Her Mistletoe Protector Page 15

  “Are you all right?” she asked Joey softly, fearing that the kidnapper had seen them despite her efforts to keep the screen hidden from view. “He didn’t hit you, did he?”

  “No, I’m not hurt,” Joey whispered. “I’m scared.”

  Her heart ached for him. “I know, but remember what Nick taught us? God is watching over us. God will keep us safe.”

  Joey nodded solemnly. “I’m going to keep praying.”

  Tears pricked her eyes. “Me, too.” She gave her son a quick hug and then glanced back over her shoulder searching for Nick. Panic swelled in the back of her throat when she couldn’t see him. What if he’d been hit? The orange glow from the fire was brighter, indicating that it was beginning to spread.

  Dear Lord, please keep Nick safe! Please keep us all safe!

  “I smell the bad man,” Joey whimpered.

  Since all she could smell was smoke, she didn’t necessarily believe him. But at that moment, a bright spotlight illuminated the woods, blinding her. The light was only forty feet away! She shoved Joey behind her and tried to edge closer behind an evergreen tree.

  “Stay right where you are, Rachel!” a voice shouted. “If you move, I’ll keep shooting.”

  She froze at the familiar voice. Gerry? Abruptly, all the puzzle pieces clicked into place. Gerry Ashton always wore strong aftershave, very similar to the kind Joey had spilled in the cabin. And now she clearly recognized his voice.

  Her mind wrestled helplessly with the truth. The man she’d trusted more than anyone else in the company had been the one who’d hired Morales to kidnap Joey. Had Gerry also kept her son locked up in his basement? The thought made her furious. To think she’d played right into his hands by begging him to buy her shares of the company. Had he sent the letters, too, pretending to be part of the Mafia?

  Gerry was one of the few who’d known about how her father had helped her escape Anthony. Maybe he’d used the Mafia link on purpose to scare her. She wasn’t sure if he’d killed Josie Gardner, too, or if the researcher had really committed suicide, but it was clear he intended to kill her and Joey, right here, right now.

  Everything suddenly made sense in a sick, horrible way.

  How could she have been so blind? So stupid? How could she not have known? Edith must have suspected something wasn’t right with Gerry, which was why she’d quit.

  She should have asked her assistant for more information. But it was too late now. She forced herself to keep facing Gerry even as she whispered to her son. “Stay hidden behind the tree.”

  Joey soundlessly moved deeper into the branches. She lifted her arm to shield her eyes against the glare. “Don’t shoot!” she shouted. “I’m not armed.”

  “No, but your boyfriend was.” She tried not to react to Gerry’s use of the past tense in reference to Nick. “You and Joey need to come back to the cabin, Rachel. Right now,” Gerry demanded.

  The cabin? Was he crazy? No way was she doing that. What was Gerry thinking to suggest she take her son anywhere near a burning building? If the cabin wasn’t on fire yet, it soon would be. She’d rather take her chances getting lost in the woods. But how long could she hold him off? Gerry must know that she’d already called for help, especially if he caught a glimpse of the glow from Nick’s cell phone.

  And where was Nick?

  “Why?” she asked, stalling for time. “Give me one good reason why I should make it easy for you to kill us?”

  Another crack shattered the night and she gasped and ducked, half expecting to feel the searing pain from being hit by a bullet.

  “That was just a warning shot,” Gerry snarled. “Next time, I’ll make that kid of yours an orphan.”

  She sucked in a harsh breath, feeling trapped. If they tried to run, Gerry could easily follow them with the light. She had no idea where Nick was, and she prayed he wasn’t lying in the woods, bleeding to death. As the seconds stretched into a full minute, she wondered why Gerry didn’t just shoot her and get it over with. What did he hope to gain in this weird cat-and-mouse game?

  The glow of the fire burned bright behind Gerry, and suddenly it dawned on her that Gerry wanted them to burn inside the cabin. Maybe he thought that would make their deaths look like a tragic accident. Bullet wounds would be too obvious.

  Grimly, she realized he had no intention of letting any of them live through this.

