Holding Out For A Holiday Hero

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

“The naughty list is more fun. Prove me wrong.”

– Jake Hale

“I know you’re not Santa.”

Jake raised an eyebrow at that statement. The cute kid currently sitting on his left knee couldn’t see the small movement—not with the giant, white beard, fake bushy brows, and the huge red hat that dipped over his forehead.

“It’s too close to Christmas.” She nodded, and her serious eyes—a warm shade of gold—held his. “The real Santa is busy at the North Pole.” Her voice lowered, “You’re one of his spies.”

How was he supposed to respond to those words? And since when did Santa have spies? Clueless, Jake remained silent.

“I know all about them.” Another sage nod from her. She wore a bright red dress, and her black hair was twisted in a delicate bun on top of her head. “Santa sends out spies to find out what gifts the kids want. They report back to him. I mean, not like the man can really be here and at the mall on Fifth Street at the same time, am I right?”

He could not fault her logic.

“And the Santas you see everywhere—they all look different. Because they are different.” She leaned toward him and lowered her voice even more before she whispered, “Spies.”

Should he nod? Jake did, just in case.

“That’s what I thought,” she replied with satisfaction.

“Taneisha!” A stylish woman in a green turtleneck frowned at the girl. “Did you tell Santa what you’d like this year?” Her hair was cut short, and hoop earrings dangled from her small earlobes.

“Telling him!” Taneisha quickly called back. She licked her lips. “Here’s the deal. You tell the real Santa. Tell him I got what I wanted. Mom’s not sick any longer, and we’re gonna be just fine.”

Fuck. Jake’s whole body tensed. His gaze cut back to the mom. The short hair…that was new hair growth. And the mom was a little too thin, as if she’d just lost a lot of weight. Or been very, very sick.

But the mom was smiling and taking photos of her daughter with her phone. Looking as happy as could possibly be. As if she didn’t have a problem in the world. That was the thing about people. You never knew what weight others were carrying. He’d read once that some people made heavy loads look easy, but that was just a trick. People were always weighed down. You just might not know it.

Growing up, Tommy and I made sure no one ever knew how bad things got after my dad left. And his mom? She’d worked so hard to keep their home going.

“Thanks for being a spy,” the girl told him. Taneisha threw her arms around his neck. “And I hope you have a good Christmas, too.” Then she was gone in a flash, running toward her mom. They walked away, holding hands.

He just stared after them. His breath came in and out, slowly. And his chest ached.

That is one hell of a kid.

Taneisha looked back and winked at him. Then she mouthed, “Spy.”

“Uh…” Aliyah cleared her throat as she crept from behind Santa’s throne. Yeah, he had an actual throne for the last-minute gig. “Did my niece just call you a spy?” Aliyah asked.

She had. “That’s your niece?”

“Yeah. And my sister, Maya, is the woman holding her hand.”

He looked up at Aliyah and caught her blinking a few times as she stared after her family.

“She’s doing better now.” Low. “We all are.” An exhale. “My sister saw the same doc that treated True’s mom years ago. But Maya’s cancer was caught sooner. We had a different result.”

Sonofabitch. He remembered hearing that True’s mom had died of cancer. True’s father had passed away a year after that. Jake had been overseas at the time. And, shortly after her father’s passing, True had married the prick in Atlanta.

Jake found himself looking for True. Needing to see her. Because, dammit, he hadn’t even asked about her family. I haven’t asked enough about her.

He'd just told True that he planned to fuck her.

How could she not be swept away by his charm?

I am such a dick.

Aliyah closed one hand over his shoulder. “Okay, now spill it while we have a moment.”

Spill what?

“Maya gave me one mission. To find out what Taneisha just said she wanted for Christmas. The girl has been a vault all year, refusing to say anything. So I need the gift, and I need it now.”

But Jake shook his head. “She has what she wants.”

Aliyah frowned.

“She said her mom was better.”

“Dammit.” Aliyah swiped a hand across her cheek. “She is better. Maya kicked cancer’s ass.”

“Taneisha didn’t want anything else.” He peered across the room and found Taneisha hugging True. They were laughing about something. What was the kid? Seven? Eight?

A kid who believed in Christmas spies. “Got an idea,” he said, voice a little gruff as he forced his stare back to Aliyah. “Buy her a spy set. Include a note that says she’s now part of the team.”

“What in the world are you talking about?” Aliyah stared at him as if he’d lost his mind.

Like that was new. People often gave him those types of looks.

“A spy set. You know, maybe some walkie talkies, a pair of binoculars, some undercover glasses to wear as a disguise.” He nodded. “She will love it.”

“You had better be right about this.”

Oh, Jake thought that he was.

“More kids are waiting. You ready for them, Santa?”

Yeah, yeah, actually, he was. “Ho, ho, ho.”

