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  Deck The Halls

  DeckTheHalls

  Pink Petal Books

  Pink Petal Books, an imprint of Jupiter Gardens Press, publishes romance novels where the relationship is primary. It doesn’t matter if you want to read super erotic or sweet inspirational books. Pink Petal Books believes that love is a beautiful thing, no matter what form it takes . For more information about Pink Petal Books visit http://www.pinkpetalbooks.com/.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  DECK THE HALLS

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Copyright © Shashauna P. Thomas., 2011

  ISBN# 978-0-9837809-1-5

  Cover Art ® 2010 by Valerie Tibbs

  Edited by Julie Trevelyan

  Electronic Publication Date: July 2011

  This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Jupiter Gardens Press, Jupiter Gardens , LLC., PO Box 191 , Grimes, IA 50111

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  Deck The Halls

  Shashauna P. Thomas

  PPB

  Deck The Halls

  Chapter One

  As soon as Jake saw the two suits enter the police precinct he knew something was wrong. He didn’t need to see their badges to know they were law enforcement. Years on the force had taught him how to spot officers outside their uniforms. Each carried the same authoritative demeanor like they carried their badges. The real question was from what branch? And what brought them here to this small town in Arizona ?

  Jake watched as Tina, the front desk receptionist, escorted them directly to the sheriff’s office. The little sprite of a woman was a red headed spitfire. The two average height men towered over her in stature, but as usual Tina wasn’t intimidated in the least. The serious looks on their faces as they passed by, however, convinced Jake that whatever business brought them down to this neck of the woods wasn’t good. He also wasn’t surprised to see that his brother Jason had picked up on it. One look in his direction told him they were once again on the same page.

  “What you think that’s all about?” Jason asked as he strolled with coffee mug in hand over to his desk. Neither of them were morning people and even though the coffee at the station wasn’t the best it would do ‘til they had a chance to grab some from the local diner.

  “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it isn’t good. Or they wouldn’t be here at seven in the morning to see dad.” Jake and Jason’s father was the local sheriff. He followed in their grandfather’s footsteps just as Jake and Jason were following in his. Jake watched as Jason got comfortable at his desk directly across from his own. The top of Jake’s old battered wooden desk was pushed up against Jason’s. The arrangement of the few deputy desks was their attempt at making the most of the limited space available to them. The precinct was a small, odd-shaped building with only one floor. The only one with an office and room to spread out was the sheriff. The glass front of the building allowed the early morning sun to light up most of the precinct. Jake and his brother Jason were the first deputies to come in and relieve the three deputies that made up the overnight skeletal shift.

  The longer Jake watched the suits, the more uneasy he became. Keeping his eyes on their guests, Jake asked in a low voice, “How far up the chain do you think they are?”

  “Not sure. They’re suits, but I don’t think too high up. I have better suits in my closet then the ones they walked in here wearing,” Jason mumbled into his mug before taking a sip of his coffee.

  Jake shook his head at his brother as the grimace on his face told Jake the coffee tasted thick and bitter as always. It was one of the reasons Jake had yet to pick up his own cup of coffee. Neither would drink it if they both weren’t desperate for the caffeine fix.

  As identical twins they had a lot of things in common besides their mirror image appearance, but they were still individuals. There were some areas of interest they differed on. Jason’s clothing fixation was one of those areas. Half of Jason’s closet was expensive designer shirts and suits. While Jake probably owned two and even those were gifts from his brother. If Jason said he had more expensive suits, then Jake believed him.

  “Maybe they’re detectives from one of the Phoenix offices,” Jason added as they watched the visitors enter the sheriff’s office and the door close behind them.

  Jake nodded as that sounded plausible. They weren’t that far out from Phoenix . And with it being such a large city, there were numerous departments; they could’ve easily come from any one of them. It was possible they were here simply looking for a criminal on the run last reported heading in their direction. The only problem with that theory was they’d usually call or send a fax to give them a heads up. They wouldn’t have come down here in person so early in the morning for a simple notification.

  “Well whatever it is, it appears we don’t have to wait much longer to find out,” Jake said as he nodded in the direction of the sheriff’s door. They both turned as the door opened to see their father standing in the doorway motioning for them to join him. They looked back at each other for a moment before they both got up and headed towards the office.

  “Come on in boys. Close the door behind you,” their father said as he retook his seat behind his desk. The two suits were sitting in the guest chairs across from him, leaving standing room only for Jake and Jason. “This is U.S. Marshals Thomas and Mendoza from New York .”