  “Why are you doing this, Gerry? You have the money! And the company!” She thought it was best to keep him talking.

  “Your father promised the company to me! That idiot Morales was supposed to kill you both. You’re too smart for your own good, Rachel. I knew you’d figure out that I was the one behind this sooner or later.”

  She wasn’t about to admit she hadn’t realized that until right now. “Why did you decide to take over the company now? Why not back when my dad died?”

  “Because Nancy was threatening to divorce me,” Gerry said in a vicious tone. “I signed a prenup so I get nothing. I needed that company. And you were going to give all that money to settle the lawsuit!” He released a ragged breath. “You didn’t deserve to keep it. But just taking over the company wasn’t enough. Everyone kept asking about what it would take to bring you back. Leaving me no choice but to get rid of you both once and for all.”

  He was crazy, no doubt about it. How were they going to get away?

  Another gunshot echoed, and this time she saw the spotlight waver, as if Gerry had ducked.

  Nick! Nick was alive!

  The next gunshot hit the spotlight dead on, shattering the bulb. But even with the spotlight off, there was too much light from the roaring fire that quickly engulfed the dry timber of the log cabin.

  Rachel took the opportunity to move from their current location, urging Joey to stay shielded behind her as they darted around more trees. But then she froze when another crack of gunfire shattered the night.

  She whipped around and, from the glow of the fire behind her, Rachel watched Gerry’s dark shadow stagger and then finally go down.

  She hesitated, torn by indecision. Was Gerry dead? Or at least hurt badly enough that he couldn’t keep shooting?

  And where was Nick?

  She crouched beside her son for long, agonizing moments. She didn’t want to risk Joey’s life by taking him over to find Nick, but at the same time, she didn’t want to leave him here, alone.

  “Rachel?” Nick’s voice was weak. “Are you and Joey all right?”

  Her head shot over to the right, her eyes trying to pierce the darkness. “Yes, we’re fine,” she called back. “But where are you?”

  “Over here.” Nick’s voice was definitely lacking strength—she could barely hear him over the roaring of the fire. “I’ve been hit.”

  * * *

  Nick kept his eyes glued to where Gerry Ashton’s body lay sprawled on the ground. If the man so much as twitched he’d shoot him again.

  His eyes blurred and he blinked in an effort to bring the world back into focus. The smoke was getting thicker and he knew he couldn’t stay too long. His left arm felt like it was on fire, and the loss of blood was making him dizzy. Figured he’d got hit in the same area as when they’d saved Joey during the money exchange.

  Only this time, the injury was much worse. Propped against the tree, he tugged on the string from the hooded sweatshirt he wore, until it came free. Using the string like a tourniquet, he awkwardly wrapped it around his arm and used his teeth to tie it tight. He wanted to drag himself over to make sure Gerry was really dead, but on the off chance that the guy was only pretending in an effort to draw his prey closer, Nick decided it was safer to stay far away.

  Where were the cops and the firefighters? He’d heard Rachel calling 911, so he knew reinforcements had to be on the way. Wally’s cabin wasn’t going to survive the fire, but he was more concerned
about the fire spreading through the woods. Drought conditions had hit hard the previous summer, and despite the thin layer of snow covering the ground, he thought the trees were burning too fast.

  As if on cue, a large pine tree to the right of the outhouse went up in flames, the tiny needles glowing red as they burned. Knowing they didn’t have a lot of time left to get somewhere safe, he forced himself upright, using the tree for support.

  “Nick!” He was caught off guard when Joey came running toward him. He opened his mouth to yell at the boy to stay down, when he realized that Gerry hadn’t moved, not even an inch despite the fire growing closer.

  Joey’s second bad guy was finally dead.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” he managed when Joey flung his arms around his waist, burying his face in his stomach. “I’m okay.”

  “I thought you were dead,” the child sobbed.

  Rachel looked upset at Joey’s statement. “Where are you hit?” she asked.

  “My left arm same as before, but never mind that, now. We need to get as far away from the fire as we can. It’s been so dry up here that the fire will soon burn out of control.”

