Amish Christmas Emergency Read online

  That was not what he expected. However, he believed that one should never miss an opportunity to witness, especially when the person asked.

  “Absolutely I was being serious. God has helped me through some pretty tough times.”

  “But why? Is it because that was the way you were raised?”

  “I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, if that’s what you want to know. Growing up, we were pretty much Christmas and Easter churchgoers. We went ’cause it was the thing to do. But Uncle Leo, man, he believed and trusted God with his whole heart. So when I moved in with him, I got to know God, too. Started reading the Bible for the first time in my life. It brought me hope.”

  Her eyes kindled. “Hope. I could use some of that.”

  His phone rang. He turned away to answer it. “Jackson.”

  “Sergeant, I have the house covered for the night. You need to have Miss Grant in my office at eight thirty sharp. I have the visual artist, Tara, scheduled for nine.”

  “Yes, sir. Will do.” He disconnected the phone and gave her the message. She nodded but didn’t say anything. When the night officer pulled up outside, Gavin went out to greet him. The house was encased in shadows. She needed security lights. Gavin ambled over to greet the officer on watch. He’s a good cop. The reminder didn’t help him feel better about leaving her in someone else’s care. Would anyone else be watching the house tonight?

  Gavin wondered just how far the stalker was willing to go to get to the woman inside the house.

  * * *

  Alexa just wanted to go to sleep and wake up to find it was all a dream.

  After Brett’s death, she’d worked hard to pull her life together again. No longer feeling welcome at the hospital she’d worked in because of the rumors and the cold shoulder she was getting from her colleagues, she decided to move. She’d never been a fan of the big city. She and Brett had planned to move to a more suburban area after they were married.

  Knowing she needed to move, she had begun to search online for job openings. When she saw a job posted for a position that would entail working in a clinic with additional shifts in the local hospital, she had decided to apply. She’d never been to Pennsylvania but felt she couldn’t be choosey. When she’d arrived in LaMar Pond for her interview, though, she’d been enchanted by the small-town feel of the place.

  The dull ache in her chest was a reminder of what she’d lost. It wasn’t as sharp as it had been. The pain had lost some of its strength, but she knew that she’d never forget Brett. Part of her wondered if it hurt this bad to lose a fiancé, how much worse would it have been to lose a husband? Or a child? Was that really a situation she wanted to put herself in?

  Would she be able to survive such a situation?

  She didn’t think she’d ever find out. The idea of falling in love and getting married no longer held the thrall it once had. She was better off alone. Maybe she was lonely, but she was fine with that. She had a cat for company and a job she loved. What else did she need?

  She ignored the niggle in her heart that laughed at her, saying she was fooling herself.

  Footsteps in the kitchen brought her up off the couch where she’d been sitting. Gavin walked into the room. The intense energy that buzzed around him was invigorating. But even as she felt better just being in his presence, she couldn’t help but note how exhausted he was. His black hair was standing on end, no doubt because he’d been running his hand through it. His eyes were drooping.

  A huge yawn stretched his mouth wide. He quickly covered it with his hand, but not soon enough. She ducked her head to hide her smile. She wouldn’t want to offend him by laughing.

  “Hey, Lexie. Don’t laugh at me.”

  She laughed anyway, especially when he gave her a ridiculous grin.

  Her laughter died off at his next words. “I think that I have done everything I can here. I need to head home before I can’t function anymore. A police car just pulled up outside.”

  “A police car is going to be there for the whole night, right?”

  He nodded, yawning again. “Yep. Don’t worry. You won’t be alone. Tomorrow I’ll swing by and pick you up around eight.” He grabbed up his jacket, which he’d slung over the back of a kitchen chair. He shrugged into it. “You going to be okay?”

  She refused to give in to the weak impulse to say, no, she wouldn’t be fine. “Of course. There’s an officer outside. I’ll be fine.”

