The Christmas Clue (14 page)

“No. She’s not,” Matt snarled. And he gave Cass another nudge.

“Think of Molly,” she said to him. “She’s already lost her mother. She needs you. I’m the expendable one here.”

“Not just expendable,” Dominic agreed. “You’re the grand prize, Cass. I accept your generous but incredibly stupid offer. Always thinking with your heart. When you will ever learn?”

She hiked up her chin. “At least I have a heart.”

Tired of this posturing and dangerous verbal game, Matt took a step forward. “I’m withdrawing her offer. Let Cass leave with Molly.”

“Oh, this is so touching.” Dominic shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t accept that arrangement. I’ll allow one thing and one thing only—Agent Christensen, pick up your baby and walk away from this. Cassandra and I have some very important business to finish.”

Dominic pointed his gun at Cass.

“My advice,” Dominic added, glancing at Matt, “get out of here
now.
Save your little blond-haired baby while you can.”

God, it was tempting, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t let Cass face this monster alone. “I’m not leaving without Cass.”

“Yes, you are,” Cass insisted.

“You should listen to her,” Dominic verified. “Because she knows what I’m capable of doing. It’s cold, and I have no desire to stay out here any longer. Thirty seconds—that’s all you have, Agent Christensen, to put your heroism aside and get the hell out of here with your baby.”

“And if I don’t?” Matt challenged.

Dominic shrugged. “Simple. I kill Cass and you both.”

“Thirty seconds,” Cass repeated to herself.

Not much time for Matt to make the most critical decision of his life. She’d have to help him along with this, or Dominic would do exactly what he promised to do. Kill them both. And if he needed any help doing that, he had one of his armed minions by his side.

“I
really
want you to go,” she said to Matt. Her teeth were chattering, but the cold hadn’t dulled her senses. She was well aware how this was going to have to play out.

“No,” was Matt’s answer.

Cass wanted to force him to get out of there. She wanted to smash her fist into Dominic’s face. But more than anything, she wanted Matt and Molly to be safe.

“Twenty seconds,” Dominic announced, checking his watch. “Time’s just flying by.”

Cass cursed at him and looked up at Matt, pleading with him to do what was best for Molly.

But he ignored her nonverbal cues, leaned in and whispered, “Drop to the ground now.”

She pulled back, so her eyes could meet his.

“Now,” he repeated.

He didn’t say it with anger, nor was it heavy with emotion. Though she knew the emotion and fear were there. He said it like a trained agent who knew what he was doing.

“Trust me,” he whispered.

“Ten seconds,” Dominic called out.

Cass took a second or two to decide what to do, but she really didn’t have a choice. She couldn’t draw her weapon, not with the baby in her arms. She needed both hands just to hold on to Molly. So, she could either try to talk Dominic out of his thirty-second death sentence. Or she could go along with Matt. And that meant she could only do one thing.

She dropped to the ground.

Her hands were practically numb from the cold, but when she dropped and rolled toward the shrubs, Cass yelled for Matt to get down, and she drew her gun.

Matt did get down. Thank heaven. He dropped to the snow-littered ground, as well. In the opposite direction from where she was.

The fall was hard. And Dominic made it harder.

Dominic got off a shot before Matt did.

Cass glanced at Matt for a split second to make sure he hadn’t been hit. He hadn’t, but Dominic’s bullet had knocked the Glock from Matt’s hand. Matt was a sitting duck. He scrambled to the side, taking cover behind a marble birdbath, just before Dominic fired another shot.

She concentrated on the guard, who was concentrating on her. Specifically, he was positioning his rifle so he could shoot her.

But Cass shot first.

Her gun might have been a lot smaller than his, but it did the trick. The bullet smashed into the guard’s right wrist. He howled in pain and dropped the rifle to the ground.

Cass didn’t have time to celebrate her victory.

Because Dominic pulled the trigger again.

The silenced shot swooshed through the air, and it slammed into the icy ground kicking up frozen dirt and snow. But at least it didn’t hit Matt. No thanks to Dominic. His aim had been dead on, but Matt had jumped out of the way at the last possible second.

Since Matt couldn’t get to his Glock, Cass was about to take aim at Dominic, but the guard she’d shot went after his rifle again. She fired at him, not intending to kill him. She didn’t want to have to live with that, but she didn’t want Matt or her to die, either. She shot at the man’s other arm, and her stomach turned when the bullet made the intended contact.

The man crawled away from his rifle and took cover at the side of the building. Cass watched to make sure he didn’t go after Molly. If he did, this time she would shoot to kill, and she wouldn’t regret it.

“Stop!” someone yelled.

