Her Mistletoe Protector

Her heart squeezed when Nick briefly explained what had transpired. “I’d like to keep this quiet for now, while we wait for some more evidence. If the Mafia is behind this, there isn’t much to stop them from doing something drastic if they sense we’re onto them.”

“I’m not sure I like that plan, Butler.” She could hear Nick’s boss’s weary tone. “The feds won’t be happy if we don’t follow protocol.”

“Yeah, but you and I both know that there have been far too many dirty cops, both locally and at the federal level. Just give me a little time to see what we can shake out, okay?”

“All right. But keep me posted.”

“Will do.” Nick hung up the phone and then put the car in gear.

“Thank you, Nick,” she murmured softly.

“Don’t thank me,” he said in a harsh tone. “We don’t have Joey back yet. And you need to know this may not turn out the way you want it to.”

“We’ll get him back.” She wasn’t even going to consider the possibility of failure.

He let out an exasperated sigh. “I hope so, but you have to understand that we don’t have a lot of time. If we don’t hear from the kidnappers soon, I won’t give you a choice. We will call in the FBI.”

She wanted to argue, feeling deep down that calling in the FBI would be the worst thing they could do. After all, she knew from personal experience how the Mafia worked. The members of the mob were cruel and ruthless and wouldn’t hesitate to kill her son just to prove their point.

The threatening notes she’d received were right. She had screamed in agony when they’d kidnapped her son. And if they demanded a ransom, she would repay her debts in order to get him back.

Panic bubbled in her throat and she had to swallow the urge to start screaming all over again. She needed to stay calm, to think this through logically, if she was going to have any chance in finding Joey.

After several long deep breaths, she felt somewhat calm. “You never did mention how you reached me so quickly,” she said, glancing over at Nick.

There was a long silence before he admitted, “I followed you and Joey. I guess I was hoping to catch the guy in the act of leaving another note for you.”

He’d been sitting in the parking lot of the elementary school? She tried to grapple with that revelation. “I didn’t see you,” she said. “And believe me, I was on alert, searching for signs of Frankie or one of his thugs.”

Nick shifted in his seat. “I stayed in my car, a little ways down the road, just close enough to watch your vehicle.”

She wasn’t sure that news was reassuring. If she hadn’t seen Nick, maybe she’d missed the driver of the black truck, too? She couldn’t bear the thought that she may have led the kidnapper straight to her son’s location.

More deep breaths helped rein in her fear. She tried to find comfort in the fact that Nick had cared enough to try to protect her, but the image of her son being kidnapped by the driver of the truck was seared in her mind.

Helplessly, she gazed down at her phone, looking at the text message again. Don’t call the police or I’ll kill him.

Why hadn’t they already demanded money? That had to be the reason they’d kidnapped Joey. Nothing else made sense.

“We should probably stay in a hotel tonight,” Nick said, breaking into her grim thoughts. “Especially because you received those threats at both your office and your home.”

She pressed her fingertips against her aching temples, trying to think. “I guess a motel would be okay.”

“It’s our best option. For now.”

She understood the warning implication in his tone. This was a temporary plan at best. She stared down at her cell phone for another long moment, willing the kidnapper to contact her again. The sooner they told her how much money they wanted, the sooner she could get her son back, safe and sound.

“Tell me what you know about Frankie Caruso,” Nick said quietly.

Her stomach twisted into painful knots. “I’m afraid I don’t know much. I only met him for the first time at our engagement party and then again at our wedding. I knew he’d raised Anthony after his parents died, but I didn’t know about their link to the Mafia. Not until after we were married.”

Nick glanced at her, and she wondered if he thought she was an idiot for not figuring out what was going on sooner. She’d often asked herself the same thing. She didn’t like to think about how naive she was back then. She graduated college early and by twenty-five had worked her way up in her father’s company to vice president. Hours of studying meant she hadn’t dated much. Anthony had swept her off her feet with his dashing good looks and his charm.