Her feet dragging, Mary stepped out of the house, the arctic air cooling her fevered cheeks. “Friends. My father has lots of friends. He knows everyone in town.”
“Who is he closest to? Who would he confide in?” Nick tucked her gloved hand in his and strode toward the B and B.
Mary liked to think her father would confide in her. And he’d tried. “His poker buddies, Reuben Tyler, Bob Feegan and Jimmy Janovich. He’s known them since forever.”
“Good. We’ll start with Reuben.”
“Don’t you think the police would have started there?” Mary asked.
“Yeah, but if your father’s in trouble, they might not be as willing to share his location with the authorities as with his daughter.” He lengthened his stride, practically dragging her along behind him.
Mary dug her boots in the snow. “And you think they’ll talk to me with you along? Maybe I should go by myself?”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight. Someone might be after you if they can’t get to your father. Now, where does this Reuben guy live?” He stopped next to the rental car that had brought them to North Pole from the airport.
“Four blocks over.” Mary pointed east, looking out over the rooftops.
“Hop in. We’ll drive?—”
A thundering boom blasted the morning air. The earth rocked beneath Mary’s feet, throwing her against Nick.
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.”
