Her Mistletoe Protector (17 page)

She chewed her lower lip nervously. Hopefully, even if everyone was gone, the security guards would let her upstairs. Maybe Gerry hadn’t had time to completely take over her company. Just the thought of explaining how Gerry had died was enough to overwhelm her.

It was five-fifteen when the taxi driver pulled up in front of her building. “Keep the meter running...I’ll be right back.”

“No! You pay first!” he protested.

“Look, I promise you I’ll be back. We need to get home. I don’t have a car.”

He stared at her with eyes black as midnight but then he nodded. “If you not back soon, I come after you.”

She breathed a tiny sigh of relief. “I will, I promise.” Sliding out from the backseat, she waited for Joey to join her and headed inside.

Carrie, the perky receptionist, left promptly at five, but there was a security guard seated in her spot. Being inside the office building after being gone for so long seemed a little strange yet, at the same time, blessedly familiar. “George, how are you? How are the kids?”

“Great, Ms. Simon, just great. What are you doing here so late?”

“I forgot something up in my office. Would you mind letting me use the master key?” She hoped and prayed that Gerry hadn’t told everyone to keep her out of the building.

“Sure, no problem.” George held out a key. “Just bring it back when you leave.”

“I will.” She didn’t hesitate, but went straight over to the bank of elevators. The doors opened immediately, taking them all the way to the tenth floor without a single stop.

She unlocked the door, noting that the entire office area was completely dark, as if everyone had gone home early. And considering it was nearly Christmas, she understood why. She flipped on lights as she walked down the hall to her office.

Her door stood open, which she thought was a little odd. Edith always kept the door closed and locked when Rachel wasn’t there. Then again, the woman had given her notice. For all she knew, Edith hadn’t even shown up for work today.

Hovering in the doorway, she reached inside to flip on the lights. She blinked for a moment so that her eyes could adjust before crossing the room to her desk and rummaging for cash and her keys. Joey plopped into her desk chair, spinning from side to side.

She was relieved to find her secret stash of bills was right where she’d left it. She grabbed the money and the spare set of keys.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Rachel.”

The voice came from the hallway, and she swallowed a scream when she jerked her head up to see Karl Errol standing in the shadows. Her heart dropped to her stomach when she realized he’d traded the rifle for a small handgun, which he pointed directly at her. From this distance it would be hard for him to miss.

“Karl!” She faced him in the doorway, making sure to keep Joey behind her, hoping her son would figure out a way to slide down behind the desk. All the while, she kept her eyes locked on the research scientist. She couldn’t believe Karl was here. How did he know that she’d stop by on her way home? Or had he planned to wait for her all night, surprising her in the morning? She swallowed hard, wishing she’d asked George to come up with her.

How long did she have to stall here before the cabbie came looking for his money? Or would he simply give up and drive away? She tried not to think the worst. “I’m so glad you’re all right. We looked everywhere for you!”

“Yeah, right. You left me there to die, Rachel,” he sneered with obvious reproach. “Good thing I still had the distributer cap for the car, hmm?”

“What do you want, Karl?” she asked, fed up with pandering to his ego. “What more could you possibly want from me?”

“I need to finish what I started,” he said enigmatically. “I always finish the job.”

“Why?” she asked helplessly, tired of the games. “Haven’t you caused enough damage? You’ve ruined my company’s reputation, and for what? Love? You don’t have the faintest idea what true love is. Josie never would have accepted your love if she knew what you’ve done.”

She couldn’t help thinking of Nick. How she’d left him in the hospital without even giving him a chance to explain what he’d gone through. Maybe he had shut her out, believing the worst about the damage to his arm, but sooner or later, he would have come around. If she’d learned anything about faith, it was that leaning on God’s strength could help you through the darkest days. She was suddenly ashamed of her actions. She should have stayed. She should have given him a second chance.

Should have told him how she felt.

Now she could only hope and pray she wasn’t too late.

“Do you honestly think that Detective Butler won’t figure out that you’re the one who killed me?” she continued, since Karl hadn’t responded. “He’s not stupid, Karl. I promise Nick won’t rest until he finds you and makes sure that you spend the rest of your life behind bars.”

“I have protection. My boss will protect me.”

“Protection? From your boss? William Hanson, the CEO of Global? Or the Mafia?”

The way Karl reacted to William Hanson’s name let her know she’d nailed it correctly. For once she didn’t mind being wrong about the Mafia connection.

