Page 12 of Christmas Ransom

“Don’t worry. I’m going to help you. But those two bill collectors stopped by earlier. When you go back to the house, the men could be there. Before you put the money in the cave, take out just over fifteen hundred dollars from the bag with the money from the tellers’ tills. Those will be the bills not banded. Tell your associates you hocked some stuff or sold your grandmother’s knickknacks and that you can get more. That should hold them off for now.”

“But Carla Richmond saw my tattoo. If she tells the feds... I think we should leave town now.”

She cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to meet her eyes. “Like I said, I’ll take care of it. Leave everything to me.”

He stared at her. She wasn’t upset with him. She wasn’t going to leave him and never look back. She wasn’t going to the cops. She was going to help him.

For the first time since the robbery, he felt as if he could breathe. He bent to quickly kiss her and headed for his pickup, his step lighter. Buddy had been wrong about Jesse, Jud thought with a grin. She was definitely the woman for him.

BYTHETIMEa woman in scrubs brought her dinner, Carla knew she was getting some of her strength back because she was hungry. Her headache had lessened, and she was starting to feel more like her old self—until she remembered everything that had happened to her at the bank and how close she’d come to dying. Then she had to be careful not to have another anxiety attack.

Davy said she was safe now, but she didn’t feel like it. Nor did she think he believed it. Why else did he think she needed either him or his brothers stationed outside her hospital room door?

The door opened and she got a glimpse of Willie Colt out in the hallway. He winked at her and gave her a thumbs-up as a young, attractive blonde in scrubs brought in her dinner tray.

“Hope you’re hungry,” the woman said cheerfully as she began to arrange the tray in front of Carla. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.”

“That’s good.” The blonde finished with the service and seemed to hesitate. “I heard what happened. How awful.” The aide took her hand and squeezed it quickly before letting go. “You must have been terrified.”

“I was.”

“Your memory of what happened has returned?”

Carla shook her head. “Just bits and pieces, but enough to be terrified all over again.”

The blonde tsk-tsked and shook her head. “Well, it’s over now and you can put it all behind you. Enjoy your dinner. I’ll be back to pick up your tray.” She smiled. “So you’d better eat everything.”

Carla returned her smile, promising to do her best.

At the door, the young woman turned to look back at her. “There’s an FBI agent outside and a friend of yours. I’m going to tell them that you’re eating and that they need to leave you alone.”

“Thank you,” Carla said as the aide left.

Why was the FBI agent waiting to talk to her again? She’d told him that she didn’t remember anything. Which wasn’t quite true, she realized. But when she replayed their conversation in her head, she realized the agent suspected the robbery had been an inside job—and that she’d been a part of it. No wonder he’d rattled her.

Not that she couldn’t see why he was suspicious. Why had the robber only hurt her? She recalled looking up and seeing him standing in her office doorway as if he’d come looking for her. His reaction to her seemed too aggressive even from the start. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew her and had reason to dislike her. Had she turned him down for a loan? Could he be someone from town, someone who had a grudge against her for some reason? Someone she’d offended back in high school?

She’d just assumed the robbers weren’t from around Lonesome. But what if they were? What if the man who’d attacked her lived in Lonesome? She thought of the tattoo on the man’s neck. She was sure that she’d never seen it before. But most of the time it could be covered, she thought and frowned. She remembered greasy-looking longish dark hair that had escaped the mask covering his head.

So he could have a house down the street. He could be the man who waited on her at the grocery store or the one with the low ponytail who delivered her mail. He could be anyone and she wouldn’t recognize him until it was too late. That made this situation all the more frightening.

But the FBI agent had it all wrong. She wished she knew how to convince him of that. He needed to be looking for the robber turned killer and not spend his time coming after her.

Her stomach growled. She realized that the last thing she’d eaten was Christmas sugar cookies a friend had dropped off that morning as she was headed for the bank and shopping. While she was feeling stronger, she knew if she hoped to feel like herself again she had to eat. More than anything, she wanted to feel strong and capable again—not vulnerable and scared like she was right now.

She began to uncover the small dishes on the tray.

THETWOGOONSwho’d roughed him up the last time were waiting for Jud when he returned home—just as Jesse had warned him. Before he’d left the hospital parking lot, he’d taken Jesse’s advice and had the fifteen hundred and sixty-five dollars from the bank tills ready. He’d left the rest of the money in the small cave and had driven home, prepared with the story about stealing his grandmother’s jewelry and knickknacks. He must have looked like the kind of guy who would steal from his grandmother because they bought his story—just as Jesse had said they would.

One of the goons had cuffed him hard upside the head, warning him he’d better have the rest next week, before they drove away. By next week he planned to be miles from here, he thought as he rubbed the side of his head and went inside the house.

The past few days had exhausted him. He went to bed early, determined that when he arrived at his delivery job in the morning, no one would suspect anything.

Still, it would be hard pretending that nothing had happened. He’d planned the robbery around the two days he had off.

The moment he clocked in and headed to the loading area, he heard people talking about the bank job. He couldn’t help feeling superior as he joined everyone and began loading boxes into his truck.

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