The Spy Who Came for Christmas by David Morrell Read Free Book Online Page B

to turn off the lights so they can't see us."
    "Some men are trying to kidnap this baby?" The woman's face registered shock. She held the infant closer, defending it now. The blue blanket was enveloped by the arms of her red dress.
    Slow down, Kagan warned himself. This is coming at her too fast. She needs time to adjust.
    He inhaled slowly, held his breath, then exhaled, each time counting to three as he would before a gunfight, working to calm himself.
    Making his voice gentle, he asked, "What's your name?"
    The woman looked surprised, unprepared for the change of tone. She hesitated, still keeping her face angled to the left. The baby whimpered in her arms, and its wizened face seemed to urge her to reply.
    "Meredith," she finally said.
    Thank God, Kagan thought. She gave me something. He noticed a night-light next to the stove across from him.
    "If you're concerned about being in the dark with me, turn on that night-light. The glow won't attract attention from the street. It's the bright lights we need to worry about. Then I promise I'll explain why I'm injured, why I have the baby."
    Meredith didn't respond.
    "Listen to me." Kagan mustered the strength to keep talking. "I didn't intend to bring trouble to you. I planned to hide in the shed or the garage. Things didn't work out. I'm sorry I involved you, but that can't be changed now. Those men will do anything to get their hands on this baby You've got to help me stop them from thinking he's here. That's the only way you and your son will get out of this."
    If Meredith hadn't been holding the baby, Kagan was certain she'd have grabbed the boy and fled from the house. But the baby made all the difference, seeming to prevent her from moving.
    "You can see how helpless I am," Kagan said. "What's the harm if you close the curtains over the sink and use the night-light? It won't hurt you, but it might save the baby."
    Meredith kept hesitating, her strained features showing the confusion she felt.
    'And it might save you and your son," Kagan emphasized. "You've got a known situation in here. A baby who needs help. A man who's injured. But you have no idea of the trouble outside."
    When the baby whimpered again, Meredith looked down at its unhappy face and debated. She stroked its dark, wispy hair, then frowned toward the window.
    Reluctantly, she told the boy, "Cole, do what he wants."
    "But ..."
    "Do it," she said firmly, then added gently, "Please."
    The boy looked at her, his gaze questioning, then moved toward the window.
    "Thank you," she told him.
    When Cole nodded, Kagan didn't bother trying to conceal his relief.
    The boy surprised Kagan by limping slightly as he crossed the kitchen. He stretched nervously over the sink to close the curtains. Then he turned on the night-light, which had a perforated tin shield that looked like a Christmas tree and reduced the glow.
    Watching Cole walk unevenly toward an archway that led into the living room, Kagan subdued a frown when he saw why the boy limped. One leg was shorter than the other. The heel on his right shoe rose two inches higher than the one on the left.
    Even so, Kagan couldn't help silently urging the boy to hurry.
    Cole flicked a switch on the wall and turned off the main kitchen lights. Apart from the glow of the night-light, the only illumination came from the fireplace and the lights on the Christmas tree in the living room.
    Kagan allowed himself to hope.
    "Okay, you said the phones in the house aren't working. But don't you have a cell phone?"
    "No," Meredith answered uncomfortably. "Don't you?'
    Kagan thought of the coat pocket that had been torn open when he'd escaped.
    "Lost it."
    "He took my mother's phone," Cole said.
    "He?" Kagan crawled painfully toward a wooden chair at the kitchen table.
    Neither of them answered. In another part of the house, a man's voice sang, ' "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed . . . " Ka- gan was surprised that he took the time to identify it as Bing Crosby's.
    Damn it,