But Matt didn’t stop. From the cover of the birdbath, he’d already taken aim at Dominic. Matt’s bullet slammed into Dominic’s right shoulder. He hardly reacted, aiming at Matt again.

“I said stop it!” the person shouted. That shout was followed by a shot fired from a silencer.

Cass soon saw the source.

Annette was in her motorized wheelchair, and she was at the corner of the house with gun in hand, aimed into the air.

Dressed in a silky black party dress speckled with crystals and no coat, Annette looked frozen, but that didn’t stop her from maneuvering herself between Dominic and Matt. Dominic didn’t fire at Matt, but he didn’t lower his gun, either.

“Where’s Molly?” Annette demanded.

Cass tipped her head to the porch, and Annette immediately looked in that direction, where Molly was still thankfully sleeping.

“This ends now,” Annette said first to her brother. Then, she looked at Cass. “Both of you drop your guns.”

Dominic didn’t take his eyes off Matt. Nor did he clamp his hand over his shoulder to slow down the bleeding. He just stood there. “It’s not over, Annette. This has nothing to do with you. Get inside now.”

“No. I’ve turned a blind eye to things you’ve done in the past, but now you’ve endangered my baby, and I won’t stand still for that.”

“She’s not your baby,” Dominic tossed at her. And Cass could tell from the gleefulness in his eyes that he was up to something. “Molly is Agent Christensen’s daughter. The adoption was illegal, and he’s here to take her away from you.”

There was no glee in Annette’s eyes. “This is Agent Matt Christensen?” she asked, her voice trembling now. She moved her wheelchair back so that she was by her brother’s side instead of in front of him.

“In the flesh,” Dominic confirmed.

It was a definite glare that Annette sent Matt’s way. Now she lowered her gun as if preparing to use it on Matt.

So, this was Dominic’s plan—to get his sister to kill Matt.

But two could play at this dangerous game.

“Molly shouldn’t have to live here under the same roof with your brother,” Cass said to Annette. “You know that. That’s why you were planning on leaving. So you could get Molly away from him.”

Now it was Dominic’s turn to glare. At his sister. “You were going to leave?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“You were bringing that dangerous man to the house,” Annette said. But her glare cooled significantly. Whether it was love for her brother or fear of him, it was obvious that Annette was still lacking some backbone.

“Go ahead,” Dominic said to his sister. “Kill Agent Christensen. I’ll take care of his
partner.
Then there’ll be no one to challenge you for custody of Molly.”

“If you kill me, you’ll be just like your brother,” Matt insisted.

Annette frantically shook her head. “No. I’m not like him. But I can’t let you have Molly, either. You gave her up—”

“I didn’t. After her mother died, someone stole Molly so that Dominic could adopt her. I didn’t know she existed.”

Matt inched toward his gun. It was a huge risk. Especially since Dominic was volleying his attention among Annette, Matt and her. And unlike Matt, Dominic still had a gun.

But then, so did Cass.

“Move and I’ll kill Cassandra,” Dominic warned Matt. He turned the gun on her.

Annette issued her own silent warning to Matt. She aimed her pistol at him. Cass wasn’t sure the woman had the nerve to fire, but her hand was shaking so violently that she just might accidentally pull that trigger and hurt Matt.

Cass tried to keep watch on both of them. She didn’t want to shoot Annette, but she would.

The four of them stood there, for long agonizing seconds. There were no party sounds at this end of the estate. No human sounds at all. Only the wind.

Until Molly woke up.

Cass saw the squirmy movement in her coat, braced herself, waiting for the ensuing cry.

That cry changed everything.

Annette snapped her head in the direction of the baby. Dominic made his own move. She could see he was about to pull the trigger and shoot Matt, who scrambled toward his own gun.

All hell broke loose.

Dominic started firing.

T
HIS WAS
M
ATT’S NIGHTMARE
come true.

Molly and Cass were in danger, and he couldn’t get to his gun to save them.

Thankfully Cass dove back into the shrubs so she’d have some small amount of cover. It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough, considering that Dominic was firing at them. It also didn’t help that Molly was crying and that Annette was screaming for everyone to stop while she tried to crawl onto the porch to get to the baby.

But Dominic didn’t stop.

Matt crouched down behind the birdbath, forcing himself to stay put, because he wouldn’t be much good to Cass and Molly if he was dead. And he counted shots. When all ten rounds had been fired, Dominic tossed it aside and shoved his hand inside his tux jacket for his back-up weapon, no doubt.

That was Matt’s cue to come out of cover and grab his own gun several yards away. But Dominic was fast. He had his pistol drawn and ready.

Matt heard the shot, just as his hand closed over his weapon. And he figured it was too late to stop Dominic. Matt braced himself for the feel of the bullet that would no doubt slam into his body.

