Page 27 of Ice Cold Christmas
She didn’t. If anything, she seemed to surge toward him with even more determination.
Dammit. He thundered toward her, plowing through the snow. It slapped into his face and his head. Not soft snow. More like ice. Brittle. Hard.
She reached out for him.
Yeah, screw that.
He lifted her into his arms. His back was a damn target now, but there was nothing he could do about that fact. He had to get her into the house. Hadn’t he told the woman to stay put? He distinctly remembered giving that flat order. A simple enough order to follow. You just stayed the hell inside when there was a shooter and a snowstorm happening in the darkness beyond your door.
But she hadn’t stayed. And he hadn’t found the shooter. And the rage within him twisted even more when he got back to the house and saw the front door hanging wide open and the eyes peering anxiously out at him.
Sonofabitch.
He stomped inside, still carrying Melody. Still holding the gun. He kicked the door shut.
“What in the hell is happening?” Dario demanded. He wore a black robe. Freaking slippers. His hair seemed a little damp.
“Why are you both running around outside?” Olivia followed up Dario’s question. Also wearing a robe. Not black. Peach. Silky. And matching peach slippers.
“Did I hear fireworks?” Sebastian wanted to know. He hunched near the staircase. One hand gripped a black cane. His black pajamas were monogrammed with a big S, J, and M. Sebastian James Mage.
“No, sir.” Hatterson hovered near Sebastian. No monogrammed pajamas for him. Instead, he wore sweatpants. A sweatshirt. Tennis shoes. “Don’t think it was fireworks at all.” He shared a hard look with Victor. “Saw the broken glass in the study.” A pause. “Did you get him?”
No. “Lost his trail.”
Melody struggled in his arms.
“Not the fuck now,” he rasped at her.
“You’ve been shot!” Melody argued right back at him. “You’re bleeding everywhere. So, yes, the fuck now. Put me down and let me help you!”
And there were lots of dramatic gasps. Hell. He put her down, but mostly so he could just bolt the front door. “Hatterson, we need to board up the windows in the study. You and Dario get material and secure the room, now.”
“Are you ordering me around?” Dario sniffed. “Do I look like the hired help?”
“Yeah, I sure as hell am ordering you. Make yourself useful. Board up the damn windows. Yank some wood down from one of the bookshelves in that room if you need something sturdy. There are nails and hammers in the storage room.”
Dario glared at him, but…nodded.
Hatterson inched closer to Victor. “I was a medic back in the day. Want me to look at that arm?”
Victor didn’t care about his arm. Screw it. “Barely a graze. We need to get the study secure.” He mentally ran through scenarios. Fears. “Correction, we need to get the whole house secured. We should make sure all the blinds and curtains are pulled. Every window covered. No one should be able to look inside.” Because that was how the shooter had known when to fire. The lights had been on in the study, and Melody had made a perfect target.
He’d turned on those lights. He’d been right there when the bullets flew.
I could have lost her when I just got her back.
“You need to get that wound bandaged.” Hatterson was adamant. The deep lines on his face seemed even thicker than normal. “And you need to warm up. Go into the den. The fire is going in there. We’ll take care of everything else.”
Tension held Victor in a tight grip. “Normally, there are at least two guards stationed at the entrance to this property. Why the hell aren’t they on duty this weekend?” Something he’d noticed upon his arrival, but hadn’t questioned, not then.
Hatterson glanced toward Sebastian.
“I gave them the weekend off,” Sebastian’s soft reply. His gaze lingered on Melody. He frowned. Leaned a bit harder on the cane. “Melody, when did you get back?”
And everyone tensed. Because…it was happening again. Sebastian, his memory coming and going as it would. Sometimes, he’d forget years. Sometimes, he’d forget days.
And sometimes, he’d remember everything perfectly.
