“I didn’t mean to,” Elise said. “I thought it was him.” She pointed the gun at Garth.
Bianca crossed her arms, covering the screen-printed lettering of her shirt that declared she was Santa’s Favorite Ho. “Over some money? God, that’s so petty.”
“No, young lady. None of this is petty. I checked on your trust fund and asked Daddy’s accountant to see where the money was going. Why were you paying Marlena? Was she blackmailing you?”
“No. I was blackmailing her. She knew Zeus was Garth’s and she was gonna cause a fuss about it all.”
I couldn’t help but splutter, “Z—Zeu—”
Bianca turned a sugary smirk at me. “Yeah. Damon’s not Zeus’s father. My baby daddy is my honey right over there.” She winked and blew a kiss at the fat Santa with his pants still at his ankles.
Honey. Gag. And…what?
“I knew my parents would shit a brick if they knew Garth and I had been screwing. So I said Damon was the father. It was fun hanging out with him and all. You know, the bad boy who couldn’t stay out of trouble. But…meh.” She shrugged. “Damon and I never had sex. The one time I let him in my bed, he was so wasted he couldn’t even get it up.”
Unbelievable! This manipulative brat! “But…we had to put up with all that legal crap! And he gave you child support. And—”
She huffed. “One month. I never wanted his money. I just had to hide who the father was. Damon set up some bank account through your name, saying he’d wanted it to be a savings account for Zeus. So I used it to give Marlena hush money in a way my folks couldn’t find out about it.”
“I cannot believe you went so far to pay that woman to stay quiet about it!” Elise shouted, stepping closer to her daughter, gun still on Garth.
“Well, look at how you’ve reacted about finding out whose Zeus’s daddy is! I had to keep it a secret. You flipped out and took a gun from my room to shoot someone.”
“Only the wrong someone.” Elise turned and bared her teeth at Garth cowered in the corner. He held trembling hands up. “It was too dark in here to see, but I thought it was you.”
Red, plushy velvet. Big tummies and thick limbs… Yeah, I could see how they’d be mistaken at a quick glance with poor lighting.
“You.” Elise marched closer and raised the gun at Garth’s head. “Where’d you get off thinking you had any right to go after my daughter?”
“She came on to me,” Garth retorted.
Elise roared and fisted her free hand. “You don’t deserve to even look at her. To think of her.”
He pushed his hands higher and his lower lip wobbled. “I won’t. No more. I won’t no more. I…I’m done with her. I never wanted any damn baby.”
“What?” Bianca squealed and dove for Elise’s hand with the gun. “You bastard. I’ll kill you then.”
As the younger blonde lunged for the older, I dropped to the ground. A gunshot blasted too close for comfort, and I scrambled on my hands and knees for the door.
“Stop!”
Knox.
I whooshed in a deep breath at his yell.
“Jade, come here. Get out of there, please.”
I ducked my head up at the sound of his voice. The door was open and Jackson stood there, his gun at the ready and aimed at the trio in the shed. I turned. Knox had busted the red plastic-wrapped window in and had his gun trained on the three fools behind me.
I glanced back and saw no blood. I wasn’t sure who’d fired and missed. Or maybe it had been a warning shot. Elise and Bianca were frozen together. It could have looked like a mother and daughter hug, but their arms were clenched too tight for a loving embrace. Their arms were stretched upward, nail scratches visible on Elise’s forearm as she held the firearm out of Bianca’s reach. Garth shuddered whimpering breaths on the floor in the corner.
“Pull your pants up, Santa. Nobody wants to see that.” Jackson kicked at the door as he strode in.
I let him pass by, and once I crawled out of the shed, I ran to Knox.
“You okay?” He ran his hand over my face and held me close when I reached him.
Jackson’s firm voice sounded from inside. A couple more cops walked up and into the shed, taking over the arrests. I let Knox lead me from the mess, and the further away from this Christmas hell I walked, my breaths eased up.
