Rated: X-mas

by Rachel Bo, Stephanie Vaughan

  Clutch in the handlebars, brake pad and gas pad under his right foot, GPS map grid on the dash, and a bright yellow button for reverse. So far the controls looked identical to what he was used to on his motorcycle. No problemo. He punched Shannon’s address into the map search grid. Six routes popped up on the screen. The longest and safest route took the legal streets. The shortest route cut straight across the river and went through Central Park. He selected the shortest one, of course.

  Tanny’s angry voice came over the helmet speaker. “How the hell is Rolf going to get to Shannon’s house with the current restrictions on transportation? Let alone take her somewhere for dinner?”

  Fergus guided the snowmobile to the exit. The huge double door rose into the ceiling at their approach and thick gusts of wind-driven snow roared over them. The snowmobile surged into the night upon the pre-selected course with blazing headlights that barely lit their way through the wild storm. “He’s the security chief, remember? He can commandeer any suitable vehicle from the Herm Foundation garage. Plus, he doesn’t have to go as far ’cause he lives in the Enclave just like she does. As for where he’s taking her, he’s not taking her anywhere. He’ll kill her if we don’t get there in time.”

  * * * * *

  Shannon stood in front of her closet. Should she wear a dress or a pantsuit? Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all to have accepted a date on such short notice. And where the hell was he going to take her, anyway? With the snow emergency and the temporary power failure for this section, there weren’t any restaurants open.

  Wait a minute. Rolf’s apartment within the Herm Foundation Enclave was only three blocks away from hers. He was probably planning to walk here and then walk her to his place for a private dinner. If she called him now and canceled their date, then all she had to look forward to was a long, lonely night sitting in front of her fireplace.

  She pulled a high-necked, long-sleeved, scarlet velvet shirt and black velvet slacks from the rack. A pair of sturdy black boots, a long, black opera cape, hat, scarf, and gloves would be enough for her to walk with him to his apartment. But then again, Rolf was chief of security; he could commandeer one of the Foundation’s snowmobiles if he wanted to drive rather than walk her through the storm.

  Shannon slipped on the shirt and slacks and studied the effect in the closet’s full-length mirror. Not bad; the outfit was simple yet sexy. The pants were loose enough to hide any bulge in front, and the shirt clung just enough to hint at her breasts without being tacky. She selected a pair of diamond studs for her ears and brushed her dark brown hair out into a soft tangle of curls that hung down to the middle of her back.

  She stopped in mid-brush, frowning, then tapped the brush against her chin. The one thing that didn’t make any sense to her was how and why Merry had trusted an obvious hate-monger like Günter Snell. Where had she met him? Working like she did with the public, wouldn’t she have at least done a routine background check on the man when he first contacted her? How had he convinced her to go out with him, let alone pose nude for him like she did before he killed her?

  He must be one hell of an actor to have hidden his hatred so completely when he first contacted Merry. When they revived Günter from the stun gun and carried him out of the memorial service, he’d turned his head and stared at Shannon with such a look of sheer rage that it had seared through her like liquid nitrogen.

  * * * * *

  Heated seats, heated handgrips, sonar-ranging warning system, self-adjusting rear treads, and auto-defrost helmets and windshield gave them maximum comfort, traction, and visibility. Fergus watched the route unfold on the dashboard map and used the sonar ranging capabilities to avoid impact with obstructions thrown into their way by the wind.

  If it weren’t for the fact that they were on a life-or-death mission, he’d be enjoying himself. Especially when they hit the river and zoomed along so fast above the ice that it felt like they were flying. The wind screamed while it drove thick, wet gusts of snow at them in blinding fury.

  With the siren blaring and warning lights flashing red and blue, they hit Central Park at full speed and sped down the twists and turns of the terrain like Olympic racers. One block away from the Herm Enclave, he radioed a full police override and warning to the gated entrance and zipped in without stopping. From the gate, he had only three more blocks to traverse in a straight line.

