Wicked Christmas Nights: It Happened One Christmas. Leslie Kelly

in an angry pout. But Ross cut him off before he could say a word. “Get the fuck out, before I hurt you some more.”

      Shutting his mouth, Jude beelined for the door, giving Ross a wide berth, as if not trusting him not to lash out. Probably a good call, considering Ross was visibly shaking with anger.

      Just before he left, Jude cast Lucy one more pleading glance. She ignored him, focused only on Ross. Her knight in shining armor, whether he saw it that way or not.

      Lucy had never been the kind of girl who wanted to be rescued. Nor had she ever thought she’d need to be. But tonight, that Galahad riding in on the proverbial white horse thing had come in incredibly handy.

      Once they were alone, Ross strode to the door, flipping the lock. When he returned, he didn’t hesitate, walking right to her with open arms. Lucy melted against his hard body, letting go of the anxiety of the past ten minutes and just holding on, soaking up his warmth and his concern. He kept stroking her, running his fingers through her hair, tenderly rubbing tiny circles on the small of her back. Murmuring soft words into her ear.

      It was, quite honestly, the most protected and cherished she’d felt in years.

      “It’s okay, Luce, he’s gone. He’s gone.”

      Finally, after several long moments, he pulled back a few inches and looked down at her. “You shouldn’t stay here alone.”

      No, she probably shouldn’t. “He said he made a key…”

      “You’re definitely not staying then.” He mumbled a curse and stiffened, and she knew he was mad at himself for not getting the key back before Jude had left.

      “I guess I could go to a hotel…”

      “Screw that,” he muttered, looking at her with an incredulous expression, as if she’d said something absolutely ridiculous. “Pack a bag, you’re coming home with me.”

7

       Now

       Chicago, December 24, 2011

      ROSS WAS AT his parents’ house outside of the city when the call came in about Chip being taken to the hospital. The caller told him the elderly man had gone outside to deal with an accident, and the exertion of helping to push a car out of the snow had apparently caused a heart attack.

      The police officer who called didn’t have any more information, but that was enough to send Ross back into town. He didn’t have the phone numbers of the other guards with him, nor could he be sure they’d be able to go in to the office. He had no idea whether Chip had even locked the main doors when he’d gone out to help the driver, so somebody had to get in there. And the buck always stopped at the boss’s desk.

      The drive would be bad, and he already knew he’d have to spend the night at the office. Fortunately Stella had made up the fold-out sofa in his office. Besides, while everyone was disappointed—especially his older sister, who’d just arrived with her family for the holidays—he couldn’t deny he wouldn’t mind getting away from all the holiday cheer. He hadn’t been able to take his mind off Lucy, and the longer he stayed, the more likely it was somebody would notice. He just didn’t feel like explaining his mood to a nosy sibling or parent.

      It was nearly 2:00 a.m. by the time he arrived—the trip had taken three exhausting, stress-filled hours. The plows were barely managing to keep up with the thick snow—he’d earned a few scolding stares from their drivers as he followed them down newly plowed stretches of highway.

      The private parking lot wasn’t plowed, of course, and he was glad he drove a monster SUV that could clear the already foot-high drift. Parking, he bundled up, then stepped outside, his body immediately battered by the wild wind. It howled eerily in the night and the snow seemed to be moving in all directions—up, down, sideways. Not that he could see much of it in front of his face, and he suddenly realized why.

      There were no lights on. Not anywhere.

      Blackout. Wonderful.

      Fortunately the building was well-insulated and plenty warm. He had a couple of extra blankets for the fold-out; he’d be fine overnight, and hopefully the power would be back on in the morning.

      Hunching against the wind that tried to knock him back with every step, he made his way through the wet snow to the entrance, finding the doors locked. He had a master key, and used it to get in. Emergency reflective lights cast a little illumination in the lobby, and he cautiously made his way to the security desk, knowing a few industrial-strength flashlights were stored back there. Grabbing one, he headed for the stairs, trudging back up six flights, mere hours after he’d raced down them. Going up definitely took longer.

      By the time he got to his floor, he was ready for sleep. It looked like he might be snowed in for a couple of days, so he’d have plenty of time to work. Right now, he was weary—physically and emotionally—and just wanted to call it a night.

      Once inside his office, in familiar territory, he turned off the flashlight. Hopefully the power would be on tomorrow, but if not, he wanted to conserve the battery. Stretching, he stripped off his wet coat and kicked off his shoes, then walked across the office to the small, private sitting area.

      Ross moved cautiously; it was even darker in this corner, since there were no windows. He still managed to bump into the edge of the fold-out, and muttered a curse. Then, glad the day was over, and that it couldn’t get any crazier, he lifted the covers and climbed into the bed.

      A noise split the silence. A low sigh.

       What the hell?

      The sound surprised him into utter wakefulness. Carefully reaching out, he patted the other side of the bed…and felt a body under the covers.

      “Ross?” asked a soft, sleep-filled woman’s voice.

      A familiar woman’s voice.

      “Lucy?” he whispered, shocked.

      Could it really be her? He knew that voice, and could now smell the sweet cinnamon-tinged scent she always wore.

      She mumbled something and shifted, scooting closer as if drawn to his warmth. His eyes had adjusted a little, and he was able to make out her beautiful face. The creamy skin, the strand of dark hair lying across her cheek, the perfect mouth drawn into a tiny frown.

      And she’d said his name in her sleep.

      His heart pounded as he realized it was real. Lucy Fleming was asleep in his bed, in his office, in a building that was supposed to be deserted. It made absolutely no sense, was probably the last thing he’d ever have expected to happen. Considering how determined she’d been to get away without even talking to him earlier, climbing into this bed and finding the real live Santa Claus seemed more likely.

      He frantically thought of the scenarios that might have landed her here. She had to have come back sometime after the building closed—when he’d left at seven-thirty, everybody had been gone except the guard. Why she’d returned, he had no idea. Maybe she’d forgotten something? Whatever the reason, Chip had to have let her in, probably recognizing her from this afternoon.

      Beyond that…what? Had she offered to stay in the building when he was taken away by ambulance? That sounded incredibly far-fetched, and the officer who’d called hadn’t mentioned it.

      The doors. Shit. When the locking mechanism was engaged, they couldn’t be opened, even from the inside, without a key. If Chip had gone out to help the motorist, he must have locked up behind him.

      “You got locked in,” he murmured, suddenly understanding.

      And she had no way to call for help. The building was notorious for its poor cell phone reception even in the best weather, and the phone system fed off the power, so regular phones wouldn’t have worked. The internet would