Classified Christmas Mission

“The cabin’s not too far from here,” Lance said. “Get in and I’ll take you there.”

She opened the back door for Sam then paused. “No, wait.” She shut the door. “You can’t take us, we need to walk through the woods.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Getting that way. If the people who shot at me come back, they’ll see the tracks and know I went off the road. Then they’ll look for tracks leading away. If you drive us, you’ll leave fresh tracks straight from here to the cabin.”

“What about your footprints?”

She looked up. It was snowing fast enough to fill shallow steps but not the deep grooves his SUV would make. Maybe. “I’ll just have to take that chance. As long as we’re moving through the woods, we should be all right.”

“What if you walk along the edge of the lake?”

“And let the water cover our tracks?”

“And come up to the house from the back. They’ll be looking for tracks on this side.”

She looked at Sam.

He tilted his head and looked at the ground. “Hungry. Number five for six forty-nine plus add cheese for ninety-nine cents and a number twenty-four for two ninety-nine. The subtotal is ten forty-seven plus sixty-three cents for tax. The grand total is eleven dollars and ten cents.”

Lance lifted a brow. “A human calculator?”

“Something like that. And he likes lists.”

“I guess we know what he wants for dinner,” Lance said. “What restaurant?”

“Burgers-N-Shakes To Go. But that’s going to have to wait.”

She picked up the pace and looked back to make sure Sam was still in her footsteps. He was. And Lance was right behind Sam.

She heard the car on the road behind them before she saw it. She spun and motioned for Lance to get behind a tree. But he was already moving, crossing the street to the wooded area. He stashed the backpacks and drew his weapon then slid behind the large oak and faced the road.

Amber did the same. “Sam, over here. Hurry.” Sam didn’t look up, just trudged toward her. She positioned him where she wanted him. He was small enough that she knew he was invisible from the road. “Stay here, okay? Don’t move. Count how many seconds we stand here quiet without making a sound. Start now.”

He didn’t look at her but he didn’t move either. She just prayed that he stayed that way. She took cover behind one of the other larger trees nearest to Sam. If she had to grab him and run, she would. The car slowed, looking at the SUV parked on the edge of the road. She knew her car wasn’t visible from where the sedan was positioned, but if they got out and looked close, it would be. She held her breath and caught Lance’s eye. He was ready to act should he need to.

The car was the same one she’d seen behind her just a while ago. The same one the bullet had come from. The same one that had been parked in Yousef Pirhadi’s driveway the morning she’d run with Sam. How had they found her?

* * *

Lance didn’t know the whole story, but he knew he had to help Amber and Sam. The car next to his SUV sat still and idled. He wondered if the occupants were talking about whether they should explore the area. If they got out and started looking around, Lance figured they’d be discovered.

A fire truck lumbered into view and Lance nearly went to his knees with gratitude. It moved slowly, carefully plowing its way through the few inches of snow that hadn’t yet frozen.

The sedan gently pulled away from the scene appearing not to be in a hurry. Anyone watching would just assume he’d slowed to check on the accident victims but decided to leave when help arrived. Lance released a breath and saw Amber do the same. She shoved her weapon out of sight and touched Sam on the arm. Sam ignored her. “Come on, Sam, time to go.”

Again, the boy didn’t move and Amber sighed.

Lance spotted the video game sitting on the ground. “He might need this.” Lance picked it up and handed it to Sam.

Sam took it. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Lance picked up the backpacks and passed them to her. “I’ve got to address this. I guess they decided to check the scene in spite of my canceling the call. Head to the cabin. I’ll be there shortly.”

“You won’t mention us?”

He sighed. “No, I won’t mention you. But we’re going to have a long talk when I get there.”

She nodded. “Fine. Thank you. And if you can avoid having them find the car just yet, I would appreciate it.”

He drew in a breath. “All right. I’ll do my best.”

“I just need to buy some time. I know someone will see the car sooner or later, I just need later, okay?”

“Like I said, I’ll try. Watch out for that sedan. Keep the same plan. Stay in these woods and cross the street before you get to the house. Cut through the beachy area of the lake and come up to the back of the house. There should be a key under the turtle in the flower bed.”

“That’s what I was counting on.” She touched Sam’s hand and he let her begin to lead him out of the woods and, hopefully, toward safety.

Lance watched them until they disappeared over the next rise then down the hill. Then he turned and made his way back across the street to answer the questions as best he could. He pulled his phone from the clip on his belt and saw he had six missed calls. All from Clay, Amber’s brother. He pressed the button to dial the man’s number and lifted the phone to his ear. Clay answered on the first ring. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. I came across an accident and stopped to help.” All truth. He wouldn’t lie to his boss.

“You need me to come out there?” Clay obviously hadn’t heard about the wreck—or the fact that Lance had called for backup and then canceled it. Hopefully, by the time that was revealed, Amber would have agreed to bring her brother in on whatever was going on with her.

“No, but I’m going to be a while. Fortunately, there aren’t any injuries or fatalities, but you know how it goes. This is going to take some time.”

“Right. How’s the weather holding for you?”

Lance looked at the sky and the white ground around him. “The snow’s stopped falling but the temperature hasn’t. It’s going to be a cold one.”

“Stay warm.”

“Yeah, you, too.”

“Want me to save you a plate?”

Lance thought about it. He wasn’t going to leave Amber and Sam at the cabin alone. She needed someone to watch her back and he knew that she wasn’t going to ask for help. He felt guilty, torn between letting Clay know his sister needed help and keeping her secret like she’d asked. He’d keep his word, but he didn’t like it—or think it was right. However, if he spilled the story to Clay and it put Amber and Sam in even more danger...

Lance sighed. “No. I may not make it tonight after all. If you don’t see me, don’t worry about it. I’ll check in with you later.”

“If you’re sure.”

Lance glanced in the direction Amber and Sam had gone. “I’m sure.” Maybe by the time he heard Amber’s story and put the pieces to this puzzle together, he’d think of a way to convince her to bring her brother, the sheriff of Wrangler’s Corner, into her small circle of trust.

THREE (#u16a06754-c547-5bb3-b3ec-0df9084834d8)