Christy Barritt - High-Stakes Holiday Reunion

She couldn’t answer. She only stared at him silently. Despair threatened to bite deep.

“Understand?”

Finally, she nodded as reality set in.

He tried to stand but Ashley pulled him back down. “I came here for your help, not to get you killed.” Her voice cracked with fear and regret. How had her life turned into this?

His eyes softened for a moment. “I know. Trust me. Okay?”

She didn’t know if she could ever trust him again. But in this moment, she had no choice. She nodded. Her heart pounded in her ears as he pulled the door open. She held her breath, waiting for more gunfire to break out—only this time closer.

There was nothing.

He pointed to the lock before closing the door. Tears rolled down her face as she turned the button and heard the mechanism click in place.

Lord, be with him. Please. He may have broken my heart, but I never wanted this.

Something creaked outside.

The steps. Someone was coming up the steps.

Fear squeezed tighter as she braced herself for whatever was about to come.

THREE

All Christopher had been able to find in the closet was an old metal pipe that was probably leftover from some plumbing work. It wasn’t a gun or a grenade, but it would work. He didn’t have any other options.

He stood on the other side of the door frame, pressed into the wall and ready to swing into action. Adrenaline surged through him, intensifying his heart rate and causing sweat to dot his forehead. If he could catch the shooter off guard, maybe he had a chance.

The problem was that he’d estimated there to be at least three shooters. All of that gunfire had come from more than one weapon. These men carried semiautomatics, and they’d brought no shortage of ammunition. One man he might be able to take. But an unarmed man taking on three men with semiautomatic weapons?

Another round of gunshots cracked the air outside of his home. Flashbacks of the Middle East pounded his memories. Mortar shells, improvised explosive devices, enemy combatants. Men bleeding, women crying, children searching for their parents.

He ran a hand over his eyes. No, he was in Virginia now. Not a dusty village in Afghanistan. So why could he practically smell the burning of C-4? Why did his skin feel gritty with sand and dust?

He shook his head. Snap out of it, Jordan.

But the memories continued to batter him. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could turn off his thoughts as easily as turning off a TV.

Another creak on the stairs pulled him back to reality, back to the here and now. Someone was definitely coming up. Christopher gripped the pipe tighter, bracing himself for the coming struggle.

Another creak. Then another. They were getting closer. They had to be only a few steps away.

Christopher would swing as soon as they opened the door. Best-case scenario, he’d knock the man out and grab his weapon. Worst-case scenario...well, he wouldn’t go there.

All he knew was that he and Ashley might be the only hope for saving a little boy. That was worth fighting for.

A wooden step outside moaned under the weight of an intruder. Whoever the man was, he was right outside the door now. Christopher could practically hear him breathing, could almost feel his presence only inches away, separated by the door.

He tightened his grip on the cylinder in his hands. His muscles were wound tight enough to spring. Sweat trickled down from his temple. It was do or die.

Just then, a bullet pierced the air. His gaze darted across the dark room. Where had that gunshot come from? It was too far away to have come from the man outside the door. Even more concerning—had it pierced the garage? Was Ashley okay?

He stared at the door, waiting to see the handle jiggle. He anticipated more shots exploding. Something hit the landing outside the door with a loud thud. A moan followed, then a grunt.

He willed himself to remain still. Everything in him wanted to open the door and see what was happening. He had to remain silent, though. Patience could mean life or death; winning a battle or losing it. He’d learned that through experience.

Afghanistan flashed into his mind again. At once, he was transported back in time and pressed against the wall of an abandoned house. Rags—or were they clothes?—were strewn across the dirty floor. The air smelled like death.

Where was Liam? Why wasn’t he answering his radio? The insurgents were—

Another thud sounded outside. Christopher snapped back to reality, shaking his head to dislodge his memories of war. The thud was followed by what sounded like something large being dragged away. What in the world was happening out there? The sounds repeated for a few minutes until finally there was silence again.

He waited. And waited.

Were these men planning something else? Or had their original plans been thwarted? By what, though?

Staying low, he crept back to the bathroom. He tapped on the door once. “Ashley. It’s me.”

The door opened so quickly that Christopher was certain her hand had been on the knob the whole time. She practically fell into the room, fell into him. Her limbs shook with fear.

“You’re alive,” she whispered. She started to reach for him but stopped.

He grabbed her elbow anyway, but only to help her stay upright. “I’m fine. You okay?”

Worry stained her gaze. “What’s going on? I thought...I thought you’d been shot. I heard...” She didn’t finish her thought.

His heart tugged with compassion, but he shoved those emotions aside. Right now there was only room for one thing—logic. Emotions would only lead him astray. “I don’t know what happened out there. It’s been quiet now for ten minutes. I don’t want to take the chance that they’re still out there trying to wait us out. We should lay low for a little while longer.”

She nodded quickly. Christopher wanted to sit beside her, to offer her some comfort and put her mind at rest. He wished that he could distract her with chitchat—do something to keep her mind off the matters at hand. But he couldn’t. Instead, he stood by the bathroom door, still gripping that pipe. The last thing he wanted was for someone to catch him off guard.

Ashley showing up today had already filled his quota on that for a lifetime.

* * *

Ashley pulled her knees to her chest, hating feeling so helpless, hating that she’d gotten Christopher into this mess. Her anxiety had her feeling nauseous and jittery. So she just kept praying the same prayers over and over again. Lord, help us. Help David and Josh.

Then there had been her crazy worry over Christopher. She’d heard that gunshot—it had sounded so close—and she was sure he’d been hit. All she could think about were the many unfinished conversations they needed to have. She needed to have.

Which caused another swell of anxiety to rise in her.

The strangest comfort filled her when she saw the pure determination on Christopher’s face as he stood in the doorway. He’d always been tough and protective. They were two of the things she’d loved about him at one time. She couldn’t imagine feeling safer around anyone. But feeling physically safe was entirely different from feeling emotionally safe.

Christopher had made it clear when he left that she wasn’t important to him. She obviously hadn’t captured his heart enough for him to try and make their relationship work. No, true love hadn’t conquered all. Or they hadn’t had true love. She wasn’t sure which was worse.

She wondered if he’d found his perfect woman yet, the one he would do anything to be with. That person was not her. Despite that, she knew that Christopher would give his life for her, whether she was his fiancée or just someone from his past.

She understood what it was like to feel protective of someone. Without a second thought, she would take a bullet for her nephew. Whenever they were together, it seemed like she was trying to protect him from something—viruses, bullies, drivers who weren’t paying attention. She tried to protect him from other things, too, things like the heartbreak of losing his mom and loneliness from a father who worked too much.