Can’t trace the video. But here’s a still shot of the sign.

  “Thank you, Wagner.” Logan thumbed to the enhanced photo. The sign was now quite readable.

  “Perfect Peach Orchard,” Cash mumbled. “Where in the world is that?”

  A sunny day in October before Logan had left Skyler flashed into his mind. A day at the peach orchard filled with joy, laughter and love.

  “I know exactly where it is.” He glanced at the timer again. “We need to get out of here. It’s a thirty-minute drive in good weather, and we don’t have a second to waste.”

  In the truck, Darcie led the squad in prayer. As Jake drove, the rest of them made a plan. Not much of one if you asked Logan.

  Cash would don his suit and go in alone while the others waited.

  Logan didn’t know if he could do that, but he’d try.

  “I’ve got a live feed,” Archer said, and the video of Skyler filled a monitor.

  They all silently watched the video count down as the wind pummeled their truck.

  Sixty minutes and thirty seconds.

  Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight. Twenty-seven. Each second more precious than the last.

  Cash, his expression tight, mumbled something under his breath, then started his arduous task of climbing into the heavy suit.

  The computer lost its signal, the screen going black. Logan didn’t know what was worse. Seeing the time counting down or not knowing if Skyler was okay. It was all he could do to stay seated. The minute Jake stopped the truck, he flew into the swirling snow.

  He spotted the car, down a narrow path, a hundred feet in the distance. He took off, his feet slowed by the foot of snow blanketing the area.

  Cash jerked him to a stop.

  Logan spun on him and wrenched his arm free. “What are you doing, man? Skyler doesn’t have much time. I need to get to her.”

  “You won’t do her any good by running in there like a madman. Not only will you scare her, but there could be booby traps on the way that would blow us all to smithereens.” Cash eyed him. “We’re already taking a big risk not sending in the robot first, and I can’t have you running rogue. Can you calm down enough to follow me or do I need to have Jake restrain you?”

  Logan felt like a fool for letting his emotions get the best of him, but this was Skyler they were talking about here. His Skyler. The woman he loved.

  “Well?” Cash asked pointedly.

  Cash was right. Logan needed to calm down. He took a breath. “I can do it.”

  “Good. Stay behind me.” Cash lifted his tools and swung his headlamp over the snow-covered ground. He moved forward at a snail’s pace, nearly sending Logan over the edge of insanity.

  He felt the timer counting down in his head, and his body vibrated with the need to race to Skyler. With ongoing pleas to God, Logan held himself in check. Barely. When they were within a few feet of the car, the world swam in front of his eyes, and he drew in a deep breath to keep the panic at bay.

  They inched up to the driver’s side.

  “Skyler,” Logan called softly to keep from startling her.

  He heard her muffled plea from inside as Cash shone his headlamp on the door, then dropped to his knees and began carefully clearing snow from under the vehicle.

  Logan knew Cash’s precautions were necessary, but Logan needed to see Skyler and couldn’t wait for Cash to finish. “Can I clear off the window?”

  “Yes.” Cash continued scooping out snow then set up his portable X-ray machine.

  Logan swiped the window clean, the icy cold on his wrists clearing his emotions for the moment it took to look Skyler in the eye and telegraph his strength and conviction. Her eyes closed for a second, and then tears streamed down her face as she sobbed.

  His heart ached for her. “I need to get her out of there.”

  “The door could be rigged. We can’t risk opening it until I find the explosives, but we can make a hole in the window so you can remove the tape on her mouth.” Cash struggled to his feet and cut a large circular opening.

  After he removed the glass, Logan tossed his gloves to the ground and gently pulled the tape from Skyler’s mouth while Cash went back to work.

  “Logan,” she croaked out as she looked up at him, relief burning in her eyes.

  It was a good thing he was on the back side of the timer and couldn’t see the remaining countdown or he might do something rash. He forced calm he didn’t feel into his voice. “Hi, sweetheart.”

  “I didn’t think anyone would find me. It was Tony Eaton’s father.”

  “We know. We went to his house. There was a shoot-out. He didn’t make it.” At the pain sweeping into her eyes, Logan leaned closer to the hole and moved on. “Cash will defuse the bomb and we’ll get you out of here, okay?”