“You think William Hanson cares about you? I’m betting that as soon as you kill me, he’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of you.”

Karl scowled. “He won’t kill me—I helped him out. He’s already beaten you to market with a new diabetes drug. One that doesn’t cause blood clots.”

The thought of Karl purposefully ruining the new medication she’d put out to market made her seethe with anger. Not just because of her company’s reputation, but because of the innocent people he’d hurt.

“So why kill me if Global has the new medication out?”

“My boss doesn’t like loose ends. And since Ashton couldn’t manage to do my dirty work for me, I have no choice but to finish this on my own.”

Her heart leaped into her throat when he lifted the gun. “No matter what you do to me, Nick won’t stop searching for you. I’ve already told the police about you, too. You’ll never be safe, Karl.”

Karl didn’t answer; instead, he simply stared at her as if he hadn’t heard a word she’d said. She had no way of knowing if she’d even gotten through to him.

She tried not to panic. Facing a crazy man with a gun was much harder when she didn’t have Nick’s reassuring presence nearby. But she’d left Nick back at the hospital in Madison.

She and Joey were on their own.

SEVENTEEN

N
ick dozed during the long ride back to Chicago. Even with Sean McCarthy using flashing red lights and sirens, the trip took longer than he wanted. The doctor back in Madison had been really angry about him leaving, but he couldn’t worry about his arm.

Rachel and Joey were far more important.

They swung by Rachel’s house, which thankfully wasn’t that far from her office building, but the place was locked up tight with no sign of anyone having been there. He told Sean to head over to the office building next, figuring that Rachel probably needed her keys.

When they reached the office complex, Sean parked behind a taxi with the “in service” light on. Nick managed to get out of the passenger seat under his own power, holding his left arm protectively against his body to minimize the pain as much as possible. Now that the numbing agent had worn off, he could feel his arm, but mostly all he felt was pain.

When they walked into the building there was a foreign taxi driver yelling at the security guard behind the desk. Nick couldn’t understand half of what the guy was saying, but it became apparent that the taxi driver had brought Rachel and Joey here and wanted his money.

“Pay the man,” he told Sean, before turning his attention back to the security guard who wore a name tag with the name George. He didn’t know if that was a first name or a last name. “Are Rachel and Joey Simon upstairs in her office?” he asked.

“Yes, they went up about five minutes ago,” the security guard said.

“Did anyone else go up either before or after her?” Sean asked, after paying the taxi driver.

“I’ve only been here about twenty minutes, but no one else went up while I was here.” George cast a curious glance between Sean and Nick. “Is something wrong?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Nick said. “But we’re heading up right now to make sure she’s all right. If we don’t come back down within ten minutes, call the police.”

“Maybe I should go with you?” George offered.

“No, you need to stay here,” Nick told him. “Make sure no one else goes up, do you understand?”

George nodded. “Got it.”

Sean had already made his way over to the one of the six banks of elevators, and he was holding the door, waiting for Nick. He fought a wave of dizziness as he hurried in.

The ride to the tenth floor was quick and when the doors opened, the ding of the elevator seemed exceptionally loud. He hoped no one had overheard it.

“Stay back,” Sean warned in a whisper, as he made his way into Rachel’s office suite.

Nick had his weapon tucked into the waistband of his jeans but was hampered by the need to hold his left arm still, so he nodded, knowing that he would only be a liability if he didn’t give Sean the room he needed.

The moment they opened the glass doors to the office area, Nick heard talking. And from the way Rachel was pleading with someone, he suspected Karl was there.

He couldn’t see much with Sean in front of him, but the hint of desperation in her tone wrenched his heart. It was his fault she was here with Joey. If he’d responded differently in the hospital she probably would have stayed.

Especially if he’d had asked her to stay.

Please, Lord, keep Rachel and Joey safe!

* * *

Rachel saw something move behind Karl’s right shoulder, but she did her best to keep her gaze trained on his so that he wouldn’t figure it out.

“Karl, please. Give me the gun. I can tell you’re not a cold-blooded killer,” she said, stalling for time. She couldn’t tell who was creeping up behind Karl, but just knowing she and Joey weren’t alone was enough to give her hope and strength.

Besides, she was getting mighty tired of people pointing guns at her.

“Stay back or I’ll shoot,” Karl threatened, although the gun in his hand wavered just a bit.

“You want money, Karl?” she asked. “Because if that’s the case then I’ll double their fee if you’ll put the gun down. I’ll give you enough to change your name and leave town. Think about it—you’ll get a fresh start.”

