Page 2 of Deadly Holiday
They paused at the threshold, taking in the winter wonderland in front of them. Snowflakes hung from the ceiling, garland and white lights twinkled from every post and eave, and in the center of the room was a large Christmas tree, the branches ready for the handcrafted decorations the children would be making at the crafting stations. Santa’s workshop and sleigh rested in the corner, brightly colored packages already being loaded on it. Every guest was to bring a toy for a child, which would then be placed into Santa’s sleigh. Later, Santa would visit the children and leave a present in their room.
A silent auction table was set up along the far wall, the table practically overflowing with gift baskets, floral arrangements and weekend getaways that had been donated for the event. This year’s theme was “giving back,” and the extra money raised would go towards families to help offset travel, food, and hotel costs incurred while their child was staying at the hospital for treatment.
Celina’s eyes bounced around the room, a smile curving her mouth as she recognized a few familiar faces. The entire SCVC taskforce had showed up to help, probably more due to Cooper’s ‘if I have to go, than you have to’ order than anything else. No one dared to argue when The Beast put down an order.
“I wish Owen could have come with us,” Celina said, bouncing Via on her hip as the little girl took in the surroundings with big eyes. Owen lived with his mother, but spent many weekends and several weeks during the summer with them.
“Me too,” Cooper said, wrestling with the diaper bag. “But I’m sure he’s having a good time with his friends at the basketball game.”
Across the way, FBI Agent Ronni Punto, Celina’s best friend and former partner, hailed them. She had amazing chocolate colored skin, dark expressive eyes, and hair that hung shiny and black around her elegant jawline and neck. When a psychopath had gone after Celina several years ago, Ronni had been put on her protection detail and ended up being stabbed—literally—in the back. It was nice to see her laughing and smiling again without the haunted look in her eyes, thanks in large part to the man standing next to her.
DEA Agent Thomas Mann, Cooper’s best friend and surfing buddy, had blond hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin from hours spent outdoors. Ronni had promptly nicknamed him Boy Scout after their first meeting. Thomas, no slouch in the sarcasm department, had dished the name-calling right back at her by using Ronni’s FBI creds to label her as Fabulous But Irritating. Unlike his nickname, though, Mann was no Boy Scout. He was two-hundred-pounds of tough male with the West Point cred and off-the-books special ops training to prove it. He’d been there for Ronni during her recovery, and was the only reason her friend hadn’t completely fallen apart during the aftermath.
With a rope of twinkle lights wrapped around his upper arm, ICE Agent Nelson Cruz stood in front of a large window, patiently helping Sophie hang white lights. Nelson was quick on his feet and didn’t miss a thing. He was what Ronni classified as the ‘dark and broody’ type. Celina had to agree. Sophie swore all the time that Nelson had put her under a spell, but Celina suspected it was probably the other way around.
Raised by her grandmother, FBI Agent Sophie Diaz, was often undercover in Mexico. Her long dark hair and beautiful skin spoke of her Hispanic heritage, and her big hazel-green eyes reflected her keen intelligence. The most fiercely independent agent in the FBI, Sophie had never considered herself a team player and preferred to work alone. Only known to a certain few, Sophie had occasional visions that always ended with a terrible headache.
Celina watched them all moving in unison, busy preparing the room for tonight’s event. It warmed her heart to have them here. Even though they grumbled about being ‘ordered’ to attend, she knew they would have come to help anyway. The taskforce was a tight knit group. They looked out for each other.
Cooper set his packages down and took Novia while Celina shed her coat, passing the baby back so he could help remove the wiggling infant’s parka. His dark eyes traveled the length of Celina’s elf costume, stopping at her pointy toes before traveling back up. She shivered at the hunger in his gaze, suddenly wishing they were alone right now. “You expect me to play Santa when you’re dressed like that?”
Celina grinned, doing a twirl so her skirt flared out around her green tights, thoroughly enjoying his reaction to her getup. “What’s wrong with how I’m dressed?”