“I think I’m starting to hate Christmas.”
He chuckled at my quip and pulled me in for a hug. “Maybe my gift will change your mind.”
I inhaled a deep breath of his scent before I reared back to look him in the eye. “You got me something?”
“What kinda boyfriend would I be if I didn’t?”
I licked my lips. “Awfully presumptuous of you to claim that title after…one night.”
He quirked a brow. “What am I supposed to be, then? Your honey?”
I winced.
“Will you ever tell me why you hate that name?”
“It’s not a name! It’s a sticky, stinky, too-sweet condiment.”
He hugged me tight again and whispered, “You can call me whatever you want.”
“Okay, officer.”
“Oooh…” He pouted and gave me that smolder. Then he sobered. “Are you really okay?”
Traumatized by seeing Santa with his pants down? Very. From escaping a dangerous situation? I would be okay. Being with this man was sure to soothe both those troubles.
“I’ll be even better after I open this gift you have for me.” I eyed the dull North Pole scene that was now crowded with cops. “Anything away from here.”
“Jackson will finish up here. Let me take you home. I already wrapped the box.”
I nodded and sighed.
“After you?” he asked and put his arm around my shoulders.
“We’ll go together.”
****
I opened my gift hours later, because Knox insisted no Christmas gift could be opened before we’d eaten, showered, and, well…the quickie in the shower might not have been in his plans. It just kind of happened. Like the many slow and hot kisses we’d shared up until that moment.
But I was confident Knox intended for the real fun times to begin after I’d unwrapped his box and tossed the tissue paper aside.
“Ohhh….” I breathed at the sight before me.
“Uh-huh.” He came up behind me. I stood at the end of the bed, the Macy’s box open on the mattress. His thick arms snaked around me and he nuzzled my neck. “You unwrapped yours…” He bit at the skin below my ear and I shivered. “So how about you go put this on and I’ll unwrap all I wanted for Christmas?”
Grinning, with my lower lip tucked under my teeth, I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I’d trapped in my chest.
All he wanted for Christmas was me?
I hadn’t really answered that crucial question that Mariah Carey had crooned too many times to count at the North Pole Hut for the season.
What do I want for Christmas?
It hadn’t been finding Marlena dead.
Or getting framed, sort of.
But both of those brought me to Knox. Murder and danger were beyond us now with the Fenners caught red-handed in attempting to kill Garth.
And Knox truly was my present. We were each other’s gifts.
With my pinky, I picked up the gentle fabric of the light-blue nightie I’d tried on just days ago. Spinning to face my sexy cop, I kissed the corner of his lip and whispered, “But Christmas isn’t for a couple more days…”
“Guess I’ll get some practice unwrapping you then, huh?”
Nothing sounded better.
Acknowledgments
For editing, I thank Expression Editing, and C.J. Pinard at www.cjpinard.com. For the cover design, I thank Kellie Dennis at Book Cover By Design at www.bookcoverbydesign.co.uk. For proofreading, I thank PSW.
For all the never-ending encouragement, suggestions, and cheerleading, I thank my great team of betas. I treasure your input and am so glad to have you in my corner!
Abo
ut the Author
Amabel Daniels lives in Northwest Ohio with her patient husband, three adventurous girls, and a collection of too many cats and dogs. Although she holds a Master’s degree in Ecology, her true love is finding a good book. When she isn’t spending time outdoors, or wondering how to negotiate with her mightily independent daughters, she’s busy brewing up her next novel, usually as she lets her mind run off with the addictive words of “what if…”
For more information about Amabel’s work, please stop by www.amabeldaniels.com.
Other Books by the Author
Newland Family
Better Than the Best
Appetite of Envy
Resisting Redemption
Covert Identities
Don’t Go Back
Always Was
Indeed
Across From You
Next To Me
Flawed Plan
Olde Earth Academy
Secrecy
Discovery
Mastery
Victory
Not So Merry Murder Page 10
