Witness in the Dark (Love Under Fire #1)(11)

Holding back more tears, she slid it off her wrist, and dropped it mutely into his open palm. She’d never known her father, but losing the watch felt like losing him.

It was ridiculous. It was only a watch, but it hurt to give it up.

“I’m sorry.” He stared down at the watch for a moment before tucking it in his pocket. “Really.”

She nodded and went to sit in the chair in the corner farthest away from him. Not that she could get too far; it was a small room. And chilly. Now that she wasn’t running for her life, she felt the cold settle in and rubbed her arms with her hands. Her T-shirt didn’t offer much in the way of warmth.

Without a word, he shrugged off his leather coat and wrapped it around her. It held the heat from his body and she warmed up quickly. He went to the thermostat and pressed a few buttons. Immediately, the metal radiators ticked with the flow of heat.

“How’s that?” he asked after a few minutes.

She nodded. “Good.”

“If it makes you feel any better, after I got you back to my hotel room, I would’ve explained everything, and then I would’ve stayed until tomorrow when your protection detail arrived. I definitely would not have touched you inappropriately.”

She didn’t know him at all, but something in the way he looked at her when he said it made her believe him. But she still had to ask. “So you wouldn’t have held a gun to my head?”

He sighed. “People move faster when their life is in danger. I needed you to move faster. As I keep saying, it would’ve been better if you’d just taken me up on my offer to get a drink.”

“Maybe your kissing needs some work,” she suggested tartly.

Definitely not true. His kissing was perfect.

“Hey,” he protested. “No need for insults.”

His comment made her feel bad, which in turn angered her. Why should she feel bad about hurting his feelings when he’d just held a gun to her head and stolen her only family heirlooms?

“What was wrong with the kiss?” he asked after a few minutes of silence.

She sniffed, softening a bit, though God knew why. “It was a little too perfect to be convincing.”

“Too perfect?” He shook his head with lifted brows. “I’ve never heard that before.”

“Well, they should have sent a marshal who was a little less—” She gestured toward his body.

“Senior inspector,” he said.

“Huh?”

“I’m not the marshal. Technically, I’m a deputy marshal, but my title is senior inspector because of my specific job.”

“Ah.”

“Anyway, a marshal who’s less…?” He tilted his head to the side, clearly not understanding what she’d been inferring.

“Never mind.” She didn’t want to talk about her attraction to the sexy marshal. Er, inspector. “By the way, the name Garrett is a little pretentious. Next time, you should go for something normal, like Todd or Steve.”

“I’ll tell my mother you said so.” He checked his phone.

“It’s your real name?” She’d thought government agents always used aliases. Was nothing she’d seen on TV real?

“Yep.”

“God, just kill me now,” she muttered.

He chuckled. “My middle name is Steven, though, if that helps.”

She could feel her face burning. “I’m sorry.”

“I had a friend in third grade named Todd,” he said as he typed something into his phone.

Either because she was exhausted or because she was terrified—or maybe both—she burst out laughing. She couldn’t stop. She was almost to the point of hysterical.

He laughed, too, but she was sure any second he would get tired of her hilarity and slap her out of it. She took a few deep breaths, and after a couple of extra snickers, she wiped her eyes and shook her head. “Sorry about that,” she said.

“Much better than crying.”

“I had a friend named Todd, too.” She took another deep breath, and the crazy moment passed.

She was suddenly exhausted. She rested her head on the table and closed her eyes. While she focused on her breathing and tried not to doze off from the adrenaline drain, a few things became clear to her.

When she raised her head, he was watching her. He looked away when she caught him.

“This team…my protection detail, you said?” she asked. She really needed more information.

“They’ll explain it all. I don’t get involved in that end of things.”

But she was piecing it together from the crime shows she’d seen. “You’re putting me into witness protection? You took my jewelry so you can fake my death, right?”

“Yeah,” he admitted quietly. “You’ll be in temporary protection until after Congressman Howe’s been arrested and gone to trial. Once it’s over, they’ll find a new place for you to live. New name. New life.”

“And my old life?”

“Sorry.” That word alone explained everything better than the team would the next day. Her old life was gone. Forever.

“My friends will think I’m dead?” She was cold again, despite the warmth of the coat.

“Yes.”

“Nikki will be so sad.” Sam was already sad just thinking about how much she was going to miss her best friend.