Rescuing Christmas (7 page)

Chris raced straight for the prone form he saw lying on the floor ahead of him and saw it was the very lifeless body of Marge Turner. Jamie was unconscious on the floor next to her. He used his knife to cut Jamie's bindings then he hefted him up onto his shoulders, barreled back up the stairs and into the main part of the bar. He didn’t stop until he had Jamie safely resting in the backseat of his Jeep.

He drove straight to the hospital and ran inside with him in his arms, shouting instructions to anyone who would listen. Moments later he was standing in the hallways, empty handed and a nurse trying to drag him into another room to examine him as he was covered in soot and his eyes were bloodshot from the smoke. He finally gave in and let himself be dragged into a room and pushed down onto the bed in there, an oxygen mask affixed to his face.

Chris lay on the bed staring up at the ceiling, counting the little holes in each tile as he tried to keep his mind and heart calm. He couldn’t lose Jamie, not right after finally finding him again. If he lost Jamie, Chris would not last. He would follow Jamie, even into death. He wouldn’t even have to commit suicide; he knew his heart would just give out on him on the spot.

After a little while Chris fell asleep, so many sleepless days finally catching up with him. When he opened his eyes later he looked at the clock and realized he had been asleep for probably close to eight hours. The oxygen mask had been removed from his face and he was resting comfortably, his gun belt removed and placed in the chair next to the window. He closed his eyes to go back to sleep and then heard a voice.

“You going to look everywhere in the room but this side of your bed and just go back to sleep?”

Chris’s head snapped around so fast he winced his hand going up to his neck to massage it. Jamie was sitting in another chair on his other side, in hospital scrubs, just staring at him. Chris didn’t even say anything, he just scooted to one side of the bed and held out his arms. Jamie crawled up into the bed with him and face to face they wrapped their arms around one another and fell into a peaceful sleep.

THE REINSTATEMENT OF CHRISTMAS

Chris pulled up to a wrought iron gate, taller than his little house, which was now burned to the ground. He stared at it in amazement as he stopped at the key console. A voice came out of the speaker and said, “How may I help you Officer?”

Jamie leaned over Chris and said, “Open the gate Kevin.”

Immediately the large gate began opening inward and Jamie prompted Chris to pull through the gate and drove down a long driveway past a massive stretch of blank area covered by snow.

Jamie pointed it out and said, “In the spring and summer that is a large plot of grass surrounded by rose bushes. It is there only for the enjoyment of the dogs.”

Chris was still staring around him as he continued to drive forward. Finally, the drive curved around to the left and they passed under the canopy of tree branches that were missing their leaves during the winter months. Jamie instructed him to park next to a massive marble fountain that had been turned off, but the statuary was amazing. Chris turned off the engine, stepped out of the Jeep and stared up at the statue in front of him. The shock had robbed him of the ability to form words.

Jamie stood next to him staring up at it as well. “I used pictures of us as kids to have the statuary for the fountain built. I wanted some of our happiest memories captured in moments of eternal remembrance. I have been saving the top middle spot for something very special.”

Chris just continued staring up at it, never having seen so much green marble before. It was stunning. There were at least six different scenes from various moments of their childhood up until they were eight years old.

Jamie slipped his hand inside Chris's, dragged him to the sidewalk and up to the front door. Chris stared up and realized three tall men standing on one another’s shoulders could walk through these doors unimpeded. As they approached the door, it opened to reveal a man wearing a skintight black sweater and tight black jeans, black motorcycle boots and a black leather shoulder holster holding a black 9mm completed the ensemble.

He touched his ear and Chris saw a little cord there, attached to an earpiece and said, “Jamie is home and the Sheriff is with him.”

The man looked severe and dangerous, but then he smiled and Chris’s breath sucked right out of his body. The man was stunning.