  As the marshals nodded their hellos to Jake and his brother, they nodded in return. Seeing them up close Jake couldn’t help sizing them up. Marshal Thomas was an African-American male of average height and build. His hair was cut so short he was nearly bald. Jake figured he was around his and his brother’s age. Marshal Mendoza was an older gentleman. He looked to be only a few years younger than their father. Mendoza was a light-skinned Hispanic male with short curly black hair. The thin mustache on his face was black as well with a few speckles of gray here and there. A testament to his years. He too was average height, but where his partner was lean he was on the chubby side. Mendoza had a slightly obvious gut that he tried to hide, but wasn’t successful. Jake thought Mendoza looked more like a seasoned Marshal while Thomas still had the fresh-out-of-the-academy look.

  “ New York ? Aren’t you guys a little far from home?” Jason asked, trying to lighten up the somber mood. He didn’t like the feel of this early morning meeting anymore then Jake did. The longer they stood there, the more Jake found himself waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop.

  “They’ve just informed me that we may have a situation that concerns Gloria.” And there it was. Their father’s words immediately caused their hackles to rise. The marshals and their father now had their complete and undivided attention even though neither had finished their morning coffee.

  “What about Gloria?” Jake spoke up this time. He didn’t need to look at his brother to know Jason was just as serious as he was. If Gloria was in trouble, they wanted to know about it.

  From the moment Gloria Lopez seductively
strolled into their station six months ago to take over the available file clerk position, she’d managed to worm her way into the hearts of everyone she met. It was a feat that still amazed Jake, not to mention how easily she’d accomplished it. Like most small towns, the locals here grew up with each other. They tended to be a tight-knit community that didn’t open up readily to outsiders. Yet within a week of Gloria’s arrival, she’d managed to make friends. By the end of her first month, she was deeply woven into the fabric of their community. No one looked at her or treated her as anything other than one of the locals.

  For Jake and Jason she was more. Much more. She was the woman they’d been searching for. The one that would make them complete. The twins had fallen head over heels in love with her though Jake doubted Gloria knew it. They had a plan to correct any misunderstandings over Christmas.

  “As we just told Sheriff McCoy, we’re from the witness protection program,” Marshal Mendoza answered as he turned his full attention towards Jake and Jason. “Six months ago we placed the woman you know as Gloria Lopez here for her protection. She was vital in helping us catch her ex-boyfriend, Manuel Ortiz. Once we caught Ortiz we placed Gloria in the program to keep her safe until she could testify at his trial.”

  “What is Ortiz charged with?” Jason asked. The cold calmness in his voice a sure sign to anyone who knew him that he was steamed. He might look relaxed, but Jake knew every muscle in his body was tense. Jason was usually the laid-back, carefree twin. It was a completely different story when he was angered. Jake knew his brother was pissed when he grew quiet and his body language said he was preparing to pounce.

  “Multiple counts of drug trafficking, distribution of narcotics, murder, and assault.” This time Marshal Thomas answered.

  “If you have the man in custody then what’s the problem?” Jake asked. Finding out that Gloria was in the witness protection program was mind blowing and he fully intended to return to that in a minute. At the moment what was most important was whether or not Gloria was safe. If she wasn’t, he wanted to know who the threat to her was.

  “Ortiz has a number of wealthy and powerful connections. Connections that don’t want him to go away for fear he’ll turn state's evidence against them in exchange for a lesser jail sentence. Not to mention the impact his incarceration will have on the money and product flow in their network. We were worried they’d try to intimidate Gloria into not testifying when what we should’ve worried about was them breaking Ortiz out of prison,” Mendoza answered.

  “While being transferred from the prison he’d been placed in to await trial, the van was ambushed. Both guards were killed during the escape,” Thomas added.

  “When did this happen?” Jason asked.

  “A week ago,” Thomas replied.

  “A week? And you’re just now coming here to let Gloria know?” Jason was definitely having a tough time keeping his cool. Jake couldn’t blame him. So far these marshals seemed completely inept.

  “She’d been successfully hidden for the last six months. There was no reason to immediately up and move her when there was no evidence to suggest Ortiz knew her whereabouts. Reacting prematurely would’ve worried her needlessly.” Thomas was getting more and more on Jake’s nerves every time he spoke.

  “Since you’re here now then it’s safe to say something’s changed,” Jake added as he crossed his arms. The longer they spoke with these marshals the more incompetent they appeared.

  “While tracking down his whereabouts since the escape, we questioned one of his girlfriends. She didn’t have anything on who helped break him out, but she admitted he’d shown up on her doorstep two days after his escape. He stayed there long enough to get clothes and to reach some of his contacts. She said she didn’t know where he was, but she swore she was certain he was headed out of New York . When we asked why, she reluctantly admitted to overhearing a phone conversation he had where he mentioned something about taking care of loose ends in Arizona before disappearing for a while.”

