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Christmas Protection Detail

By Terri Reed

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ONE
Deputy Kaitlin Lanz climbed the short stepladder to reach the last few branches needing to be decorated on the Christmas tree in the Bristle Township Community Center. The combined celebration of the season and the retirement of Bristle Township’s sheriff, James Ryder, was in full swing all around her. Christmas tunes played from the speakers mounted to the ceiling. The music competed with the many conversations taking place.
It seemed the whole town had turned out for the festivities. Kaitlin had to admit she was pleased that so many people wanted to wish her boss—uh, former boss—well.
She sent up a quick prayer that nothing would mar the festive event. For some reason, she’d been anxious lately. Nothing specific, just a vague sense of doom that hit her at odds times. She chalked it up to losing the sheriff to fishing and traveling.
It had been several months since there’d been any real trouble in town or any need for the mounted patrol to mobilize. Not that she was complaining, because she loved being a part of the Bristle County sheriff’s department’s long tradition of patrols on horseback.
Like similar units in many Western states, the mounted patrol was comprised of both armed deputies and unarmed civilian volunteers, also referred to as auxiliary members. They provided search and rescue as well as community and forest patrols. It was one of the various aspects of her job as keeper of the peace that utilized her many skills. She took pride in her job and always strove to do well at protecting the citizens of her town.
But tonight, she wasn’t going to let anything keep her from enjoying the party.
“A little to the left.”
The deep baritone voice caused her to jerk and fumble with the ornament she was attempting to hang on the large Douglas fir tree standing in the corner of the community center. Balanced on top of the stepladder to reach a high branch, she wobbled. So much for enjoying the party. Nick Delaney, the second in line to inherit the Delaney fortune, had become the bane of her existence over the past year.
He grasped her by the waist with surprising strength, stabilizing her on the short ladder. “Steady there.”
She threw an irritated glance over her shoulder at the man. “I’ve got it.”
“Of course. But maybe hang it a little to the left,” he said, directing her placement of the glittery ornament.
Her heart thumped maddeningly. And not because she’d almost fallen from the ladder. Nick looked good tonight. As always. So maddening. Could he, just once, be unattractive?
He was dressed to impress in crisply creased black slacks and a finely tailored gray sport coat over a dark green mock turtleneck sweater. His dark hair was swept off his forehead to accentuate his chiseled cheekbones. His dark eyes sparkled, and his grin was much too confident.
From the moment she’d met the younger son of the local eccentric billionaire, Nick’s arrogance had rubbed her nerves raw.
Abruptly, she turned back to the tree, placed the ornament where she had intended and stepped down from the ladder, forcing him to release his hold and move back to give her room. “I like it where it is.”
He shrugged. “You know best, deputy.”
She gritted her back teeth. He made the moniker sound pretentious. Turning her attention to the tree, she realized with a sinking sensation he’d been right. The turtle dove glass bauble she’d brought from home needed to be a bit more to the left for symmetry.
Ah, well. She wasn’t perfect and neither were her ornament hanging abilities. But she certainly wouldn’t give Nick the satisfaction of knowing she regretted not listening to his advice. Had it been anyone else, she no doubt would have adjusted the ornament accordingly. What was it about Nick that put her on edge all the time?
She had a suspicion her irritation stemmed from the fact that he reminded her of her college boyfriend, Jason. A relationship that hadn’t ended well.
“Here.” Nick thrust a red box with a white bow at her.
She tucked her hands behind her back. She wasn’t accepting a gift from the man. He’d no doubt think she owed him something in return. “You shouldn’t have bought me a present.”
Nick chuckled and his eyes danced with amusement. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it’s for the tree.” He opened the box to reveal a beautiful crystal angel figurine hanging from a white satin ribbon. “Everyone was asked to contribute an ornament, correct?”
Face heating from her obvious mistake, she nodded at the ornament. “Looks expensive.”
He contemplated the figurine. “Probably. My mother liked expensive things.”
From what Kaitlin had gathered, Mrs. Delaney had passed away when Nick and his older brother Ian were teenagers. “Are you sure you want to hang it here? Shouldn’t you hang it on the tree in your family home?”
