Her Mistletoe Protector (2 page)

“No. Nothing like that.” Her gaze rested on her son’s photograph. “Right now, the threats are centered on me, but I called you because I need to be sure Joey is safe.”

“I understand. I’ll see what we can get from these letters, but at this point, our hands are tied.” As much as he wanted to order protection for her, they needed more than just her suspicion that the Mafia was behind the threats. He took out his business card and slid it across the desk. “I want you to be extra vigilant. If you see anything suspicious, please call me on my personal phone regardless of the time of day or night.”

She took the card and nodded. “Thank you.”

He rose to his feet, wishing there was more that could be done. After donning a pair of gloves, he placed both notes and the envelopes in a plastic evidence bag, even though he knew the odds of getting a decent set of prints were slim. And they’d have to get Rachel’s fingerprints as well as the receptionist’s on file to cross match them.

Having a new case to work on would help keep him busy. But first he needed to see what the forensic team came up with. Otherwise, he’d have nothing to go on, which wouldn’t help keep Rachel and her son safe.

And he wasn’t about to lose another mother and child on his watch.

* * *

Rachel managed to get some work done before heading out to take Joey to his last basketball game before the Christmas holiday. The drive to the school, located on the outskirts of town, was uneventful. The game turned out to be a lot of fun and her son scored four points, edging their team to a ten to eight victory. Joey and his teammates were loud and rambunctious as they celebrated, and Rachel felt more at ease as the night unfolded. But as she and Joey headed home, she noticed a big black truck keeping pace behind her. No matter what speed she chose to go, the truck remained right behind her.

Detective Butler had warned her to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. At the moment, the truck certainly seemed suspicious, but maybe she was letting her imagination get the better of her. She didn’t recall seeing a truck behind her on the way to the basketball game or parked anywhere along the long country road outside the school.

So how would the driver of the black truck know where to find her? How would anyone have access to Joey’s basketball schedule? Maybe this was nothing more than a coincidence.

She did her best to keep her expression neutral as Joey relived every moment of winning the basketball game.

“Did you see my last basket? The coach said it was amazing and that without my score we might not have won the game. Isn’t that awesome, Mom?” he asked for the third time. “I can’t wait until our next tournament. Coach said I can be in the starting lineup!”

“The game was awesome,” she agreed, looking once again in her rearview mirror. Was the truck gaining on them? Darkness came early in December so it was hard to gauge the distance. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and pressed down on the accelerator. For the first time she bemoaned the fact she’d traded in her high-powered sports car for a four-cylinder eco-friendly hybrid last year. The hybrid’s engine chugged as she fought to increase her speed.

The truck edged closer, and she glanced helplessly around at the winding country road she’d taken to avoid the traffic on the interstate. Was the driver of the truck behind her the same person who’d sent her the threatening letters? Was he working for someone linked to the Mafia?

Swallowing hard, she drew her cell phone out of the front pocket of her sweatshirt and pushed the preprogrammed number for Nick Butler. He’d told her to call day or night and, thankfully, seven-thirty in the evening wasn’t too late. She held her breath until he answered.

“Butler.”

“It’s Rachel. We’re being followed by a black truck license plate number TYG-555. We’re on Handover Road, just past Highway 12.”

“Mom? What’s going on?” Joey swiveled in his seat, finally realizing that something was wrong.

“Hang tight, I’m not far away. I’ll be right there,” Nick said in a calm, reassuring tone.

“Hurry,” she urged, before sliding the phone back into her pocket and returning both hands to the wheel. She increased her speed more, wondering why Nick would be so close, when suddenly, the truck rammed into her from behind, causing the steering wheel to jerk in her hands as the car swerved dangerously. She and Joey were wearing their seat belts, but she wasn’t sure the restraint would be enough to prevent them from being harmed. “Hang on, Joey!” she shouted as she fought to stay in control.

“Mom!” Joey screamed as the truck rammed into them again, and this time, she couldn’t prevent the car from slamming into the guardrail with a sickening lurch. She tried to ride against the rail, but the car spun out of control, doing a complete three-sixty before hitting the side rail again, thankfully on the driver’s side.

The impact caused the airbags to explode in their faces. Pain radiated through her face and chest. “Joey!” she shrieked, frantic to know her son was all right.

The car came to an abrupt halt, but the driver’s side door was bent inward to the point of pinning her left foot. She batted away the air bags as she frantically reached over for her son. “Joey? Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” he said, between hiccuping sobs. “I think so.”

Coughing as air bag dust filled her lungs, she tried again to get her foot out from the twisted hunk of metal. When that didn’t work, she reached over to help Joey get out of his seat belt. “I need you to get out of the car, Joey. Run away and get help. Find Detective Butler. Do you understand me? You need to get away from here and find Detective Nick Butler.”

“Not without you,” he cried.

