Christmas Under Fire Page 6

  “We have security tapes in some areas,” Tricia said, directing the information at Cally. “I’ll go see if I can pull the footage.”

  Tricia took off and Cally turned her attention back to Aaron. “So...?”

  Aaron cleared his throat and looked anywhere but at Cally. “We used to date. It didn’t end well.”

  Now their interactions made a lot more sense. “Let me guess—you ended it.”

  Aaron’s eyebrows lifted. “How did you know?”

  Cally couldn’t hold back her smirk. “Call it a woman’s intuition.”

  “Huh.” Aaron stepped closer to lean against the wall beside her. “Cally, are you sure you’re all right? This is a lot for anyone to handle, and I suspect even more challenging for you, being away from home and your support system.”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure. In some ways, I feel like I’ve dealt with enough senseless tragedy in my life that I’m uniquely equipped to handle situations like this. And it’s not as if I even have a strong support system at home anyway.” A wave of sadness washed over her, and she tried to shove it aside. Denying her emotions didn’t always work, though, and that was okay. She’d rather feel something than live a life of emotional repression. “Other times, I wonder if maybe God’s trying to teach me a lesson and I’m not getting it. I want to shout, ‘Okay, God, You’ve made Your point!’ but clearly there’s something I’m missing.”

  She paused as one of her deepest fears surged to the surface. Aaron didn’t need to hear it; she didn’t need to trouble him with the vocalization, but at the same time, a part of her wondered whether sharing it with someone else might make the burden lighter, validate the thoughts that roiled around inside of her.

  She took a deep breath and continued. “Sometimes I fear that He took Esai away from me to teach me that lesson. Maybe I was too defiant, or asked too many questions about my faith. I’ve always been a bit of a wanderer—spiritually, intellectually, academically—and not everyone in my life has appreciated that. Even now, after Esai...not much has changed. Here I am, thousands of miles from home at Christmas because I can’t handle being around the people I’m supposed to love unconditionally. What if God is angry at me? What if He decides to teach me another lesson and takes away one of the other few people I trust?” She touched the front of her sweater, feeling the bump of her locket underneath all the layers. Heat rose behind her eyes, and she tried to blink it away as Aaron knelt next to her.

  “I don’t think that’s how God works, Cally. In fact, I know it isn’t. But I hear what you’re saying. After I’m done with my reports and we’re feeling a little less shaken by immediate events, let’s come back to this conversation, okay?”

  Cally couldn’t help smiling. “Yes, sure. I’d like that. Thank you for not telling me I’m crazy to think that way.”

  “I’d never call someone crazy,” he said, standing. “First, that’s insensitive, and second, it’d be invalidating your feelings. Feelings aren’t facts, so you have every right to feel the way you do. Need an assist?”

  She reached for the hand he’d outstretched to help her to her feet. The moment she slid her palm against his, it felt as though an electric current traveled up her arm and down her spine. She met his eyes with a silent gasp, wondering if he’d felt it, too, and found him staring at her as if seeing her for the first time.

  Several seconds passed, and neither of them let go. Cally wasn’t sure she wanted to.

  Aaron’s lips parted, and he seemed to be closer to her than he’d been moments before.

  What is happening? Cally’s breath felt stuck, and a light buzzing rang in her ears. And how come I’m not trying to stop it?

  His fingers tightened around hers, and that electric current zipped through her a second time.

  “Aaron,” she whispered. “I—”

  “I’ve put all the afternoon’s footage on—” A chipper voice rang out as footsteps clacked around the corner. Tricia reappeared and instantly froze. Her voice turned flat and cold. “Oh. I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”

  Aaron released Cally as if she were on fire and stepped toward Tricia with a detached expression. He took the USB stick Tricia offered and glanced over his shoulder, speaking to Cally while avoiding eye contact. “You coming? We should get back to the station before the snow makes the roads impassable again.”

  Then he took off, leaving Cally standing in the hallway with Tricia. She felt as if she’d been sideswiped.

  Okay...what just happened?

  And for a moment, she wasn’t sure which event she had more questions about—the theoretical attempted abduction, the inexplicable pulse of attraction between herself and Aaron, or the fact that their shared moment had turned to ice the instant his ex-girlfriend reappeared.

  Worse, she wasn’t sure she even wanted all the answers.

  SIX

  An hour later, Aaron brushed the snow off the patrol car with perhaps more force than necessary. Despite the awful weather and fast accumulation on the roads, he’d recognized that he needed to take a quick nap before attempting the drive back to town. No use courting even more danger. He still felt exhausted, but not nearly as fuzzy as when he’d first dropped Cally off. He was confident in his ability to get them back to town now, and planned to rest more afterward.

  The events of earlier replayed in his mind as Cally exited the spa and moved toward the car. What had he been thinking after the attack, getting swept up in Cally’s moment of vulnerability? She’d looked so beautiful and trusting as she confided in him, and his heart had ached for her loss and for the thought that anything bad could ever happen to a woman like her.

