Elle James - Her Christmas Hero

Her father had called Ivy the judge and jury and Laurel a lie detector. Perhaps it was true. If she had enough information, Laurel could usually figure out the truth. It was what made her good at her job.

As long as the information was solid.

And with Garrett, she had nothing.

Laurel wrapped her arms around her knees, the gun heavy in her hand, comforting in its power. The chill of the winter air outside seeped into the car. She tugged the blanket closer and glanced at the clock. Thirty minutes. And he wasn’t back.

A gust hit the tree, scraping the side of the truck. She tensed, gripping the butt of her SIG even tighter.

Forty-five minutes.

Laurel eyed the keys she’d placed on the dash. Fifteen minutes left.

A loud yawn sounded from the backseat. “Where are we?” Molly sat up. “Cars aren’t for sleeping.” She looked outside, and her eyes widened. “We’re in the woods.”

Laurel twisted in her seat and faced her niece with a forced smile on her face. “Like the three bears.”

Molly gave her aunt a skeptical, you-can’t-be-serious expression.

“Look!” Molly squealed, pointing out the window.

Laurel brought the gun to the ready and aimed at the window.

Garrett paused in his tracks and raised his hands with an arched brow.

Molly giggled. “Sheriff Garrett is a good guy. You can’t shoot him.”

Laurel dropped the weapon and stuffed it into her jacket.

With a forced smile on his face, he opened the back door. “And how is Sleeping Beauty this morning?”

“Hungry,” Molly said, rubbing her eyes.

“I think we can take care of that. But first we’re going for a little walk.” Garrett met Laurel’s gaze and gave her a slight nod. “All clear.”

She slipped out of the seat and headed to the back of the truck.

“Don’t carry too much,” Garrett said. “The terrain is rocky. I’ll come back for the rest later.” He turned to Molly. “Want to wear my hat?” he asked, holding it out to the small child.

Molly gazed up at him, her blue eyes huge. She nodded and Garrett tipped the hat on her head. It fell over Molly’s eyes and she giggled. “It’s too big.”

“Are you saying I have a big head, young lady?” Garrett asked with a smile, his eyes twinkling.

Molly’s grin widened and for the first time in days she lost that haunted look in her eyes. “Bigger than mine,” she said. “You’re funny. I like you, Sheriff Garrett.”

“I like you, too, sugar.”

The endearment made Molly smile again, but a swallow caught in Laurel’s throat, because the normalcy wouldn’t last. It couldn’t.

Garrett led them through the jagged mountains, so unlike the woods in Virginia. Craggy rocks, the evergreen of piñon trees, lower to the ground, searching for water. Dry and harsh. Laurel stumbled and fell against a rock, scraping her hand.

Garrett was right beside her in an instant, helping her to her feet, his arm firm around her waist. His touch lingered for a moment, as did the concern in his brown eyes. “You okay? It’s not much farther.”

Molly stood, holding her lion against her chest. The little scamp hopped from one rock to the next.

“Fine,” Laurel said, but her belly had started to ache. It always did when the nerves were uncontrollable. Every moment buried the truth further. They were truly out in the middle of nowhere. Without communication, without anyone but Garrett. How long could it last? How long would they be here?

How could they help her father from here? Much less themselves?

The questions whirled through her mind until a small stone-and-wood structure jutted from an incline.

The ranch house, with a porch surrounding it, wasn’t large. Off to the side a small corral appeared more abandoned than anything. She couldn’t see any sign of livestock.

“Here we are,” he said, climbing up the steps and opening the door. He opened a panel and entered a code. Laurel raised an eyebrow.

“Sensors around the perimeter.”

She nodded just as Molly raced in. The little girl’s vibrating energy circled the room. She ran from the couch to a nightstand, finally bending down to poke at the fireplace screen. Rocks climbed ceiling to floor, the structure dominating the small living room.

Garrett set a bag in the simple kitchen on one wall.

“Put your things in here.” He pushed into a small room with a double bed, chest of drawers and nightstand. No photos, no pictures on the wall. Plain, simple and utilitarian.

“The bathroom is through there,” he added. “Just a shower and toilet.”

“Is this your bed?” Laurel set down her duffel. “It’s fine, but where will you sleep?”

Garrett hesitated. He glanced down at Molly. “Which side of the bed do you want, sugar?”

Molly grinned. “I’m gonna sleep in that big bed?” She ran over and bounced on the side. “When my brother and sister get here, all three of us can fit.”

Laurel averted her gaze from Molly, landing on Garrett. A glimmer of sympathy laced his expression.

“I’m going to show your aunt Laurel something. Okay?”

Molly nodded, hugged her lion and started a conversation with the beast.

Laurel took one last look at Molly and followed Garrett into the great room. “I don’t know how to explain it to her.”

He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “It won’t be easy, but she has you. Molly will be okay, eventually. There’s going to be a fall when she recognizes that her family is gone. Believe me, I know.”

Laurel stilled and took in Garrett’s features. Strain lined his eyes and a darkness had settled over his face. She reached out her hand and touched his arm. “I can see that.”

He looked down at her hand touching him. “I’ll show you my setup here. You may need it.”

A step away had her clutching at air. He’d fled her touch. She didn’t know why she’d reached out to him, but something in his expression called to her, made her want to comfort him, even as her own heart was breaking.

He unlocked the door leading into the second room in the cabin. She gasped. High-tech equipment she recognized from her job at the CIA lined two walls. Monitoring equipment—a secure phone and a very top secret computer system. A world map hung on one wall. Several pegs dotted some of the more sensitive countries. Below the map, a cot with a pillow and a rumpled blanket seemed to speak volumes.

The bedroom he’d given to her and Molly wasn’t where he slept. When he visited this ranch house, he slept here.

“And I was worried I didn’t have cell service,” she said. “You could contact anyone anywhere in the world from here.”

“Hand me your phone,” Garrett said.

“It’s powered off.” She handed it to him.

“Good. They shouldn’t be able to trace it to you since it’s prepaid, but we can’t afford to take chances. It still pings a cell tower.” He removed the battery and GPS chip. “Pop in the battery if you have to use it,” he said, tossing the GPS in the trash.

“You could track my father with this equipment,” Laurel said, moving into the room.

“Maybe.” Garrett sat down in one of the chairs and nodded his head at Laurel to take the other seat. “You have to understand, I promised James I’d stay out of the investigation. I have. For his sake.”

“But—”

Garrett raised his hand to interrupt her argument. “I get it. Things have changed. We’re taking a huge risk, though. I could make his situation worse. You have to understand that, Laurel.”

How much worse could it get?

Laurel couldn’t sit still. She paced back and forth. Her father could already be dead. But if he wasn’t, what if this decision caused him to lose his life? Her mind whirled with confusion. The analytical part of her brain didn’t like the missing data.