Page 44 of A Colby Christmas Rescue

“I think I’ll take a walk,” Jamie said. “You sure I can’t get you anything?”

Mason shook her head. “No, thank you.” She exhaled a big breath. “I really appreciate your help tonight. You were so very kind.”

“You’re very welcome, but it was nothing. Just being a good human.”

As soon as she was in the corridor, she called Abi again. “I think we might still have a problem.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” he said, sounding breathless. “Case is in the doctor’s lounge. I’m close by. Two members of his security team are stationed at the door. So far no word on who this nurse is or who is behind whatever went down or is going down.”

“Then we’re not going anywhere until he does.”

“You got it. We need to know where he is every moment until we makeourmove.”

Hopefully someone else wasn’t going to beat them to the next move.

Chapter Eleven

Chicago

Colby Residence,

11:00 p.m.

Victoria opened a box of ornaments she’d had for at least thirty years, maybe forty. How time flew. There were dozens of boxes of decorations and here she was trying to pull this all together at nearly midnight. But she certainly couldn’t sleep.

She stared at the tree. On the way home last evening she’d insisted that Lucas stop at the pop-up Christmas store on the corner and pick out something lovely. They’d thought they wouldn’t bother with a tree this year since no one would be home for the holidays anyway and the two of them were set to go to Paris.

But she wasn’t sure she could go. Not until she knew for certain that Jamie and Luke were safe. She suspected Lucas had picked up on her hesitation, which was why he didn’t question her request for a tree.

She picked up a glossy green ornament. How could she leave with all this uncertainty hanging around them like a dark cloud? Tasha’s situation remained unknown. Luke was missing. Jamie had been forced to throw in with a man Victoria did not trust to find her brother.

“You should come to bed, dear.”

She looked up as Lucas entered the room. He wore those favorite pajamas of his. She smiled. The blue ones that made his gray eyes look so bright. She loved those pajamas too. She loved him. So very much.

“I thought I’d hang a few ornaments.” She draped the green ornament on a branch. The smell of cedar had filled the house and she so loved it. How foolish she had been to even consider not putting up a tree.

It was a tradition. She and Lucas always had a tree.

Lucas joined her and picked out a blue ornament from the box. “I love these ornaments.”

They were plain. No glitter or painted flowers or other symbols of Christmas. But there were literally hundreds of them. Red ones, pink ones. Silver, gold, blue and green. Even a few white ones. By the time the branches were loaded with ornaments, they would be beautiful.

“Wait. Wait.” Lucas held up a hand. “We have to put the lights on first.”

How had she forgotten the lights? “That was always your job,” she said, not wanting anything to do with that chore. “I’ll make hot chocolate if you string the lights.”

He gave her a look that suggested he wasn’t quite sure that was a fair trade, then he smiled. “Hot chocolate sounds lovely. Perhaps you’ll add a little rum to mine.”

“Mine too,” she agreed.

Victoria padded into the kitchen. She set a pan on the stove and added the milk, then turned on the flame. While the milk heated, she combined the chocolate and sugar and added it to mugs. Hot chocolate was a winter favorite around here. If it snowed, they had hot chocolate. She glanced out the window over the sink. The snow was still coming down. The weather forecast predicted it would snow all night.

It was beautiful and a little heartbreaking. It would be the perfect time to have everyone together. But that wasn’t going to happen.

This would be the first time they’d been spread so far and wide at Christmas. Victoria couldn’t help feeling a little nostalgic and a lot sad.

Her cell vibrated in the pocket of her robe. Her heart rate sped up as she pulled it free of the silk. It was Kenny. “Kenny, do you have news?”

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