  He’d been caught by the adrenaline rush after being in a high-stakes situation with her, and of course that was going to cause them to psychologically depend on each other and possibly even build a false sense of attraction. Because that was what it had to be—false. Yes, he found her physically attractive—that dimple on her cheek threatened to undo him every time she smiled—but despite the seeming compatibility of their personalities so far, what did he even really know about her?

  And beyond that, she wasn’t even a Canadian citizen. She lived halfway across the world! And she was still grieving the loss of her husband. Nothing about his attraction to her was professionally appropriate or logistically feasible. True, she hadn’t pulled away when their palms met, or when they’d seemed to be drawn together like rare-earth magnets, but it had to be a result of the excitement in the moment.

  He’d be tossed out of consideration for promotion for sure if he got himself tangled up with the very dignitary he was supposed to be serving and protecting.

  With the windows finally cleared of snow, Aaron climbed back into the patrol car and checked on his passenger.

  “Ready to go? This could be a bit of a long drive, as we’ll have to take it slow. The accumulation has been really fast since this morning, but hopefully by the time we get back onto the main road, the plows and salters will have come through.”

  Cally used her sleeve to wipe away condensation on the window. “When I decided to fly here for the wedding and for Christmas, I knew it would be cold and snowy in Canada. I guess I didn’t realize just how unpredictable the weather would be.”

  “That’s the thing about being up north and near the mountains. Things change quickly and often with little warning.” He drove down the spa resort’s driveway at a crawl. One of the attendants had gone outside with a ride-on snowblower to clear the way, and she waved as they passed by. Aaron waved back in gratitude. “And again, I apologize that your first and second impression of our province isn’t exactly positive. Whoever is responsible for these attacks won’t be able to hide from the RCMP as they likely think they can. Leo and Hatch are dialed in on this, canvassing the area and keeping a close eye on who’s coming and going. I know most of his face wasn’t visible, but I didn’t immediately recognize
the man who attacked you, so I’m confident he’s not from around here...but after two days of attempts to come after you, he’s got to be staying someplace close and using a reliable vehicle for transportation. We’ll be checking the nearby motels and car rental facilities. One way or another, we’ll smoke him out.”

  “Or maybe he’ll give up,” Cally murmured. “Three failures is a lot of wasted effort. There’s got to be an easier way to make some fast cash than coming after me. I’m nobody. I haven’t been somebody for a very long time.”

  Her voice hitched as she spoke, and Aaron’s insides tightened. “I’m sure that’s not true. You’re someone to me, to Ellen...and I’m sure there are friends back home who feel the same way. And not to lecture, since it’s none of my business, but I can almost guarantee you’re somebody to your family, even if they have a terrible way of showing it.” When she grew silent and unresponsive, he continued. “Er, I apologize. I didn’t mean to sound patronizing. I think you have every right to be upset about recent events, and the RCMP will do everything we can to catch this criminal and set things right. Hopefully fast enough that you can enjoy the holidays without fear.”

  “Is that likely?”

  Aaron grunted. The snow was accumulating on the front windshield faster than the wipers could brush it off. It was going to be a tricky drive. “It really depends on a number of factors, so while I don’t want to tell you it’s impossible, I also don’t want to give you false hope.”

  “Fair enough.”

  The wheels of the patrol car slid slightly as Aaron tried to maneuver around a pile of last night’s snow that the plows hadn’t fully pushed onto the road’s shoulder. He regained control without much trouble, but the slippery surface of the road was concerning. Keeping the wheel steady was proving to be more difficult than he’d anticipated, a sign that there was potentially black ice on the road under the thick, fresh snow. As he drove, more snow sprayed up over the front windshield and his stomach lurched. The plows hadn’t been through recently, either, and judging by the way the new snow blew up and over the car, the accumulation on the road was now higher than the space underneath their vehicle. Their front bumper was working like a plow, and they still had at least another kilometer to go before reaching town.

  Cally gasped as the next turn caused the car’s back wheels to swing toward the center of the road. Aaron cranked the steering wheel to pull them the opposite direction, but he’d misjudged the amount of force needed and the vehicle overcorrected, sending them sliding the other way. Aaron gritted his teeth and slammed the brakes, letting the automatic braking system do its job. He’d driven on his fair share of icy, snowy roads—and even taken special driving courses on winter driving—but the number one rule about driving in this part of Canada in the winter was to be prepared for anything.

  He was more worried about the fright on Cally’s face as the patrol car continued to slide sideways along the road, mercifully remaining more or less central on the roadway as they spun around in two full rotations before coming to a stop pointed the wrong way, the back end and front end in different lanes.

  “We’re all right,” he said, reaching over to take Cally’s shaking hand. “I know you’re not used to Canadian winters, but I assure you that this isn’t totally unusual up north.”

  “The snow looks so fluffy,” Cally said. “Why are we sliding around? I didn’t think it was slippery.”

