Her Mistletoe Protector

“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?”