Chapter 6
“Get down!” Nick shoved Mary to the ground, throwing his body over hers. Explosions and the rapid report of firefighting in Iraq surfaced in his memories. When silence settled over the town again, he dared to look up.
“What was that? What’s happening?” Mary’s muffled voice rose from the snow.
“Stay down.” Nick pressed a hand to Mary’s back to keep her from popping up as he rose to his haunches and scanned the street.
“Oh God.” She tried to move beneath his hand. “Let me up, the snow’s cold.”
“Cold is better than dead.” Then he spotted a plume of smoke rising from the direction Mary had pointed moments before. A heavy weight settled in his gut. “Where did you say Reuben lives?” He released the pressure on Mary’s back and climbed to his feet, extending a hand to pull her to hers.
“Over there—” Mary’s gaze panned the rooftops and her face paled. “You don’t think...”
Sirens wailed and a fire truck appeared from around a corner, lights blazing.
Mary jerked open the car door. “Come on!”
Nick rounded the vehicle and slid into the driver’s seat.
“This can’t be happening.” Mary shook her head.
“Reuben Tyler is one of the nicest men I know. Why would anyone want to hurt him? Could you hurry?” She rocked in the seat beside him, a single tear rolling from her eye and making a long track down her cheek.
“If they would hurt Reuben, what will they do to my father?” She stared across at Nick, her blue eyes swimming in still more tears.
“We have to make this stop before anyone else is hurt.”
A wave of protectiveness washed over him and made him want to wrap this woman, this stranger, in his arms and shield her from the ugliness of what was happening.
A mental image of Frank Richards appeared in Nick’s memory.
Instead of reaching out to take Mary in his arms, he shoved the car in reverse and backed out of the parking space, slammed the shift into drive and shot out onto the icy street.
Focus, St. Claire.
Focus, or Mary might end up like Richards.
He could have run the four blocks, as much adrenaline as he had racing through his veins, as much from the explosion as from surfacing battle memories and frustration.
Damn! Why did she have to cry? Had she ranted and raved, he could have handled it.
“We’ll find your father,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Alive?”
He didn’t answer—couldn’t. How could he make a promise he had no idea whether or not he could keep? Until they located Santa Claus, all bets were off. For all he knew, the killer could have gotten to him already.
Rescue personnel jumped from the fire truck as Nick pulled onto the street. He slowed, but before he could shift into park, Mary flung her door open and leaped out of the car.
“Damn!” Nick parked and jumped out, racing to catch up. “Mary.” He grabbed her arm, pulling her to a halt. “What if whoever did this is still hanging around? You could be his next target.”
“I don’t care. Reuben’s family.” She jerked her arm free and continued toward the blasted shell of what used to be a house.
Emergency medical technicians wheeled a stretcher across the ground with a man draped in thick blankets.
“Reuben!” Mary caught up with them when they stopped at the rear of the ambulance.
“Ma’am.” A young technician blocked her from coming closer. “You’ll have to stay back. He’s pretty badly burned.”
A soot-covered hand rose from the blankets, reaching out for her.
Mary pushed past the technician and grasped the hand, staring down into the man’s battered face.
Nick stepped up beside her and circled her waist with one arm.
“What happened, Reuben?” Mary asked. “Who did this?”
The injured man shook his head, his lips remaining closed.
“Does this have anything to do with my father?” she implored.
He nodded.
“Oh, Reuben. I know you can’t talk.” She lifted his bunched fist to her cheek. “But do you know where he is? Do you know where my father is?”
The man never uttered a word, his glassy gaze fixed on Mary, his mouth pressed into a thin, pain-filled line.
“We need to get him to the hospital.” The EMT at the end of the stretcher moved it closer to the ambulance. “I’m sorry, but he needs immediate attention for the burns and other injuries.”
When Mary stepped away, the old man on the stretcher pressed his hand into hers, then let it fall, his eyes closing.
Mary gasped, her eyes widening. “Is he—”
The other EMT touched a stethoscope to Reuben’s chest. “He passed out. Let’s load him up. Fairbanks has been alerted and they’re waiting.”
The fire chief stopped to speak with the ambulance driver. “Looks like a busted gas line. Is Reuben gonna be okay?”