Surprisingly, he seemed to consider her offer. But just as he was about to speak, an arm came around from behind and snatched the gun from his grasp.

“What the—” Karl’s sentence was cut off when he was slammed up against the wall, Sean McCarthy’s arm planted firmly across his neck.

Rachel sagged against the edge of her desk in relief. She’d never been so happy to see a cop in her life. She didn’t know how Sean had gotten here from Madison so fast, but she was thankful just the same.

“Karl Errol, you’re under arrest for attempted murder and corporate espionage, and anything else that you’ve done that I haven’t figured out yet,” Sean McCarthy said, pulling out his handcuffs and clasping them firmly over Errol’s wrists. The way the research scientist sagged against the door convinced her that he’d finally given up.

Thank You, Lord.

“Rachel? Are you and Joey all right?”

She straightened and looked past Sean into the hallway, tempted to pinch herself in the arm to make sure that she wasn’t imagining Nick standing there. “Nick? Is that really you?”

After making sure Joey was okay, she found herself staring at Nick, unable to look away. He was propped against the wall, holding his left arm against him, his mouth bracketed with pain.

“Yeah. I had to make sure you and Joey were all right,” he said.

She was so glad to see him, even though it was obvious he shouldn’t be here. “What were you thinking?” she scolded as she rushed forward to meet him. “You should have stayed in the hospital. What if you lose the circulation in your arm?”

“It’s nothing compared to the thought of losing you,” he murmured, holding her gaze with his. “I’m sorry I hurt you, Rachel. I didn’t mean to. I never should have allowed my faith to waver.”

Her heart melted at his words, and she would have engulfed him in a huge hug if not for the fact that Nick looked as if he was hanging on by a thread. His brow was damp with sweat and his face was pale, two indications that he absolutely should not have left the hospital.

“Nick!” Joey cried as he ran forward, putting his arms around Nick’s waist and hugging him hard. She caught the wince on Nick’s features, but he didn’t protest. “You’re here!”

“Yeah, I’m here, buddy.”

“Are you all better now?” Joey asked, tipping his head back to look up at Nick.

“Not exactly...” Nick said drily.

“Not at all,” Rachel interjected with a deep frown. “You need to get back to Madison, Nick. The surgeon told me that the first twenty-four hours are critical. It’s barely been twelve hours since surgery and a good portion of that had to be traveling here.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he said, and the fact that he didn’t try to argue with her was worrisome.

Before she could say anything more, he let go of Joey and slid down the wall to the floor.

“I told him to stay behind, but did he listen? No, he didn’t.” Sean’s tone held disgust. “I guess we’d better call 911, the only way he’s getting out of here is in an ambulance.”

“I’ve already called 911,” George said, coming down the hall toward them. “You made me nervous, and when you didn’t come down right away, I decided to make the call. Good thing I did. The cops should be here any minute.”

“Make sure there’s an ambulance, too, would you, George?” she asked. She’d sat down on the floor beside Nick, holding his head in her lap, unwilling to let him go, even for a minute.

“That surgeon is going to say ‘I told you so,’” Sean joked, as he stared down at Nick’s prone figure.

“Was worth it,” Nick murmured in a voice so soft Rachel was sure she was the only one who could hear him.

“Rest now, Nick,” she said, smoothing her fingers down his rough, bristly cheek. “We’re safe now....”

There was a lot of commotion when the police arrived and soon after an ambulance crew showed up carrying a gurney.

She thought Nick was out cold, but suddenly his eyes opened and he reached for her hand. “Come with me to the hospital,” he said hoarsely.

“I’ll meet you there,” she promised. “Just do what the doctor says this time, okay?”

Grimacing, he nodded his head. Then she slid out of the way, allowing the paramedics to lift Nick onto the gurney.

And for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, she stood with her arm around Joey, watching as the paramedics wheeled away the man she loved.

* * *

After Sean had handed Karl over to the Chicago authorities and she’d once again given her statement to the police, she convinced Sean to take her and Joey home.

Once there, she gave him the money she owed him, even though he kept trying to wave it away.

“Please take the money,” she begged. “You’ve already done so much for me and my son. Please?”

Sean reluctantly took the cash. “Do you want me to drive you to the hospital before I head home?” he asked gruffly.

She hesitated but then shook her head. “No, we can take a cab or the subway. Getting around Chicago is much easier than trying to get around in Madison,” she teased.