“I like the new boyfriend,” Aliyah announced when the last kid left the museum. She and True were at the museum’s main doors. They’d been waving and thanking the attendees who filed out. “Wasn’t sure at first, but he grew on me. The man is damn good with kids.”

And that had been one major surprise. True had been stunned to see Jake getting the kids to laugh and chat freely with him during the event. “Everyone seemed happy, right?” she asked.

“Everyone was thrilled,” Aliyah confirmed. “Total success. Now go and grab your hot Santa and ho, ho, ho up the rest of the night.”

True felt a blush rise in her cheeks even though that was, ah, very much her plan.

“We clear to lock the entrance doors?”

She gave a little jerk at the question and turned to see Robert Moss standing at attention near the security desk. He’d been on duty that night. Robert always preferred the night shift. Keys jingled from his belt as he slowly ambled toward her. The light hit on his salt-and-pepper hair. He flashed his usual, warm smile.

“All clear,” she agreed. “Thanks, Robert.”

He bobbed his head. “Glad you’re bringing some life back to this place.”

“Me, too,” Aliyah mumbled. “I swear, we were a breath away from shutting down, and then you came to town.” She gave True a quick hug. “Have I told you how grateful I am for your divorce? That sounds horrible, doesn’t it?” She tightened her hold. “But you’re better off without the ex. And this town is better with you here. ”

Not everyone in the town would agree. “Tell that to the dead man under my tree.” She’d talked to Aliyah some about the horrible incident. Talking had been necessary after the story broke on the news.

Aliyah pulled back and studied True with worried eyes. “Hot Santa is working on that case, isn’t he?”

True nodded.

“He’s going to keep you safe.” Not a question.

But, once more, True nodded. He was.

Robert secured the entrance doors. True and Aliyah would leave through the smaller, staff exit at the back, but first, she’d wait for Jake to get changed out of his Santa suit . She’d changed out of her yoga pants and sweatshirt earlier—a fast run to a department store with Jake had yielded a festive green dress and new heels for the holiday event. But she’d left her purse and phone in her office. She’d need to grab those items before meeting Jake. “I have to hit my office, then I’ll be leaving with Jake.” She pointed at Aliyah. “You have a wonderful night.”

“You, too.” Aliyah backed away and winked. “Something tells me your night might be way better than mine.” A little wince. “Especially since I have to pick up some spy gear.”

Spy gear?

But Aliyah tossed a wave and was gone.

Robert peered beyond the glass doors and out into the night.

The museum seemed so quiet. She definitely needed to hurry and find Jake. After I snag my bag and phone. “Good night, Robert.”

“Night, True.”

She hustled down the hallway, with her heels clicking. Her office was in the back near the Egyptian display. She felt herself tensing as she slipped in front of the double doors that led into the grand exhibit area. This used to be my favorite part of the whole building. I loved that exhibit space. She’d been so proud of it. Now the sight of those closed, double doors made her nervous.

True hurried into her office. She grabbed her purse and phone.

She frowned at the phone’s screen. One missed call. From a number that should not be calling her.

Her ex’s number. What in the world could Richard possibly want?

She shoved the phone into the small bag. She’d had the purse with her when she first went to Jake’s office. It held a few very important necessities—like a small hair brush, lip stick, powder. In other words, her emergency supplies.

She turned out her lights, exited the office, and squared her shoulders as she once more hurried past the double doors that led to the Egyptian display.

Except… one of the doors was ajar.

True frowned. And stopped.

Because that wasn’t right. She’d specifically locked the doors to the Egyptian display area before the museum’s holiday event had started. She hadn’t wanted anyone slipping inside by mistake.

But one door was definitely ajar now.

And that wasn’t good.

The doors were closed when I went into my office. Weren’t they? Had she looked closely enough before? Or had she been too focused on getting past the exhibit because it made her nervous?

She tiptoed toward the double doors. Her fingers pushed against the open door, and it slid open a few more inches. “Hello?” Her head dipped inside.

A faint light glowed from within. Like…a flashlight? No lights should have been on inside that big space.

“This area isn’t open yet,” True explained as she took a few steps into the exhibit hall. Had a child wandered in by mistake? She’d thought that everyone had left, but maybe she’d been mistaken. But I wasn’t wrong about locking the doors. I know I locked them. “Be sure and come back in the new year,” True added quickly. “We’ll be open then.”

Crash.

She jumped. Something had just smashed into the floor. One of the replica vases she’d carefully arranged? The real vases were still in storage and wouldn’t be brought out until after Christmas. True spun around and ran back for the doorway.

But someone grabbed her. A figure lurched from the darkness. And before she could scream, a hand slammed over her mouth.

“Where the hell is True?” Jake flattened his hands on the security desk at the front of the museum. “She wouldn’t just leave without telling me.”

