Her Mistletoe Protector

She shrugged and toyed with her food. “Yeah, I do. Besides, I’d give up my company in a heartbeat if it meant getting Joey back safe and sound.”

As Nick finished up and paid their bill, he couldn’t help wondering if this was exactly what the lawsuit victims had planned all along. Forcing Rachel to give up everything she owned in order to save her son.

* * *

Rachel glanced at the clock, wondering if she dared call Gerry this early on a Thursday morning. They were both generally early risers, but it was barely seven-fifteen. She couldn’t deny the deep sense of urgency. What if the kidnappers called right away, wanting the exchange? What if she didn’t have enough time to pull the money together?

Logically, she knew that they would give her some time—after all getting the money was the end goal. Wasn’t it?

She wished Nick hadn’t questioned her about the lawsuit, because now uncertainty gnawed away at her. But those messages had to be from Anthony’s uncle Frank, or from someone else within the Mafia. Nothing else made sense. Once they were back in Nick’s car, she scrolled through her old phone’s list of contacts until she found Gerry’s cell number. Just as she pushed the button to call him, another text message came through. Another message from the kidnappers?

No, it was the text message stating that her phone number had been successfully transferred to her new phone. “Finally,” she muttered.

“What?” Nick asked.

After she filled him in, Rachel got busy activating the new device. She had to click on a link first and then wait another few minutes for the phone number to be registered before she could use her new phone. When that was finished, she typed in Gerry’s number and waited anxiously for him to pick up.

There was no answer, so she left a message. “Gerry, it’s Rachel. Call me as soon as you get this. It’s urgent.”

Nick filled up the gas tank at the truck stop and dumped her old phone in the garbage before he slid behind the wheel and drove back out toward the highway. “Where does Gerry live?”

“About fifteen miles west of our corporate offices,” she answered.

Nick glanced her way. “Okay, we’re a good hour away, so I’m going to head in that general direction.”

She nodded, hoping Gerry would call her back soon.

Forty-five minutes passed before her new phone rang, and she pounced on it when she saw Gerry’s number come across the screen. “Hello?”

“Hi, Rachel, what’s going on? What’s so urgent?”

She relaxed a bit, hearing the sound of his voice. “Gerry, I’m so glad you called me back. I need your help. Would you mind meeting with me right away?”

“Of course, but why? What’s wrong?”

“I’d, uh, rather explain in person.”

“Okay, well then why don’t you come to my house? We’ll have plenty of privacy as Nancy is out visiting her mother, helping her recover from her hip surgery.”

Nancy was Gerry’s wife and she vaguely remembered that he’d mentioned Nancy’s mother needing surgery. “That sounds perfect,” she said, feeling relieved to know that Nancy wouldn’t be there. “I’ll see you in about fifteen minutes or so.”

Asking Gerry for money wouldn’t be easy—he’d been like a father figure to her since her own father had passed away from a sudden heart attack. She didn’t like the thought of selling off her company, but she didn’t have a choice. She’d give up everything she owned if it meant getting her son back safe and sound.

“You’re not going to see him alone,” Nick said, breaking into her thoughts.

She glanced at him in surprise. “I wasn’t planning to.”

He scowled as he navigated the streets heading toward Gerry’s house. “But you didn’t mention that you’d be coming with someone,” he muttered.

“I didn’t want to put him on guard,” she admitted. “I’m not sure how much I should tell him.”

“As little as possible,” Nick responded. “No sense in dragging him into this mess.”

“You’re right. It’s bad enough that I’m asking him to bail me out by buying my shares of company stock. And we still have to find a way to convince the bank to bypass their normal requirements to give me the cash immediately.”

“One step at a time,” he advised.

Gerry’s house was much grander than hers, but then again, she preferred the family-friendly neighborhood she’d chosen to raise Joey in. There was nothing better than watching the neighborhood kids get together to play a quick game of soccer or baseball in the park across the street.