Christmas K-9 Protectors, page 12
Aidan had fallen asleep on the couch, Koko lying on the floor next to him. Aidan had held his hand out to let Koko sniff his knuckles again, so the dog would remember his scent and cast him as a friendly. Koko accepted Aidan now that they’d all calmed down. Now the boy and dog had a bond that would help with this whole situation.
Mallory came to sit by Eli after he ended the call. “Eli, I should go. Koko got in some good practice and he did scare the bad guy even if he couldn’t corner the man.”
“You can’t leave,” he said with such force her eyebrows lifted. “I mean, it’s not safe. They probably have your license plate number, and they could know where you live already. You might go home to find your apartment destroyed or, worse, one of them waiting for you.”
Mallory’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t considered that. Well, what do you suggest I do?”
“Stay here,” he told her. “I have a small spare bedroom and Aidan likes to sleep in the loft. He’ll feel better if you’re here—for him to talk to if he needs someone who can act as his therapist.”
Mallory stiffened, her gaze moving to where Aidan slept. “I’m the team psychologist, yes, but you can talk to him. You’re his big brother. He seems to consider you somewhat of a hero.”
“I’m no hero, but I’d like to keep you both safe,” Eli replied, thinking she looked gorgeous, even in the midst of criminals and chaos. But her reaction to staying here was anything but calm. He tried again. “For tonight at least. It’s dangerous out there, and the roads are a mess. Oh, and you need to know, Aidan is my half-brother.” He filled her in on the details, knowing she’d understand.
“Oh, okay. I can see why you might need someone else for him to talk to.”
“Yes, and you’re here, so...just stay.”
Shut up, Eli, his inner voice said. He wanted to argue with that voice because he wanted to keep Aidan and Mallory safe. A good excuse and a true one, but Mallory liked her privacy and she’d voiced many times she wasn’t looking for a relationship.
Aidan lifted his head and chimed in, wide-awake now. “I don’t think you should be alone, Mallory. They’ll find you.”
She moved to the fire and rubbed her hands together, but Eli knew her shivering was not just brought about by the frigid night.
“Okay, then, I guess I can stay. I’m glad I always carry a toothbrush with me. And lipstick, of course.”
“Of course,” Aidan said, grinning. “Your lipstick is the jam.”
“Yep.” Eli tried to play it cool, thinking Mallory’s bright red lipstick was her trademark. They all teased her about it. “And sleep with your clothes on and have your coat and boots nearby. We might need to get out of here in a hurry.” He glanced toward the front. “I have my Jeep out back, out of sight.”
“Do you think it’ll come to that?” Mallory asked, her voice calm while her eyes glistened with questions.
“I hope not, but you know how it is with criminals. They don’t like to leave any trace of their nasty deeds.”
She nodded, her arms folded against her stomach.
Could he protect both of them? He’d had training—but could he put that training to good use? He’d do what needed to be done, that much he knew for sure.
Eli sighed. He’d worry about that when it happened, he decided. He’d done okay tonight. At least, he’d gone out there and found Aidan in time to save all of them. Now he focused on trying to find a big needle in a haystack—without all the fancy electronics in his lab back at the K-9 compound. But he did have a state-of-the-art laptop and he aimed to put it to good use. Plus, he had other people within his network who could help—some legal and some questionable, but still assets. He wouldn’t be picky about getting them involved.
“What are you doing?” Mallory asked him, while Aidan stroked Koko’s stomach.
“I’m trying to narrow down how many Fredericks and Trees might live in a hundred-mile radius of Anchorage,” he said. “We don’t know the address of the main man, the boss, so that’s out. And Aidan failed to really notice the address of Lena’s home since she drove him there at night and he somehow didn’t notice any road signs.” He tapped away. “I did, however, manage to find a cell tower near a neighbor north of town. Executive-type homes, and not far from the high school. I traced a lot of calls between Aidan and someone in one particular house in that area.”
