Anthology - A Colton Family Christmas p.02

Chapter 7

As soon as Billy had heard the sound of bullets, he immediately began to dress.

“Billy? What was that noise?”

“That noise was gunshots and I think it may be the people you were talking about, the impatient ones. Get dressed quickly.”

“But why would they come here?”

“Because I think Jerry told them where you are. I think he betrayed you.”

Horror slowly took over Eva’s beautiful face. “Oh, no! I am so sorry!” She began dressing. “I have to go talk to them. I’ve put your family in danger!”

Billy wondered if he had ever been so naive. He didn’t think so. “Listen!” he called suddenly in urgent tones. Then he ran down the stairs to put his ear to the door.

Eva appeared to think he was leaving her, tumbling down beside him, only half-dressed. Billy heard his cousin Bram’s warning in Comanche only a few doors away. He grabbed Eva by the arm and dragged her back into the attic. “Dress quickly. We must escape.”

Her eyes widened in horror, but she did as he ordered. After signaling her to silence, he ran to the windows quickly looking for means of escape. Only the sixth window, with its hiding place, showed promise. There was a rain gutter that had brackets to hold it against the brick of the exterior. If he removed his shoes, he thought he could safely reach the roof without slipping. Could Eva? Possibly if he helped her, which, of course, he would.

He turned around to find her behind him, waiting. “Will you trust me?” he whispered.

She wasted no time on silliness. He received a smile and a quick nod. As he opened the window, however, she spoke. “But I can’t go without the music box.”

“We don’t have time. Why does it matter so much?” Billy had his suspicions about the music box, but he wanted Eva to tell him the truth.

She shook her head, an anguished look on her face. “My grandfather told me the future of Chekagovia rested on the control of the music box. That’s all I know. Papa thought if I hid it no one would find it.”

She turned her back to him. “I must stay here to try to hide it again. You must escape while you can.”

“These men are terrorists. They will kill you, sweetheart. I cannot leave you here. They will find the music box whether you die or not. It would be a worthless sacrifice.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her after him to the sixth window. “We must climb to the roof, so they cannot find us. Remove your shoes. Give them to me and I’ll put them in my pockets.” He sat down on the windowsill and removed his own shoes, tying the shoelaces together and putting them around his neck, tucking his socks inside the shoes. He made a quick inventory of the objects in the attic. A short rope was an addition that encouraged him.

“Papa will never forgive me,” she said as she handed him her heels.

Billy framed her sad face with his hands. “I cannot let you stay.” He took her hand. “Can you fix your skirt so you can climb the wall? And remove your stockings.”

She tried several ways hurriedly but nothing modest could be achieved. “I can’t—” She looked at him hopelessly.

“Don’t worry about your modesty, Eva. Just pull it up so it won’t trip you. You can be modest when we are safe. And hurry!”

She turned her face toward the door and Billy knew she too could hear the pounding boots. She grabbed her split skirt and tied it around her waist. Then she peeled off her panty hose and hung them around her neck. He rewarded her with a kiss. Then he signaled that she should wait there.

With a silent prayer for their safety, he leaped onto the windowsill. Grabbing hold of the drainage pipe as high as he could reach, he swung out and found one of the brackets with his toes. He only had a few feet to go. He reached the edge of the roof quickly and pulled himself up. He braced himself against a fake dormer on the almost flat roof and took the rope from around his neck.

After tying a knot in one end, he lowered it, whispering Eva’s name. Her sweet face appeared as she leaned out of the window. He carefully gave her instructions, telling her to hold on to the rope. For a moment, he feared she wouldn’t have the courage to follow him, but then he felt her weight as she used the brackets beneath her toes to climb up the side.

As she collapsed in his arms, he pulled her away from the edge, whispering in her ear praise for her bravery. But he also heard Comanche. He listened as the voices of his relatives told him that, as he’d suspected, the invaders were terrorists, looking for Eva. He also heard the terrorists yelling at the men to stop talking.

He froze as he heard the door to the attic bust open and thundering boots come into the cavernous room. He didn’t think they could be seen from below, even though the window was open.

He barely whispered to Eva not to move. That was the only way they could be discovered. The voices grew louder. Thankfully, he heard the man in charge order some of his men to go outside and search around the house.

He was glad he hadn’t chosen the tree as their escape. They would have been caught in minutes.

