Laura Scott

The Christmas Rescue


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night, Rafe.”

      He spent several hours working on his laptop, still not coming up with much on Greg Landrum, although he did find that the guy owned a computer software business in a small suburb outside Chicago.

      The information was somewhat reassuring. Greg Landrum did exist, but without a picture, he couldn’t be sure that he’d found the right guy. He wanted proof that the man who’d rented a room from Kayla was really Greg Landrum.

      When his eyes blurred from the strain of reading his computer, he stretched out on the bed, lightly dozing. The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow.

      A soft thud woke him. He levered upward, wide awake. Someone had landed on the wraparound balcony outside. Each of Kayla’s guest rooms had access to the balcony, but he’d figured the intruder would come to the same door he’d pried open before. And he’d guessed right.

      Sliding from the bed, he slipped soundlessly over to the door, pressing himself against the wall. He hoped and prayed the guy would come in.

      God answered his prayers. Slowly, the patio door eased open. There was no shrill alarm, as he’d purposefully kept the security system off. Rafe held his breath, trying to peer through the darkness.

      A figure dressed in black stepped into the room. Rafe waited another beat for the intruder to come in farther so he could grab him. But the figure instantly spun away and Rafe suddenly understood why.

      The intruder was wearing night vision goggles and saw that Rafe was in the room.

      No! He couldn’t let him get away! Rafe followed after him, barreling through the doorway and across the deck.

      Rafe took the same path as the intruder. He leaped up onto the edge of the deck railing and then grabbed the low-hanging tree branch. The bark was rough against his palms as he swung to the ground. He ran after the suspect dodging through the trees. The way the branches slapped him in the face had him wishing for the benefit of night-vision goggles.

      With only a sliver of the moon for light to guide him, he ignored the stinging pain as he tore through the darkness. Rafe couldn’t see the intruder but he could hear him as they both wove a zigzag path through the woods. He thought he was only a few feet behind the guy but suddenly, he heard a rumble of a car engine.

      No! Rafe burst through a line of trees at the end of Kayla’s property just moments too late. Bright red taillights were disappearing down the highway.

      He’d lost him.

      Bending over at the waist, he rested his hands on his knees and took a moment to catch his breath. So close. He’d been so close.

      But then he stood, his expression grim. One thing was for certain, the average burglar didn’t wear night-vision goggles to break into a house.

      And he’d left Kayla and Ellen alone.

      He turned and jogged back through the woods, retracing his steps to the bed-and-breakfast. The guy had to be looking for something. But what? Something Kayla had or something someone else had planted? Someone like Schroeder, who’d been there just ten days ago?

      Rafe quickened his pace, suddenly anxious to get back.

      Whatever the intruder was looking for, he and Kayla needed to find it.

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