Deck the Halls Read online

  “Tell me something I don’t know.” That’s why I should be with her.

  “Any leads?”

  “Only one that was a dead end.” But Charles Crenshaw could have been the one to trash her office. He’d been in the area the night of the holiday party. Hell, Crenshaw and the redhead had been the only two people he’d seen in that wing before he and Christie had left.

  But even if Crenshaw had trashed her office on Friday, there was no way the man could have pulled that break-in at her house. Not unless the accountant was freaking Superman. He can’t be in two places at once.

  “She seems like a real classy lady, despite the fact that she’s taken up with you.” Scotty crossed his arms over his chest. “If you need any help on this, you let me know.”

  “Thanks, I will.” He had to give a report to the captain, but after that, he was free and clear for the afternoon. He planned to spend that time focusing on Christie and the jerk who was screwing with her.

  “I didn’t realize she was the one to create Ricky Rocket Shooter.” Scotty sounded impressed. “That thing’s sold out at all the stores this year. Bet that next robot—what’d she call it—Rover? Bet he’s gonna make a killing for Tate Toys, too.”

  Jonas paused. “Just how successful is Ricky?” There were no small kids in his world, so it wasn’t like he spent a lot of time studying toy trends. He had no clue what the bestselling toys were for the holiday. Or…well, ever.

  But Scotty knew his toys. His eyes lit up as he revealed, “I read an article the other day that said Ricky’s number three on the list of the top ten toys for the year. Number three.”

  Number three equaled a crap-load of profits for Tate Toys, and with Rover waiting in the wings…

  Money. Greed. Always perfect motivators for crimes.

  Maybe…

  Maybe the perp searched Christie’s office first. Looking for intel on the new toy design. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he went to her house.

  And if the guy still hadn’t discovered what he wanted? He might go for the person who knows everything about the damn robot.

  Jonas grabbed his files. “Call Tate Toys. Make sure a security guard is on the floor with Daniel and Christie at all times.” He’d tell the captain he had to go. The briefing could wait.

  “All right, Jonas, sure, but wait—what are you thinking? You know who trashed her place?”

  “I know that at this time of the year, people get desperate.” He shook his head. “And money can make folks crazy.” Folks you’d never suspect could cross the line if they thought the payoff was strong enough.

  With Tate Toys, the payoff seemed to be too tempting.

  ***

  Her house key was missing. Christie flipped through the keys on her key ring once more. She always kept backup keys in her filing cabinet. Last night, she’d checked through them quickly, and it had seemed like they were all there. No, six keys had been there. The right number of keys that should have been on the ring.

  But two of the keys were wrong. Just extra keys that she’d never seen before. Substitute keys someone had placed on the ring.

  Her house key and her lab key were missing.

  Her gaze darted around the office. She’d spent an hour with Daniel as they worked on organizing all her files. No data seemed to be missing. Just her keys. Keys that had been carefully substituted so she wouldn’t even realize they’d been taken.

  “I know how he got into my house,” she said, and Daniel’s head whipped toward her. She held up the keys. “My backup is gone.”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “And what else is gone?” Jonas asked as he appeared in the doorway.

  Daniel and one of the day-time security guards, Sam, both turned to face him.

  Her heart gave a little kick when she saw Jonas. That was normal, though. She always got a little boost when she saw him.

  He filled the doorway, looking tall, strong, and dangerous. He had his badge clipped to his belt, and she could see the bulge of his weapon.

  “I thought you were working at the station.” Not that she wasn’t glad to see him.

  “I told the captain something important had come up.” His gaze dropped to the key ring. “The lab key isn’t on there, is it?”

  Her fingers curled around the ring. “No.”

  Jonas waved his hand around her office. “This is all flash. A distraction. You aren’t the target.”

  “Then why’d the jerk go to her place last night?” Daniel wanted to know.

  “Because he’s looking for something.” Jonas glanced back down the hallway. “Something that would either be in the lab or in Christie’s house.”

  Her breath rushed out.