  Last, but not least, he deployed the titanium alloy ram from the snowmobile’s nose and aimed the vehicle dead-center for Shannon’s front door.

  * * * * *

  Just like every other residence within the gated community, a small generator built into her house had kicked in with the temporary power failure. Of course, without the link to the city power grid, Shannon could only power up the minimum components in her security system. The house was under manual lockdown rather than electronic lockdown. The front doorbell rang promptly at 6 p.m. Security cameras weren’t online yet.

  Shannon tossed her cloak over her arm and walked down the hallway to the front lobby. Her soft-soled leather boots made no sound on the smooth tiled floor. Now that Rolf had finally arrived to pick her up, she didn’t really feel like going out with him. What would he say if she told him she’d changed her mind?

  The doorbell rang again. She stopped and took a look through the peephole.

  Yes. It was Rolf. He stood on the landing and carried a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses. Where in the hell had he been able to buy roses in the middle of a blizzard and power failure? Snowflakes feathered his hair and trickled moisture down his face. A large, two-seater snowmobile waited in the middle of her sidewalk.

  She unlocked the door and opened it.

  Rolf immediately shouldered his way inside and kicked the door shut behind him. “Thanks.” He stomped the snow from his boots and thrust the roses at her in a classic lunge.

  Shannon sidestepped the lunge without even thinking it through. As she sidestepped the blow, the holographic roses disappeared, revealing the deadly blade he’d aimed at her.

  She whipped her cloak over the blade in trained reaction to its danger, spun on her heel, and ran for her life. Did she have the time to reach the broadsword hanging over her fireplace before he cut her down in cold blood?

  Don’t stop. Don’t look back. Just run down the hall, through the living room, straight to the fireplace.

  She jumped, grabbing the sword and spinning around in mid-air to land facing her opponent with three feet of solid steel ready to block his blow. Their blades clanged with an ugly screech that shattered the deadly silence. A parry, then a dodge knocked his blade aside. The flames hissed behind Shannon. She whirled to the side with a panther-like speed trained into her from many long years of practice bouts with her droid and tournament competition bouts at the SCA faires.

  He tried to force her against the couch. She parried his blows with a resounding clash that went straight through her teeth and bones, and refused to give ground.

  Pattern after pattern she blocked. Not thinking, just reacting. Fast and furious. Sweat ran down her face. Her shirt and pants clung and flared against her body as she turned and fought and fought again.

  His gaze shifted. He changed pattern on the next step. She made the instinctive move. Her blade swung around and sliced his hand off at the wrist.

  Blood spurted up in her face. His sword toppled to the floor with his hand still clenched around the hilt.

  He lifted the spurting stump of his hand and opened his mouth to scream.

  But she didn’t hear his scream. The horrific sound of a massive object crashing and ripping through her front door drowned it out.

  Chapter Eleven

  Fergus pulled Shannon into his lap and hugged her close. “It’s all right, querida.” She shivered uncontrollably.

  Diablo! The sight of her standing tall and straight with that sword in her hand while she disarmed Rolf was seared into his mind forever. She was magnificent! Strong and beautiful! A unique and perfect combination of ma
le and female within her mind, body, and spirit.

  Shannon tucked her legs up and curved her body in a desperate need for his comforting touch. Tears spilled past her long, dark eyelashes, and she made a sound halfway between a sob and a gasp. Her soft breasts pressed against him. He automatically ran his gaze down her body, making sure she wasn’t injured, and his gaze caught at the small bulge of her cock in her pants. A detail he wouldn’t have noticed before he’d met her.

  And the funny thing was, he couldn’t think of Shannon in any other way than who she was now. Imagining her without a cock was like imagining himself without one. It felt wrong. Utterly wrong and bizarre.

  He shifted his position under the solid, muscular weight of her body and stroked her trembling arms. “We’re here now, mi corazón. You’re safe. It’s over.”