Aidan sat up. “I only had eyes for Lena, but I might remember some landmarks.”
“Love can be a big distraction,” Mallory said on such a pragmatic note Eli knew she was off-limits in that department. Like him, she didn’t appreciate anything that interrupted her work.
“Yeah, ain’t that the truth,” he replied. “Let’s see what we can find.” His fingers flew over the keyboard. “No distractions.”
“That’s right,” Mallory said, giving him a soft smile with those lush red lips and those big brown eyes.
No distractions. None whatsoever.
FIVE
Mallory couldn’t sleep.
The comfortable bed and cozy room aside, she was accustomed to sleeping in her tiny, minimalist apartment in downtown Anchorage, in pajamas, not the heavy sweatshirt and matching knit jogger pants she’d worn tonight. She loved the great outdoors, but she didn’t venture deep into the wilderness. Not anymore, at least. She’d gotten lost once when she was eight years old, separated from her father while they were on a day hike. He’d been so intent on spotting a certain owl, he’d forgotten she’d trailed behind him, and she’d stayed so far behind she lost him around a curve of rocks.
Spending a night alone and afraid out in the cold, tucked into a dark open crevice, wasn’t something she wanted to repeat. She stayed on the beaten paths now, even if that meant dealing with tourists wearing brand-new hiking boots that would cause their toenails to fall off.
The funny thing—no one knew this. She didn’t like to talk about that scary night, so she continued to be the outdoorsy girl her father taught her to be. She could survive out there, but she didn’t want to put it to the test.
That was how she felt about love, too. She might survive a relationship, but she wasn’t ready to put that to the test, either. She enjoyed her work too much to waste time on love.
She thought of Eli, who’d offered her shelter. Her friend, her coworker and now her self-assigned protector. She wanted to keep him safe, too. He was a good man, and tonight she’d been reminded he was also a good-looking man. Please, Lord, help us through this. Keep us safe.
This felt odd. Strange, knowing Eli and Aidan were here with her. She usually liked her solitary existence. Koko snorted in his sleep, making her smile. She’d always loved animals—the main reason she’d applied to become part of the K-9 team. But she’d left out the part about not wanting to hike through dark wilderness preserves or trek over rocks and mountains to hunt a criminal. No, she’d rather explore minds and motivations than glaciers or meadows. Koko had helped her way more than she’d probably helped him. The holidays were hard sometimes. Her parents, stoic and undemonstrative, did not approve of her working in the Alaska K-9 Unit.
You could be at a large research hospital, or running a lucrative private practice, her mother always reminded her. We can’t even discuss your work—because of the dangerous people you help put behind bars. Do you really want to live your life like that? How will you ever find a husband?
She didn’t need another husband. She also didn’t want to be in some high-rise trying to help corporate raiders figure out how to make their employees work smarter. She didn’t need to prove herself in that way. But she’d never thought she’d be caught in a powerful front-line attack, either, simply because she’d been coming to visit a friend. Would she be in danger from here on out?
Mallory tried every which way to analyze the situation and get a handle on what needed to happen next.
So here she lay, in a tiny room, underneath a comforter covered with bears and eagles, thinking about the man who’d thrown himself over her like a knight in shining armor to protect her. No one had ever done that before.
But then, she’d never been shot at before. Lost, yes. Shot at, no. A new perspective on surviving.
Mallory lifted the plump comforter and decided she needed some hot tea. Slipping on her boots, she carefully opened the bedroom door and headed up the long hallway to the kitchen. Then she spotted Eli and stopped. He sat alone with his laptop at the kitchen table, his eyes dancing in tempo with his fingers while the glow of the screen etched light across his handsome profile.
“Eli?”
“Huh?”
He lifted his head, lost in that deep world contained in a gazillion lightning-speed gigabytes.
“Oh, Mallory,” he said, shutting the laptop so fast his coffee cup jumped. “I didn’t see you there.”
