Page 21 of Lone Star Christmas Mission

Good. That meant they couldn’t come in and try to finish what their boss had started.

Kayla stayed put, still watching for an opening in the fight where she could help, but from the corner of her eye she saw Jericho and Rafe come rushing in. They wouldn’t have a clean shot either. They wouldn’t be able to stop Harvin from trying to kill Cash.

That thought had barely crossed her mind when there was another gunshot.

And it’d come from Harvin’s gun.

She yelled again and was about to launch herself at Harvin. But it was already too late. Blood was spurting everywhere, and she couldn’t tell if it was coming from Cash or Harvin.

Then, she saw it.

The arrowhead rock that Cash had had in his pocket. It was now in Harvin’s neck.

And Harvin was very much dead.

The relief flooded through her, causing her legs to buckle. Kayla dropped to her knees, and she latched onto Cash to pull him into her arms.

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Chapter Nine

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Cash lay curled up on the sofa with Kayla and stared at the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. Thefully decoratedtree that Kayla and he had done shortly after they’d arrived back from their hellish ordeal with Harvin.

At first, it had seemed like a strange thing for Kayla to want to do, but she had requested it right after they’d showered, washing away the blood that’d gotten on them during the attack. Cash had been pleased to hear her ask for such a thing since he’d been bracing himself for her to deal with the flood of emotions that had to be going through her.

But the flood had stayed quiet.

And together, they’d decorated every single inch of the tree.

Then, they’d both given into the adrenaline crashes from hell and had cuddled up on the sofa. Kayla had fallen asleep, again something he hadn’t expected, but he was damn glad she had. He only hoped that she was having peaceful dreams and not the shitty nightmares that Harvin and his kin had given her.

Cash figured some nightmares were going to be inevitable, but there were some big-assed bright spots, too. The last Santa hostage was alive. Yeah, he was in ICU and would likely need lots of rehab and PT, but the signs were good that he would eventually recover.

There was a bright spot for the three teenage girls, too. They were all safe and sound back home, where they’d be having Christmas with their families. It was truly a miracle that they’d all three come out of the ordeal with only minor physical injuries. Just some cuts and bruises. Of course, like the Santa hostage, it would no doubt take them a while and some therapy to deal with the mental stuff. Harvin had left them with a shitload of memories that could follow them forever.

Still, they were alive, and Harvin wasn’t.

Harvin’s four hired thugs were dead, too, thanks to the three that Jericho and Rafe had shot outside the store. Kayla had taken care of the fourth one, and whether it had occurred to her or not, once again she’d saved herself.

Cash hoped that gave her strength to get through the next couple of days.

As if she’d sensed he was thinking about her, Kayla stirred, and her eyes opened. She was smiling—something he was damn glad to see—and her smile got even wider when she looked at him.

“It’s not a dream,” she muttered.

“What do you mean?” he had to ask.

“You. This.” She fluttered her hand toward the tree. “Us. We’re alive, and we have a Christmas tree.”

There was so much enthusiasm in her voice. Actually, there was downright joy in that tone and expression. Her face was bright and happy, and he forced himself not to think of the bandage on her head from Alvin’s attack. In fact, he forced himself to focus only on her.

Not a hard task.

Kayla was her usual stunning self. She might have argued with him about that assessment since she had on no makeup, and her hair had dried at some odd angles since she’d fallen asleep while it was still damp.

“It’s Christmas,” she murmured, and again, there was that joy.

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