Page 36 of Christmas Under Fire

Brody set his cup on the table. “I don’t think we need to worry about the bear. What we need to do is be ready to leave as soon as the car Dawson is sending arrives. I want to be on our way to Illinois the instant it does.”

Jenna swished her coffee around in her cup, no longer feeling like drinking it. The coffee in her stomach wasn’t settling well.

She knew what the real problem was. If everything went the way Brody planned, today she’d be meeting the woman he claimed to be her grandmother.

“What’s she like? My grandmother?” She swallowed a lump in her throat.

“Claudia? She’s very warm-hearted and smart. Kind of spunky. I can see that in you.”

She hugged her arms around herself. “Do you think she’ll like me? What if she sees me and doesn’t think I’m her granddaughter.”

Brody’s eyebrows rose. “Like you? She’ll love you. And let me show you something.”

He picked up his phone and scrolled for a few seconds, then turned it to face her.

The image showed a young couple. The man had dark hair and blue eyes. She’d never seen him in her life. But the woman⁠—

“Oh!” She could have been looking in the mirror.

“Oh, indeed. She’ll know you’re her granddaughter. Without a doubt.”

It was amazing how swiftly she’d come to believe it, too. But now, she needed to know the rest. She needed to know the full story, the who was coming after her and the why.

“I want to know who would benefit from my death.”

Brody rocked his chair back. “We’ll find out, Jenna. We’ll find who’s behind this, and they’ll spend their life behind bars. I’ll make it my mission to keep that promise to you.”

Brody knew he shouldn’t make such promises. He couldn’t guarantee that they’d find the person running this, although his gut still liked Andy for this crime. But he’d been a PI long enough to know that someone looking good for a crime didn’t always mean they were the ones responsible. He’d seen innocent people put in jail because investigators focused so hard on them that evidence pointing in a different direction was either missed or never looked for.

He wouldn’t be the person that made that mistake.

He’d unearthed some information about Andy. Brody knew Andy was actually Matt’s half-brother. They shared the same mother but had different fathers. He had sent Cameron an email asking him to look into Andy’s parents to see if either had any connections to the Ellis family.

Hopefully, Cam would find something soon.

A commotion broke out near the trash dumpster. Brody slid his gun from the holster and held it close to his chest, barrel facing the floor. He motioned for Jenna to go into the living room and take cover.

She didn’t protest or insist on one last sip of coffee. She immediately got up and fled, ducking down between the wall and a large bookcase holding an impressive display of classic books and knickknacks.

Brody stood on one side of the window and peeled the blinds away just enough for him to glance out.

A shot rang out. The window shattered.

He didn’t know how, but they’d been discovered. Something moved out near the trash dumpster. A yell followed by a growl.

The bear!

He glanced through the glass in time to see the beast lumbering away at high speed. Had he managed to scare the shooters off? Not likely.

As if in answer to his thought, another bullet shot through the glass.

Brody ducked and ran to the door leading on to the balcony. He opened the wooden door, removed the top pane and screen of the storm door, and aimed. His first shot clanged against the dumpster. Stepping back, Brody tossed his phone across the room. It bounced on the couch cushions.

“Call Sergeant Dawson,” he yelled to Jenna. “Tell him we’re under fire.”

“Passcode!”

He called it back to her. She opened the device and began typing away.