  Blood pooled on the floor around Rolf’s severed hand and the machete. Shannon had laid her broadsword upon the coffee table when Rolf had crashed to the floor after they’d stunned him. More bright splashes of blood had sprayed over Shannon’s clothes, the wall, and the floor.

  Tanny had grabbed the emergency medical kit from the snowmobile. She was on her knees beside Rolf, applying a tourniquet to his arm with quiet efficiency. She sprayed the bloody stump with disinfectant, then stood and carefully transferred his severed hand to an ice-filled medical storage bin. Tanny contacted the police medical service with her vidphone and gave them terse and precise directions. The criminal evidence technicians had already been contacted. They would be arriving momentarily.

  Shannon took a long, shuddering breath and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. A blush stained her cheeks. She struggled to untangle herself from his embrace. “I’m a mess. I shouldn’t be sitting on your lap like this. I was only trying to stop him, not hurt him.”

  Tanny stood over them. She tilted Shannon’s chin up with her hand and brushed a tear away with her finger. “It’s okay. You did what you had to do, and now that it’s over, you’re experiencing the delayed reaction of shock and horror. Don’t be afraid to accept the comfort you need right now.”

  She gestured at the vid over the mantelpiece. “The power came on while you were fighting. We’ll be able to transfer a solid database and document everything for the criminal investigation.”

  Shannon pushed against Fergus with desperate strength. He sighed and let her go.

  She staggered to her feet and straightened her shirt and pants in an automatic gesture. “I’m okay now.” She sucked in a shaky breath and gestured at Rolf. “Go ahead. I mustn’t keep you from doing your job.”

  Sirens wailed in the distance. It sounded like both teams, investigative and medical, would arrive at the same time.

  Fergus stood and shot a pleading look at Tanny. She was so much better at talking than he was.

  Tanny nodded at him, then stepped forward and rested her hand on Shannon’s arm. “Tomorrow, we’ll be back. Okay?”

  Shannon shot them a confused stare. The sound of footsteps in the hallway alerted her to the imminent arrival of the investigative and medical technicians. She straightened her shoulders, tightened her mouth in sudden decision, and spoke in a crisp, no-nonsense voice. “I understand. You don’t have to stay here anymore. I’ll pack your clothes and have them ready for you to pick up tomorrow.”

  Fergus lifted his hand and then dropped it. Later. After the investigation was completed and they were no longer on duty would be a much better time for them to talk.

  * * * * *

  Shannon walked through her empty house. The storm had ended. It was ten in the morning already. Sixteen hours had passed since Rolf attacked her, and it all felt so unreal and distant, like a strange dream. Her house droid had already repaired her damaged front door and cleaned up the debris. She had to reprogram the droid to seal off the living room in order to preserve the crime scene intact, as evidence for the investigators.

  They’d taken her clothing away as part of that evidence.

  And her sword.

  The clothes she didn’t mind. Hell, she never wanted to wear them again after what happened. In fact, as soon as she’d torn them off, she went into the shower and scrubbed herself raw, getting rid of the horrid feel of dried blood on her skin.

  But the sword was a family heirloom. She wanted it returned to its rightful place above the mantelpiece as soon as possible.

  Christmas Day and she was alone again. No laughter, no one talking, drinking coffee, and eating breakfast with her. Her bed remained empty. Fergus and Tanny no longer took turns lying beside her in slumber, comfortable in her presence.

  Shannon entered the kitchen, ordered the droid to prepare fresh coffee. She went to the refrigerator, pulled out the remains of yesterday’s brunch, and set it out on the table.

  Fergus had the habit of gulping his coffee and taking greedy bites of his bread, leaving a smear of butter on his lips. Tanny ate and drank with delicate, quick bites and sips. She always waited until after she ate to sit down and comb the sleep tangles from her long, black hair. And her caramel-colored skin always glowed with a soft heat after she woke up.