“That’s obvious,” she said, shuffling to the teapot she’d spotted before going to bed. “I can’t sleep.”
“Me, either,” he said, ruffling his hair with his fingers. Which made it stick up all over in inky sprouts. “I’ve found some things.”
She filled the pot and turned on the gas burner. “Such as?”
Eli pointed to the tea container by the refrigerator, then studied his notes. “I had to go deep.”
Mallory spotted some herbal tea and a snowman-embossed mug. The kettle started to whistle, but she grabbed it before it got loud. Aidan had crashed up in the loft.
She settled on a chair next to Eli, her gray sweats warm and cozy, her old wool socks shifting against her legs. “Deep? Like the dark web deep?”
“Yes. I know some people.”
“I’m sure you do.”
He sighed and took a sip of his coffee. Setting the cup back down, he looked her in the eye. “This is big and bad, Mallory. I’m sorry you had to get involved.”
“I can handle that. Just tell me what you found.”
“Apparently, this gang has hit in areas all over the state and even some in Oregon and Washington State, too. But they’ve never been caught, in spite of tips and conspiracy theories, even sightings. Nothing ever pans out. I can’t find an official site, but articles report they have a name—Northworld SĢán or NWS.”
“SĢán,” she said on a gasp. “That means red snapper in the Alaskan Haida language. There’s several variances, but they all have close to the same meaning.” She shook her head. “As in snapping things up? Or is it a symbol?”
“Some of them like to brag. Their symbol is red with the letters NWS. Talk about being bold.”
“Most criminals like to brag, sooner or later,” she said. “They want to be famous, no matter how they get there.”
“NWS is also referred to as Now We Snatch.”
“How clever,” she deadpanned before she took a sip of her spicy tea. “So, what do we do with this information?”
“I’m sending it piece by piece to headquarters through a secure router. They might have a tracker on anything I type, but my firewalls and security measures are pretty solid.”
She sipped more of her tea. “Any word on Tree’s location?”
“Nothing has come through yet. They must move around a lot, which would explain why they’d want this land—to use, abuse and then sell through a shell company once things get too hot here. Not to mention hiding bodies in the park.”
Shivering at that statement, she said, “You’ve been busy, Eli.” Now she was even more impressed with his devotion to his job. But she was concerned about his state of mind. His brother could have been killed. They all could still be killed.
She knew a little about their background—parents who separated and got back together, always fighting, always causing chaos. They’d had a tough life and Eli had wound up here, near his godmother.
“I don’t know if I went down the right rabbit hole, but I did stumble into some social media sites—these people are legends to a lot of teenagers. I’m trying to find where they’ll strike next. They seem to have a pattern of at least once a year, on different holidays.”
“So they might be finished for the year.” Mallory let out a sigh. “Or they’re waiting for Christmas.”
“That’s what I think. But why risk wanting to buy this land when they’ve covered their tracks and stayed one step ahead of the law until now?”
“They messed with the wrong young man,” Mallory replied, her gaze lifting to Eli’s. They stared at each other for a few heartbeats. “Is this weird to you?”
“Me chasing down a dangerous robbery gang on the dark web? Nothing I don’t do every day, right?”
“That...and me being here?”
He grinned big. “You’re not weird. You’re eccentric.”
“Wow, is that your normal pickup line?”
His eyes flared like a match lighting. “Are you trying to get picked up?”
Another silent stare-down. “No, I mean, I was teasing. I think I was trying to tease, but I’m not funny.”
He held her gaze while an unfamiliar warmth spread through her heart. Had to be the herbal tea.
“You don’t have to be funny, Mallory.”
But when he shook his head and went back to work, Mallory knew the tea wasn’t what had made her flush. That had happened because of the way Eli looked at her.
Why had she never noticed before how adorable he really was? As in good-looking and wonderfully disheveled adorable.
“But you did a pretty good job,” he finally said. “And I mean you’re eccentric in a good way. I’m sorry you’re stuck here, but two heads are always better than one, right?”