  “If I’m right,” Jonas added, “this isn’t personal, it’s—”

  “Business.” Daniel jumped to his feet. “Someone’s trying to steal our models!”

  Jonas nodded grimly as his attention locked on Christie. “You been working on any designs at home?”

  Her stomach knotted. “I took a prototype home for a few days.”

  “Let me guess.” Jonas rolled his shoulders and the butt of the weapon peeked at her. “Rover?”

  “Yes.” The robot hadn’t been working just right, and she’d wanted a chance to tinker with him over the holidays.

  “Where’s he now?”

  “I brought him back last night. He was in my car and when you called about the break-in, I brought him back here.” Her gaze darted to her brother. “And Daniel put him in the lab.”

  Jonas turned his gaze to Daniel. “Anyone else here today?”

  “Ah, just Vicki from accounting. There was some kind of glitch with the payroll checks. She came in to—”

  “All about the money,” Jonas muttered. “I need to get in that lab, now.”

  Daniel shoved his hand into his jacket pocket. “I’ve got a key.” He was already heading for the door. Nearly racing out with the silent security guard.

  Christie was right on their heels.

  They all rushed down the hallway. The faint melody of Christmas music filled the air as it drifted through the speakers.

  “Let me go in first,” Jonas ordered. “Then, Christie, I want you to do a sweep and see if all the Rover material is in there.” He reached for the door, but didn’t have to use the key. The lab was unlocked.

  It shouldn’t have been.

  Well, hell.

  He pushed open the door.

  The Rover prototype was still there—and currently clutched in Vicki Jasper’s hands.

  “Vicki?” Daniel called out. Shock and anger mixed in his voice.

  Vicki spun toward them. Her dark red hair swirled over her shoulders, and a wide, laughing smile spread over her face. “You caught me, Dan!” She gave a light, twinkling laugh as she put Rover back down. “I just had to sneak in and get a peek at old Rover.” She dusted off her hands. “I was taking a break, stretching my legs a bit, and I—”

  “How’d you get inside, Vicki?” Christie asked her, aware that Jonas and the security guard had both tensed at the sight of the other woman.

  Vicki blinked her warm brown eyes. “The door was open. I walked in.” A shrug. “Why? Is there a problem?” Another laugh eased past her lips, but this one sounded slightly nervous. “You left the door open. I just walked in to look around.”

  “We didn’t leave the door open,” Christie said with certainty. “We haven’t been in here today.”

  “The room was locked tight last night,” Jonas added, his voice cold and clipped. “I checked before I left.”

  Vicki’s gaze flashed from Christie to Jonas. “Okay, um, I’m sorry I came in here.” She began to edge away from the table. “Numbers can get a little boring sometimes. You know what I mean, Dan. You’re a numbers guy, too. I wanted a little break.” Her smile flashed again. “A chance to see how the other half lived.”

  Christie stared at her and felt sad. “You shouldn’t be here, Vicki.”

  “No,” Daniel
said. His voice sounded heavy. Disappointed. “You shouldn’t.”

  “What? You’re going to fire me for walking in the playroom?” Vicki’s eyes hardened. “Come on, what’s this really about?” Now she was glaring at Christie. “Is it about me and Charles? Christie, look, we didn’t mean for anything to happen, okay? We never meant to hurt you. We didn’t plan it. We—”

  “I don’t care about you and Charles.” But, wait, when had Vicki first hooked up with Charles?

  Right after I announced plans for Rover at the company meeting. At least, that was the timeline according to office gossip.

  “You’re lying,” Vicki snapped. “I know you’re angry, but let’s all calm down.”

  “We are calm, ma’am,” Jonas assured her as he took a step toward Vicki. “Now I’m going to need you to do me a favor.”

  Vicki’s gaze jumped to him. She must have seen the badge he wore because her eyes widened. Or maybe she’d spotted the butt of his weapon. Something caused alarm to flare in her gaze.

  “I need you to empty your pockets. Real nice and real slow,” Jonas directed her.