  “The snow isn’t what’s causing the spinout, though it is what helped us stop. See how our tire tracks are cutting deep creases in the snow?” He pointed through the windshield. The snow had piled up so heavily on the road that the creases they’d cut were as deep as the wheels were high, and the top of the snow they’d driven over was marked with lines defined by the car’s undercarriage. “We’re hitting something called black ice. After the big snowfall yesterday, it stopped snowing and warmed up a bit this morning, which melted some of the snow. But then the second wave of the storm moved in and froze everything that melted. That’s black ice, because you can’t really see it on the road. And with all this other snow on top, it’s literally impossible to avoid or anticipate. Sometimes it’s helpful to have fresh snow, as it provides traction on the ice, but the amount of snow we have here is beyond helpful.”

  “Are we going to get back to town okay?” Cally twisted in her seat to look out each of the windows. “I can barely see more than a car length in front or behind us. What if someone comes barreling down the road?”

  Aaron had worried about that, too, but he hadn’t wanted to say anything and concern her further. “That’s unlikely, since anyone else traveling this road is also going to have to drive slowly, but hopefully we’ll be out of here in a minute or two...” He shifted into Reverse and pressed the gas. The engine revved and the tires spun. But they barely moved a centimeter. “That’s normal for a first try. Hold tight, we just need to work our way out of here.”

  He shifted to Drive, moving another centimeter or so, then back to Reverse and Drive again, trying to rock the car out of its stuck position. After several minutes, however, his patience began to wane. They’d made little progress and he was beginning to worry that the patrol car was well and truly wedged in place. The accumulation in the center of the road had been greater than in the lanes, thanks to the plows likely doing a rush job the night before and pushing the snow to the road’s outer lanes and the center instead of fully clearing it off.

  He tried to offer Cally an encouraging smile as he opened the car door—which required some force, as he had to clear away a swath of snow to get it open—and climbed out to look underneath the vehicle.

  The snow was packed hard, and several large chunks of ice that had probably fallen off vehicle tire wells and been plowed up with the snow were wedged firmly under the car near the gas tank and tailpipe. Reality sunk in as he got back into the car and tried to call up the police station on the radio.

  “What’s going on? Should we get out?” Cally asked.

  Aaron shook his head, and his jaw tightened at the static over the car radio. None of the channels seemed to be working—there was too much interference. His cell phone signal was also nonexistent, though that was no surprise. After several minutes of failed attempts at communication, he rested his head against the seat to consider their options.

  “Aaron? I’d really appreciate an update.”

  He had to tell her. They were going to need to work through this together. “We’re well and truly stuck. If we try to push the car out, we risk damaging the underside of the vehicle—which I might be willing to try regardless, if I thought there was a possibility of success.”

  “So let’s try it.”

  He stared at her. The woman was already shivering, even all bundled up in her layers. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded resolutely. “You push, I’ll work the gas. I mean, what’s our other option? Sitting here in the cold for hours until the storm lets up and we can be rescued?”

  “That, or we walk. I have an emergency blanket in the trunk that you’re welcome to use. It’s cold out there, but not as cold as it’ll be once the sun goes down in a few hours. Then we’ll be risking frostbite, but it’s not nearly that frigid right now.”

  Cally didn’t hesitate and tried to shove open the passenger door. She grunted as the metal plowed a semicircle through the snow beside the car. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s give it a try.”

  Incredulous, Aaron complied and abdicated the driver’s seat to Cally. She followed his shouted instructions to shift into Reverse and hit the gas as he pushed against the front end of the car, tried to dig out the wheels, then tried pushing again. It wasn’t long before his muscles began to tighten and the sweat on his skin from the exertion turned cold and sent a deep chill into his bones. He grabbed the emergency kit from the trunk and rejoined Cally inside.

  “So that’s that, I guess,” Cally murmured. “We’re walking into town.�
�

  Aaron pulled out the blanket, extra gloves and scarf from the emergency kit, as well as a hot pack that could be cracked to activate. “That’s our next option, yes. But I only want to walk if you’re okay with it. Like I said, I think we’re about a kilometer out of town, so it shouldn’t take us more than a half hour to forty minutes with this weather. The hardest part will be trudging through with the snow blowing on our faces. When the breeze hits, it’s chilling, and I know you’re not from a cold climate.”

  Cally huffed as she pulled the extra gloves over her hands and wrapped a second scarf around her face. “It’s not like I’ve never seen snow before. I went to college in Toronto. I was much younger then and really only stayed on campus during the winter, but I’ve seen it before. That was actually where I first met my...”

  Her voice trailed off. Aaron had a feeling he knew what she’d been about to say, and he ached with sadness for her.

  “Sorry,” she said after a moment. She cleared her throat and blinked up at him, redness rimming her eyes but determination setting her jaw. “I think we’re as bundled up as we can get. Shall we go?”

  * * *

  After the first ten minutes of walking, Cally wondered what they’d gotten into. After twenty minutes, she wished she’d chosen the option to stay inside the police car. Did Aaron even know if they were heading in the right direction? Her legs ached from the effort of trudging through the snow—her quadriceps felt like they were on fire. The one strange upside was that her body had warmed up enough from the exertion that she was sweating inside her winter coat—despite her face and extremities still feeling like icicles. It was the strangest sensation.

  How do people live like this up here?