Beachcomber Christmas Miracle: a Beachcomber Investigations novella by Queen Stephanie

Author:Queen, Stephanie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

Shana watched Bill Gable wind through the murmuring crowd in his ball room toward them. He looked reluctant to arrive, as if he were waiting for someone, probably someone named Dane Blaise, to grab him and beat him to a pulp any minute. Maybe Dane ought to ease up on his murderous look. Though Shana was having a hard time controlling the wild jumping of her nerves, the adrenaline mixing with stark terror. At least Bill’s wife Laura appeared calm, striding at his side, almost pulling him along.

“Are we locked down?” Dane asked him without preamble and no mercy in spite of the river of perspiration along his brow line. Shana listened hard to the answer.

“We called in our security team and had them close off all the doors and lock all the exits from the outside,” Bill said. “Except the front door. I’m so sorry I didn’t have the security on full alert, but it’s Christmas time and you haven’t been on the job for ages and I—”

“Nothing we can do about that now,” Dane said. Shana heard the tension in his clipped tone of voice.

“We’ll deal with it,” she said. On the inside emotions tumbled and warred and one thought emerged. She promised herself she and her family would never come to the Gable’s house again as long as they lived. No matter that the Gable’s had always been welcoming and decent people, true loyal friends, she couldn’t get past the fact that nothing good ever happened when they were here.

“Who wants to help me interrogate these people to find out who kidnapped my babies?” Shana said to Sassy, Laura and Peter.

“That’s my cue to leave,” Dane said. He nodded at Ronnie and Acer. “We’ve given Cap enough of a head start.” He looked at his watch.

Shana felt her heart stutter. If there was ever a time she needed to be at his side on a mission, this was it. The emotional tug of that truth drew her to cling to his side. She clutched his arm, yet again. He turned his tortured eyes to meet hers.

“I’m counting on you to find the inside connection here,” Dane whispered, staring into her eyes with that intensity he always had. Except this time, there was a desperate plea, a crack she could sense in his stoic hard-won armor against the terror of life and death stakes they’d always faced. She knew how he felt trying to work through that crack, to go on through the unbearable pain and make it bearable with the one and only thing she or Dane had left. Hope.

“I’ll be alright. You can count on me, love.” She leaned in, tilting her face up and kissed his lips, deeply, soulfully, infusing everything she’d ever felt about him and their life into that momentary melding of their mouths.

He clutched her hair and then when their lips parted, cold air slipping between them, he let her go and turned. Motioning for Ronnie and Acer to follow, he strode out the front door and disappeared.

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