The guard behind the desk—Robert Moss—frowned at Jake. “I told you already that True and Aliyah left earlier. True was getting her phone, and I think she said that she’d meet you outside.” He made a shooing motion with his hands. “So go look outside. Near the back exit.”

Another guard ambled toward them. Younger, fresh-faced, with close-cropped, dark hair. “The West Hallway is clear,” he said. Braden Wallace. Jake had interviewed both guards earlier. They’d had zero useful intel to give him.

Braden was working his way through college—a psych major. He’d taken the security gig because he liked to study at night when the museum was quiet. And his days were left free to attend classes. Jake had gotten Perry to run a background check on everyone at the museum. Braden had come up clean.

So had Robert. A former Atlanta cop, the guy had retired to Rosewood only to get bored and had signed up for the security gig at the museum three years ago. He’d quickly been promoted to head of security.

The two guards who worked the day shift—Sydney Snow and Marc Chan—had both showed similarly clean records. Actually, all of the staff members at the museum were perfect on paper.

“The West Hallway.” Jake cocked his head. “True’s office is on that hallway.” Her office and the Egyptian exhibit.

Braden nodded. “Yep. And Miss True’s office was all shut down for the night. Lights off. Door closed.” His brows beetled. “Is there a problem?”

Yeah, his gut said there was most definitely a problem. And it wasn’t just the fact that he was still wearing his damn Santa suit. The problem was that True had vanished. “I looked out back. She wasn’t near my ride.” They’d come to the museum together. Not like she could leave without him.

“Maybe she decided to take off with Aliyah. They do that sometimes. Go out for drinks and ladies’ night.” Robert scratched his jaw. “Want me to call Aliyah or True for you?”

He’d already whipped out his phone. “On it.” But he’d tried calling True a few moments before. No answer.

Then or…

Now.

Her voicemail picked up, and her warm voice told him, “This is True. So sorry I can’t take your call. Leave me a message, and I’ll get back with you as soon as I can. Thanks.”

“True, where the hell are you?” Jake demanded as he began to head back toward the West Hallway. “Call me when you get this?—”

The museum plunged into darkness.

Complete and total darkness.

“What in the hell?” he snarled even as he hung up the call.

“It’s the breaker. We’re an old place.” Robert’s voice drifted to him in the darkness.

Old was an understatement. They were in one of the few historic buildings left in town. As in…a building that had been there since the 1800s.

“Wiring is being updated with all the new security bells and whistles that True wants.” The keys jingled from Robert’s waist as he walked. “I’ll reset things. Just took too much power—that happens with the light display outside. The reindeer and sleigh look great on the roof, but they make the power go off and on a few times a week. We’re lucky this didn’t happen when all the kids were here.”

Lucky.

A flashlight turned on and hit Jake in the face. “Why don’t you go wait outside?” Robert advised. “Don’t want you getting lost in the dark.”

Jake tapped on his phone’s screen. The phone’s light turned on instantly. Illumination just as strong as the glow coming from Robert’s flashlight. “I’m good, and I’m not leaving without True.” He turned and headed for the West Hallway.

“Told you, she’s not in her office!” Braden called. He had a flashlight on, too. It shone behind Jake.

Jake kept walking. “I’m just going to check again.”

Keys jingled and clanked behind him as Robert hurried to get the lights turned on. The place loses power two or three times a week? Talk about your security nightmare. No wonder True wants the whole system upgraded ASAP.

Jake kept his phone in his hand and used the light as a guide. Jake also dialed True one more time.

He stilled when he heard the faint hum of a phone ringing nearby.

His head turned to the left. He lifted up his light. Saw the closed double doors that led to the Egyptian display.

“This is True. So sorry I can’t take your call…”

He hung up.

Then immediately dialed again.

Jake heard the faint hum of a ringing phone coming from inside the closed double doors. He grabbed for the doorknob on the right. Twisted it. Locked. Automatically, he twisted the left doorknob, too. Both were locked. But…

“This is True. So sorry I can’t ? —”

Jake’s phone was at his ear, being held in place by his shoulder.

True’s phone was inside the Egyptian display area. Maybe she’d left it in there earlier. Or maybe True was in that space right the hell then. “True!” Jake bellowed.

No response.

“True!” He shoved his phone into one of the billowing pockets in the Santa coat.

Footsteps thundered toward him. His head turned, and a flashlight hit him dead in the eyes. What the fuck was up with these security bozos shining their lights at him?

“What’s happening?” Braden demanded.

“Unlock these doors, now,” Jake fired.

“I-I don’t have the key to this display space. I don’t get access to the big exhibit areas. I mostly patrol the exterior and the open hallways. Robert has keys for the high-value rooms. We can go find him?—”

Screw that. Jake lifted his big, black, Santa boot…and he kicked in the doors.