Mary struggled to her feet and stood between her father and Jasmine. “I won’t let you hurt my father.”
Jasmine shook her head. “Stupid girl. Charles is the whole reason I wanted that manuscript.”
She stalked forward and lifted the package from the floor without taking her gaze or aim from Mary. “I love your father. I’ve spent a lifetime searching for him and now that I have him, I won’t let anything get in the way of our happiness.” Her lips pressed into a tense line as she held two fingers to Santa’s neck for several long moments.
Finally, a smile of relief crossed her face. “Oh, thank goodness. His pulse is strong.” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill that bastard again for hurting my Charles.”
A fanatical gleam filled Jasmine’s eyes. “I’ve worked hard to get to where I am, to find your father and make him remember what we had. And he remembered me.” She slapped her palm against her chest, her words harsh and desperate. “Even after thirty years, he remembered me.”
“You were there, weren’t you?” Mary asked. “In the village that was burned down in Bosnia?”
“Yes. That’s where I fell in love with him.” She stroked Santa’s face. “He was so young and handsome, and he fell in love with me.” She bent to kiss his temple. “And I loved him more than anything. More than life. More than money.”
A horrible thought crossed Mary’s mind and she staggered backward. “You’re Jasminka, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m Jasmine Claus.” The smaller woman straightened. “Mrs. Claus.”
“You’ll never be Mrs. Claus to me. My mother was the only Mrs. Claus.” Mary’s shoulders pulled back and she stood over Jasmine, ignoring the gun pointed at her chest. “You’re the woman from the memoirs.”
“What do you know about what happened? You weren’t there.” She glanced at the manuscript in her hands, her eyes widening, then narrowing into dark slits. “You read it, didn’t you?”
“I did. You were the woman who was the go-between in the arms deals, weren’t you, Jasminka?”
“I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. And neither will your father.”
“He doesn’t know, does he?” Her father’s head still hung to his chest. Had his eyes twitched? Was he awake but faking unconsciousness? “He doesn’t know that you were the traitor in the village. That’s why you wanted the manuscript.”
“Oh, sweet, devious Jasminka. A leopard can never change her spots, can she?” A well-dressed gentleman descended the stairs into the basement carrying yet another pistol.
Mary’s hopes rose. Maybe he wasn’t Nick, but he looked like a reasonable man, here to rescue her and her father from the crazy woman with the gun.
“Gordon. I wondered when you’d get here.” Jasmine smiled up at the man and Mary’s hopes crashed.
They knew each other.
Mary stared harder at the man in the dim basement lighting. She’d seen that face recently in the news. “Gordon Thomas? Senator Thomas?”
The man answered with a regal nod. “Is Jasminka giving you problems? I must say I’m surprised to see her here.”
“You assumed I was dead?” She snorted. “Not a chance. I had more spies in your own squad than you knew about.”
He nodded. “I should have known. Where have you been hiding for the past thirty years?”
“Here and there. I had to leave my village in a hurry. Someone tried to kill me along with everyone else who lived there.” Jasmine’s eyelids narrowed into thin slits. “I hid then, but I have no intention of hiding now.”
“I can’t say that I’m surprised to find you here.” Gordon nodded toward Santa. “You always had a thing for Mercer. I’m more surprised at how long you took to find him.”
“Now that I have, I’m not letting you or anyone else get in my way. He’s mine.” Jasmine moved to stand in front of Santa, much as Mary had done earlier. “I’ve always loved him, an emotion you could never understand. All you understood was greed and lust. Charlie loved me, not for what I could do for him, but because of who I was.”
“A lying, cheating traitor to your own people?” The senator laughed. “Aren’t you afraid Charlie will learn the truth about you?”
Truth? Mary suppressed her own hysterical laughter. She had nothing to laugh at. One man lay dead, her father needed medical attention, and two of the four living occupants of the basement held guns. How long did it take Chris to tell Nick the bizarre story? Would he ever get there? If Mary had learned one thing about Nick, he acted first, asked questions later.
Which probably meant Chris was having trouble finding Nick. He could be anywhere in North Pole. Chris was on foot in freezing temperatures. Hopefully the teen had the good sense to go to the police if he couldn’t find Nick immediately.
“You’re the one to talk.” Jasmine held the package against her chest and her gun aimed at the senator. “Aren’t you afraid the world will learn the truth about you? You killed innocent people and members of your own squad to cover up your treachery.”
Gordon’s gaze shifted from Jasmine to Mary and back to Jasmine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
