No Home for the Holidays Read Online Free Page A

pacifists, preacher.”
    “Not all of us.”
    Smith snarled as he pointed a finger at Colton. “I’m not done. I’m not stopping until I find her.” He walked away.
    When he was out of sight, Colton breathed a sigh of relief, glad he hadn’t had to use the gun. He went inside and locked the door, wishing he had more dead bolts. His knees shook as he took several deep breaths. It had been a long time since he’d aimed a gun at another person. Something he’d hoped never to have to do again.

7
    “Chloe, it’s safe. You can come down now.” Colton’s voice drifted up.
    Apparently the preacher was tougher than she’d thought. The man hadn’t got past him. Considering the guy’s size, a miracle in itself. She walked down the steps with her satchel.
    Colton stood at the bottom of the steps. “We’ve got to get you out of here before he comes back with reinforcements.”
    Her pulse spiked. “Reinforcements?”
    “It’s possible.”
    “Who is he?”
    “I’ll explain later. For now, I think you need to get as far away from here and from him as possible.”
    “I’ll second that.” She nodded. “I’ll go get my car. He thinks I’m here so no reason from him to go back there, right?”
    “I don’t think you should take that chance. Let me help you. You can trust me.”
    Trust? For the past three years she’d trusted no one but herself. And she was still alive. The only other people she’d trusted were dead.
    His intense blue eyes reflected sincerity and honesty, but was that enough? She didn’t think so, but she didn’t have a choice. She’d let him help her get out of this messy situation and then be on her way. She nodded. “Fine. Let’s go.”
    “This way.” He led her back through the kitchen and to the attached garage. In spite of the circumstances, he held the door open for her. A gentleman.
    Colton walked to the driver’s side. There was more to this man than met the eye. Otherwise, how could he have convinced the giant to leave?
    “You should hide for now. Even though he walked over from your house that doesn’t mean he isn’t close by watching us, waiting for us to make our move.”
    “OK.” She slid to the floor, but looked up at Colton. “How did he even find me?”
    “Our footprints.”
    He picked up the garage remote and the door opened.
    “Those footprints keep getting me into trouble.”
    “My fault. I should have known better. But there wasn’t really a way to hide them anyway. We were in such a hurry to get out of there.” The car moved forward.
    “Do you see him? Is he out there?”
    “Don’t think so.”
    Crouched down, Chloe tried to get comfortable.
    They’d actually managed to get away from that guy. “Who is he? How’d he know where I lived in the first place?”
    “He told me his name was John Smith, but I’m pretty sure that was a lie.” Colton was pretty sure he didn’t work for the FBI, but he said nothing. “Apparently he recognized you from the photo I took.”
    “But you took it down. I saw you.”
    “Not quickly enough. He said something about photo recognition software. This is all my fault so you have to let me help. Where do you want me to take you?”
    “I need my car.”
    “That’s really not a good idea, Chloe. He could be there waiting. Even if he’s not, he’s probably seen your car and the license plate by now. That means he could find you wherever you went.”
    “But I need it.”
    “If he tracks it, he’ll be able to find you again. Whose name is the car in?”
    “Mine.”
    “Meaning Chloe Sullivan?”
    “I told you my name is Marcy Jones.”
    “The bruiser at my door called you Chloe so you can stop pretending. I’m not an idiot.”
    “Fine. The car’s registered to Marcy Jones.”
    “I really think you should forget about that car. He’s pretty determined to get the reward money your father’s offering.”
    So Colton Douglas knew the truth. He might be tempted by the reward money as well. Just because he was a