  “What? I don’t have to—”

  “Vicki.” Daniel’s voice snapped like a whip. “What’s in your pockets?”

  And she crumpled. Her lips trembled and teardrops slid down her cheeks even as she shoved her right hand into her pocket—and the hand came back up a moment later, holding two keys.

  Christie was too far away to tell for certain, but her gut knew those were her keys. “Why?”

  But it was Daniel who answered. “Because if there’s one thing Vicki knows well, it’s money. You ran the numbers for the project. You knew what we had coming, didn’t you?”

  Jonas took the keys from Vicki. She wasn’t looking at any of them. Her head had sagged forward as she stared at the floor.

  “She was probably planning to sell the prototype to a competitor.” Daniel yanked a hand through his hair. “Vicki, this goes without saying but…your ass—”

  “Is fired,” Christie finished because even her Christmas goodwill had its limits. Vicki had passed those holiday limits. Actually, she’d blown right through them.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Hot damn.” Scotty held up his Ricky Rocket Shooter Robot, and a wide grin lit his face. “You get that you’ve just become the most popular guy at the station, don’t you?”

  Jonas let his brows climb. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “No, but your girlfriend sent every cop in the precinct a Ricky Rocket Shooter Robot.” He whistled. “If you make a cop’s kid happy, you make a cop very happy.”

  “She and Daniel appreciate the PD’s help.” Help in nabbing Vicki before she’d walked out of the company with a prototype apparently worth more than a few years of Jonas’s salary. “They wanted to do something to say thanks.”

  The captain came up and slapped Jonas on the back. “My son’s been begging for this all year. You know how hard it’s been to find one of these little bastards?”

  Not so hard for Christie and the folks in distribution at Tate. “If your son likes that,” he said, “tell him Rover’s coming next year.”

  “Thanks to you, he is.” A soft, sweet voice. His favorite voice in the entire world.

  Christie.

  He spun around. She was there, just a few feet away. Wearing her long, loose cashmere coat and staring at him with a soft smile on her face.

  He hurried toward her. The other cops milled around and shouted out “Thanks” and “Merry Christmas!” The gifts had sure put them all in good moods.

  “What are you doing here?” Jonas took her hand and enjoyed the silken feel of her skin.

  “I wanted to come by and make sure the robots were delivered safely.” Her gaze swept the station. “If anyone was left out, let me know. Tate Toys can make sure everyone is covered.” Her gaze returned to him. Warmed. “Everyone.”

  God, he could stare into her eyes forever.

  “Jonas…” She nibbled on her lower lip. “Can we talk a moment?”

  His heart rate kicked up. “Sure.” He tugged her toward the back of the station. He couldn’t use the interrogation room again. A suspect was inside. All the interrogation rooms were full. It was one of those days.

  He tucked her into the far corner and braced his hand near her head, leaning in and effectively closing her off from the others. “Is something wrong?” Warmth was in her eyes, but she was biting her lower lip and her gaze kept darting away from him.

  “You’ve helped me a lot in the last few days. You stood by me when the break-in happened at Tate. You gave me a place to stay—”

  “Sweetheart, having you in my bed was no hardship.”

  She blushed, but carried on as she continued, “Then you handled Vicki and the fallout. I know you didn’t need to be on the case and—”

  He bent and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “How many times do I have to tell you? You were involved, so that meant I was, too.”

  Her eyes searched his. What was she looking for? What did she want to see? If he didn’t know, how could he give it to her?

  “I broke the rules,” she whispered.

  He frowned down at her.

  Her hand came up and pressed against his chest. “It wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  Was that anger in her voice? Or fear? Either way, the woman had him worried. “What rules are you talking about?” Jonas wanted to know.

  She swallowed. “Just sex. Not forever.”

  Ah. Yes. Those rules.

  “I asked you not to lie to me, but I came here because I need to tell you…I’m the one who’s been lying.” She released a long breath.

  What?

  “From the beginning, I-I’ve been lying, Jonas.”