  Ten minutes later, she wished she’d given in to her impulse. Every sound seemed to be amplified. The wind, the cars driving past, even a dog barking. To her hypersensitive ears, each sound seemed to come from right outside her door. Every ten minutes or so, she’d peek out the corner of the front blinds to check that the police car was still parked in her driveway.

  Stop it! she ordered herself. No one is going to pull any stunts when a cop car is parked outside the house. Fortified by the thought, she decided to go to bed early. She double-checked the door locks and the dead bolts. All sealed. She should be safe inside. Refusing to ponder who she was trying to convince, she hurried through her nightly routine. Teeth brushed and in her comfy pajamas, she went to bed.

  And soon found that her mind refused to shut off and allow her to sleep. Every time she shut her eyes, the image of Noah crumpling to the ground, or of a face peering through her window would flash through her mind and her eyes would pop open again. After forty minutes of tossing and turning, she gave up and decided to do something productive.

  Going to the living room, she picked up her laptop and turned it on. After an hour, she felt her eyes grow heavy again. Laying her laptop aside, she pulled a fleece blanket around herself. She grunted softly as her large orange cat, Cinnamon, leaped up onto her feet and decided to make himself comfortable. When he settled in and started to purr, she hated to move him. Plus, the familiar rumble on her feet was comforting.

  I’ll go upstairs in a few minutes.

  She didn’t move. Every time she thought about moving upstairs, she shuddered. If she went upstairs, anyone could enter her house and she wouldn’t know until it was too late.

  She waited, wondering if anyone was out there watching her right now.

  * * *

  Alexa jerked awake. She’d drifted to sleep despite her terror. Meowing angrily, Cinnamon jumped down from the sofa.

  What had woken her up? The room was dark. The house was silent, with the exception of the pounding of her pulse in her ears. Was someone in the house with her?

  She couldn’t hear anything. Gently, cautiously, she eased off the couch. Her toes curled into the carpet as she placed her feet on the floor. Standing, she slowly walked toward the window. She grabbed the edge of the blind and gently eased up one slat. Peeking outside, she breathed a sigh of relief. The police car was still outside. She could see a light on inside it. He must have been looking at his phone. A sliver of the fear inside her uncurled and melted away. She wasn’t alone.

  She had been silly to worry. She still had no idea what time it was, although it was still night. For once, she wished she had a digital clock in the living room instead of a small oval clock with hands that was hanging on the wall. At least then she’d be able to tell the time without turning on any lights. If she turned one on, the officer might see it and come to check on her. She hated being a bother.

  But she also hated not knowing what time it was.

  Huffing a sigh, she gave in. Flipping on a switch, she looked to the opposite side of the room to gaze at the clock. Four o’clock. She’d be getting up in another hour and a half anyway. She might as well just stay awake.

  Leaving the light on, Alexa started to pivot.

  Fear rooted her to the spot.

  Blinking, hoping she was seeing things, she looked again. A whimper escaped her mouth.

  There, on the couch, right next to where her head had been minutes before, was a single red rose.
r />   How had she not knocked it off the couch when she got up?

  A sound caught her attention. Whirling, she squinted into the darkness. A shadow moved, came closer. She could make out the silhouette of a person. He was around her height. He had something around his head. A hood or a scarf. But she could see the gleam of his eyes.

  Her stalker was here, inside her house.

  Screaming, she turned and tried to run. She didn’t get far. Strong arms wrapped around her and yanked her back. A harsh, whispered laugh assaulted her senses. She could feel his breath on her ear. Terror whirled in her brain. She didn’t want to die.

  “Where are you going, Alexa?” Her unwelcome guest hissed. The voice was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Not disguised within that guttural whisper. “We were meant to be together. I can’t allow you to keep betraying me.”

  She was not going to die, she thought furiously. Not now. He wasn’t much taller than she was. Banging her head back against him, she heard a grunt and a surprised exclamation. She had to get out of the house now.

