Rita Herron - Silent Night Sanctuary

Leah shouldn’t have called the police. He’d never expected her to, counting on her fear and cowardice to keep her quiet.

The bitch should have heeded the warning. If she had, she’d have the kid back by now, and life could go on as normal.

But no, she’d called the damn cops.

She’d be sorry she ever came back to town. Ever messed with their lives. Ever lived.

Because of her, Ruby might have to die.

Shoulders tight with tension, Gage left the beltway for the curvy roads to the Blue Ridge Mountains. He’d thought he’d never return to Sanctuary—but the moment he’d seen Leah Holden in trouble, he knew he had no choice.

The roads grew more narrow and winding as the hills and ridges encroached. Thick, tall pines and evergreens covered the sloping hills, the deep recesses, the cliffs—perfect hiding places for moonshiners, meth labs, domestic violence and possible criminals. Fishers, hikers, campers and vacationers as well as locals came and went. Anyone could have been a possible suspect in a child abduction.

He wound through the heart of Sanctuary, past the town square with the park, and the local storefronts decorated for the holidays with bows, lights and wreaths. He recognized Delilah’s Diner, the drugstore which still boasted an old-fashioned soda fountain, and of course Magnolia Manor, where he’d lived for a while.

Remembering how it felt to be a lost, lonely little kid, he wondered how Ruby was holding up.

And if she was still alive.

Leaving the small downtown area, he drove past signs pointing to several rental cabins and the creek gurgling along the ridges, then turned into the entrance to the small rural development where Leah’s family had lived. It was an older subdivision which, judging from the yards filled with toys and bikes, was still home to many families.

He’d read the reports—Leah had a degree in education, and had been teaching at Sanctuary Elementary. She made a modest teacher’s salary but had no money to speak of.

Could explain why there had been no ransom request. The kidnapper hadn’t wanted money. He’d wanted Ruby.

Not a place he wanted to go…but he had to.

In spite of the fact that winter had descended, pansies bloomed around Leah’s mailbox, and a bird feeder was perched in the front yard, making the place look homey and well kept.

Holiday lights dangled from the roof with a Santa and sleigh next to the chimney, and a Christmas tree glowed through the front window.

A bicycle with a purple basket leaned against the open carport—the lack of a garage was a reminder that the home had been built forty years earlier. Hot-pink roller skates had been left in front of the bike as if the little girl had kicked them off before running inside. He parked in the drive, noticed Leah drove a small minivan, and frowned. Everything here reeked of family—a loving family.

One he’d never had. One a kid deserved.

Bracing himself to see Leah again, he strode up to the front porch and rang the bell.

A minute later, a fragile voice came from the other side of the door. “Who is it?”

“Gage McDermont, Leah. I’m here about your sister.”

The sound of locks being turned echoed from inside, and she opened the door, her eyes wide.

“Gage McDermont?” she gaped at him, obviously surprised to find him on her doorstep. “Do you know something about Ruby?”

The sight of her red-rimmed, swollen eyes and her trembling, petite frame made his stomach knot. She’d been pretty as a young girl, but she’d matured and her beauty sucker punched him.

He forced himself to refrain from pulling her into his arms to comfort her.

He’d find out what happened to her sister. But he wouldn’t get involved with Leah personally. She’d broken his heart once.

He wouldn’t let her do it again.

LEAH CLUTCHED THE TISSUE in her hands and tried to control her trembling as she stared at the man on her porch.

A man she’d thought she was in love with at age sixteen. A man who’d ditched her the night she’d gone to a party to see him.

The last man she wanted to see—or accept help from—now.

“I thought you were on the Raleigh police force,” she said, her voice shaking.

“I was.” The wind tossed his dark, curly hair across his forehead, his brown eyes so intense that something flamed low in her belly, reminding her that he’d always caused a heated reaction within her. No other man ever had.

But she wouldn’t go there again.

“I’m starting my own private detective agency.” He pointed to the foyer. “Mind if I come in?”

She swayed, dizzy with fatigue and the sudden jolt of his masculine scent invading her house. He’d been tall in high school, but now he easily cleared six feet. His shoulders had broadened and his face had filled out, dark with a five-o’clock shadow.

“Leah, I really am here to help.”

She clutched her bathrobe around her and stepped aside, gesturing for him to enter. Although she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why he’d offered to help her. They hadn’t spoken in years. “I’ll make some coffee.”

“Thanks. I could use some.”

Needing to escape and compose herself, she rushed to the kitchen but he followed her, his gaze tracking her as she measured coffee into the filter and filled the pot with water. “There’s food, too,” she said inanely. “Everyone in town has brought casseroles by, but I haven’t been hungry.”

“No, thanks. Coffee’s fine.”

She nodded. “I didn’t know you were back in town,” she said as she reached for two mugs. Did his brother know he was back?

“I just drove in.”

His husky voice sounded even deeper with age—sexier, if possible. And more dangerous.

He would ask questions just as the police had. Questions she didn’t want to answer. Questions she’d avoided for years.

But the past had nothing to do with Ruby’s kidnapping so why should she open up that wound?

Answering those questions would mean breaking the bond of silence she’d entered into almost a decade ago. A bond she’d agreed to against her will, but one she had accepted in order to protect her family, herself and Ruby.

She filled their mugs and offered him cream and sugar, but he took his black. Warming her hands with the cup, she led him into the den. The Christmas tree lights twinkled, the unopened gifts reminding her how empty the house was without Ruby, how desolate Christmas would be if her sister didn’t come home.

Wind ripped harshly through the eaves of the old house, rattling windowpanes and shutters, adding to her chill. She motioned for him to sit down.

“I read about Ruby’s disappearance,” Gage said. “And I wanted to offer my services.”

“I don’t have much money,” Leah said, lowering her gaze to stare into her mug. “You know Dad died when I was sixteen. He worked as a landscape artist but had no savings to speak of. And Mom was a receptionist at a local insurance company. What little insurance money there was had to go to Mom’s hospital bills.”

“I was sorry to hear about her death,” Gage said, although he hadn’t known Leah’s family very well. “Don’t worry about the money. Solving your case and finding your sister will be good publicity for my firm.”

Anger seeped through her. “This is not about publicity,” she said. “It’s about finding Ruby, Gage.”

His jaw tightened, those dark fathomless eyes raking over her. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that money is not an issue here. Finding your sister will be my priority.”

She searched his face. “Why should you care? You haven’t lived in Sanctuary for years.”

He took a sip of coffee. “I had my reasons for staying away.”