Shielding His Christmas Witness

For some odd reason her cranberry-vanilla scent seemed to cling to his clothing. He gave himself a mental head-smack to snap himself back to reality.

He hadn’t been this acutely aware of a woman in a long time. A full two years had passed since his wife’s death in a terrible car crash. He’d locked his emotions away in a deep freeze; no reason for the ice in his heart to melt now.

Kari Danville might be pretty with her chocolate-brown hair and deep brown eyes, but she was also his witness. Once the trial was over and she was relocated with a new identity, he’d never see her again.

A fact that suited him just fine.

“Where are we going?” Kari asked, breaking the strained silence between them.

He cleared his throat. “Somewhere safe.”

She scowled and crossed her arms defensively across her chest. “Yeah, that was what you said two days ago.”

Knowing she was right didn’t make things easier. “I know.”

“I don’t understand. How did they find me?” she demanded. “I thought no one knew where I was staying?”

The same question had been badgering him since the moment he’d answered her call. And he hated to admit the implication of the night’s events was staggering. “If you haven’t called anyone—”

“I haven’t!”

“—then there must be a leak somewhere.”

Her mouth opened, shut and then opened again. “What department? The police? The FBI?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted, trying to hide the weariness in his voice. “The bank-robbery task force has both Milwaukee Police detectives and FBI agents involved. Either way, I intend to get to the bottom of this.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” she murmured. “No logical reason that anyone working within law enforcement would attempt to protect a bank robber.”

He was inclined to agree. “You’re right, but I don’t have any other explanation. Do you?”

“No.” She turned away, staring out the window in a way that made him frown. Had he imagined the flash of guilt in her eyes? Was she hiding something?

Trust didn’t come easily, especially when it came to women. His wife’s secret had killed her, leaving him reeling from the extent of her lies.

“Kari, tell me the truth. Did you call anyone other than me?” he asked.

“No, I didn’t. Check my phone if you want.” She pulled out the disposable cell he’d given her and dropped it in the cup holder between them.

Marc picked up the phone and tucked it in his pocket. He could check her calls, but he doubted they’d found her via a throw-away phone.

No, it was more likely that one of the officers involved in protecting her had leaked the safe-house location. On purpose? By accident?

“Maybe they traced me through your phone calls,” she said in a frost-tinged voice. “I might be better off alone.”

He couldn’t argue her logic about the possible trace on his calls, especially if the leak was someone within the task force. But abandoning her was out of the question. “You’re not better off alone. For one thing...you need to testify in court, or all of this would be for nothing. Remember, an innocent man has died because of Jamison.”

She sighed, but didn’t say anything.

“I promise you’re safe with me. And you’re right, I have no way of knowing where the leak is coming from.” He opened his window and tossed out his work cell phone, wincing a bit when it shattered on the asphalt. Then he tossed out her disposable phone, as well.

“I—I can’t believe you did that,” she gasped in surprise.

“Yeah, well, I promised to keep you safe, didn’t I?” He headed for the nearest on-ramp, intending to take the interstate in a northwest direction. He needed to find a motel, preferably off the beaten track.

“Yes, you did,” she murmured in a subdued voice.

They drove in silence for a good ten minutes. He kept his eyes peeled for an appropriate place to stop for what was left of the night.

“Agent Callahan?”

“Call me Marc,” he suggested gruffly. No reason to stand on formality, not when they were going to be spending the next five days together.

“I— There’s something I need to tell you.”

His gut tightened with apprehension. Had Kari done something that caused the leak after all? “What?”

She twisted her fingers in her lap, clearly nervous. “I’m pregnant.”

“Excuse me?” He shook his head, certain he hadn’t heard her correctly.

“I’m pregnant,” she repeated. “I’m due in about six months.”

Whatever he’d expected her to say, this wasn’t it. He struggled to pull his scattered thoughts into some semblance of order. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“My personal life wasn’t any of your business. But now I need you to understand how important it is for me to be safe. Plus, I had to leave my prenatal vitamins behind, so we’ll need to stop at a drugstore so I can pick up another bottle.”

Pregnant? Vitamins?

The knowledge that Kari was expecting shouldn’t affect him like this, but somehow the nightmare of his past collided with the present.

No one knew the truth about his wife. How Jessica had been pregnant when she’d died.

Or the fact that DNA testing had proven he wasn’t the baby’s father.

He shook off the overwhelming sense of failure with effort. Jessica’s lies didn’t matter right now. He needed to focus on the situation at hand.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly. A dead cop and a breached safe house. Things couldn’t get much worse than that. He needed to get control of this situation and fast.

Before any more innocent people were placed in harm’s way.

TWO (#ud92d1901-6293-5461-9205-e544a9653174)

A thick, heavy silence stretched between them, to the point Kari felt as if she might suffocate. Tension radiated off Marc’s body in waves, battering her already-frayed nerves.

She didn’t know what he was thinking. Was he upset with her for some reason? And if so, why? She was the one who’d been forced to run from a madman shooting at her. She was the one who’d almost been killed.

Her baby that had been placed in danger.