“We haven’t put up a tree,” Nick said.
She couldn’t remember a time when her family hadn’t had a tree.
“Besides, Dad and Ian are in Ireland checking on our family holdings there and won’t be back until the New Year.”
A pang of sadness for him hit her unexpectedly. He’d be alone at Christmas in that big house. The Delaneys lived in a massive estate built on one of the mountaintops outside of town. She’d been to the palatial home during a case that had involved the elder Delaney and a buried treasure. Kaitlin had never seen such luxury.
The Delaney family was a bit of an enigma to the rest of the inhabitants of Bristle Township. For the longest time they had kept to themselves, but then the treasure hunt had stirred up a great deal of dust for Kaitlin’s friend Maya Gallo-Trevino and her younger brother, Brady, putting them in danger.
It was also during this time that Kaitlin had met Nick.
And since then it seemed like Nick’s personal mission in life was to annoy her with his flirting and not-so-subtle hints that he’d like to date her.
She didn’t date.
And even if she did, it wouldn’t be with a man who had too much time and money on his hands and nothing to show for it. A man who no doubt thought he could buy his way out of anything.
“Does your father know you’re offering this ornament up?” she asked.
Nick arched an eyebrow. “I don’t need his permission. Besides, Dad and Ian expect me to represent the family at tonight’s celebration. Here I am, doing my duty.” He stepped past her to halt Brady Gallo. “Hi, Brady. Would you be willing to hang this on the tree for me?”
Brady broke out in a wide grin. His almond-shaped eyes beamed. “I can do it.”
Kaitlin’s heart clenched. She loved Brady. In fact, the whole town did and was very protective of the young man with Down syndrome. Not sure Brady should be climbing onto the stepladder, Kaitlin sent Nick a censuring glance. “I can do it.”
Nick and Brady stared at her.
“I’ll hold the ladder for you, Brady,” Nick said with a censuring look of his own. “There’s a space right up there next to the turtle dove ornament.”
Kaitlin narrowed her gaze and pressed her lips together. The man was adept at getting under her skin.
Once Brady had the angel figurine securely hung, Nick helped him off the ladder and gave him a hug. “Good job, buddy.”
Blinking in surprise, Kaitlin echoed Nick’s words. “Good job.”
When Brady was out of earshot, Kaitlin said, “I hadn’t realized you two had become friends.”
“He and Alex come to the house periodically to spar with me.” Nick tweaked her braid. “Speaking of Alex, I think I’ll go congratulate the new sheriff.”
Flipping her braid over her shoulder, Kaitlin stared in disbelief as he wove his way through the crowd toward her new boss. Spar with him? She had to admit the Delaneys did have a really nice dojo built on the lower floor of their home, but Kaitlin hadn’t known that Alex Trevino and Nick had become buddies. Why had Maya never mentioned it?
She watched as Nick congratulated Alex on becoming the county’s new sheriff. Then Nick moved to Sheriff James Ryder to wish him well in his retirement.
Forcing her thoughts away from the infuriating Nick Delaney, her stomach clenched with apprehension. Who would take Alex’s place as a deputy?
It had to be someone with experience. The last thing the department needed was some yahoo thinking he or she understood small town policing but then realizing the slow-paced yet complicated life in Bristle Township was anything but easy.
Kaitlin let out a heavy sigh. She loved this town and its community. And she didn’t have anything else in her life. Some would say she was married to the job, and she was okay with that, thank you very much.
No one needed to know about the trauma of her past or the invisible scars she carried. Her gaze strayed to Nick where he now stood at the refreshment table talking to the mayor. Especially not some wealthy man with an ego the size of the state of Colorado.
*
Nick Delaney stood off to the side of the refreshment table set up at one end of the community center’s event room sipping his sparkling apple cider. Garland entwined with twinkle lights hung from the walls and light fixtures. Chairs and tables outfitted with cheery seasonal decorations dotted the huge space.
