Her Mistletoe Protector(29)

He didn't like the fact that he was so weak that he had little choice but to allow her to help him. Surprisingly, Joey went around on the other side of him, and together they moved as quickly as possible away from the fire.

"Joey, can you find the gravel driveway?" he asked, since his vision was blurry again.

"I think so," Joey said. "This way!"

The three of them stumbled toward the direction of the driveway with a deep sense of urgency. Nick refused to look back over his shoulder, too afraid he'd see the fire nipping hotly at their heels.

There was another loud whooshing sound, and he knew another tree had gone up in flames. They had to get out of here, and fast!

When the gravel crunched beneath his feet, he let out a sigh of relief. Joey's sense of direction had been perfect. They continued moving as fast as they could, putting more distance between them and the raging fire. The smoke was still hanging thick between the trees.

He coughed and a spear of pain shot down his arm. He ignored it, more concerned when he heard Rachel and Joey coughing, too. How much time did they have before they succumbed to smoke inhalation?

Dear Lord, show us the way to safety.

"Come on, Nick, don't give up now!" Rachel urged in a raspy voice. Obviously the smoke was getting to her, too. And what about Joey? He was so young that Nick was afraid it wouldn't take long for the smoke to damage the boy's lungs.

He hadn't realized his steps were lagging behind, and he forced himself to move faster for both Rachel and Joey's sake. They deserved a chance to get out of here, alive.

Within five minutes, Nick practically fell over the hood of the car, and he slumped against the metal frame gratefully. For the first time in hours, he allowed himself a flash of hope. "Maybe we can drive out of here," he proposed, fumbling in his pockets for the keys. He found them and tugged them free. "Think you're up to it?"

"I'll try," Rachel said, jumping eagerly at his suggestion. She stepped forward to take the keys, and she opened the driver's door. But before she could slide inside, a man appeared out of the woods, holding a rifle.

"Don't move," he barked loudly.

"Karl!" Rachel exclaimed. Then, in a move that was so subtle Nick almost missed it, she pushed Joey behind her, probably intending for him to climb into the safety of the car. "What are you doing? Why do you have a gun?"

Karl? Nick stared in shocked surprise as he realized that the stranger was Dr. Karl Errol, the researcher he'd suspected was secretly working for Global Pharmaceuticals. His instincts must have been right on. The researcher must have purposefully set up Rachel's company to fail. But seeing him here, as if he'd teamed up with Gerry Ashton, didn't make much sense. Why would the researcher who'd tried to destroy Rachel's company work alongside Ashton, who clearly wanted to take over the company himself?                       
       
           



       

He didn't know for sure, but obviously Errol wasn't messing around. The way he held the rifle in his hands told Nick he wouldn't hesitate to kill them.





FIFTEEN

Nick gritted his teeth as Rachel tried to reason with Karl Errol. "Gerry is dead, Karl. You don't have to do this. Just let us go."

"I'm not working for Gerry," Errol said finally. "And my boss isn't going to accept failure."

Nick tried to think of a way out of this mess. But he couldn't come up with a safe option. Granted, he still had his weapon, but he didn't dare try to take Errol out while the guy held the rifle pointed directly at Rachel. Maybe if he was at full strength he could rush the guy, catching him off guard.

But he'd lost too much blood to risk it. He was far more likely to fall flat on his face before he reached Errol. He seriously felt as if a strong breeze would blow him over.

"Who's your boss, Karl? Why are you doing this?" Rachel asked, taking a step toward him. It was all Nick could do not to shout at her to stay back. "Have you really been working for Global Pharmaceuticals this whole time? Why? Why did you hate me so much you wanted to put me out of business?"

Errol shook his head, as if waging an inner war with himself. "I didn't have a choice. I followed Ashton here and waited, hoping he'd take care of things for me. But he botched the job. Leaving me no choice."

Nick tried to take heart in knowing the guy hadn't shot them yet, even though he'd had time. Maybe there was a way to get through to him.

But how?