“Absolutely nothing,” Cooper groaned, discreetly adjusting his pants against the tent his erection was creating, “except I’m going to have a hard-on all fucking night.”
“Poor baby.” Celina blew him a kiss and walked toward Ronni, knowing full well he would be staring at her ass as she went. After accepting hugs from Ronni, she took Via to the crafting table where Dr. Emma Collins sat with her four month old, Jett. A criminal psychologist, Emma always wore her dark blond hair in a long braid, and had brown eyes with green flecks that were usually hidden behind a pair of librarian glasses. Tonight she looked lovely in a dark green dress with red cardigan sweater, and Celina leaned in for another quick hug.
“Hey, Emma. You look beautiful! Hello, Mr. Jett.”
“Look who’s talking.” Emma rose, Jett in hand and the two babies reached for each other. “Seriously, Princess Via is only seven months and you have your figure completely back. You look amazing.”
Celina doubted that, but given Cooper’s reaction she felt pretty damn good. “So do you. I’m so glad you and your family made it tonight.”
Special Agent Mitch Holden hovered close by, as always keeping a wary eye on Emma and Jett, while he arranged crafting paper, glue sticks, and baggies full of sparkles in the center of the table. They were in charge of the crafting table for the evening, and Celina wondered if Mitch realized yet that he would be supervising a bunch of kids as they created ornaments for the Christmas tree. It would be chaos at its finest, and the perfect job for a guy used to working in threat management analysis.
“Hey, Mitch.” Celina gave him a wave. “Thanks for helping out.”
Mitch snorted. “Like I had a choice.”
“What he meant to say is ‘Hi Celina, thanks for inviting us.’” Emma rolled her eyes, though they sparkled with laughter. “Don’t mind him. He’s just grumpy because Jett kept us up last night. We’re happy to be here, just a bit tired.”
Aslan Children’s Hospital was a non-profit organization that relied heavily on generous donations from the public to support the families who come there. They were never charged for the treatments their children received, a feat in itself when healthcare costs continued to soar on a yearly basis.
“Sorry about that.” Properly chastised, Mitch’s face softened, and he moved to the other side of the table to give Celina a hug. “Em’s right, we’re happy to help.”
Emma smiled serenely, leaning into his side when he curled a protective arm around her shoulders. They were a great couple, their relationship having the same ups and downs Celina and Cooper faced. Dangerous drug cartels, undercover ops, and then the inevitable sleepless nights…she supposed anyone in their line of work was probably doomed to have a complicated relationship. Yet somehow, they still made it work.
“Andweare happy to have you.”
Celina turned with a smile to greet her long-time friend, Amber Reynolds. For once the oncology nurse wasn’t wearing her work uniform of scrub pants and top. Instead she wore a form fitting red dress that sparkled under the twinkle lights overhead, her hair piled high on top of her head in a mass of curls. Amber was the reason Celina had gotten roped into the event in the first place, not that it had taken much arm-twisting. “Amber, thanks for inviting us.”
Amber returned Celina’s hug, her blue eyes shining brightly. “It’s you I should be thanking.” She cooed and made faces at baby Novia, who giggled, trying to grab on to her wiggling fingers. “And Princess Via is adorable as always, aren’t you, sweetie?” Novia gurgled her agreement and everyone laughed. Amber stepped back to survey the room again, looking pleased with how everything turned out. “Really, this place looks amazing. The kids are going to be so excited.”
“God I hope so, we’ve got enough glitter here to decorate the entire hospital.” Mitch held up a baggie, grimacing.
The women laughed, and Emma patted him consolingly on the shoulder. “It’ll be alright, Tough Guy. I promise not to tell anyone you were in charge of the glitter.”
Jett wailed in his mother’s arms, and both parents turned to comfort him. Amber and Celina stepped away from the table to give them room to calm the baby.
