Her Christmas Protector (12 page)

“It is sweet.”

She shifted her gaze back to him. The moment stretched, their silent communication vibrated in the air.

“I’m naming the baby Faith, so we’ll always have something to remember you by,” he stated softly.

Her heart twisted.

Nothing could have reminded her more eloquently that her time here was borrowed. He rightly assumed that once the danger passed they’d go their separate ways. Luke didn’t love her. What could be more clear?

It was one-sided, this emotional charge she kept feeling. The realization was bitter to take, yet on some level, it was better this way.

Thankfully, she hadn’t said the words that would change things between them. The growing closeness she felt now could only be defined as friendship. Nothing more, nothing less.

She tried for a light smile, but could feel the corners of her mouth quiver. “I’ll go back to the house. I’m exhausted.”

“Thank you for your help tonight.” His quiet, somber words echoed off the barn walls.

All she could do was nod and hurry away before the ache in her heart showed on her face.

From the shadows, a man watched Faith hurry inside the house. He could have grabbed her then, but didn’t want to chance it, not with so many people roaming about.

His jaw tightened with frustration. He’d thought for sure the bullets would scare her off the ranch where she’d be more vulnerable since Reva’s ideas didn’t work.

A lot of money had been promised if he could deliver the woman. He needed that money.

In the next day or so, he’d find an opportunity. Soldier man couldn’t stay with her around the clock. He glanced at the window that just lit up. Faith’s room. Hmm. Maybe a midnight grab?

Naw. Too risky.

There had to be a way to get Faith alone.

“Buck broke through the south pasture fence again. Charles is herding him into the north pasture with the cows,” Leo stated when he found Luke in the barn cleaning up after the vet’s late-afternoon visit.

Luke sighed. “Ugh, that bull!” Glancing out the barn door at the low sun, they’d be missing dinner tonight. “Well, we best get to it now before it gets too dark. Buck doesn’t play well with others.”

“I’ll go round up Mac and Jerry and get the supplies loaded in the truck.”

Luke stepped inside the house to inform Faith he wouldn’t be home for dinner. The aromatic scents of tomatoes and spices filled the air. The sight of Faith at the stove, her hair tied back, her cheeks flushed from the heat, made his insides clench. Steeling himself against the attraction ricocheting through him, he said, “Faith.”

She jumped and the spoon clattered inside the steaming pot she’d been stirring.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice sounding panicky.

“Nothing’s wrong.” He immediately assured her. “A bull broke through a fence. You and Mom go ahead and eat.”

“You’re not going to try to fix the fence in the dark, are you?”

He shrugged. “It has to be done. We have a portable floodlight.”

“You’ll be careful?”

“Always. Lock the door behind me and if you get scared, call me on my cell.”

“We’ll be fine.” She gave him a smile that he was sure meant to inspire confidence.

“I’ll leave Brandy with you,” he stated. Faith and his mother would be safe. Deputy Russell was down at the end of the drive. There was no reason to worry. Still, he paused outside the door until he heard the lock slide into place.

Moonlight streamed through the slit in the curtains, the white glow illuminating Faith’s path as she paced the kitchen. In the oven she had a plate warming for Luke, but he hadn’t returned from fixing the bull-trampled fence. Maybe something happened to him?

No, she couldn’t think that way. She was becoming way too attached; to the ranch, Dottie and especially, Luke. Eventually, they would part ways.

When all was said and done, Faith wondered what would become of her. Where would she go? Not back to New York where memories of Vinnie would haunt her, never back there. There wasn’t anywhere she wanted to be other than where she was. Already in the short time she’d been in Oregon, she’d made true friends, Dottie, Sally and Matt Turner and of course, Luke.

Her fists clenched in useless frustration. In this house she was accepted for herself, not for her money or her position in society. Here she belonged.

She glanced at the clock. Where was he? The four walls of the kitchen closed in on her. She needed to get outside and breathe some fresh air. She left the house to visit her namesake.

Baby Faith came directly to her, as did Lucy. Both animals nuzzled against her, making her feel wanted and loved.

“Well, at least you love me.” Faith knew self-pity was an undesirable quality, but at the moment she felt the need to wallow. Luke didn’t love her. She had to accept that.

Faith sang softly to the llamas, her voice clear and bright in the night air. She sang a sad song of love found and love lost.

From behind her, a hand closed over her mouth. Her song turned into a muffled scream.

Close to her ear, a male voice, gloated, “Got you.”

Terror roared in her brain. She tried to break free, her elbows driving backward, her legs kicking. An arm snaked around her waist, beneath her rib cage and tightened as she was pulled backward. She twisted and scratched at the hand across her face. Her heels dug into the ground, but she was no match for the man pulling her out of the barn.