  The din around him seemed too loud. Too many phones were ringing. Too many voices buzzing. Scotty had started a round of “Jingle Bells,” and too many tone-deaf cops had joined in for the song. “Run that by me again.”

  Her body trembled against his. “I’ve been lying to you from the beginning.”

  She looked so beautiful that it hurt him to stare at her, and the twist in his gut told him he shouldn’t ask but, “What did you lie about?” Wanting me? No, hell, no. The lust between them had been real. The pleasure too good to be faked.

  “I want more.”

  He shook his head. Dammit, he couldn’t hear her. He took her hand and looked for an option to—ah, ha. There. He shoved open the precinct’s back door, and they rushed outside. The lightest flakes of snow had started to fall. “Tell me again,” he said. The fury and fear in his blood were too hot for him to feel the cold. “Tell me what you want.” Was she cutting him loose now? Right before Christmas?

  It was the last thing he’d expected. He thought of the present he’d bought for her earlier. Tucked nice and safe in his desk drawer. Hell, no, this couldn’t be happening. “My time’s not up yet.” Shit. He sounded desperate. Because he was.

  “I know.” She tugged her hands from him.

  “What do you want, Christie?” I will give you everything. Just give me the chance.

  “I want you.” The snowflakes caught in her hair. She drove her hands into the pockets of her coat and rocked back. “I didn’t just want a good time that first night. Didn’t just want any man at the Christmas party. I wanted you. It’s always been you.”

  He stared at her.

  “I’ve wanted you for years.” Her lips lifted in a smile, but her dimple didn’t flash. “Guess that night at the party, I finally got brave enough to go after what I wanted.” Her shoulders slumped. “But deep down, I’m not brave. I’m scared, I’m nervous, and right n-now, staring at you…” Her laugh was weak. “I feel like I’m making the worst mistake of my life. I probably should keep my mouth shut and enjoy the time we have left, but—I made the wrong wish.”

  His heart was about to burst right out of his chest. “What wish did you want to make?”

  She looked up at the sky. At the falling snowflakes. They ki
ssed her lashes and whispered over her cheeks. “I don’t want you just for the holidays.”

  His hands curled into fists.

  “I’ve watched you over the years, Jonas. I’ve seen the women come and go, and I know you’re not looking for some commitment.”

  Why the hell did everyone keep saying that? Because that’s the way I used to be. Not anymore. Not with her.

  “But that’s the kind of woman I am. I might have pretended I wasn’t—I might have said I just wanted the pleasure, too, but with you, I want more.” Her gaze came back to him. Met his stare directly. “I’m not going to lie anymore. Not to you. Not to myself. I want more.”

  “More?”

  “Not just sex. Don’t get me wrong.” Her words tumbled out. “The sex between us is incredible.”

  A uniform stumbled past, eyes wide. Jonas growled at him.

  The young cop scurried away.

  Christie lowered her voice as she revealed, “I like staying in bed with you. I like being there for you when you come back from a hard case. I like knowing that you’ll be there for me when I need you.”

  I will always be there, sweetheart.

  “I like it when you’re with me and my family.” Her breath blew out on a white cloud. “Jonas, I just like it when you’re with me.”

  The cold still hadn’t touched him. Couldn’t, not the way his blood pumped so fast and hot. “Christie…”

  She straightened her shoulders. “I had to tell you how I felt. I’m going to start doing that, you know. Telling people what I really feel and think. Life’s too short to waste, isn’t it? If you don’t take chances, then you can’t—”

  He pressed his lips against hers and tasted the snow and the strawberries that he’d always crave. “When you’re nervous,” he whispered, “you talk fast. Did you know that?”

  Her eyes widened.

  “You don’t need to be nervous around me. Haven’t you realized that yet?” He eased back.

  “No, you’re wrong. You’re the one who makes me the most nervous.” Her gaze never wavered as she told him, softly, “Because you matter to me.”

  His heart jerked hard in his chest. “Not just sex, huh?”