  As Marshal Mendoza finished his sentence, Jake felt a wealth of emotions rolling around inside him. Cold fear for Gloria at the thought that her crazy ex could already be in the area. Anger at this Ortiz guy for even thinking about laying a hand on her. Incensed at the marshals for taking so long to come down here and let Gloria know she might be in danger. For a week she’d been walking around completely oblivious and the ones responsible for keeping her safe had slacked on their job. They were out there busy chasing their own tails while some psycho was out there searching for Gloria. If anything happened to Gloria, Jake and Jason were holding Mendoza and Thomas personally responsible. Apparently, they weren’t the only ones.

  “If you two had come to us earlier, when you originally placed Gloria here, and let us know what was going on, we could’ve helped make sure she was safe until the trial,” said their father. His words brought everyone’s attention back to him. “We’d have kept an eye out for anything that might look suspicious or out of the ordinary. And when Ortiz escaped, we would’ve already been on alert. I don’t know how you guys do things in New York , but here in this community we protect our own. And no matter what happened in her past, Gloria is one of us.” He spoke calmly, but Jake knew he was upset too. He’d heard that tone enough growing up to know his father meant business.

  “Notifying the locals that they have a witness protection participant in the area isn’t the norm. There’s no way she’d be able to live a normal life if everyone knew she’d assumed a new identity. Not to mention the more people who know, the more likely her new identity falls into the wrong hands. And that would make it extremely easy for the ones looking for her to find her,” Mendoza responded.

  “The list of ‘need to know’ is very short in every witness protection placement. I’m sorry, but notifying the local authorities isn’t on that list. There are even marshals we work with who have no clue what her new identity is or where Gloria is,” Thomas added.

  “So Ortiz had to escape from your custody, killing two guards in the process, and Gloria’s life had to once again be placed in danger for us to be added to that short list of yours?” Logically Jake knew they were right. When a witness enters the program, they can’t go around broadcasting the information, even to law enforcement. Never know how far it will travel. But logic be damned. When it concerned Gloria, he and his brother needed to know. It was a fact he was going to make sure Gloria herself was well aware of when he had a chance.

  “We’re telling you now because we believe Gloria’s new identity may have already been compromised. We’re sure Ortiz knows Gloria is somewhere in Arizona , but other than that we don’t know how much more information he’s been able to obtain. In light of this, our only choice is to collect her and place her in a safe house. This way we can ensure her safety while we recapture Ortiz. Eventually we’ll figure out how, along with how much of her information was leaked,” Thomas replied.

  “Or she gets killed. Whichever comes first?” Jason didn’t like the marshals' plan anymore then Jake did.

  “We’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen, deputy.”

  “Well you’ve sure done a bang-up job so far, Marshal.”

  “Look the only reason we’re even discussing this with you is because we wanted the local authorities to be on the lookout for Ortiz in the area. He is a very dangerous man even without his connections. If you see him, apprehend him immediately. Then notify us or our agency at once. As a show of solidarity between our two agencies as well as professional courtesy we didn’t want you to worry when one of your employees suddenly ups and goes missing. Gloria’s protection however is our concern, not yours,” Thomas spoke.

  “Yeah. And where was this solidarity and professional courtesy six months ago?” Jason fired back.

  “Ah, but then they had Ortiz in custody. Now they need all the help they can get to get him back. They figured give the locals a bone and they might give one back by helping to apprehend their missing fugitive,” Jake added. Both of
the Marshals looked as if they were going to respond, but Jake cut them off. “Frankly, I truly don’t give a shit what your reasons are for finally telling us. What’s important is that you did. And now that you have there are a few things we need to apprise you of.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like the fact that if you think you're going to come down here, lay all this on our plate, grab Gloria, and disappear with her to parts unknown to never be seen or heard from again, all while leaving us to take care of your mess, you’re sadly mistaken.” They could tell from Jason’s voice that he was dead serious and a quick look at Jake and their father told the Marshals exactly where they stood on the matter. “As my father told you, here we take care of our own. Gloria’s safety and protection is very much our concern. And from the looks of how you’ve handled everything so far, I’d say our concern is even more so then yours.”

  “My brother is absolutely right. You think it’s fair to make Gloria pay all over again by giving up the life she’s made for herself here? I don't. It's your leak, your mess, and yours to fix. It's not up to Gloria. She’s already paid enough . ”

  “We haven’t determined where Ortiz’s information came from, but unofficially I completely agree with you. After everything he put her though I can’t see Gloria doing anything that would compromise her new identity. You know that assault charge against Ortiz? That’s from Gloria.” It was the first time since this meeting began that Jake saw what looked like remorse in Mendoza . “And you’re positively right. It isn’t fair to Gloria when she didn’t do anything wrong. But I’m sure you’ll agree when I say keeping Gloria safe is of the utmost importance.”

  “Closely followed by the speedy apprehension of Ortiz,” Thomas interjected. Jake knew where Thomas’s priorities lay and he didn’t like that the man seemed to put catching Ortiz over Gloria’s safety.