From inside the house, Brandy’s frantic barks echoed in the quiet of the night. Why hadn’t she brought Brandy out with her?
Please, let Dottie look out the window and see what’s happening.

She was slammed up against the side of a dark sedan, parked behind the barn. The door handle jabbed painfully into her hip. The hand at her mouth released. She took a breath to scream, but her air supply was cut off when the man jammed his forearm across her throat, knocking the breath from her.

She heard the sound of pulling tape and then a wide strip of adhesive was slapped over her mouth. Her hands were yanked behind her and taped together. She was pulled away from the car, the door jerked open and she was thrown in. The dome light didn’t come on. Faith couldn’t make out her attacker’s face.

The man captured her feet and taped them together. Then flipped her over so that she landed across the floor of the back seat. A musty-smelling blanket was thrown over her.

A moment later the engine rumbled to life and the car moved slowly forward down the drive, then stopped. Hope flared through her. The hiss of the electric window going down was drowned out by the sudden blare of music from the radio.

The driver had to shout to be heard. “Hey, Deputy.”

“Evening. Where you headed?”

“Bend. My mom took a turn for the worse.”

Shock jerked through Faith. Mac, the ranch hand with the ill mother? Why was he kidnapping her?

She thumped her tied feet against the floorboards and screamed into the tape across her mouth. She tried to sit up, but she was wedged between the front and back seats at too awkward an angle.

The radio went up a notch. Faith didn’t hear the deputy’s response before the car began moving again. Then the radio shut off and the roar of the ice-crusted road beneath the car tires reverberated inside Faith’s brain along with her pleas to God for help.

“I’
ll go tell Charles to bring Buck back,” Leo stated as they were finishing up with the fence. Puffs of breath visible in the floodlights marked the chilly night air. The ground crunched beneath their feet as they moved about.

“I thought Mac was already doing that,” Luke replied, replacing his tools into the back of the Bronco.

Jerry lifted the wooden slats they hadn’t needed and carried them to Leo’s truck. “I thought he went to get some more nails, but it turned out we didn’t need any.”

“More nails? I have a ton in here,” Luke gestured to the workbox in the back of the Bronco. “When did he leave?”

“Fifteen, twenty minutes ago.”

Charles came riding up on a small ATV. “Hey, Buck’s not one to be patient. Any chance you all are about done here?”

“Where’s Mac?” Leo asked.

Charles shrugged. “I haven’t seen Mac since I rode out.”

Luke didn’t like the uneasy feeling coming over him. “I’m going to head back to the house. You guys finish up here.”

“I’ll come with you,” Jerry said.

Luke didn’t want to take the time to argue. He climbed in and drove quickly over the rough, ice-crusted ground back to the ranch. As soon as he pulled up he knew something was wrong. His mother and Brandy were waiting on the back porch.

“She’s gone!” his mother exclaimed.

“What happened?” Luke’s heart pounded in his head like a hammer hitting a post.

“I don’t know. Brandy was barking so wildly. Like she did the other night. I came downstairs and I couldn’t find Faith.”

“The deputy,” Jerry said.

“Go inside and lock the door,” Luke instructed his mother. “I’ll find her.”

To Jerry he said, “I need you to stay and keep an eye out. Let Leo and Charles know what’s up when they return.”

“Sure thing,” Jerry stated.

Luke hesitated, then decided he’d better go armed. He wasn’t sure what Mac was up to, or why, but Luke didn’t want to go into the situation unprepared. He ran up to his room where he kept a Glock in a small lockbox under his bed. Once in his Bronco, he sped down the drive, the tires slipping. He skidded to a halt at the end of the road. The deputy got out of his car and came over.

“Did you see anyone leave here?” Luke asked, his voice sharp.

The deputy nodded. “Yeah, Mac left just a bit ago. Said his mother took a turn for the worse, so he was going to Bend to see her. What’s up?”

The news slammed into Luke’s chest like mortar fire. How could he have been so blind? “Call the sheriff. Give him a description of Mac’s car. I think he kidnapped Faith.”

Without a word, the deputy ran back to his cruiser. Luke turned out onto the road, his mind frantically going over the options.

If he was going to try to get her out of the state, he’d either drive or take a private plane. Driving was too risky. He’d know the police would be looking for him. Roberts Field Airport in Redmond was about fifteen miles outside of Bend, which had smaller commercial planes. Bend Municipal Airport just northeast of Bend handled Lears and more private planes. The closest major airport was in Portland. Mac wouldn’t take her to a major one. Too many people. Of the other two, Luke had a fifty-fifty shot. He chose Bend Municipal.

Luke drove as fast as the slick roads allowed. He prayed he’d find Faith before it was too late.

The shrill ring of a phone jolted through Faith. Already tense muscles tightened even more. Her body ached from being on the floor of the car. She strained to hear Mac as he answered.

