Free No Home for the Holidays by Lillian Duncan Page B

“I’m done.”
    “You’re done when I say you’re done. You’ve taken my money for years. You aren’t going to back out when things get a little too hard. Now, let’s go find that preacher so we can finish this.”
    Buckley said nothing but nodded.
    Ramon knelt down in front of her. “Better take a few minutes to pray to that God of yours. When I get back you’ll be dead—along with that boyfriend of yours.”

18
    Colton stood beside the cabin.
    One of the bodyguards headed into the woods. Surely the others would come out to search, too. A moment later another man ran out. That only left two more.
    Be patient.
    Footsteps pounded on the deck. Ramon and the other man ran down the steps and into the trees.
    Colton circled to the front and opened the door. “Chloe.”
    Her head jerked towards him. “Oh, Colton. Thank God, you’re safe.”
    Bending down, he sliced through the tape. “They think I went into the woods. What do you say we get out of here?”
    “Sounds like a good idea.” She jumped up and her arms went around his neck.
    “No time to get sentimental. We have to move.” He gave a smile, one he prayed filled her with courage.
    They ran out of the house with her clinging to his cuffed hands.
    “I hope they left the keys in the car.” When they reached the vehicle, Colton stuck his head in. “No such luck. We’ll have to use our feet.” He patted her arm. “Everything will be all right. We have more than enough evidence to put Ramon away. And you know what that means?”
    Tears streamed down her face. “Home for the holidays.”
    “Exactly.”
    “You sure keep your promises.”
    They ran.
    A car was parked off the road.
    “That was the FBI agent’s car that brought me here.”
    “Let’s get out of here.”
    “Probably not.” Ramon walked from behind the car gun aimed at them. “I heard what sounded like a herd of horses coming down the road.”
    “Chloe,” Colton whispered, talking fast. “When I step forward, you run the other way. And don’t stop. No matter what happens, don’t stop. Run.” Colton gave her a push and walked towards Ramon.
    Ramon shot at her.
    “I’m OK, Colton,” she screamed.
    “Keep running!” He yelled at her as he turned towards the actor. “Ever shot a moving target before, Ramon? It’s not as easy as it looks in your movies.”
    “Stay back.” Ramon pointed the gun at him, then back at Chloe. Another shot.
    “Put the gun down. Now.” Colton kept advancing.
    “Are you crazy?” Ramon took a nervous step back and then shot at him.
    Colton rolled to the ground as the shot went wide.
    “Get back here, Chloe, or I’m going to kill him,” Ramon screamed.
    “Keep running, Chloe! Don’t stop!”
    Ramon’s expression turned to panic.
    Colton charged with his head down and slammed into Ramon’s stomach.
    The actor landed on his back and the shot went into the air.
    Ramon pressed the weapon against Colton’s stomach.
    With all his strength, Colton turned the gun nozzle.
    Another explosion.
    Ramon went limp, his eyes wide.
    Colton pulled the gun from Ramon’s hand.
    The bodyguards ran out of the woods, drawing weapons.
    Colton aimed Ramon’s gun at them. “No reason to make this worse than it has to be.”
    As the bodyguard stared down at his fallen boss, another man came up from the trees.
    “Both of you drop your guns, and you, call for an ambulance.” Colton pointed at the man and turned to the other bodyguard. “You put some pressure on his wound so he doesn’t bleed to death.”
    The two men threw down their guns. One reached for his phone while the other hurried to Ramon.
    “Chloe, you can come out of the woods now,” Colton called.
    “How’d you know I was here?” She stepped from behind a tree.
    “Your footsteps didn’t fade away. They stopped.”
    “You’re awfully smart for a preacher,” The bodyguard who knelt beside Ramon said.
    “I wasn’t always a preacher.”
    “A cop?”
    “Actually, FBI.” Colton turned to the