The driver shrugged. “We’ll keep ya posted.” Then he climbed into the front seat and closed the door.
A busted gas line. Nick wanted to know if someone had busted it or if it had been an accident.
He was about to ask when Mary backed into his arms. He couldn’t move with her tucked against him, watching the doors close behind Reuben and the technicians.
Then she buried her face in Nick’s winter jacket, silent sobs shaking her body.
Nick stood transfixed for several long moments.
Every cell in his body warred between SOS training and his own body’s reaction to Mary leaning against him.
Finally, his physical instincts won out, and he pulled her to him, cradling her head against his chest. The urge to carry her away from this town and all its madness almost overwhelmed him.
As he touched his lips to the top of her head, he realized he was getting in too deep.
While the firemen worked to extinguish the blaze, the ambulance pulled away, the siren blaring to life, filling the quiet street with its urgent wail.
After a moment, Mary’s sobs subsided and she grew still. “I’m sorry.” She looked up into his eyes, her own red rimmed, her skin blotchy, but no less beautiful. “You don’t even know me and here I am...”
His arms tightened around her. “It’s okay,” he told her, though he was feeling anything but okay. Holding her in his arms had only stirred the feelings he’d had earlier when he’d kissed her to make her shut up. He wanted to keep on holding her and kissing her until the world stopped spinning.
That wasn’t the way an SOS agent worked. Ever since Elaina, he’d sworn off getting involved with anyone on a case. He’d learned his lesson. You love. You lose.
Deep down, he knew Mary wasn’t like her. Elaina had been trained to deceive. Mary was innocent, na?ve to the tricks people played on each other. Still, Nick knew better than to get involved while working a case. Involvement made you lose focus.
Snow drifted from the sky in heavy, fat flakes as Nick set Mary away from him. “We should check in with your father’s other friends.”
Mary’s face blanched, her hand rising to her mouth, her fingers curled into a bulky fist. “Do you think...”
“We should check,” he repeated. Nick turned toward the rental car, but when he looked back over his shoulder, Mary hadn’t moved. He grabbed her hand and tugged her behind him, but her fingers wouldn’t unbend. “What have you got?”
She stared down at her hand, her fingers opening to display a soot-covered figure of a moose.
“Reuben must have given this to me. I was so upset, I didn’t even realize.
” A sad smile played around her lips. “He’s our master toy maker at the store.
He makes the most amazing toys and carves animals out of wood. ”
“Why would he give it to you?”
Mary stared at the moose, her brow furrowing.
“Reuben can’t talk, hasn’t ever since I’ve known him.
” She spoke slowly as if piecing together the significance of the moose a word at a time.
“He doesn’t tell me things...” she looked up at Nick, a smile breaking through the frown.
“He shows me. This moose must mean something.” Then her frown returned. “But what?”
Nick glanced at the gawkers gathering around the smoldering house. “Let’s get in the car.”
Mary clutched the moose to her chest and climbed into the vehicle. Once in the passenger seat, she clipped on her seat belt, then opened her fist.
Nick settled in the seat beside her. “What were you asking him when he gave you that?”
“I was asking him if the explosion had anything to do with my father.” Her forehead crinkled. “He nodded in answer to that question.”
Nick reached across and grabbed Mary’s arms. “What else did you ask?”
“If he knew where my father was. This moose has something to do with where my father is.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Where would my father be that has anything to do with a moose? Where?” Then her eyes opened. “Moose Lodge!”
“Moose Lodge?” Nick let go of Mary’s arms. “Where is it?” He shifted into gear and pulled out on the street.
She laid a hand on his arm. “Nick, you can’t get there in this car. But I know how we can. Go two blocks and turn right on Dennis Road, then take another right on Aztec. I have a friend I think can help.” Mary’s tears had dried and her jaw set in a firm line.
Nick’s attention shifted from the road to this more determined Mary, admiration swelling in his chest. Most women would fall apart at this point. Not Mary. A few tears and she was back on top of it.
“Here! Stop here.” Mary was out of the car before Nick came to a complete stop.
“Gotta talk to her about basic driving safety,” he muttered beneath his breath.
A man met Mary outside a weather-weary garage where snowmobiles of all shapes and sizes lined the parking spaces in various stages of repair. Some had For Sale signs tied to them.