“Yeah, I got her. We’re about ten minutes out. What? You never said anything about that. Let me check.”

The car slowed, the sound of loose road debris hit the underbelly of the car as they came to a stop, the engine left to idle. The blanket was pulled off of her. Mac twisted around in his seat and loomed over Faith. Her body went rigid. Her heart pounded fiercely against her rib cage.

Mac grabbed her by the throat, and rubbed his hand along her neck and collarbone before releasing her.

Relief rushed through her veins, making the world spin.

“No,” Mac said once he was back in his seat. He put the car in gear. “Too bad, dude. That’s your problem. You didn’t say I had to get anything else. I’ve got the woman and you’ve better have the hundred grand.”

So a hundred-thousand dollars bought Mac’s betrayal. Disgusting.

Faith closed her eyes and continued to pray.

Luke’s Bronco skidded to a stop in the parking lot of the airport. He bolted from the vehicle. A blanket of powdery snow covered everything but the black tarmac where a small twin-engine plane prepared to take off.

Luke’s gaze searched the airport and landed on a Cessna on the far side of the tarmac.

Mac’s sedan was parked by the plane. Mac emerged from the driver’s side and opened the back door. He leaned in and seemed to be struggling with something. Mac’s fist rose then slammed down before he dragged something out on to the ground. A body.

Luke’s heart jumped to his throat. Faith!

Automatically shifting into military mode, he took off at a dead run.

Mac had picked up Faith’s bound form and hoisted her into the cabin of the plane.

The pilot gestured wildly toward Luke. Mac jumped in and slammed the door closed. The rotators whirled, the sound rushing into Luke’s ears as he reached the side of the plane. He yanked at the door handle. It wouldn’t budge. He could see Mac urging the pilot on. The plane started to move.

Luke drew his weapon and ran hard to get in front of the plane. He aimed at the wheels and fired.

The plane slowed and limped off the runway into the thick snow. Luke rushed to the plane.

The pilot jumped out his hands in the air. “Hey, man. Don’t shoot me.”

“On the ground, hands behind your head,” Luke commanded. “Mac! Come out. Keep your hands up.”

For a second, he thought Mac was going to comply, but then he dived for the door on the other side of the cabin. He hit the ground running.

Luke found Faith curled up on the floor behind the plane’s front seats. A large nasty bruise dominated one cheek. Pulse-pounding dread drowned out the sounds of everything but the faint hiss of her breath. She was alive, but he’d failed to protect her. He’d never forgive himself.

He gathered her up and carried her from the plane. He took her to the sedan and laid her gently on the seat. Taking out a pocketknife, Luke cut the tape binding her arms and legs. Carefully, he removed the tape across her mouth. She didn’t so much as flinch.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. He told the operator what was needed and hung up.

“Please, God. Oh, please.” He stroked Faith’s hair back from her face. “Faith. Come on, Faith.”

Helplessness, heavy and dark centered in the middle of his chest. All his battlefield first-aid training was useless in this situation. His heart hurt so badly he thought he’d be ripped in two. He should have protected her better.

Sirens filled the night air as the local police, sheriff and an ambulance descended on the tarmac.

Within moments a paramedic crouched beside the open door. “Sir, we need to help her.”

Luke let the paramedics move her to the ground where they assessed her condition.

“You okay?” Sheriff Bane asked as he came to stand beside Luke.

“Me, yeah.” His gaze stayed riveted to Faith. “Mac got away.”

“We got him.”

Rage twisted in Luke’s gut. “I want to talk to him.”

“I’m sure you do,” Bane stated. “But we’ll follow procedure.”

Luke wanted nothing more than to put his hands around Mac’s throat and squeeze. “How did Palmero get to Mac?”

“When I know something, I’ll let you know.”

The paramedics lifted Faith onto a gurney and slid it into the ambulance.

“I’ll be at the hospital,” Luke told the sheriff before jumping into the ambulance.

He took Faith’s hand and leaned close to her ear. “You’re going to be all right. I promise.”

The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever. Faith lay so still and pale. She looked okay, except for the purple mark on her face where Mac had punched her. That awful reminder of how Luke had failed to protect her made him want to retch.

At the hospital, Faith was whisked away by the medical personnel. Luke paced the sterile waiting room and refused to consider that she wouldn’t be all right.

“Are you Luke?” an older man, wearing a white doctor’s coat, asked as he approached.

“Yes. Faith?”

“She has a concussion and is a bit disoriented, which isn’t uncommon after head trauma. There was no sexual assault.”

Luke swallowed back bile at the very idea that she could have been raped.

“She’s asking for you.”

A wave of relief crashed over Luke. “Please, lead the way.”