  Slamming her foot into his shin forced the man to loosen his grip. Alexa wriggled free and made it to the door. She was slipping outside when his hands grabbed her hair. She didn’t stop. A few strands ripped from her head. Ignoring the pain, she ran outside in her bare feet. Right through small piles of snow. She barely felt the cold. The cop on duty met her on the driveway. She could see his gun was drawn.

  “He’s inside my house!” she gasped.

  “Wait here,” he ordered. Then he darted inside. A few minutes later, the officer was back. “He ran out the back. I’m calling it in.”

  Alexa could hardly stand up. How would she ever feel safe again? And where could she go that this man wouldn’t be able to find her?

  SIX

  Gavin woke up when his cell phone rang, his heart pounding. He glanced at the clock. Four in the morning. Phone calls at 4:00 a.m. were never a good thing. Something must have happened to Lexie. Echoes of sirens and situations that had gone bad filled his mind.

  No! He couldn’t afford to get distracted. Lexie needed him to stay focused. He had to keep his emotions, his heart, uncluttered so that he could save her life. That was all that mattered.

  Snatching the phone off the end table next to his bed, he barked into the phone, “Yeah?”

  A moment’s pause.

  “Jackson, it’s Mac.” Hearing his colleague’s voice on the other end of the call made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

  He knew it! Something was wrong. He should have stayed with Lexie.

  “Miss Grant is fine, but there’s been an incident.”

  “An incident? Explain that, Mac.”

  Settle down, man. Stay calm. He’d gone way beyond that point. The woman had gotten under his skin in less than forty-eight hours. He’d make sure she was safe, put her stalker in jail, then he’d deal with the repercussions.

  “She ran out of the house a while ago. Seems the stalker had gone in while she was sleeping and left a rose.”

  “You touch the rose?”

  “No, man. Of course not. I’m not a rookie.” The slight hint of disgust in Mac’s voice almost made him smile. Almost. “There’s more. He was still in the house. He got away, but he made a grab for her. I don’t know what his intent was. I did call the chief. And she insisted I call you.”

  Warmth flooded him. She’d asked for him. Wait. That didn’t matter. But he still stood up and started grabbing his gear. It was imperative that he get there right away.

  “I’m on my way.”

  Hanging up before Mac could say anything else, he made record time in getting ready. Only a few minutes had passed since he ended the phone call when he backed out of his parking space. It had snowed again. His high beams sliced through the air, highlighting lacy flakes drifting down. It was picturesque. The glistening white snow together with the Christmas lights and decorations. Beautiful. And so out of sync with the terror of the scene he was traveling to.

  He thought Alexa might be a mess when he got there. To his relief, she wasn’t.

  “I can’t stay here.” Alexa met him at the door with that statement. She was holding the largest cat he’d ever seen. It overflowed her arms, nailing him with a suspicious feline stare.

  “I know you can’t, Lexie.” He turned to Mac. He didn’t even ask if Mac had fallen asleep on the job. The idea of that happening was outrageous. “How’d he get in?” Gavin knew the dead bolts were in place. Zee had sent him a text about them that afternoon.

  “None of the doors were breached. I found new footprints in the back of the house. It looks like he forced one of the basement windows open. It wasn’t broken, but the lock had rusted.”

  The windows. He’d checked all of them. Except for the basement ones.

  Gavin let the other officers work the scene. His gaze caught Lexie’s. Held it. She stared at him like he was a life raft and she was drowning. In a way, she must have thought she was. “Show me the rose.”

  Without a word, she jerked her chin, motioning him to follow her. Her steps dragged a bit. The cat leaped to the floor. She crossed her now-empty arms and rubbed her hands along them. Gavin took a step closer, hoping his presence brought her some comfort. She didn’t seem to notice. In the living room, his blood chilled. She’d clearly been sleeping on the couch. He took it all in. The bunched-up fleece flung to the one end of the couch. The two pillows that had spilled onto the floor. The laptop settled on the end table.

  And the bloodred rose on a pristine white cushion. Right where she’d been.

