Page 28 of Christmas Ransom

“My family doesn’t expect gifts from you, especially under the circumstances.” She merely looked at him until he said, “I suppose it won’t do any good to mention how dangerous it is with all those last-minute shoppers crowding the stores and us not knowing which of them is a killer?” He must have seen that it didn’t.

She knew she couldn’t keep the truth from him. “I’m also meeting my boss at the coffee shop down from the bank at two. He’d prefer I come alone since it’s bank business.” Davy groaned. “You could drop me off, watch the shop from across the street in the bar and I could text you when I’m done. It shouldn’t take long.” She gave him a broad smile and saw him weaken.

“You’re not an easy woman to keep alive, Carla Richmond.”

“I appreciate you trying though,” she said. “But you aren’t always going to be around. Maybe it would be best if you changed your mind and walked away now so—”

“Not happening.” He met her gaze. “Just to be clear, I’m not changing my mind. I don’t want to see anything happen to you if I can prevent it.”

She sighed. “Davy, I know this isn’t how you planned to spend your holiday.”

His blue eyes darkened. “Plans change, Carla. You should know that. Ten years ago I planned to marry you. If I’d had my way, we would be married right now. It wouldn’t have been the life you had planned though, but I’d be just as determined to keep you safe as I am now.”

She couldn’t speak around the lump in her throat.

“Now that we have that settled, let me try to reach Sam’s Pit tattoo shop again. I know that the shop is open. I left her a message to say we were coming. If I can’t reach her, we’ll have to drive to Butte tomorrow. She could be busy doing a tattoo and not taking calls. But I’d feel better if I could reach her before we take the drive.”

ITWASNOcoincidence that Samantha “Sam” Elliot’s mother named her after the baritone heartthrob who just happened to be in a Western on the hospital room television the night Sam came into the world.

Over the years though, Sam had done everything possible to erase that Hollywood image when it came to her appearance. The truth was, her body was the direct result of her love of food, alcohol and tattoos. A massive woman, she had a deep voice and a laugh that carried for at least four blocks. She loved life and she lived as if there were no tomorrow.

As for the tattoos, Sam had once thought that she’d become a famous artist. She could laugh about that now, but it had hurt when critics called her talentless. That, however, turned out to be true. It was after her first tattoo that she realized she’d found her calling. Since then she’d covered almost every square inch of her body with her art and others’.

That’s how she’d found her career path. With her robust personality, her decorative flesh and her limited talent, she’d made a name for herself in the regional world of tattoo artists. She’d even put her own stamp on it with the tiny black hearts she put in every tattoo she inked. Inside that black heart was a tinyS. It was her trademark.

She never forgot a tattoo. So she recognized Jud the moment he walked in, right after her last customer had left and she was about to close for the rest of the holidays. She had a great memory. It would take her a minute or two to recall his last name though, without looking it up in her file. But she remembered that, when he’d come in originally, he’d been drunk and so had his friend with him. He’d wanted something for his girlfriend and asked what he could get for... He’d dug some crumpled bills from his pocket and shoved them at her.

She’d almost turned him away. But there was something pathetic about Jud. So, feeling sorry for him, she’d told him what she could do. It wasn’t much, but then again his money didn’t even cover her time.

She’d have wagered that he wouldn’t be a return customer even before she’d sat him down in her chair that first time. He’d had trouble sitting still, so it hadn’t been her best work. Some people couldn’t take the pain. But Jud was in lust with someone named Jesse. He was merely trying to make a statement, so Sam had helped him out.

When he walked in now though, she got the feeling that things hadn’t worked out. He looked so unhappy she thought he’d come to ask about redesigning the tattoo or covering it up since Jesse was now nothing more than a bad memory.

That’s why she was surprised when he said, “That form I signed? I need it back.” He glanced toward the adjoining room where the file cabinets were kept.

Her cell phone began to ring. She looked toward it resting on the table off to her right. It had rung earlier, but she’d let it go to voice mail because she’d been busy with a customer.

“Your consent form?” she asked, wondering why he would want it and if she could even find it as she took a step toward her ringing cell phone.

Before she could reach it, she saw the gun he’d pulled from behind him. “The consent form,now.”

She saw then that he wasn’t just unhappy. He was clearly agitated. Was he on something? Her phone rang again. He snatched it up and threw it across the room, where it landed on the chairs used for those waiting their turn. Fortunately, it had quit ringing.

“Jud, I’ll be happy to give you your form. I file them by last name. You’ll have to remind me—” She saw his surprise that she knew his first name. That’s probably why she hadn’t seen the blow coming, when in retrospect she should have, she thought. The butt of his gun broke her cheekbone and cut her nose, which began to bleed profusely.

She stumbled back, crashing into her table of tools. They scattered noisily across the floor. She was trying to get to the chairs and her cell phone when he hit her again. The room dimmed. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. As she began to slump to the floor, she saw him coming at her again. He appeared to be crying, his face flushed, spittle flying from his lips as he attacked. She felt nothing after the fourth blow.

Chapter Sixteen

Jud had been home for hours pacing the floor as he waited to hear from Jesse. He’d tried calling her, but all his calls had gone straight to voice mail. The last time he’d talked to her, she’d been about to be called in to be questioned by the feds again. He was losing his mind and was about to go look for her when he heard her come in through the front door.

“Where the hell—” He caught himself even though he wanted to strangle her. Instead, he rushed to her, taking her in his arms. She smelled of booze, answering his question about where she’d been. But why hadn’t she called him? She had to have known how worried he was.

He wondered who she’d had drinks with. Some other man? He held her tighter and realized that she was trembling. Letting go, he stepped back to study her face. At first he’d thought she was scared. But he quickly realized that she was furious. For a moment, he thought it was with him. It wouldn’t be the first time. But he tried hard to keep Jesse happy. He’d dated a lot of women, most of them walking out on him once they really got to know him.

Jesse was different. She was worth keeping. It was one reason he’d taken the mind-numbing delivery job even temporarily. It was another reason he’d decided to pull off the bank job. He’d promised himself he would do whatever it took to make this one stay.

“Want to tell me what happened?” he asked as he followed her into the kitchen.

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