Christmas Captive. Liz Johnson

own adrenaline was dropping fast and making her hands shake, but she held on to her niece and kept going. “A little shaken up, but we’re all right. Who is this guy?” Her words came out on a rush, but they seemed to be all Jordan needed before going back to work, confirming she had scooped up the only weapon.

      When he was satisfied, Jordan pulled the man’s arms behind his back, which launched a loud groan.

      “Might have cracked a bone there,” Jordan said. As apologies went, it wasn’t much. But somehow she didn’t think he spent much time telling bad guys he was sorry.

      And that was just fine with her.

      “Go find an officer or security guard and bring them back here.”

      “But there was another man, too. He went the other way, but they were talking. What if he comes to see what’s keeping his friend?”

      He looked into the silent stairwell, but shook his head. “If he shows up, I’ll handle it. The two of you go now.”

      His blunt orders made her hackles stand on end, but she fought the urge to tell him she could take care of it. She could. Usually. In any other circumstance.

      But she was responsible for Elaina. And she’d rather die than leave the girl open and vulnerable to another attack.

      Jordan was skilled and experienced. And no matter how much she hated admitting it—especially to herself—there were few people she trusted to handle an unexpected threat more.

      When she found a security officer, it took a bit of convincing to get him to follow her back to the scene. But the gun in her hand, which she’d emptied of bullets, piqued his curiosity.

      “Guns aren’t allowed on the ship.” He looked equal parts confused and angry, his pasty cheeks going red and splotchy.

      “I know.” She’d left hers at home, locked in her gun safe. And it was a fair guess that Jordan had done the same. Amy felt a little bare without her weapon, and she wondered if Jordan felt the same way. Either he felt as unprotected as the day he was born or he didn’t even notice because he was fully equipped to use his hands to neutralize any threat.

      Downed man in a black suit was exhibit A.

      For the moment, they had no idea how the man had gotten a gun on board. But that would have to wait. “We need to see the captain.”

      The guard agreed, and followed her and Elaina back to Jordan, who stood over their pursuer like a hunter showing off his haul.

      As the trio approached, the guard let out an audible gasp, and she tried to look at Jordan through his eyes, to consider what it would be like to see him for the first time. He’d been a part of her life for almost as long as she’d been friends with Neesha—more than twenty years. So the big shoulders and towering height didn’t frighten her. The size of his biceps and strength in his grip didn’t intimidate her. No, they made her feel...

      Well, it was better not to think about how they made her feel.

      After more than sixteen years of daydreaming about how he made her feel, she’d realized just how wrong she’d been.

      It was better for her—better for everyone—if she just moved on.

      Only she couldn’t deny that, in this moment, he made her feel safe. And she’d never been more grateful.

      The big guy in the black suit groaned again, his head lolling to the side as the officer cuffed him. It took both Jordan and the comparatively puny guard to drag the man upright. And it seemed to take hours to make it across the ship and down three levels to the security office. They’d gotten a few strange looks, but most of the ship’s guests were too wrapped up in their own vacation to give more than a passing glance to a man leaning on a security guard and another man, who could have been his friend.

      When they finally arrived, Amy sank into a chair, Elaina by her side. As she wrapped an arm around her niece, she whispered to a nearby security guard, “Can you get her father down here? He was in the captain’s office not too long ago.”

      The guard nodded, and Amy squeezed her hands together in her lap to keep them from trembling.

      * * *

      His hands were still shaking.

      Jordan tried to hold them still, but there wasn’t much he could do to stop the adrenaline charging through him. What kept him on his feet during a confrontation always left him feeling a little out of sorts when the conflict was resolved.

      But as he stared through the window into the makeshift cell at the unconscious man, and then looked back at Amy, he could do little more than thank God that he’d heard Elaina’s screams and gone to investigate. There was no telling what the man would have done when he’d caught them. But while Jordan was glad he’d been able to protect Amy and Elaina, he needed more information if he was going to be able to continue keeping them safe. Question number one: Why had the man been chasing them?

      And as much as he wanted to beg for answers, Elaina’s stricken face left him mute. She’d have to rehash the whole ordeal when the captain arrived, so he’d patiently wait for that.

      Well, patiently was a subjective word.

      He paced the confines of the little room. The security guard manning the office, who had identified himself as Paul Cortero, had called Michael Torres and then leaned back in his big black chair, his hands resting over his stomach. He didn’t look terribly disturbed or concerned that a man carrying a heavy-duty handgun with a silencer had just attacked a woman and an eight-year-old girl. In fact, his eyes were closed as he rocked in his seat.

      Incompetent fool.

      Those were the kindest words Jordan had for a man like Cortero, who showed so little concern for the people whose safety was in his care.

      But calling him every name in the book wasn’t going to locate the other man Amy had mentioned or resolve this issue.

      So he kept on marching because movement helped him think.

      Suddenly the metal door flew open, and a short, thin man barreled into the room, followed by a much larger shadow of a guard. Michael Torres usually had a big, commanding presence, despite being several inches shy of six feet. But right now his eyes were filled with panic as he surveyed the room.

      Elaina jumped from her chair and flung herself into her father’s arms. “I was so scared, Daddy. He was chasing us, and he said he had to find me.” The words were muffled, but the terror in them was real.

      “It’s okay, honey. It’s going to be okay.”

      Except a gnawing feeling in his stomach told Jordan that they couldn’t be so sure of that. This situation wasn’t something they could control. At least not yet. Not with at least one more man out there.

      When Elaina pulled back with tearstained cheeks, she grasped for Amy’s arm. “Aunt Amy was so great. She saved me.”

      Torres hugged his sister-in-law and mouthed a thank-you.

      She nodded, but there was no accompanying smile. And a tick at the corner of her eye suggested that she had news. News that no one was going to want to hear.

      And Jordan was entirely sure it had to do with what Elaina had just said. The man chasing them had been after the little girl.

      His stomach took a nosedive, but before he could analyze the situation further, Torres turned toward him.

      “Somerton.” He gave a curt nod, his eyebrows pulled together. “How did you get involved in this?”

      Jordan cringed, wishing he’d had a second to remind Torres that, as far as the rest of the world was concerned, they’d had no reason to ever meet.

      Amy cut in, “Wait. How do you know each other?”

      Torres turned back to Amy but was spared finding an explanation when the door to the office opened again and the captain marched in. His white jacket shone under the