Faith’s face brightened when he walked in the room. The dark bruise on her face tore at his conscience. He rushed to her side. “It’s good to see your smile.”

“I’m just thankful to be out of that car. What happened to Mac?”

“He’s been taken into custody.” Luke held her soft hand. “Don’t worry about him. He’s no longer a threat to you.”

“That doesn’t mean there won’t be someone else. Vinnie got so close.”

A cold knot formed in Luke’s gut. “Yes. He won’t again,” Luke vowed. “I’m sorry I failed to protect you.”

“Oh, no, Luke. This isn’t your fault. You had no way of knowing.”

He shook his head. “I should have been more careful.”

“Please, don’t feel guilty.” Her eyebrows drew together. “Mac was getting a hundred-thousand dollars for me. But he got a call and it sounded like he was supposed to get something else.”

“Like what?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. It all seems so surreal.”

“Then don’t think anymore about it.” He squeezed her hand. “For now, you need to concentrate on getting better.”

“The doctor said I’ll have to stay the night.”

“I’ll stay with you.”

She squeezed his hand. “No. You need to go home and be with your mom. I’ll be safe enough here. I’m just going to sleep anyway.”

She would be safe, but still Luke didn’t want to let her out of his sight.

“Please, go, Luke. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll have the sheriff post a man outside your door.”

“If that makes you feel better,” she said softly.

“It will. I’ll be back first thing tomorrow.”

She smiled and let her eyes drift shut. Luke kissed the back of her hand before quietly leaving the room.

He sagged against the wall outside of her door. He’d never been more afraid in his whole life than he had been in the last hour. So much for not becoming attached to his employee.

He called his mother and told her that Faith was well and that he’d be home soon. But first he had a stop to make.

At the sheriff’s station, Luke was led into the sheriff’s office to wait. The room was small but functional, with a desk, computer workstation and a bookshelf full of manuals and such. Luke ignored the guest chairs and stood by the window to stare at the dark sky.

“Thank You, Lord, for giving her back to me. I won’t let You down again,” he whispered.

The door behind him opened. Sheriff Bane walked in, his gaze disapproving. “I said I’d call when I had information to give you.”

“What has he said?”

“Nothing.” Bane sat behind his desk. “He lawyered up.”

“Let me see him.” Luke clenched his fist. “I’ll make him talk.”

Bane gave him a droll stare. “And throw the arrest out the window? I don’t think so.”

“Did you at least confirm Palmero hired him?”

“Like I said, he’s not talking.”

Anger boiled in Luke’s veins. “Palmero’s behind this.”

Bane nodded. “From what you’ve told me, I agree. But proving it will be hard unless Mac cooperates.”

“What about the pilot?”

“He claims he was just hired by Mac.”

“Where was he supposed to take them?”

“His flight plan said Boise.”

“Then Mac must have had other transportation arrangements there,” Luke said.

“We’re looking into it.” Bane stood and came around the desk. “I promise you, I’ll let you know the minute I have anything concrete. But for now, the best thing for you to do is take care of your family.”

His family. Faith had become part of his family these past weeks. The certainty sent his heart reeling with awe and tenderness.

“Can you put someone at the hospital to protect Faith?”

“Already ahead of you on that one. Deputy Russell should be there now.”

Luke left the sheriff’s station and headed back to the ranch. Tomorrow he’d bring Faith home.

And he wouldn’t ever let her go.

The ranch came into view. Sprawling and beautiful, just like the first time she’d laid eyes on the Circle C. A sense of coming home infused Faith as Luke turned onto the gravel drive. For the moment she wasn’t going to fight the attachment or the sense of well-being. For now she’d soak it up.

The front door opened and Brandy shot out like a cannon and bounded down the porch stairs, barking happily. Dottie came to stand by the railing, a welcoming smile on her face. The mother Faith had so often longed for.

Luke parked and came around to open the passenger door. Brandy practically knocked him over in her effort to greet Faith. She accepted the dog’s sloppy love before Luke nudged Brandy aside and held out his hand. Faith grasped his big strong hand and let him lead her to the house. There was nothing sisterly about her reaction to Luke. Her heart sped up and her senses fired little fissures of heat over her skin.

He didn’t let go until they were on the porch. His mother gave her a fierce embrace.

“I was so scared,” Dottie said with a sniff.

“Me, too,” Faith answered.

Once inside the house, Dottie led Faith to the couch. “Here now. Let me get you some soothing tea,” Dottie cooed and bustled into the kitchen.

Relaxing back into the cushions, Faith closed her eyes, aware of Luke hovering nearby.

“Would you like to go to your room?” Luke asked.

“I’m fine here,” she replied. “Shouldn’t you and Dottie head to the festival? It’s Christmas Eve, after all.”