Her Mistletoe Protector(4)

He shrugged and ducked his head before he abruptly turned away, heading back to his vehicle. She forced her legs to follow him, wincing as she stepped on a stone with her foot that didn't have a shoe.

"Wait," she said, stopping him once again as he reached for the radio. "Can you call this incident in as a hit-and-run? Without mentioning Joey?"

"Rachel, you know that's not smart," he said with a heavy sigh. "I get that they have you running scared, but the more people searching for your son, the better."

Logically, she could agree, but there was nothing logical about her feelings regarding the mob. And she was convinced that her husband's uncle, Frankie Caruso, was the mastermind behind Joey's kidnapping. "You don't understand," she said brokenly, wishing she could convince him. "If they get any sense that the police are involved there's nothing to stop them from killing him."

"Why would they kidnap your son in the first place?" he asked. "You have to admit, kidnapping is a huge leap from stalking."

She drew her arms across her jacket, trying to maintain some warmth in the cold December night. Her left ankle throbbed, but she shoved the pain aside. No matter how much she hurt, she wouldn't allow anything to stop her from finding her son. "Maybe the Mafia is looking for money from my company? Money that will help them rebuild their organization?"

"It's possible, since the Mafia has taken several big hits lately," Nick mused. "And you think they targeted you because of your marriage to Anthony?"

"Yes. Don't you see? It all fits! My father's money helped me escape Anthony all those years ago, so now they want me to pay them back. That's basically what those threatening notes said, right?"                       
       
           



       

Grimacing, Nick nodded slowly. "I guess in a twisted way, that makes sense."

She was dizzy with relief, knowing she'd finally managed to convince him of the Mafia link. "The mob fights dirty and plays for keeps," she murmured. "If you call in reinforcements, the dirty cops might find out and let Joey's captors know. I just can't take that chance."

"Not all cops are dirty, Rachel," Nick said, a hard edge to his tone.

She sensed she was losing the battle. "During my brief marriage to Anthony, I knew of several Chicago cops who were on his payroll. None of them would lift a finger to help me. Can you honestly say that there isn't the possibility of dirty cops still on the force?"

He scowled as he twisted the key in the ignition. "No, I can't tell you that as much as I wish I could. I hate knowing that some of the very men and women who are supposed to put criminals away actually join forces with them, instead. Kidnapping is a federal offense, so we could call in the FBI."

Fear tightened her chest to the point she felt she couldn't breathe. "Are you sure there isn't any possibility of someone linked to the Mafia working inside the FBI, too?"

Nick let the car idle as he scrubbed his hands over his face. "No, I can't tell you that, either. Because there was a dirty FBI agent involved in a case I worked on last summer. We arrested him, but I always wondered if there weren't others, too. Others that we missed."

The thought of losing her son was making bile rise to her throat. "Please, Nick. All I'm asking for is a little time. Please keep Joey's involvement out of this for now."

He turned his head and stared at her for a long moment. "I'm going to at least let my boss know what's going on. I know he's not dirty and we need someone to trust." She wanted to protest but knew that he had a job to do. Nodding stiffly, she dropped her hand from his arm so that he could call in a crime team to investigate the crash scene and the abandoned truck.

She didn't relax a single muscle until he disconnected the call, without once mentioning Joey. Unfortunately, her relief was short-lived when Nick punched in another number.

"Hey, I think we have another link to the Mafia angle," he said into the phone.

She strained to hear the other side of the conversation, which she assumed was with Nick's boss. "Yeah? Like what?"

Her heart squeezed when Nick briefly explained what had transpired. "I'd like to keep this quiet for now, while we wait for some more evidence. If the Mafia is behind this, there isn't much to stop them from doing something drastic if they sense we're onto them."

"I'm not sure I like that plan, Butler." She could hear Nick's boss's weary tone. "The feds won't be happy if we don't follow protocol."

"Yeah, but you and I both know that there have been far too many dirty cops, both locally and at the federal level. Just give me a little time to see what we can shake out, okay?"

"All right. But keep me posted."

"Will do." Nick hung up the phone and then put the car in gear.

"Thank you, Nick," she murmured softly.

"Don't thank me," he said in a harsh tone. "We don't have Joey back yet. And you need to know this may not turn out the way you want it to."

"We'll get him back." She wasn't even going to consider the possibility of failure.

He let out an exasperated sigh. "I hope so, but you have to understand that we don't have a lot of time. If we don't hear from the kidnappers soon, I won't give you a choice. We will call in the FBI."

She wanted to argue, feeling deep down that calling in the FBI would be the worst thing they could do. After all, she knew from personal experience how the Mafia worked. The members of the mob were cruel and ruthless and wouldn't hesitate to kill her son just to prove their point.

The threatening notes she'd received were right. She had screamed in agony when they'd kidnapped her son. And if they demanded a ransom, she would repay her debts in order to get him back.
                       
       
           



       
Panic bubbled in her throat and she had to swallow the urge to start screaming all over again. She needed to stay calm, to think this through logically, if she was going to have any chance in finding Joey.

After several long deep breaths, she felt somewhat calm. "You never did mention how you reached me so quickly," she said, glancing over at Nick.

There was a long silence before he admitted, "I followed you and Joey. I guess I was hoping to catch the guy in the act of leaving another note for you."

He'd been sitting in the parking lot of the elementary school? She tried to grapple with that revelation. "I didn't see you," she said. "And believe me, I was on alert, searching for signs of Frankie or one of his thugs."

Nick shifted in his seat. "I stayed in my car, a little ways down the road, just close enough to watch your vehicle."

She wasn't sure that news was reassuring. If she hadn't seen Nick, maybe she'd missed the driver of the black truck, too? She couldn't bear the thought that she may have led the kidnapper straight to her son's location.

More deep breaths helped rein in her fear. She tried to find comfort in the fact that Nick had cared enough to try to protect her, but the image of her son being kidnapped by the driver of the truck was seared in her mind.

Helplessly, she gazed down at her phone, looking at the text message again. Don't call the police or I'll kill him.

Why hadn't they already demanded money? That had to be the reason they'd kidnapped Joey. Nothing else made sense.

"We should probably stay in a hotel tonight," Nick said, breaking into her grim thoughts. "Especially because you received those threats at both your office and your home."

She pressed her fingertips against her aching temples, trying to think. "I guess a motel would be okay."

"It's our best option. For now."

She understood the warning implication in his tone. This was a temporary plan at best. She stared down at her cell phone for another long moment, willing the kidnapper to contact her again. The sooner they told her how much money they wanted, the sooner she could get her son back, safe and sound.

"Tell me what you know about Frankie Caruso," Nick said quietly.

Her stomach twisted into painful knots. "I'm afraid I don't know much. I only met him for the first time at our engagement party and then again at our wedding. I knew he'd raised Anthony after his parents died, but I didn't know about their link to the Mafia. Not until after we were married."

Nick glanced at her, and she wondered if he thought she was an idiot for not figuring out what was going on sooner. She'd often asked herself the same thing. She didn't like to think about how naive she was back then. She graduated college early and by twenty-five had worked her way up in her father's company to vice president. Hours of studying meant she hadn't dated much. Anthony had swept her off her feet with his dashing good looks and his charm.

It was only after they were married for a few months that she caught a glimpse of his dark side. But by then she'd discovered she was pregnant and tried to make the marriage work.

Until she was on the receiving end of his violent temper.

"Has Frankie been living here in Chicago?" Nick pressed.