Jamie looked at Chris and said, “Just because I don’t touch doesn’t mean I can’t look and nothing in the world says my employees can’t be fucking hot as hell too. Chris, this is Kevin Masters my head of security. You will find several more like him running around the house and the property. I will introduce you to the rest of the staff later.”

Jamie walked inside the house, his hand pulling Chris forward and into the warm interior. Kevin shut the door behind them and faced Jamie and Chris.

Jamie said, “Kevin, this is Sheriff Chris Anderson. He will be living here from now on so I want you to get his biometrics and show him the safe and give him the combination. He is to have the same level of access to the house that I have.”

Kevin nodded and said, “Is the Sheriff working for you now instead of in town?”

Chris smiled and laughed and said, “No Kevin. I am still the Sheriff. I don’t know if you know much about his childhood, but I am Jamie’s friend from childhood that got taken away when we were eight. We are back together now and I do mean together.”

Kevin smiled again and looked at Jamie and said, “It’s about time. You have been way too lonely.”

Jamie flushed and said, “Get him set up and I will release him into your care later. I have to get to the bar here soon and he is going to get settled in. I will send him down to you in about ten minutes.”

Kevin nodded and walked away. Jamie pulled him through the foyer and into a massive, beautifully furnished living room , but still with a mind to comfort and not snobbery. He was dragged from the room before he had a chance to look at everything and down a long hallway where he passed several doors. Jamie stopped at the last door on the left and held his hand up to a biometric scanner and when the door opened, he pulled Chris in behind him.

Chris stopped, stunned. The room was in shadows, even with the lights on. The entire room was set up as a sex room, the walls covered with toys. A fuck bench sat in the middle of the room with a bed at the other end, straps and crops and whips everywhere. A St. Andrew’s Cross against another wall. He couldn’t even begin to take it all in in one go.

Chris turned to him and said, “You sure you have to get to the bar?”

Jamie laughed at the eagerness on Chris’s face and said, “I do. I have to meet my insurance agent there and deal with a lot of shit.”

Chris said, “Where is Kevin? I want my biometrics put into this lock before anything else.”

Jamie laughed again and pulled Chris into him and said, “Only one other person has access to this room and that is Kevin. As the head of my security, he can go anywhere he wants and do as he pleases as long as he doesn’t destroy anything. If you ever see the scanner go from green to red outside the door, it means Kevin or me or you are inside. At the bottom of the scanner there are three little lights. The first one lit up means I am in there, the second one will be assigned to you and third is assigned to Kevin. So, all you have to do is avoid going in when Kevin’s light is on. Any of the three of us can lay our palm on the scanner and still get inside no matter who is inside, so we just need to be mindful when he is in there.”

Chris nodded and said, “Get me to his office and get back here. I want in this room with you and no interruptions.”

Jamie smirked and shook his head, pulling Chris out of the room, the door closing behind them. He led him down a hallway and back through the living room to the other side. The first door off the living room opened up into a large security office. Kevin was busily keying things into a computer.

He turned and smiled at them as they entered and Jamie said, “I am leaving him in your capable hands Kevin. I will be home late tonight. Just help him get things figured out.”

Kevin nodded and said, “Yes Sir.” Chris kissed Jamie and watched as he walked out of the room. He followed him out and watched out the front window as his Range Rover fired up and drove down the driveway.

Chris turned around and walked back into the office and said, “Kevin, forget all of that for now. I have something more important that we need to do. Call the staff together for me please. We have only a few hours to put together a surprise.”

Kevin stared at him then said, “Okay.” He put his finger up to his ear and said, “I need all staff members to convene in the main floor living room in under five minutes please.”

Kevin walked out into the living room followed closely by Chris. Within a few minutes all the staff, more than fifty of them, had filled the living room. Kevin introduced Chris to everyone and said, “Since you are in a hurry we will walk you through who they all are later.”