For five minutes after they’d heard the boots tromp out of the attic, he waited, afraid they might have left something there. Finally, he stood up and pulled Eva to her feet. Then he carefully led her to a chimney and sat her down behind it.

Before he sat beside her, he took off his jacket and held it out for her to wear. She opened her mouth to protest, but he pressed a finger to her lips for silence. She slipped her arms into the sleeves and pulled it close to her. He sat down beside her, pulling her body against his.

“We must wait,” he whispered, “for a while, to make sure all the terrorists are inside the house. Then we will find a way down and notify the police.”

She nodded. Then she shifted and he wondered what she was doing. But she was pulling forward her small purse she’d carried all evening. He’d forgotten about it. She unzipped it and pulled out a very small cellular phone.

He hugged her, indicating his watch to tell her they had to wait a few minutes. Then he kissed her cheek.

Whispering always, he began telling her how much their lovemaking had meant to him. “I was surprised at how right it felt, my love. I’ve never felt this way before. I argued with my brother this morning. Jesse was telling me he fell in love with his wife at first sight. I told him I didn’t believe in it. I’ll admit to you, though I didn’t tell him, that I felt something when I saw you this morning at the cleaners.”

Eva beamed at him and whispered, “I felt the same thing.” Billy kissed her and immediately felt warmer as his temperature rose. But he stopped kissing her because it made him want to make love to her and a roof was a precarious place to indulge his hormones especially in the midst of a terrorist plot, he thought grimly.

He changed the subject, telling her about the town house he purchased that morning. “It’s a beautiful town house, Eva. And I saw you in every room. I had to buy it. I feel like it was made for the two of us. Will you go see it tomorrow?”

“I’d love to, Billy, but let’s get out of this first. A-and it’s Christmas tomorrow.” Eva looked like she was shivering—more like trembling with fear.

“Yes, it is, my love, but I’m going to meet your father in the morning, when this is over.” He pulled her closer and smiled tenderly. “I need to introduce myself, and tell him my intentions. You do want to marry me, don’t you?”

“Yes” was her simple, perfect answer. Her trembling had stopped. There was no hesitation or lack of confidence in her answer. “We’ll face my father together.”

“We’ll start our family right away, too.” He cupped her face with his palm.

Her cheeks turned rosy, but she agreed.

He had a sudden urge to kiss her.

He quickly changed the subject again in an effort to stay focused on the danger at hand. “We’d better try calling the police now.”

He took her phone and dialed the emergency number.

“What is your emergency?” a friendly voice asked. Billy wasn’t sure he should start with a description of their situation. “Ma’am, this is Major William Colton, Pentagon. A band of Chekagovian rebels have invaded my family’s home.” He quickly gave his address. “They are holding hostages and they have guns.”

“Please remain on the line so I can get additional information. You do know that giving false information is punishable, don’t you, sir?”

His voice hard, Billy said, “Yes, I do.”

“What’s wrong?” Eva asked in a whisper, leaning against him, watching his every move.

“Ma’am, if you want confirmation, call General Whiteside at the Pentagon. And do it fast!”

“It’s Christmas Eve, sir. I doubt that any real general will be there.”

Frustrated, Billy said, “Just send some men, or you’ll regret it.” Before he could give his address again, the tiny phone slipped from his grasp and slid down the side of the roof. “Damn, damn, damn!” Billy muttered. “I sure as hell hope she believed me.”

“I’m sure she did, Billy,” Eva whispered.

“I’m sorry about the phone. I’ll get you another one,” Billy promised, hugging her tightly.

“I think I’d appreciate a blanket instead. It’s a little c-cold tonight.”

“I know, sweetheart. We’ll find a way down as soon as our rescuers arrive. That’s when we can be sure the terrorists will all be inside.” He tried to pull her closer, hoping he could provide enough warmth, but he was getting cold himself.

They sat there, listening intently. “What if they didn’t believe you?” Eva finally asked.

“Then we’ll find a way down and go to a neighbor’s house and call again.” He said it more confidently than he felt. But he didn’t want Eva to worry.

Suddenly, the night air was full of sirens. He gave a sigh of relief. He took Eva’s hand and led her around to the northwest side of the house where he saw a huge oak tree.

