Shielding His Christmas Witness

The softness of her hand was momentarily distracting. His emotions had been in a deep freeze for years, so why were they thawing for Kari now? He gave himself a mental shake and pointed through the windshield. “See the open spaces up in the loft? They’re enough to prevent the exhaust fumes from building up to a dangerous level.”

“I’d rather not take any chances with the baby,” she protested.

He didn’t necessarily agree, but dropped his hand from the key and turned toward her. “All right, then scoot closer and lean against me as much as you can. Staying close together will maintain our body heat.”

The console between the seats prevented them from getting too close, but he managed to get his muscular arm around her slim shoulders, sharing a bit of body warmth. She held herself tensely at first, but then relaxed enough to rest her head against his shoulder.

“How long do we have to stay here?” she asked.

“As long as we can stand it.” The coldness of winter would push them to move before he liked, considering the longer they could remain hidden, the better off they would be. The Washington County Sheriff’s deputies would be on the lookout for them over the next twenty-four hours, along with the SUV that had been shooting at them, but Marc hoped to slip out of the county before that happened.

Of course, the deputies here would likely put all the surrounding counties on notice, as well. And even though they were victims, he knew the police would still want to question them.

“Marc? Is there any way for me to avoid testifying in court?”

He frowned at her question. “Listen, Kari, I’m going to keep you safe, okay?”

She didn’t say anything for a long moment. “I know you’re going to do your best, but I just wondered if my testimony was really all that critical to the case.”

He understood why she wanted out of this mess, but refusing to testify? He swallowed a surge of unease. “Yes, we do need your testimony. Jamison’s tattoo was a major factor in his arrest. You’re our key witness. Not only did you see the tattoo, but you drew it so that the officers could recognize it. I know you’re scared, especially after everything you’ve been through, but we need you to do this, Kari. We need you to testify against Jamison.”

She let out a heavy sigh. “I know. I just thought...” her voice trailed off.

He wished he could see her expression clearly. “Taking you off the witness list doesn’t guarantee that you’d be safe. I believe Jamison’s accomplices would still come after you in an attempt to silence you once and for all.” He hated making her more afraid, but she needed to understand the full extent of the danger she faced.