  “Yes, yes, please.”

  “Hey, squirt,” Cash called out, his voice loaded with deep emotion so out of character for the big strapping guy.

  “I’m so glad you’re here, too!”

  Logan looked Skyler over, spotted her raw and bloody wrists. Stifling a curse, he dug handcuff keys from his pocket. “Let’s start by getting those cuffs off.”

  “Stay seated though, okay, squirt?” Cash added. “I don’t know if there’s a pressure sensor under your seat yet.”

  She nodded, and Logan set to work on gently removing the cuffs.

  “Any idea where the explosives are?” Cash asked from the rear of the car where he’d moved the x-ray machine.

  “Eaton mentioned the trunk and the wires he connected to the timer run in that direction.” She winced as Logan took off the first cuff.

  “Did you see explosives anywhere else?” Cash asked.

  “None up front, but I didn’t get a good look at the backseat.”

  Logan withdrew the cuffs through the hole and her hands fell to her lap as if the muscles couldn’t support them after hours in a raised position.

  “I’ll just snap a quick picture of the trunk then,” Cash said. “I’d advise you to move back, Logan. For your own safety.”

  “No.” Logan pocketed the cuffs and slipped his hand through the hole to rest it on Skyler’s shoulder. She trembled, sending his anger burning to his core.

  “Do what he says, Logan,” she pleaded.

  “No.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I’m staying right here by your side. Don’t even think of telling me to go.”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt.” Pleading eyes looked up at him.

  “Cash will take care of us.” He ached for more than a simple touch of her shoulder. Ached to sweep her into his arms and never let go. And he wouldn’t step back even for a moment.

  * * *

  Skyler let the warmth from Logan’s hand, big and reassuring on her shoulder, seep into her body and help her relax. She heard Cash open the trunk and she glanced at the timer.

  Ten minutes and counting down.

  She had no idea if the bomb could be disabled. If anyone could do it, Cash could.

  She didn’t like Logan being in such danger, but she had to admit her heart was soaring at his presence. “I didn’t expect you. I thought you’d be at the press conference.”

  “I’m sorry. So sorry. I hate the thought of you sitting here for hours thinking I wasn’t coming for you.” His forehead creased. If she could, she’d reach up and press the worry away.

  “I screwed up again, Skyler. But it’s the last time. I promise.”

  “Shh,” she said. “It was my fault, too. I should’ve talked to you ins
tead of slamming the door in your face.” She smiled at him, hoping he could see her sincerity. “You must’ve missed the press conference. I’m sorry. You worked hard for the ASAC position.”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore. I still want the job, but if Inman gives it to someone else—” he shrugged “—so be it. It took a while to get it into my pigheaded brain, but I finally realized you’re more important than anything else.”

  He ran his hand over her hair, sending shivers trailing down her body.

  “Family is more important than any job in the world,” he continued. “So is love and that peace I saw on your face while I was watching the video. I was hyperventilating, ready to jump out of my skin, and death is staring you in the face, yet you were calm as can be.”

  “Trust me,” she said, shaking her head. “I wasn’t calm. At least not at first.”

  “But you found it, didn’t you?” He smiled. “I admire your strength. Your faith and contentment. I can only hope you’ll help me find them, too.”

  “What’re you saying, Logan?” she asked, vaguely aware of Cash moving around the outside of the car, then climbing into the backseat, but she was too captivated by Logan to take her eyes from him.

  “I want us to try again. We can do that, right?”

  “Not with you in Chicago. If you didn’t get the job, you’ll have to go back there.”

  “I’m not going back to Chicago. At least not longer than it takes to resign and work out my notice.”

  “Resign? What will you do if you leave the FBI?”

  “I’ll find something else in Portland. As long as I’m with you, that’s all that matters.”

  “We’re clear.” Cash joined them.

  Skyler twisted to look at the timer, which had stopped at five minutes. Five minutes before all three of them would’ve been blown to bits. She shuddered and couldn’t wait to leave the car. “Can I get out now?”

  A rare smile lit Cash’s face. “Yes. We’re good.”