  “Lean on me,” Rachel offered, slipping her shoulder beneath his injured arm and sliding her other hand around his waist.

  He didn’t like the fact that he was so weak that he had little choice but to allow her to help him. Surprisingly, Joey went around on the other side of him, and together they moved as quickly as possible away from the fire.

  “Joey, can you find the gravel driveway?” he asked, since his vision was blurry again.

  “I think so,” Joey said. “This way!”

  The three of them stumbled toward the direction of the driveway with a deep sense of urgency. Nick refused to look back over his shoulder, too afraid he’d see the fire nipping hotly at their heels.

  There was another loud whooshing sound, and he knew another tree had gone up in flames. They had to get out of here, and fast!

  When the gravel crunched beneath his feet, he let out a sigh of relief. Joey’s sense of direction had been perfect. They continued moving as fast as they could, putting more distance between them and the raging fire. The smoke was still hanging thick between the trees.

  He coughed and a spear of pain shot down his arm. He ignored it, more concerned when he heard Rachel and Joey coughing, too. How much time did they have before they succumbed to smoke inhalation?

  Dear Lord, show us the way to safety.

  “Come on, Nick, don’t give up now!” Rachel urged in a raspy voice. Obviously the smoke was getting to her, too. And what about Joey? He was so young that Nick was afraid it wouldn’t take long for the smoke to damage the boy’s lungs.

  He hadn’t realized his steps were lagging behind, and he forced himself to move faster for both Rachel and Joey’s sake. They deserved a chance to get out of here, alive.

  Within five minutes, Nick practically fell over the hood of the car, and he slumped against the metal frame gratefully. For the first time in hours, he allowed himself a flash of hope. “Maybe we can drive out of here,” he proposed, fumbling in his pockets for the keys. He found them and tugged them free. “Think you’re up to it?”

  “I’ll try,” Rachel said, jumping eagerly at his suggestion. She stepped forward to take the keys, and she opened the driver’s door. But before she could slide inside, a man appeared out of the woods, holding a rifle.

  “Don’t move,” he barked loudly.

  “Karl!” Rachel exclaimed. Then, in a move that was so subtle Nick almost missed it, she pushed Joey behind her, probably intending for him to climb into the safety of the car. “What are you doing? Why do you have a gun?”

  Karl? Nick stared in shocked surprise as he realized that the stranger was Dr. Karl Errol, the researcher he’d suspected was secretly working for Global Pharmaceuticals. His instincts must have been right on. The researcher must have purposefully set up Rachel’s company to fail. But seeing him here, as if he’d teamed up with Gerry Ashton, didn’t make much sense. Why would the researcher who’d tried to destroy Rachel’s company work alongside Ashton, who clearly wanted to take over the company himself?

  He didn’t know for sure, but obviously Errol wasn’t messing around. The way he held the rifle in his hands told Nick he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them.

  FIFTEEN

  Nick gritted his teeth as Rachel tried to reason with Karl Errol. “Gerry is dead, Karl. You don’t have to do this. Just let us go.”

  “I’m not working for Gerry,” Errol said finally. “And my boss isn’t going to accept failure.”

  Nick tried to think of a way out of this mess. But he couldn’t come up with a safe option. Granted, he still had his weapon, but he didn’t dare try to take Errol out while the guy held the rifle pointed directly at Rachel. Maybe if he was at full strength he could rush the guy, catching him off guard.

  But he’d lost too much blood to risk it. He was far more likely to fall flat on his face before he reached Errol. He seriously felt as if a strong breeze would blow him over.

  “Who’s your boss, Karl? Why are you doing this?” Rachel asked, taking a step toward him. It was all Nick could do not to shout at her to stay back. “Have you really been working for Global Pharmaceuticals this whole time? Why? Why did you hate me so much you wanted to put me out of business?”

  Errol shook his head, as if waging an inner war with himself. “I didn’t have a choice. I followed Ashton here and waited, hoping he’d take care of things for me. But he botched the job. Leaving me no choice.”