Outside, the steadily falling snow swirled on the frigid air, but inside was toasty warm. He tugged at the collar of his mock turtleneck. He was out of place among the residents of Bristle Township. Yet, everyone had greeted him with warmth when he’d arrived an hour ago. Maybe he was finally finding a place to belong.
From where he stood, he had a perfect view of the Christmas tree and all the presents beneath for the big white elephant exchange that would be happening later. Nick had never attended such an exchange and wasn’t quite sure what to make of the idea. The mayor had assured him he’d enjoy the tradition. One of many, it seemed. What a strange concept to have customs that went on from year to year. He'd lived a jet set life. One year off to Rome. The next to Paris or Morocco. Nothing in his life was ever permanent.
However, with the help from the community church’s pastor, he was learning to reform his self-indulgent ways. At first the idea of counseling had made Nick laugh, but then he’d decided he had nothing to lose other than a bunch of bad habits. What could it hurt?
Well, a lot, actually, but Nick was hopeful that dealing with the past would make the future as bright as the star at the top of the Christmas tree.
He’d grown fond of the welcoming community in the little Colorado town. Not something he’d ever expected when his eccentric father had moved into the county. Even his know-it-all, stick-in-the-mud brother, Ian, was becoming a pillar of the community.
Nick had resisted joining his father and brother, figuring the small mountain hamlet would just be boring and mundane. And he expected the citizens to be critical of the youngest son of the Delaney dynasty.
He’d been wrong. With the exception of a certain female deputy.
Nick’s gaze traveled over the other partygoers, deep in their merriment, landing on said deputy. Kaitlin Lanz. She wasn’t dressed in her usual brown uniform. Tonight, she wore black slacks, black boots with low heels and a red sweater decorated with tiny light bulbs that flashed on and off. Her long, blond, curly hair had been corralled into a braid held by a big Christmas bow. A vision of loveliness.
He tracked Kaitlin as she walked across the room toward the group of women preparing the cakewalk, apparently another of the town’s traditions.
Fascinated with the length of Kaitlin’s neck, he found the graceful lines and strong jaw worthy of a master sculptor.
She was single and apparently not dating, or so her friend Leslie had shared with him. Kaitlin, it seemed, hadn’t dated since college. According to Leslie, no one really knew why.
He hoped maybe one day he would entice her to open up to him. But he knew that might happen when reindeer flew. Though around here it made more sense to wait for cows or horses to sprout wings, because that was the sort of livestock that occupied most of the ranches in this part of Colorado.
So far, every time he’d asked Kaitlin for anything, whether it was for an actual date or for coffee, or even an opinion about the weather, she resisted.
He told himself he hadn’t given up this past year because he liked the challenge. But who was he kidding? He’d never liked a challenge. Except, apparently, when it came to Kaitlin. Which was the oddest thing. He didn’t quite know what to make of it. There was just something about the deputy that…
His cell phone vibrated in the front breast pocket of his sport coat. He plucked the device from the pocket, fully expecting to see either his father’s or Ian’s number. They would, no doubt, be checking to make sure he was attending the party, because they couldn’t just trust him to do as he’d promised. Though, to be fair, they had reason.
Growing up, being shuffled back and forth between the family estate in Massachusetts and various boarding schools, or rather being kicked out of various boarding schools, had given his family reason to find him unreliable.
But he was trying to mend his ways.
He frowned at the number he didn’t recognize. Had something happened to his father? His dad was in his eighties and had heart disease that required monitoring.
With dread gripping his chest and his mind a swirling mess of unease, he slid the button on the phone and answered, “This is Nick Delaney.”
From the sounds coming at him through the device, Nick guessed someone was in a car or maybe a plane.
“Nick! Help me. I’m on my way to you. The roads in Bristle Township are so slick.” A woman’s voice, shaking with obvious fear, had the small hairs at the back of his neck rising. “I—”
Several loud booming sounds echoed through the phone. Gunfire? Horror shuddered through Nick.
The woman let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The sickening sound of metal crunching against metal reverberated into Nick’s ear before the call dropped and only silence remained.
He stared at the device. What just happened? Who had that been? Obviously, the woman knew him. But what did she mean she was on her way to him?