  Shannon selected the mug she’d used the day before and filled it to the brim with steaming-hot coffee. The mug was one thing that still remained the same.

  The only reason Fergus had held her in his lap after the attack was because she’d gone into shock and needed the simple comfort of his touch. Nothing more. Nothing less. If she tried to read anything more than that into the way he’d held her and murmured words of comfort and endearment, she’d be setting herself up to be hurt.

  Querida was the Spanish word for dear. It didn’t mean he cared for her. The same thing when he called her mi corazón. He wasn’t really calling her his heart. He didn’t mean it as an endearment. They were just words said to make her feel better and get over the shock.

  Just because Tanny had wiped a tear from her face with her finger didn’t mean she cared, either. She was just doing her job. Taking care of Shannon, making sure she was all right. The same way Tanny took the time to make sure Rolf wouldn’t bleed to death while they waited for the rest of the crime scene technicians and medics to arrive.

  Shannon tore a piece of bread from the loaf and buttered it with short, angry strokes.

  Dammit! It hurt! The house felt so empty without them!

  It didn’t matter before. True, she wanted love. But she hadn’t missed what she’d never known.

  She hadn’t known how good it’d feel having them around her at all hours of the night and day. She never knew before how solitary her lifestyle had been.

  Maybe she should get a dog. That might help keep her mind occupied and fill the house up with the presence of a living being again. Not one of those pedigreed dogs. She’d contact the Humane Society tomorrow. They’d have plenty of unwanted dogs who needed good homes.

  Fergus and Tanny never did say when they’d be stopping over. Probably later this afternoon after they’d had a chance to rest. They probably spent most of the night writing reports and listing evidence from last night’s events.

  Plenty of time left to pack their clothes.

  * * * * *

  The storm had ended at 2 a.m. Now, at eleven in the morning, the city permitted aircar travel with one safety restriction. All aircars must remain on auto-pilot, with no deviations from the programmed course. The deep snow was considered too high-risk for manual piloting and landing.

  Fergus entered Shannon’s address into the aircar’s comp system. Then he raked his hands through his hair for the fiftieth time. “Do I look all right?”

  Tanny patted his knee. “You look fine. Just relax.”

  The stubby aircar taxied to the end of the ramp and lifted off with its wings extended and copter blades whirring.

  All too soon, they arrived on Shannon’s rooftop. Her house droids had melted every scrap from the landing pad. The bright sunlight flashing from the snow almost blinded him. Fergus unfastened his seatbelt and climbed out. He clutched a bottle
of Coquito to his chest with his gloved hands and waited for Tanny with his heart in his throat. A cold, crisp wind blowing across the roof whipped tears from his eyes.

  Shannon’s surprised voice boomed from the speaker set into the rooftop entrance panel. “I’ll be right up! I wasn’t expecting you to get here until later this afternoon.”

  About fifteen seconds later, a buzzer sounded. The light above the entrance glowed green and the door slid open.

  Shannon looked gorgeous. She wore a thin, white cotton top and a pair of gray sweatpants. Her whiskey-colored hair fell over her shoulders in loose waves. The bright sunlight showed a faint dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

  He let Tanny step inside first, then followed and immediately handed Shannon the bottle. “Feliz Navidad,” he said with all the élan of a teenager on his first date. “This is called Coquito. My father makes it every year for the holidays. It’s a mixture of coconut cream, rum, and cinnamon.”

  The elevator hummed and moved under their feet, bringing them from the roof to the first-floor lobby. Shannon fingered the silver ribbon and bow tied around the bottle. A slight flush darkened her cheeks. “Thank you.” She looked away. The feathered screen of her lashes hid her eyes from him. “I didn’t get your clothes packed yet.”

  The elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Shannon stepped out, holding the bottle in front of her like a shield. “You can wait in the library. It won’t take long. Fifteen minutes at the most for me to bring down your clothes.”