It didn’t.

His gaze whipped to Cass. God, had she been shot? But she appeared to be unharmed, except for a look of pure terror on her face.

Matt had expected that Dominic would keep firing his backup weapon until he was sure that Cass and he were dead. But he accepted the miracle that he was still alive, lifted his Glock and aimed at Dominic.

Only Dominic wasn’t firing.

His hand and his gun were at his side, and there was a puzzled look on his face. He turned, glancing over his shoulder. That glance was his last voluntary move.

Dominic collapsed onto the ground.

Matt soon realized why. Annette was behind him, on the ground where she’d obviously fallen from her wheelchair. But the fall hadn’t released her grip on her own gun. And it was literally smoking.

She’d shot her brother.

“He could have hurt Molly,” Annette said. “He could have hurt Molly.”

“Watch out for that guard,” Cass warned when Matt stood. But the guard that she’d wounded earlier stepped out from the side of the estate, and he had his hands lifted in the air in surrender.

“Go to Molly,” Cass insisted. “I’ll take care of him.”

Matt did go toward his still-crying daughter, but he stopped first to retrieve Dominic’s gun. Matt kicked it out of the man’s reach. Just in case. But it wasn’t necessary. When he pressed his fingers to Dominic’s neck, he couldn’t get even a thread of pulse.

“He’s dead?” Annette asked. She was as pale as the snow and was shivering.

Matt nodded, sending Annette over the edge. She dropped the gun and began to sob. He’d take care of her later, but right now he had to get to his daughter, to make sure she hadn’t been harmed.

As if she were fragile and might shatter in his hands, he lifted her and eased back the edge of Cass’s coat so he could see Molly’s face. Yes, she was crying, but it obviously wasn’t tears of pain. He kissed her tear-soaked cheek and pulled her to him. To keep her warm. And because he needed to hold her as much as she apparently needed to be held.

Matt could have sworn his heart doubled in size.

“Dominic could have hurt her,” Annette repeated through her sobs. She crawled to her brother and cradled him in her arms, like Matt was doing to Molly.

Cass made her way to the guard, and Matt heard her order the guy to take off his pants so she could use them to tie him up. It was a good temporary measure, but the guy’s hand was bleeding. He’d need medical attention. For that matter so did Annette. She was in shock and would need to be checked for exposure to the elements. He wanted Molly checked as well.

He also needed to call the local sheriff.

Matt wasn’t sure how all of this would play out, but there’d be an investigation. Once he had Molly away from the estate, he could concentrate on keeping Cass out of jail.

Molly’s cries turned to whimpers, but she didn’t go back to sleep. She stared up, studying him. Matt couldn’t help it. He studied her, too, and knew that he’d never grow tired of looking at her face.

“Is she okay?” Cass asked. She kept a vigilant watch of their surroundings as she made her way to him.

Matt nodded and because the wind actually seemed to be getting colder, he stepped inside the garden room. Once Cass was inside, he handed Molly to her.

“I’ll get Annette,” he told Cass. “And then I need to call the sheriff.”

Their eyes met. A thousand things passed between them, including regret that despite all the hell they’d been through, she still didn’t have what she needed to clear her name. And with Dominic dead, it might be even harder to prove that she wasn’t a killer.

“Is the sheriff someone we can trust?” she asked.

“Yes.” He couldn’t say the same for the federal agents who might be sent in as well, but he would be there to run interference if needed.

“It’ll be okay,” Cass whispered. She tipped her head toward Annette and nuzzled Molly’s cheek. His daughter seemed to like the attention she was getting.

Matt kissed them both. It was a moment, all right. One he’d remember forever. Cass, standing there holding his daughter. His daughter, looking at him as if he might actually have some answers.

But the moment couldn’t last.

He had a chore to do. And he wasn’t looking forward to it.

Matt walked outside, and though Annette put up a feeble fight about leaving her brother, Matt carried her inside anyway. Once he deposited her in a chaise lounge, he went back out for the guard. He dragged the man into the garden room and kept his Glock ready just in case Dominic had any other hired guns lurking about.

Because he knew he couldn’t put it off any longer, Matt took out his phone to call 911.

“It’s okay,” Cass assured him.

But he wasn’t so sure of that. Matt actually considered not making that call. Cass, Molly and he could walk out of here, go to the car and drive away.

“You don’t want to be on the run with Molly,” Cass said, apparently reading his mind. “Call the sheriff.”

“I wish I could think of another way to do this.”

“Me, too.” Cass rose up on her toes and kissed him.

She broke the kiss and tipped her head to the phone. “Do it before you change your mind.”