Chapter 1

Dylan punched the older man in the stomach, after realizing it had been heavily padded he swung for the man's head. It worked. The man toppled over like a ton of bricks. He leaned down to the unconscious Santa and pulled off his jacket and hat, placing them on himself as he grabbed his bag which was filled with jewels from the jewelry store and bills from the ATM he had managed to hack into.

***

Katherine blew out the last candle that smelled of cookie dough as she headed towards the stairs. The tail of her red satin robe swishing with each step.

"Come on Louie, time for bed." she called as a large yellow tabby cat jumped down from its current spot on the window ledge and followed her up the stairs.

The soft tune of Savage Garden's Truly, Madly, Deeply floated throughout the house, as she had forgotten to turn the stereo off.

***

Once he had gotten the two wires to spark, Dylan sped quickly out onto the night roads. It wasn't long, however, before the flashing of red and blue lights began shinning in his rearview mirror.

He swerved, nearly missing the other cars by mere inches. The flashing lights still danced in the mirror's reflection. It seemed they were just teasing him, urging him to pull over. But no. He wouldn't give up. He wasn't a quitter. Never had been, and never will be.

He approached a side road. Knowing it wasn't a highly traveled road, he turned with a squeal of the tires. He swiftly pulled into a side ditch and killed the engine. He could hear the sirens getting closer. His pulse pounding, he willed his heart to calm itself, in fear that somehow the beating would be a giveaway to his position.

He heaved a heavy sigh, letting out a breath he wasn't aware he had been holding when he saw the flashing lights pass quickly by his secret road. Deciding it was best to leave the car, he grabbed his bag of 'goodies' and threw on his Santa hat as he stepped out into the cold. He spotted a house not too far from the road, and so he began his trek through the foot deep snow covered grass.

***

Sitting in front of her vanity mirror, Katherine brushed out her golden brown locks as they fell just past her shoulders. Louie lay sprawled out on the floor licking his paw.

***

As Dylan crept up to the house, he slipped by some bushes, gaining access to a window on the first floor. He placed his hands against the glass and slowly pushed up. With ease, the unlocked window began to slide open, and most importantly, with no alarm.

He opened the window just enough for him to slide inside the house. After closing the window he sat his bag down and turned to evaluate the room. However, when he turned, the sleeve of his Santa coat caught on one of the Christmas bulbs on the tree, causing it to fall to the floor.

***

Louie's ear twitched as he turned his head to the bedroom door. He got up and slowly moved to the hall.

Standing, Katherine watched as her cat walked off, "Louie?" she called quietly. She then heard Louie's hiss. She quickly grabbed the first thing she could reach for, which happened to be her hair brush, and rushed out into the hall.

As she descended the stairs, she peeked around the corner. She could see a man in her living room wearing a red coat with white cotton hems. The man was backed up against a wall, swatting a matching hat around trying to protect himself from Louie. Louie was hissing like mad, his tail hair was sticking out about an inch in all directions.

"Shoo!" the man kept whispering, attempting to get the cat away, but also remain quiet.

She took a strengthening breath as she jumped out in front of the man, flailing her hairbrush at him, "Who are you and what are you doing here?!" she yelled. Startled, he screamed and stumbled, tripping over his bag. The contents spilled to the floor. She gasped at the sight of bunches of crumpled dollar bills and shimmering rings and necklaces.

Katherine's eyes grew twice their normal size as she gasped. "You're a criminal!" she yelled, grabbing for a rather large present under the tree, she began beating him over the head with it. He covered his head with his arms and tried to tell her to stop. However, she wouldn't let up. That was, until she heard the sirens approaching her house.

She suddenly stopped her assault and stared blindly out the window where she stood. Dylan took the chance to stand. Regaining his footing, she began to scream as he came at her. The police cars were getting close, the lights were visible from the window. He swiftly pinned her against the wall, covering her mouth with one of his hands in the process. She still tried to scream, but it was when he looked into her eyes and pleaded with her softly, "Please be quiet, please." she began to calm.

It was the first time she had actually gotten a good look at him. He had soft features and messy black hair that fell onto and around his face. She didn't know what it was, there was just something in his eyes...the way his bore deep into hers. They were a beautiful shade of icy blue, a stark contrast to his dark hair. She knew she shouldn't, but she felt that she could trust him. Or at least, trust him enough not to hurt her.

He glanced over at the window once more. The police cars were heading down the street, for her house.

"Can I trust you?" he asked seriously. When she didn't respond he asked again, this time, pleading with his eyes, "I said, can I trust you?"

She slowly nodded her head. The police stopped in front of the house. She let out a shaky breath once he released his hold on her. He grabbed his bag, shoving the spilled contents back into it as he ran for the stairs. Two officers were making their way up the path by the driveway. She quickly checked herself in a mirror on the wall to make sure she was presentable. Then rushed over to the door and opened it before the officers had a chance to knock.

"Oh officers, what's going on?" she asked, "I heard all the sirens and rushed out of bed so quickly I think I gave my cat Louie a heart attack, poor thing." she added while turning her head to 'look for her cat' she was very convincing.

Dylan listened from the hallway atop the stairs and smiled to himself, Well give the woman an Oscar, she can act!

"Uh, ma'am, you wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of a rogue Santa would you?"

"Rogue Santa? My goodness, is someone on the loose? Has there been any break-ins?-"

"Now, now miss. There's no need for alarm. Nothing to worry about." one of the officers said, "Just be careful and uh, keep your doors locked."

"Yes sir, officers. Merry Christmas!" she called out as they left. She shut the door and leaned herself against it.

She sighed, "Oh my god, I'm harboring a Christmas fugitive."