Chris nodded and said, “I know you will disagree with me here, but it is going to happen. Jamie only stopped believing in and celebrating Christmas twenty years ago when I was pulled away from him by my family. It is high time he started celebrating again and I do not do Christmas without decorations. I am taking Kevin here and we are going into town and we are going to buy enough decorations to fill the house and outside. Now, Jamie likely won’t be home until after ten tonight and it is just after seven in the morning now. So, I need two volunteers to go with us into town to start getting ready.”

Two men stepped forward and Kevin introduced them. “This is Billy, the Butler who is in charge of the inside of the house and Mickey the head of the outdoor crew. He is in charge of keeping up the grounds. They will know best what to get and where it can be placed and how much will be needed.”

Chris nodded and said, “This is great. Okay guys, get back to work and we will be back as soon as we can. Billy and Mickey I will give you guys ten minutes to hand out instructions on what needs to be done in preparation of us returning home. I am going to change clothes, then we will get out of here.” Billy and Mickey nodded and turned around, rattling off instructions quickly.

Kevin touched Chris on the shoulder and said, “I will show you to your room then come back down and hand out some more instructions.”

Chris nodded and followed behind Kevin as he led him up two flights of a sweeping marble staircase. There was only a single large room covering the entirety of the third floor and it was one massive bedroom. Chris sucked in a breath as his eyes bugged out of his skull. Kevin laughed and said, “Incredible isn’t it?” Chris could only nod and stare around him.

Kevin said, “The closets are over on the west wall.” He pointed then turned and walked back down the staircase. Chris hurried over to a set of doors and found he had lucked out. The closet was full of jeans and light sweaters.

He stripped out of his uniform and tossed it on the floor. He dressed in a black jockstrap, a pair of black jeans and a tight black turtleneck. He then slipped on a warm pair of black socks and a pair of black cowboy boots and a heavy leather belt with a beautiful silver belt buckle that had a large “C” on it in gold. It was obvious that even during the twenty years, Jamie had never quit thinking about him. He then grabbed a black beanie and slipped it on his head and topped it off with a pair of sunglasses that he slipped into the collar of his sweater. Walking out of the closet he saw Kevin standing at the top of the stairs waiting for him. He saw his eyes widen and said, “What?”

Kevin said, “If you weren’t already spoken for I would be tempted to take advantage of you here and now.”

Chris laughed and said, “Thanks. Now, I need two things. I need a jacket, black leather preferably and a clip holster that I can put on the back of my belt in the small of my back and a black leather shoulder harness for my other gun.”

Kevin nodded and walked to another closet and pulled a black leather jacket out and handed it to him. He then turned and walked back down the stairs and Chris followed on his heels. They were headed for the security office and when they went inside Kevin placed his hand on a biometric scanner on a large steel cabinet against the far wall. When it opened, Chris saw many guns and several types of harnesses. Kevin dug through it for a minute then came up with the two items Chris had requested.

Chris put them on and said, “Are you ready?”

Kevin nodded and touched the ear piece and said, “Billy, Mickey, time to go. Meet us outside please.”

They turned and walked out the door and Chris said, “Give me a minute.” He opened the passenger door to his Jeep and pulled his guns out of his glove compartment and his wallet out of his center console. A rubber band held a credit card to the wallet with a note.

Chris pulled it off, stuffed the card in his wallet and put it in his pocket then read the note which just said the credit card was now his with unlimited resources on it. Well that relieved some of the stress off of Chris thinking about how he was going to pay for everything. He had planned on using his savings, but now he didn’t have to. Jamie had already told him he had his accountant working on getting Chris added to all of his accounts and merging his accounts with Jamie’s accounts so he would be able to access them immediately.

Chris slipped the guns into their holsters, shut the Jeep door and locked it then walked over to Kevin. Mickey and Billy walked out of the house from a small side door and Kevin walked over to them with Chris once again following behind him. Kevin used another biometric scanner to open a garage door and they walked inside. There were eight cars in this garage and Chris didn’t even have a clue as to what any of them were, as they were expensive foreign looking affairs.