He stood there, staring at the old oak tree, assessing the best way to get Eva down. The upper branches that reached the roof looked too small to hold their weight. Finally he decided to risk them. He turned to Eva.

“Honey, I’m going to start down the tree. I’ll have to go down several limbs before I can get to one that will hold me. I’ll stop there and wait for you. You come down, just like me, until we’re together. Don’t panic if you start falling. I’ll catch you.” He only hoped he was right. He needed to get Eva to safety and put himself in a position to help his family.

He looked at Eva, afraid he’d see fear. But she smiled at him, faith in her incredible blue eyes.

Billy surveyed the area below the tree, worrying they might have placed guards outside. However, he figured the arrival of the sirens would draw all the bad guys inside. He couldn’t see anything, but there were a lot of shadows. Once they got in the tree, they could take their time going down, looking for any reaction below. He kissed Eva briefly, drew a deep breath and leaped for the closest branch. He stopped when he got to the third one. His shoulders were just below the top branch, which meant he could protect Eva.

“Come now, Eva,” Billy said in a whisper.

With the faith Eva had shown, she did as he said immediately. His hands clasped her waist as she came down to him. Once he had her in his arms, the two of them moved down two more limbs. Then they paused.

“You know, Eva, I climbed trees a lot as a child, which explains my ability. But how do we explain yours?” He grinned at her, hoping to loosen any tension.

She smiled back. “I’m just following you, Billy.”

He hugged her to him. “Well you’re doing a damn fine job. Do you want to sit down, or just stand here? We’re going to wait a few minutes to make sure there’s no response to the noise we’ve made.”

Eva looked around her. “I don’t mind standing.”

“Okay,” Billy said. “But you’ll have to promise me not to move.”

“Why would I want to?” Eva asked, a teasing grin on her beautiful lips. “I’m in your arms.”

“Even three stories in the air?” he asked.

She nodded, saying nothing else.

Such unconditional trust made him want to be stronger for Eva. He never wanted to fail her. When Billy saw a man move out of the shadows below hurrying toward a door to the house, he knew he’d been right to be cautious. He and Eva stood there without moving for another five minutes.

Then he whispered in her ear, “I’m going to the next limb. Follow me.” He lowered himself down and then waited for her to do the same. It slowed their descent, but it kept Eva safer.

When they reached the bottom limb, they were still about eleven feet off the ground. “Looks like we have to jump from here, Eva. Let me go first and I’ll do my best to catch you.”

“No, Billy. I might injure you. I can jump by myself,” she assured him.

“Just wait until I get down there,” Billy asked.

He squatted on the branch and grabbed it with his hands. He thrust his feet down and swung on the branch leaving himself less than five feet to drop. His landing sent tremors through his body, but he was okay. He looked up to direct Eva, but she had already followed his efforts and landed two feet away from him.

“Eva!” he called hoarsely. He gathered her to him, but the pain on her face alerted him to an injury.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“My—ankle!” she gasped.

He sat her down on the grass while looking to be sure no one had seen them. Then he discovered her left ankle already swelling.

“I—I’m sure it’s only sprained,” Eva said slowly, not sounding like herself.

“I hope so,” Billy said, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. “You should have waited for me to catch you.”

“I’m not a baby, Billy. I don’t want to be a burden to you.”

It worried him that she’d injured herself trying to be brave, which meant he would have to carry her. If they met up with any terrorists, his hands wouldn’t be free for fighting. But he wasn’t going to point that out to her.

“You’re a brave woman, Eva.”

“But, Billy, I don’t think I can walk.”

“I’m going to carry you, sweetheart.”

He scooped her up into his arms and headed for the front of the house, staring at the shadows as they went. As he cautiously rounded the corner of the house he saw the police and emergency vehicles at the bottom of the driveway. With relief, he realized they’d made it. He’d save Eva and he’d be able to help save his family.

Knowing they would be surrounded by police almost at once he took the opportunity to kiss her and make a promise. “Sweetheart, I love you. As soon as everything’s back to normal I’ll talk to your father and we’ll be married.”

A beautiful smile added to the warmth of her words. “I love you, Billy. I can’t wait.”

The police surrounded them and paramedics questioned him about Eva’s injury. He was reluctant to surrender her, but he needed to give proof of his identity. When this was all over he’d be able to return to Eva’s side. Where he belonged. For always.