  “Gavin,” Lexie whispered.

  “Yes?”

  “I can’t be sure, but I think I have heard his voice before.”

  He whipped his gaze back to her. “Yeah? Can you remember where?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not even positive about it. But there was a familiar quality to it.”

  He could see the anxiety growing inside her. “If you remember, let me know.”

  His own level of frustration was growing.

  Shifting his emotions to the side was harder than it usually was. Her life depended on his ability to sift through the facts with logic and precision.

  Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out the latex gloves and the plastic evidence bag he always carried with him. Blanking the image of Lexie lying on the couch next to the rose from his brain, he slipped on the gloves, then strode to the couch to collect the rose.

  “Did you touch it?”

  A quick head shake. Nope.

  “I didn’t want to go anywhere near it.”

  That was good. She hadn’t contaminated it. Much. She might still have touched it when she was moving around.

  The sound of a car pulling into the driveway grabbed his attention. Hand on the service weapon at his waist, he moved soundlessly to the window and peered out. A familiar police SUV was parked behind Mac’s car. The door opened, and a man in his early thirties stepped out.

  “Hey, Lexie. The chief’s here.”

  A moment later, Paul Kennedy was standing beside him as they all took in the scene.

  A cell phone pinged in the silence.

  “Oh no.”

  He sure didn’t like the tone in her voice.

  “Alexa. What’s going on?” He kept his voice devoid of any emotion with effort.

  “It’s him, Gavin. He sent me a text.”

  “What does it say?” Chief Kennedy asked.

  Alexa’s voice was trembling as she read the text. “‘You’ve disappointed me again. You shouldn’t have called the police. You’ll have to be punished for your betrayal.’”

  The silence was broken only by the ragged breaths coming from Alexa. Gavin couldn’t risk glancing her way, knowing she was crying. If he saw her tears, he didn’t think he’d be able to handle it.

 
; “Sergeant, I want you to get Miss Grant to the station. For her own safety. When we’re finished here, I will join you.”

  “Yes, sir.” Looking at Alexa, Jackson jerked his head and motioned for her to join him. He didn’t trust himself to say anything, not yet. The anger had started to settle, but it wasn’t gone.

  “My cat.” She scooped the cat up in her arms, ignoring its meow of protest. She hugged the large feline closer to her.

  He narrowed his eyes at the cat. He couldn’t have an animal locked up in his car. The chief responded for him. “Take the cat. You can put him in my office until we get this figured out.”

  Moving beside Alexa out to his car, he placed the palm of his hand against her back to keep her walking while he continuously shone his flashlight around, searching the surrounding area. But he didn’t see anything. He hadn’t expected to.

  “What are you going to do with it? The rose?” Lexie’s voice seemed loud in the silence, even though it was barely above a whisper.

  “It’s evidence. Hopefully, it will help us locate this creep. We don’t have much to go on, even with what Noah Hostetler saw. Right now, anything will help.”

  Opening the passenger door, he waited for her to slide inside with the cat before he jogged around to his side. As he got in, he saw a shadow moving. He tossed the bag with the rose onto the seat. “Stay here!” he yelled, shutting the door and locking it.

  Thumbing his radio, he called in to the chief. “Possible sighting on east side of the house. Victim is in my car. I’m heading in.”

  “Watch your step, Sergeant,” the chief replied. “Mac’s coming, too.”

  He heard the front door open and then muffled steps as Mac raced through the snow. A third person exited. The chief was guarding Alexa in the car.

  Good. With her safe, he could act.

  He plunged into the darkness and let it swallow him whole as he chased down a stalker. And possibly a killer.

  * * *

  What had Gavin seen?

  Alexa tightened her grip on Cinnamon. Narrowing her eyes, she strained to see where he and Mac had gone in the darkness. After they’d taken off, though, the darkness had completely blocked them from her sight. She knew that Chief Kennedy was right outside the vehicle. There shouldn’t have been any difference. She should have felt as safe with him as she did with Gavin.