“Right.” She wanted to say more, ask him questions she’d never dreamed of asking, get to know him better.
But the revving of an engine out on the road brought Aidan running down the stairs fully clothed, his sleep-rimmed eyes wide, Koko right behind him. That and the noise outside ended any questions she had for Eli.
“They’re back,” Aidan announced.
SIX
They were definitely back. Eli grabbed jackets and called out to her and Aidan. “Remember our plan. Go grab your bags! Get on your warm gear and take anything else you need. We’re going to hide in plain sight.”
Aidan took off like a gazelle, grabbing things as he went.
“What does that mean exactly?” Mallory asked as she rushed to get her puffer, phone and the small backpack that held her hat and gloves.
“It means we’re going into the foothills behind the house. Plenty of unknown trails, but I know all of them.”
Mallory stopped so quickly Eli caught her in his arms. Taking a deep breath, she asked, “In the snow and dark?”
When she heard stomping feet and crashing sounds, she knew they had to run. “Eli?”
“Yes, out there. I know those hills and this wilderness, Mallory. Aidan knows them, too. I can hide us, and I can keep us warm for a little while.”
“What about the Jeep?”
Eli glanced out the back window. “Too risky to try to make it. We’ll hide in the hills and sneak back to get one of our vehicles.”
Mallory would not have a panic attack. She wouldn’t show fear or weakness. Snow, darkness, shadows. Could she do this? Another loud crash and then a familiar smell.
“Gasoline,” Aidan said. Koko growled low, his shackles up. “Eli, they’ve got gasoline!”
“Let’s go,” Eli commanded, throwing his backpack over his shoulders, his phone to his ear, “before they trap us in here.”
The front door shook. Eli shoved them toward the loft. “I know a secret way out. Hurry.” Then he spoke quickly into the phone, explaining the situation. “I need backup and the fire department, now.”
He grabbed Mallory’s hand, then called, “Koko, come.”
The dog didn’t hesitate. Koko growled low and followed Eli. Koko took the ladder after a few tries, thankfully. Eli held his phone between his cheek and shoulder while he pulled the ladder up into the loft.
“There, that’ll give us some time,” he told Aidan. “The secret door is inside the storage closet.”
Downstairs, a window shattered. Mallory heard the hiss of fire and smelled the smoke curling up like prickly gray vines toward them. Eli’s home would burn in a matter of minutes. She thought of his cute Christmas tree with the golden angel at the top.
“Eli,” she said, wanting to run back and get that little angel.
“Mallory.” His eyes held hers. “Go.”
She crawled through the boxes and plastic storage tubs behind the secret door and followed Aidan to a crawl-through opening that backed up to the foothills.
“Follow this rocky path,” Eli said. “It’s hidden behind some shrubs.”
“There?” she asked, breathless, as the two men secured the door with a hook and chain. The shrubs were covered with snow. She couldn’t see a path.
Eli tugged her forward. “Yes, there.”
The hills shimmered in a ghostly white haze. The fire blazed and the sky over the roof turned an eerie ruby-orange that contrasted brightly against the midnight clouds. She tried to shake the disorientation and flare of panic.
Eli glanced back, the fire’s red-hot flames reflected in his dark eyes. “We don’t have any other choice.”
Then he took her hand again. “I’ve got you.”
Mallory bobbed her head. Koko nudged her leg, giving her a solid dog stare. She had to do this, or she’d die trying.
“Let’s go,” she whispered as timber crashed and embers floated all around them. She hoped the snow would dampen the fire.
Eli nodded. “We follow the path hidden by the trees and rocks. That will lead us to one of the Bird Valley Trails. We’ll come out in a deep thicket and the snow will be up to our knees. These trails are usually only open through November. It’s going to be cold, but, Mallory, I’ll find a place to get us warm again, I promise. You won’t freeze, and you won’t die.”
