Captured at Christmas by Jodie Bailey

Author:Jodie Bailey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-09-13T15:01:25+00:00

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Marshall tugged on an old gray sweatshirt and pulled it down over the waist of his navy blue track pants. He kicked his towel across the bathroom’s tile floor toward the plastic hamper. For now, his body was too tired to lean over and pick it up. A deep-down part of him wondered if he’d ever overcome the exhaustion that had sapped the last ounces of his strength.

He’d felt the same way in the first weeks after Maggie had died, when guilt and sorrow had warred with his need for rest. Back then, he’d been certain sleep would never win that battle. Eventually, rest had returned, though it had taken months.

He pulled open the bathroom door and let in the cooler, drier air of his bedroom. The change of air brought a change of memory, to another time when he’d begged for rest, but for a much different reason. Shortly after Emma was born, colic had wiped their house clean of any form of sleep for weeks. Eventually, things had leveled out. His daughter now slept like a champion.

Thanks to Rachel’s apprehension of Sergeant Plyler, that same sweet girl was safely tucked into her own bed in her own house, free from any more threats on her life. She’d been disappointed that her holiday trip had been U-turned only an hour from their destination. In fact, she’d been vocal enough to earn a short time-out from her father. But ice cream for dessert and a promise to decorate the Christmas tree the next day had set everything right. The last time Marshall had checked on her, she’d been zonked out with a choke hold around her ever-present Dora the Explorer’s stuffed neck.

His father-in-law had taken up residence in the guest room after deciding he didn’t want to miss the festivities the next day. The man was a godsend, the extra eyes he’d needed on Em while everything descended into chaos. At nearly sixty, retired colonel Wes Brogden was as fit as he’d ever been. There was no doubt the man could take down any threat that came after his granddaughter.

But even Wes couldn’t help with his current biggest concern.

No, according to a text from Staff Sergeant Thalia Renner, his current biggest concern was passed out from exhaustion at her own apartment. Although she’d overseen Plyler’s arrest, Rachel still seemed restless and vigilant, though she wouldn’t tell him why. The staff sergeant was enforcing the commander’s directive that Rachel finally get some real rest.

Marshall swiped the condensation from his bathroom mirror and rested heavily on his palms as he leaned closer to his reflection.

All was well. The day was saved. His daughter was safe.

And he’d let Rachel do it all on her own.

She’d stood down Sergeant James Plyler on her own. Had pursued him on her own. Only the arrival of the MPs had stopped that pursuit from becoming a major altercation, Marshall was certain.

What had Marshall done? Dialed a phone number and stood in her dark office, watching a computer screen.

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