"There's no point in trying to reason with him, Rachel. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. I told you he killed Josie Gardener," Nick told her in a scathing tone. "She stumbled upon the truth and was going to let you know what she'd found out. So he killed her and set the whole thing up to look like a suicide."

"No!" Errol shouted. "I loved Josie! I would never hurt her. But she didn't love me."

A cold chill snaked down his spine. Now they were getting somewhere. "Who did she love, Karl?" he asked mildly.

"Ashton." Errol's tone reeked of loathing. "But that jerk didn't deserve her love. He had an affair with her even though he had no intention of leaving his rich wife."

"Ashton is dead. He won't hurt anyone ever again, Karl." Rachel's tone was soothing. She took another small step forward, holding her hand out. "Just put down the gun and we'll work this through, okay?"

"Stop!" he screamed. "You can't fix this. Don't you understand? I did it for Josie! I secretly worked for Global to make enough money to compete with Ashton. I told her I could afford to buy her nice things, and take her to fancy places. But she didn't care! She wanted to live in sin as Ashton's mistress rather than to give me the chance to make her happy."

Slowly the picture became clear. "Are you saying that Ashton killed Josie?" Rachel asked incredulously.

"Yes, because she was pressuring him to leave his wife. Maybe he was afraid she'd tell his wife about the affair. And if he divorced his wife he'd lose all the big bucks he'd gotten accustomed to spending. But none of that matters anymore." He blew out an angry breath. "I'm glad Ashton's dead. You saved me the trouble of killing him. But, unfortunately, I have no choice but to kill you, too." Errol tightened his grip on the gun.

"Wait! You do have a choice. What if I promise not to press charges against you?" Rachel asked in a desperate tone. "Then will you put the gun down? I promise I won't turn you in to the authorities. All I want is to go home with my son."

For a moment Nick thought she may have convinced Errol with her heartfelt plea. But then Karl slowly brought the rifle up to shoulder height and bent his head forward as if to take aim.

"No!" Joey came charging out from the back end of the car carrying a thick tree branch. His shout startled Karl enough that he jerked around toward Joey's direction, shooting wildly.

"Joey," Rachel shrieked.
                       
       
           



       
The boy didn't stop. He must not have been hit by the wild shot, because he swung the tree branch with all his might, aiming at Karl's knees.

Nick made a split-second decision, gathering every ounce of his strength to propel himself across the small clearing toward Errol. As the guy fell down, howling in agony, Nick kicked the rifle up and out of the way and threw himself on top of the researcher.

Within moments, Rachel had the rifle safely in her hands. "Get out of the way," she shouted.

Nick rolled off Errol and she quickly brought the heavy stock down on Errol's head, knocking him unconscious.

The sound of sirens, hopefully from both ambulances and fire trucks, echoed through the night. Finally, there was hope that help was soon to arrive. He didn't have the strength to move, so he stayed right where he was.

"Joey, are you all right?" Rachel asked.

"Yes. I was afraid he was going to shoot you." Nick heard the boy's footsteps creeping forward. "Nick? Are you okay?"

He tried to crack a smile. "Fine, buddy. Just tired. I'm going to rest for a minute, okay?"

Rachel dropped to her knees beside him. "Come on, Nick," she pleaded. "You can't stay here-you need to get up! Karl isn't dead and we can't be here when he wakes up."

The panic in her tone pierced his soul, so he pushed himself upright with his good arm, biting back a groan of pain. He was still dizzy and knew he'd already lost too much blood. The artery in his arm must be nicked.

Somehow, with Rachel and Joey's help, he managed to get back on his feet. The three of them staggered toward the car and he leaned against the frame gratefully. There was no telling how long Errol would remain unconscious, so he knew they had to get out of there, and quickly. "Rachel, do you still have the car keys? Let's see if we can drive out of here."

"Good idea." Rachel slid behind the wheel and jammed the key into the ignition. He closed his eyes in despair when he heard a click-click as she attempted to start the car.

"I'm sorry, Nick," Rachel lamented, and got out of the car. "Either Karl or Gerry must have done something to the engine."