Whoever she was, this mysterious woman was in trouble. He had to help. He had to find Kaitlin. She would know what to do. She couldn’t refuse him this time.
*
From her place on the proverbial sidelines, back against the light and garland-festooned walls with a clear view of the exits, Kaitlin watched her friends walking in a circle, waiting for the music to stop so they could vie for a spot on one of the large snowflake cutouts taped to the floor.
The point of the game was to be the last one standing on a snowflake in order to win one of the many donated cakes sitting on the nearby table. If Kaitlin didn’t need to watch every calorie, she’d want the lemon chiffon cake that Mrs. Johnson made every year.
Movement to her left caught her attention and she groaned beneath her breath. Nick Delaney was headed her way at a fast clip. He was a constant source of irritation, like a saddle sore. Despite the flare of attraction that continually caught her by surprise, she wasn’t up to deflecting any more of his flirtations tonight. She had enough dealing with the coming change in the sheriff’s department.
She didn’t much like change. It caused chaos and stress.
On the verge of making a quick exit, she hesitated as she studied Nick’s face. He didn’t have his normal charming smile in place. Instead, obvious worry drew his dark eyebrows together and pinched in the sides of his well-shaped mouth. Her heart plummeted. Had something happened to his family?
He’d explained earlier that his brother and father were out of the country. She braced herself, not sure what he would expect her to do. Or was this some new ploy to coax her into a date?
A mix of dread and anticipation knotted her gut and kept her rooted in place. She really needed to figure out what it was about this man that threw her off-balance. Normally, she was able to keep unwanted feelings in check. But not with him. Strange.
Without preamble, Nick said, “Kaitlin, I need your help.”
Her natural wariness flared. “Okay, with what?”
He held out his phone and stared at it. “I got the strangest call.” His gaze lifted. The deep chocolate-brown orbs were cloudy with worry. “A woman is in trouble. She acted like she knew me and was on her way to me. She sounded scared, and I think she crashed her car.”
Not what Kaitlin had expected. “She’s on her way to you? Meaning on her way here to Bristle Township?”
His shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “Yes. She said something about the roads in town being slick.’” His troubled gaze bore into Kaitlin. “I’m sure I heard gunfire before the car crashed. She’s in trouble. We need to help her. I need you to help me help her.”
Serving others was why she’d become a deputy. And she couldn’t deny there was a bit of relief that, for once, Nick wanted her as a deputy.
Kaitlin took the phone from him and searched for Hannah Nelson, the department’s forensic and computer tech, among the party attendees. Hannah’s long red hair was unmistakable. She was in the cakewalk. “This way.”
With purpose lengthening her strides, Kaitlin led the way to the edge of the cakewalk circle where Hannah was participating.
“What are we doing?” Nick asked.
Kaitlin shot him a glance. He really was spooked. And it drove up her own anxiety. Kaitlin called to her. “Hannah.”
Hannah’s green eyes darted to her. She waved.
Kaitlin gestured for her to come over.
With a frown, Hannah stepped out of the circle and headed in their direction. “You just cost me a German chocolate cake.”
“I’ll make you one,” Kaitlin told her. “We need your expertise.”
Hannah’s gaze darted back and forth between Kaitlin and Nick. A speculative gleam entered her eyes and a smile formed on her pink-glossed lips. “Really? With what?”
Kaitlin ground her teeth together. Everyone in town knew that Nick had been flirting with her for nearly a year. And that she had been brushing him off. She held up the device. “I need you to find the location of the person who made the last call to Nick’s phone. Someone is in trouble.”
Hannah’s expression sobered. “Of course. We should inform the sheriff.”
“Agreed.”
The trio hurried over to where the new sheriff, as well as the newly retired sheriff, stood surrounded by a group of well-wishers. Kaitlin nudged her way forward through the crowd.
Sheriff Ryder’s bushy gray eyebrows rose to his hairline. “Is there something you wanted?”
Her gaze bounced between the two men. She wasn’t sure which one she should address. Then Sheriff Ryder’s index finger came up and pointed at Alex.