“Hey, I live out in the boondocks, so this is all new to me,” the officer said with a wry grin. “We don’t get this kind of big-city crime where I come from.”

Her smile faded. “Be glad, Sean. Be very glad.”

He slung his arm across her shoulder in a friendly hug. “Don’t worry, this was enough excitement to last me quite a while.”

After he left, she decided to take a shower before heading back to the hospital. She urged Joey to take one, too.

Freshly scrubbed and wearing clean clothing made her feel like a new person, although it was clear her son was still exhausted. She was tired, too, but she wanted to see Nick in the hospital, one more time, before they came home to sleep.

And even though she knew she could call a babysitter to stay home with Joey, she preferred to keep him with her, despite being certain the danger was finally over.

Besides, she figured Joey would feel better, knowing firsthand that Nick was going to be all right.

When they arrived at Chicago North Hospital, they found Nick was a patient in a regular room rather than being back in the ICU. They walked into his room just as a voice announced through the overhead speaker that visiting hours would be over in fifteen minutes.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” she asked, crossing over to Nick’s bed. Joey stood at the foot of Nick’s bed, regarding him thoughtfully.

“My ears are blistered from having the doctors yell at me for fifteen minutes straight, but otherwise I’m good.” His expression was more relaxed, and the brackets around his mouth had vanished, which she assumed meant he’d been given some pain medication.

“You look much better,” she murmured. “And you deserve to have your ears blistered after that stunt you pulled.”

“They wanted to transport me back to Madison General, but I guess the doctor there wasn’t too interested in having me back.” A hint of a smile played along the corner of his mouth. “Can’t say that I blame him.”

“How’s the circulation in your arm?” she asked, glancing at the limb that was currently propped up on two pillows.

He moved his fingers and shrugged his right shoulder. “Pretty good, I guess. I can move my hand a bit more. No harm done, at least according to the surgeon here. I think that’s one of the reasons he didn’t push the issue of sending me back. Apparently, surgeons don’t like to pick up other surgeon’s leftovers.”

She laughed, extremely relieved to hear that Nick wasn’t any worse for wear.

“How long will you have to stay in the hospital, Nick?” Joey asked anxiously.

“Shouldn’t be more than a day or two,” Nick responded.

Joey’s expression clouded. “But that means you’ll be in here over Christmas.”

“That’s okay,” Nick said quickly. “I don’t mind.”

There was another overhead announcement instructing all visitors to leave the building, so Rachel reached over and took Nick’s good hand in hers, squeezing gently. “We’d better get home. I promised Joey that he would be able to sleep in his own bed tonight.”

“All right.” Nick’s eyes were at half-mast and she suspected that he’d be asleep before they made it out the front door.

“See you tomorrow,” she promised, releasing his hand. “Come on, Joey. Let’s go home.”

“Bye, Nick.” Joey flashed a grin before following her out of the room.

As they left the hospital to flag down a cab, she decided that since Nick was going to be in the hospital for Christmas, they would need to bring Christmas to him.

* * *

Nick hated being stuck in the hospital. The only bright spot in his day was that his arm seemed to be doing better. The doctors had taken down the bulky dressing to examine the incision and hadn’t put it back on, making him feel ten pounds lighter.

“Looks better than it should,” the surgeon told him grudgingly. “Considering you went several hours without your blood-thinning medicine, you’re extremely lucky.”

“I’m blessed,” Nick corrected with a grin. “Truly blessed.” He’d slept on and off during the night, waking up between pain medication doses, but he’d had plenty of time to think about what had happened up at the cabin. How much he’d wanted to live, when he’d managed to convince himself that he’d be happy for God to call him home. After missing his wife and daughter for so long, he realized that God meant for him to move on with his life. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve a second chance, but he couldn’t deny the way Rachel and Joey had wiggled their way into his heart.

Now, if he could only find a way to convince Rachel to take a chance on him.

Outside his window, he noticed snow was beginning to fall. He wondered if that change in the weather was part of the reason that Rachel and Joey hadn’t come in to visit him yet.

He couldn’t bear to think that maybe they wouldn’t show at all. Rachel had said she’d see him tomorrow. Surely she wouldn’t have said that if she hadn’t meant it.

But when the lunch hour came and went he began to lose hope. He exercised his fingers the way he was supposed to and wondered if he could convince Jonah or someone from the precinct to bust him out of here again.