“I’ll be right behind you,” she said, even though she wasn’t sure she’d be able to wrench herself free. “Now go.
Hurry!
”

Somehow, Joey managed to crawl out of the passenger-side window, which was completely busted open. She pulled, gritting her teeth against the pain as she tried to yank out her pinned foot.

Through the open window she saw Joey stagger a bit before he managed to pick up his pace enough to run. She heard the distant wailing of a police siren and hoped that was Nick, as she shifted in her seat again, determined to find a way to get free.

But then she saw a large man dressed completely in dark clothing, recognizing him as the driver of the big black truck that had caused her to crash. Through the glow of her headlights, she saw him take off running after her son. “No! Joey!” she screamed, ripping her foot out of her shoe, finally gaining freedom
. “No!”

Too late. The tall stranger easily scooped up her son and dropped a black hood over Joey’s head before taking off with him thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Joey struggled against him, but the guy never hesitated, ignoring her son’s kicks and punches.

“No!”
she wailed, scrambling to get out of the crushed car. She threw herself across to the passenger seat and wiggled her way through the broken window. “Stop! Joey!”

But the moment she fell from the window onto the paved road, the big black truck engine rumbled to life and pulled away, tires screeching, with her son trapped inside.

TWO

N
ick slammed his foot down hard on the accelerator, racing to Rachel’s location, his heart pounding in his chest. Earlier that day, he hadn’t been entirely convinced her stalker was really someone from the Mafia. But the threats had been enough that he couldn’t bear to leave her totally on her own, so he’d followed Rachel to her son’s basketball game without telling her he was nearby.

Now he realized his instincts had been right on. The panic in her tone gripped him by the throat and he couldn’t help feeling that this was his fault for not doing more to keep her safe. He saw Rachel and Joey leaving the school after the game, but at that moment he’d taken a call from his boss, questioning why he’d taken on Rachel’s stalker case. He’d explained about the possible mob connection, which had eased his captain’s concern. But in the time it had taken him to placate his boss, Rachel and Joey had disappeared from sight.

His fault for not telling her he was there. And if something bad happened to Rachel and Joey, he’d never forgive himself. As he drove, he silently prayed for their well-being.

Please, Lord, keep Rachel and Joey safe in Your care. Amen.

The closer he got to the location she’d given him, the more his gut tightened with fear and worry. And when he saw her mangled car wedged against the guardrail, his stomach dropped. He was surprised to see there weren’t any police cars or ambulances at the scene. As he pulled over, Rachel was there, limping and crying, making her way down the road. He bolted from his car and ran toward her. “Rachel, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“He took Joey!” She grabbed his arm in a tight grip. “You have to do something! Right now!”

“Which way did they go?”

“N-north.”

“All right, let’s go.” He took her arm since she was shaking so badly he was afraid she wouldn’t be able to stay upright. She managed to hang on long enough to climb into his car. He slid quickly into the driver’s seat.

As he drove he reached for the radio. “I have to call my boss, tell him to send a chopper. The truck will be easier to find from the air at night.”

“Wait! I have a text message.”

He froze, watching as she pulled her cell phone from the pocket of her pink hoodie sweatshirt.

“Oh, no,” she whispered.

“What is it?”

“Don’t call the police or I’ll kill him.”
She lifted her tortured gaze to his. “I knew it! I knew the mob was after me. And now they’ve kidnapped Joey!”

Every instinct he possessed told him to radio for backup, but Rachel had grabbed his arm again, squeezing so tight he winced as her nails dug painfully into his skin. “We have to find him. We have to get to Joey!” she sobbed.

“Rachel, I know you’re scared, but let’s calm down and think this through. We need to get the helicopters to go after that black truck.”

“If that guy sees the police he’ll kill Joey. You don’t know how ruthless the Mafia can be. Please don’t do anything that will hurt my son.
Please!
” Her green eyes implored him to listen.

He pressed harder on the accelerator, going well above the speed limit. He wished a cop would try to pull him over, because then they’d have their badly needed backup.

“This is all my fault. They have Joey and it’s all my fault,” Rachel moaned.

He glanced over at her, wishing there was something he could say to make her feel better. But he knew only too well what it was like to lose a child.

“There!” Rachel’s excited shout drew him out of his depressing thoughts. “That’s the black truck that hit me.”

He couldn’t believe they’d found the black truck here, on the side of the road. But as they came closer, it was clear that the vehicle had been abandoned. Was it possibly a different truck? No, the damage to the front bumper convinced him they had the right vehicle. The passenger-side door was left hanging wide open, as if someone had grabbed Joey and taken off running without bothering to shut the door behind him.

He scanned the area, but there wasn’t much he could see in the darkness outside the glow from his headlights. He could tell that beyond the open cornfield was a subdivision full of houses, many of them twinkling with various holiday lights. The kidnapper could be anywhere. Either on foot or—if he wasn’t working alone—in another vehicle.

