Read Online The Kid Who Stole Christmas by Linda Stevens - Free Book Online Page A

Union Station area, with its popular taverns, most likely. Fresh clean snow lay in a blanket all around, softening the city’s edges. It was beautiful, in spite of the occasional sight of a decrepit building and the bitter cold. Here, Christmas lights blinked in most windows.
    Soon, however, as she followed the form up ahead of her farther down toward the railroad tracks, those cheery windows gave way to ones that were boarded-up and dark. The snowy landscape now took on a forbidding, sinister dimension.
    And then Rick disappeared. At least she hoped it was Rick. Shannon realized she had been so caught up in her own thoughts that it was possible she had lost sight of him and had started following another vague shape, instead. Fear welled up within her, making her almost sick to her stomach, and every doorway seemed alive with threatening shapes.
    Suddenly, one of those shapes reached out and grabbed her. As she flailed her arms, trying to keep her balance, she was yanked roughly into a narrow crevice between two buildings by the collar of her coat. She struggled to stay on her feet in the frigid, near-total darkness. Just as she opened her mouth to scream, her attacker pushed her roughly backward through a door into one of the buildings. The bottom edge of the jamb caught her boot and she went down on her rear end, her coat providing little padding against the concrete.
    A man’s harsh whisper cut off the complaint that rose to her lips. “Hush!”
    “Rick?”
    “Who were you expecting, O’Shaughnessy?” he said in quiet, clipped tones. “The bogeyman? Well, down here, you might really have run into him.”
    “I—”
    “Just stay there and keep your mouth shut.”
    Since he did not seem in the mood for any discussion just now, she did as she was told. Rick moved to the door, paused and then went back out into the cold, dark night. When he didn’t return right away, Shannon decided he hadn’t meant for her to literally stay where she was, so she got up from the floor and dusted herself off.
    She seemed to be in a warehouse of some kind. With only the dim light filtering in from outside, it was hard to tell, but she could make out vague shapes that looked like crates. Lyon’s occasionally used the storage facilities down here near the tracks when the store got a big shipment by rail. But Shannon didn’t think she was acquainted with this particular building. Rick had little to worry about. She had no desire to wander around such a place in the dark.
    But what was Rick doing down here? Why was he so jumpy? Shannon had to admit that was another reason she had followed him. He might not be shady, and probably didn’t have anything to do with Leo’s disappearance, but she felt certain Rick was up to something. His behavior just now seemed to confirm her suspicions.
    Great. She had come to offer Rick solace, and instead had made him mad. That didn’t put her in the best position to ask questions about what he was doing, or to ask for his help in finding Leo, either. To top it all off, she was cold, scared and her rear end hurt. This was turning into some Christmas.
    Shannon jumped when Rick came back in and slammed the door. Then she heard him fiddling with what sounded like a heavy padlock.
    “At least nobody followed you, ” he said, obviously relieved. “Sorry for being so rough, but you took me by surprise. I just assumed that anyone out walking on a night like this was either an idiot or dangerous, probably both. What are you doing down here?”
    “Following you,” Shannon confirmed defiantly. It was difficult to see his face in the dim light, but she thought she saw him smile. “What’s so funny?”
    He shook his head and chuckled. “Nothing. It’s just that you really did give me a scare,” Rick admitted.
    “Good. That and your lame apology take some of the sting out of my...out of my pride. Now, what are you doing down here?”
    “This is where I live.”
    “Oh.” That revelation gave her