  Nick tried to take heart in knowing the guy hadn’t shot them yet, even though he’d had time. Maybe there was a way to get through to him.

  But how?

  “There’s no point in trying to reason with him, Rachel. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. I told you he killed Josie Gardener,” Nick told her in a scathing tone. “She stumbled upon the truth and was going to let you know what she’d found out. So he killed her and set the whole thing up to look like a suicide.”

  “No!” Errol shouted. “I loved Josie! I would never hurt her. But she didn’t love me.”

  A cold chill snaked down his spine. Now they were getting somewhere. “Who did she love, Karl?” he asked mildly.

  “Ashton.” Errol’s tone reeked of loathing. “But that jerk didn’t deserve her love. He had an affair with her even though he had no intention of leaving his rich wife.”

  “Ashton is dead. He won’t hurt anyone ever again, Karl.” Rachel’s tone was soothing. She took another small step forward, holding her hand out. “Just put down the gun and we’ll work this through, okay?”

  “Stop!” he screamed. “You can’t fix this. Don’t you understand? I did it for Josie! I secretly worked for Global to make enough money to compete with Ashton. I told her I could afford to buy her nice things, and take her to fancy places. But she didn’t care! She wanted to live in sin as Ashton’s mistress rather than to give me the chance to make her happy.”

  Slowly the picture became clear. “Are you saying that Ashton killed Josie?” Rachel asked incredulously.

  “Yes, because she was pressuring him to leave his wife. Maybe he was afraid she’d tell his wife about the affair. And if he divorced his wife he’d lose all the big bucks he’d gotten accustomed to spending. But none of that matters anymore.” He blew out an angry breath. “I’m glad Ashton’s dead. You saved me the trouble of killing him. But, unfortunately, I have no choice but to kill you, too.” Errol tightened his grip on the gun.

  “Wait! You do have a choice. What if I promise not to press charges against you?” Rachel asked in a desperate tone. “Then will you put the gun down? I promise I won’t turn you in to the authorities. All I want is to go home with my son.”

  For a moment Nick thought she may have convinced Errol with her heartfelt pl
ea. But then Karl slowly brought the rifle up to shoulder height and bent his head forward as if to take aim.

  “No!” Joey came charging out from the back end of the car carrying a thick tree branch. His shout startled Karl enough that he jerked around toward Joey’s direction, shooting wildly.

  “Joey,” Rachel shrieked.

  The boy didn’t stop. He must not have been hit by the wild shot, because he swung the tree branch with all his might, aiming at Karl’s knees.

  Nick made a split-second decision, gathering every ounce of his strength to propel himself across the small clearing toward Errol. As the guy fell down, howling in agony, Nick kicked the rifle up and out of the way and threw himself on top of the researcher.

  Within moments, Rachel had the rifle safely in her hands. “Get out of the way,” she shouted.

  Nick rolled off Errol and she quickly brought the heavy stock down on Errol’s head, knocking him unconscious.

  The sound of sirens, hopefully from both ambulances and fire trucks, echoed through the night. Finally, there was hope that help was soon to arrive. He didn’t have the strength to move, so he stayed right where he was.

  “Joey, are you all right?” Rachel asked.

  “Yes. I was afraid he was going to shoot you.” Nick heard the boy’s footsteps creeping forward. “Nick? Are you okay?”

  He tried to crack a smile. “Fine, buddy. Just tired. I’m going to rest for a minute, okay?”

  Rachel dropped to her knees beside him. “Come on, Nick,” she pleaded. “You can’t stay here—you need to get up! Karl isn’t dead and we can’t be here when he wakes up.”

  The panic in her tone pierced his soul, so he pushed himself upright with his good arm, biting back a groan of pain. He was still dizzy and knew he’d already lost too much blood. The artery in his arm must be nicked.

  Somehow, with Rachel and Joey’s help, he managed to get back on his feet. The three of them staggered toward the car and he leaned against the frame gratefully. There was no telling how long Errol would remain unconscious, so he knew they had to get out of there, and quickly. “Rachel, do you still have the car keys? Let’s see if we can drive out of here.”