“Where are they? Where’s Joey?” Rachel barely waited for him to stop the car before she was out and racing over to see for herself.

He followed hot on her heels, ready to prevent her from disturbing any evidence. But he needn’t have worried.

She simply stood there, staring inside the empty truck, her eyes welling with tears. “They’re gone,” she whispered.

He curled his fingers into helpless fists, knowing there wasn’t any way to put a positive spin on this latest turn of events.

Joey was gone and Nick didn’t have a clue as to where he might be.

* * *

Rachel shivered, ice creeping slowly through her bloodstream like a glacier. She’d been so certain they’d find the black truck. Find Joey.

But her son was still missing.

“Come on, Rachel. I have to call my boss,” Nick urged, putting a hand beneath her elbow to nudge her away from the truck.

She didn’t move, couldn’t seem to tear her gaze from the empty truck. Joey had been in there, with a hood over his face. She couldn’t bear to think of how frightened her son must be. “Hang in there, Joey,” she whispered, as if he could hear her. “I’m coming to get you.”

“Rachel, there’s nothing more we can do here. Not until we get a forensic team to go through the truck to pick up trace evidence.”

“No cops,” she said weakly, even though she knew it was too late. Nick was a cop and she’d called him right before the crash. And obviously they needed all the help they could get to find Joey. Her frozen brain cells finally put a few pieces of the puzzle together. “How did you get to me so quickly?” she asked with a frown.

He shrugged and ducked his head before he abruptly turned away, heading back to his vehicle. She forced her legs to follow him, wincing as she stepped on a stone with her foot that didn’t have a shoe.

“Wait,” she said, stopping him once again as he reached for the radio. “Can you call this incident in as a hit-and-run? Without mentioning Joey?”

“Rachel, you know that’s not smart,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I get that they have you running scared, but the more people searching for your son, the better.”

Logically, she could agree, but there was nothing logical about her feelings regarding the mob. And she was convinced that her husband’s uncle, Frankie Caruso, was the mastermind behind Joey’s kidnapping. “You don’t understand,” she said brokenly, wishing she could convince him. “If they get any sense that the police are involved there’s nothing to stop them from killing him.”

“Why would they kidnap your son in the first place?” he asked. “You have to admit, kidnapping is a huge leap from stalking.”

She drew her arms across her jacket, trying to maintain some warmth in the cold December night. Her left ankle throbbed, but she shoved the pain aside. No matter how much she hurt, she wouldn’t allow anything to stop her from finding her son. “Maybe the Mafia is looking for money from my company? Money that will help them rebuild their organization?”

“It’s possible, since the Mafia has taken several big hits lately,” Nick mused. “And you think they targeted you because of your marriage to Anthony?”

“Yes. Don’t you see? It all fits! My father’s money helped me escape Anthony all those years ago, so now they want me to pay them back. That’s basically what those threatening notes said, right?”

Grimacing, Nick nodded slowly. “I guess in a twisted way, that makes sense.”

She was dizzy with relief, knowing she’d finally managed to convince him of the Mafia link. “The mob fights dirty and plays for keeps,” she murmured. “If you call in reinforcements, the dirty cops might find out and let Joey’s captors know. I just can’t take that chance.”

“Not all cops are dirty, Rachel,” Nick said, a hard edge to his tone.

She sensed she was losing the battle. “During my brief marriage to Anthony, I knew of several Chicago cops who were on his payroll. None of them would lift a finger to help me. Can you honestly say that there isn’t the possibility of dirty cops still on the force?”

He scowled as he twisted the key in the ignition. “No, I can’t tell you that as much as I wish I could. I hate knowing that some of the very men and women who are supposed to put criminals away actually join forces with them, instead. Kidnapping is a federal offense, so we could call in the FBI.”

Fear tightened her chest to the point she felt she couldn’t breathe. “Are you sure there isn’t any possibility of someone linked to the Mafia working inside the FBI, too?”

Nick let the car idle as he scrubbed his hands over his face. “No, I can’t tell you that, either. Because there was a dirty FBI agent involved in a case I worked on last summer. We arrested him, but I always wondered if there weren’t others, too. Others that we missed.”

The thought of losing her son was making bile rise to her throat. “Please, Nick. All I’m asking for is a little time. Please keep Joey’s involvement out of this for now.”

He turned his head and stared at her for a long moment. “I’m going to at least let my boss know what’s going on. I know he’s not dirty and we need someone to trust.” She wanted to protest but knew that he had a job to do. Nodding stiffly, she dropped her hand from his arm so that he could call in a crime team to investigate the crash scene and the abandoned truck.

She didn’t relax a single muscle until he disconnected the call, without once mentioning Joey. Unfortunately, her relief was short-lived when Nick punched in another number.

“Hey, I think we have another link to the Mafia angle,” he said into the phone.

She strained to hear the other side of the conversation, which she assumed was with Nick’s boss. “Yeah? Like what?”

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.