LITMIR.BIZ

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You have to stay hidden.”

      He took her by the arm. “I’ll report the crash from the truck. And before you start up, it’s too cold out here to argue about this right now.”

      “I’m not going to argue,” she said. “I’m exhausted.”

      Nathan’s heart went out to her. “Alisha...”

      “Don’t,” she said, holding up a hand. “Don’t baby me, Nathan. Just get me to my grandmother’s house.”

      Nathan grunted and let her open her own door. Then he grabbed her big leather bag and hopped in on the driver’s side. “Here’s your purse.”

      “This is not a purse. It’s full of work, my laptop and a flash drive, clothes. And my phone. My life is in this bag.”

      And hidden chocolate, if memory served him.

      “That’s a lot of life crammed into one fancy lady purse.”

      “I don’t have a life,” she said. Then her gaze met his in sheepish surprise. “It’s a briefcase.”

      “You didn’t mean to admit that, did you? The part about not having a life.”

      “I’m tired. Not making much sense.”

      “Well, if I have it my way, you’ll have a lot of life left in you.”

      His cell buzzed. “It’s Carson.” Hitting Accept, he said, “Did you find them?”

      Carson’s voice came over the Bluetooth connection. “Saw them, followed while the locals gave chase and we had them surrounded.”

      “But?” Nathan glanced over at Alisha since she could hear the call. Her expression held dread.

      “They crashed the SUV near the main highway down the mountain. Got out and ran away on foot. We’ve got men searching the area and we’ve called in the K9 unit, but I have a feeling they had another ride coming. It’s still not safe.” Then he added, “One of the escort officers is alive but critical. The other one died at the scene. I’m sorry, Nathan. The police are up to speed and they’ve alerted the proper authorities in Philadelphia, including the FBI.”

      Alisha let out a sob, her hand going to her face.

      “Thanks.” Nathan said, glancing at Alisha. “I have Miss Braxton with me. I got her out of the car, but it went into the ravine. They’ll send someone to circle back around to make sure she’s dead. I’d like them to think that for a while. Just until I get her somewhere safe.”

      “Understood,” his friend said. “But you know how this will end, right?”

      “Yeah. With me bringing these people to justice.” Nathan ended the call and turned to Alisha. “So you heard. Your pursuers managed to escape. You’re not safe.”

      He saw the shudder she tried to hide. “What they did was horrible. I can’t get it out of my head.” Looking out into the darkness, she whispered, “I should have done something for those officers.”

      “You did the only thing you could do—you got away. It was probably too late for the one who died at the scene and hopefully, the other one won’t die.”

      He didn’t want her to meet that same fate.

      “That will be in the news, too. His poor family. To lose him at Christmas. Maybe I should have gone back to Reading.”

      “No.” Nathan couldn’t tell her that he was glad to see her, glad to help her. “No. You need to be with family right now.”

      She nodded, her head down.

      “Tell me what you saw tonight,” he said in a gentler tone, wishing he could touch her, hold her and make her feel better.

      But that would be the worst idea he’d ever had and he’d had a few bad ones at times.

      She nodded and started speaking, her voice strained and weary. Once she’d finished, Nathan couldn’t stop himself. He reached over and took her hand. This reeked of a professional hit. But he wouldn’t tell her that until he did some digging.

      “You’ll be safe at the Campton Center for now.”

      She stared down at his hand and then pulled hers away. “Of course I will. It’s solid.”

      “And I’ll be there to make sure.”

      “What exactly does that mean?”

      “That means we’ll be spending Christmas together,” he replied with a soft smile. “Because I’ll be staying there with you until we find these killers.”

       THREE

      “Oh, no,” Alisha replied, the shock of his statement overtaking the shock pumping through her body. “That is not going to happen.”

      “It’s happening,” he retorted as he took all the back roads she’d planned on taking. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

      “I won’t be alone. I have my grandmother and Mrs. Campton.”

      “Right. Two elderly ladies who have to use an elevator to get downstairs.”

      He had a point but Alisha wasn’t ready to concede. “And a good security system.”

      “That helps but we both know a good criminal can work around that.”

      Right again. But Alisha wasn’t about to let him hang around. Yes, she’d called him in a moment of panic but reason was taking over now. “Nathan, I’m a big girl. I can hide out there while I do some checking. For all we know, they might give up on me and go into hiding.”

      “I’m not willing to wait and see if that happens. Are you?”

      She shook her head. “No. I have a week before I go back to the office in Reading the day after Christmas.”

      “Call your boss and make that two weeks. Just until the New Year.”

      “I can’t do that.”

      “Yes, you can. Explain the situation. Take some vacation time.”

      “I’ll take the time I have allotted and I’ll use that time to track these killers.”

      “You do realize Christmas is not the time to work, right?”

      “Yes. But watching a gunman shoot up a Christmas market five days before the holidays kind of puts a damper on things.”

      “Are you going to tell the ladies the truth?”

      “I have to,” she said, hating the idea. “They need to be warned so they can be aware.”

      “And they need protection, too.”

      “Maybe I should stay somewhere else.”

      “No, this is the best plan for now. But, Alisha, I’m going to stay there with all of you whether you like it or not. I know the place has a couple of extra bedrooms in the main house. I’ll bunk in one of those.”

      Bad idea. So why did she feel safer, just knowing he’d be nearby?

      Because she was frightened, shaken and... She’d need his help. Nathan Craig was good at his job and he could go where others didn’t dare go. He found people. Good people. Scared people. Lost people. And sometimes, the worst of people.

      “I can see those wheels turning inside your head,” he said when she didn’t retort right away. “What are you thinking?”

      She twisted to stare at him as they turned onto Creek Road. “I don’t have much of a choice. I need you—I mean I need your experience and expertise.”

      Her head told her to be logical, while

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