Shielding His Christmas Witness

Help was on the way!

The SUV suddenly slowed down and made a dangerously sharp left-hand turn. She closed her eyes, silently thanking God for watching over them.

“Tell the dispatcher the SUV is headed west,” Marc urged. “They have to find it.”

She repeated what he’d told her to the dispatcher, but the woman cut her off. “So you’re not in danger anymore?”

Kari was still in danger, and would be until she testified, but didn’t think that was terribly relevant. “That’s correct...the SUV is no longer behind us.”

Marc had taken his foot off the accelerator, too, and the car dropped down to a reasonable speed. He turned right, heading east in the opposite direction the SUV had taken, then he reached over to take the phone from her hand, pushing the button to disconnect from the call.

She gasped. “Why did you do that?”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t waste time talking to the deputies right now.”

“But don’t you want to find the SUV that was shooting at us?”

“Yeah, I do. Especially since we don’t know how they found us in the first place.” He scowled and executed another turn. “First the safe house and now this? Not a coincidence. There has to be some sort of inside leak and that means being interviewed by the sheriff’s deputies is not an option. Not until I know who we can trust.”

Her mouth went dry at the thought of someone in law enforcement being entangled in this mess. “Do you really think that’s possible?”

He shrugged. “I can’t eliminate the possibility. My top priority is keeping you safe.”

Difficult to argue with his logic, since she wanted the exact same thing. She placed a soothing hand over her rounded stomach and let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

The corner of his mouth tipped up in a crooked grin. “Don’t worry about me, Kari. Right now we need to find a place to hide. Keep your eyes peeled for even the most remote possibilities.”

She stared out the passenger-side window, not sure what he meant. The snow-covered farmers’ fields didn’t offer many hiding spots. The houses were few and far between.

They should have stayed in the city.

“There,” Marc said, his tone rich with satisfaction. “That will work for now.”

She frowned, looking around in confusion. There wasn’t anything around other than a large seemingly abandoned and rather dilapidated red barn located a few yards in from the road. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I hope so.” He slowed the car and turned into the rutted gravel driveway leading to the structure. The car bounced and jostled as he crept closer. Then he threw the gearshift into Park, but left the engine running.

“I’m going to open the barn doors and you’re going to drive inside, okay?”

“All right.” She unbuckled her seat belt and then awkwardly climbed over the center console to get into the driver’s seat. She fumbled for the button to adjust the seat, moving it forward until her right foot reached the pedal.

Marc worked quickly, opening the doors just wide enough for her to drive inside. The minute she cleared the threshold, he began closing the doors behind her. She watched in the rearview mirror, frowning when she noticed he didn’t close them all the way. He disappeared for several long moments before returning inside. This time, he closed the doors tightly.

Darkness surrounded them, forcing her to turn on the headlights.

Marc opened the passenger-side door and rummaged in the glove box, taking out a flashlight and testing the batteries. “I’m going to see if I can find some sort of tracking device on the vehicle. Sit tight for a few minutes.”

She huddled behind the wheel as Marc examined the car. The task seemed to take forever before he returned. “Okay, turn off the engine.”

She switched off the headlights and twisted the key, shutting down the car. Then she scooted back over to the passenger-side seat, giving him room to get inside.

“Did you find anything?”

“No.”

“Now what?” she asked, trying to read his facial expression in the darkness.

“We wait.”

She shivered, even though the temperature inside the vehicle was relatively warm. At least for the moment. “For how long?”

He skimmed his hand over his short brown hair and let out a sigh. “For as long as it takes.”

Kari didn’t like that answer, but what could she say? Arguing wasn’t going to help. And hiding from gunmen wasn’t exactly her forte. She had to have faith, to trust that Marc knew what he was doing.

She shivered again, and he reached out to put his hand on her arm. “You okay?”

“Yes.” Even through her winter jacket, his touch had the ability to calm her nerves. Not just because he was armed.

But because she liked him. Trusted him. Not only with her life, but with that of her unborn child.

She felt safe in his care.

* * *

Marc wished he knew how on earth they’d been found at the motel. Miles would never put him in harm’s way, and being a detective, his brother was smart enough to make sure he wasn’t followed to the motel. He hadn’t found a tracking device, either, so the only logical possibility was that somehow their location had been traced through the voice-mail message that Marc had left for his boss.

Obviously, returning to the Ravenswood Motel wasn’t an option, but he also didn’t like the fact that the SUV had followed his car. He had no way of knowing if they’d managed to trace his license-plate number.

He’d feel better if they were able to obtain a new car as soon as possible.

For now, however, they were well hidden inside the ramshackle barn.

Even surrounded by darkness and the musty scent of stale hay, Marc was hyperaware of Kari sitting beside him. Her cranberry-vanilla scent reminded him of the upcoming Christmas holiday.

Normally, he volunteered to work over the holiday. He didn’t have a wife or children like so many of the other agents did and keeping busy helped pass the time. Granted, he usually spent Christmas with his mom, Nan and siblings, but that wasn’t the same as having a family of his own.

Oddly enough, the holiday season was about the only time he missed Jessica. At least the early years of their marriage, when they’d cuddled by the fire, sipping hot apple cider and talking about their future.

But then things changed. Not all at once, but little by little over time. At first Jess complained about the hours he spent working, then their arguments became more frequent, especially surrounding his disinterest in attending parties that lasted way into the night.

His mistake was encouraging her to go out without him.

A mistake that had ultimately cost Jess her life, along with the baby she carried. Identifying his wife in the morgue had been the hardest thing he’d ever done.

Slamming a door against the gut-wrenching memories, Marc forced himself to focus on the present. He needed to figure out how he was going to keep Kari safe while continuing his investigation. He felt Kari shivering beside him, so he reached up intending to start the engine.

Kari stopped him by covering his hand with hers. “Don’t,” she said in a low voice. “I don’t think running the car in an enclosed space is a good idea.”