Sheriff Ryder was always so adept at reading her. Kaitlin focused her attention on Alex. “We have a potential crash victim. Nick received a phone call from a mysterious woman. He heard what sounded like gunfire and a crash. Apparently the woman is on her way here. But we don’t know where she is exactly. I want permission to have Hannah ping her phone.”
Alex nodded. “Of course. Keep me apprised of the situation.”
“Yes, sir.” Kaitlin retreated to where Nick and Hannah waited. “Let’s go.”
They hurried to put on coats and head out into the snowy December night. The community center was attached to the Bristle Township Community Christian Church, which sat at one end of town. They hustled along the sidewalk and Kaitlin was thankful for the dusting of rock salt so that none of them slipped in their haste to get to the station.
Rather than entering through the front door, they went around to the back where Hannah’s newly reconstructed lab was located.
When a group of treasure hunters had torched the building, the Delaney family had paid to have the department rebuilt and equipped with all the high-tech equipment possible for the deputies and the forensic lab.
Hannah didn’t even take off her coat. She went straight to her workstation to plug Nick’s phone into her computer and got to work. Within seconds, she said, “The call pinged off the tower at the top of Delaney Hill.” A moniker the locals had recently taken to calling the mountain where the Delaneys had built their home. “She must be somewhere on the road up to the estate.”
Nick grabbed his phone and unplugged it from her computer. “Thank you.”
He rushed toward the exit.
Kaitlin raced after him and grabbed his arm. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m going to find her.” He shrugged off her hand. “She needs help.”
“You’re a civilian. Somebody trained to provide help needs to go.”
He flashed her one of his smiles, but it didn’t dispel the anxiety in his eyes. “Then we can go together. I’ll even let you drive.
“You’ll let me…?” She rolled her eyes.
Digging his keys from his coat pocket, he held them out to her. “You can drive my Humvee. It’s better equipped than yours.”
Much as she wanted to argue that point, she didn’t. Because he was right. The big square vehicle he drove was state-of-the-art with armor plating and shatterproof windows and was built to navigate the terrain. It seemed everything that the Delaneys owned was state-of-the-art.
“Fine.” She plucked the keys from his hand and turned to Hannah. “Can you inform the sheriff? And if for some reason that phone moves, let me know.”
“You got it,” Hannah promised.
“Come with me,” Kaitlin said to Nick. Instead of immediately going out the door, Kaitlin stopped where the department’s tactical gear was stored. She grabbed a duty belt and two flak vests. She tossed one to Nick. “Put that on.”
He stared at her for a moment. “You believe that I heard gunfire?”
Why would he think she wouldn’t? “Better to be prepared than dead.”
He gave a sharp nod of his head and slipped the vest on. “Wow, I had no idea how heavy these things were.”
She didn’t mention the weight of the utility belt strapped around her hips. Velcroing her vest in place over her Christmas sweater, she grabbed her department-issue shearling jacket and put it on, covering her sweater, which thankfully had an off switch to kill the blinking lights. “Let’s roll.”
Once they were settled in the large SUV, Kaitlin fired up the engine and drove through town. She had to admit the ride was smooth. Within moments, she turned onto the long winding road that led up the second tallest mountain in the county. The bright headlights of the SUV cut through the darkness and bounced off the snow. They’d reached the summit near the gate of the estate when the SUV’s headlights swung across the accident scene. A dark gray sedan with chains on the tires had slid off the road into a tree.
Nearby, a black SUV was parked at an angle and two men were dragging a female from the sedan’s driver’s seat. Kaitlin’s hands gripped the steering wheel as she brought the vehicle to an abrupt halt.
Nick popped open his door and slid out.
“Wait!” Kaitlin yelled at him. The fine hairs at her nape quivered.
He froze, standing with the door open. “Kaitlin?”
Were these men Good Samaritans? Or something far more sinister?
The men let go of the woman, letting her flop into the snow. Then both men swiveled to aim high-powered handguns at them.
“Take cover!” Kaitlin reached for the duty weapon at her side. She’d wanted Nick to appreciate her for the capable deputy she was, but not at the risk of his life.

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