Witness in the Dark (Love Under Fire #1)(14)

Sam gave an inward sigh and prayed the trial would come soon. She could already tell being dead was going to be a major inconvenience.





Chapter Ten


After leaving the motel, Garrett drove back to the pizza place, not surprised when he didn’t see either of the men who’d sabotaged Sam’s car and shot at them earlier. Her car simply sat at the curb, waiting for her to come back.

Which she never would.

He frowned as he got out of the sedan, feeling a twist in his gut. Normally, he could go on about his job without a care as to how a person was going to make out with their new life, but for some reason, it was different with Sam.

She had already lost so much. She’d never had a father. Her mother had died while she was in college. Even her loser of a boyfriend didn’t count for much. Her friend Nikki was selfish, though Sam probably didn’t realize it. He wondered if any of her new coworkers at the media company had even formed an attachment to her…

Sam would miss her life. But was there no one who would miss having Samantha Hutchinson in theirs?

He came up with the answer almost before he’d formed the question. Doubtful.

Garrett had been in the same position when he’d joined the Marshals. Earlier, he’d told Sam he’d pass on her comment about his name to his mother the next time he saw her. The truth was, Garrett wouldn’t see his mother again. His mom had passed while he’d been serving his first tour in Iraq.

She’d always been a heavy drinker, and when he left she’d been so worried about him not coming home, she’d worn out her heart. His father had bailed when he was a boy, and his friends had all scattered after high school.

He understood what if felt like to be a ghost.

He waited as a couple leaving a bar passed Sam’s car, then slid inside and found the keys under the seat. The bomb team had already been by to disarm the incendiary device, but he still held his breath as he turned over the ignition.

He was two blocks away when his phone rang. A quick glance at the display told him it was his boss, Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal Josiah Thorne.

“McKendrick,” Garrett answered.

“Is she safe?” SD Thorne wasn’t big on greetings.

“At the moment.”

“How do you feel about the protection detail? I wasn’t able to get anyone from our team. They’re all on other assignments.” Thorne was in charge of Task Force Phoenix, a small team of misfits who were like a family to Garrett.

Garrett hesitated. “They look good on paper.”

“But?”

“Something didn’t feel right.” He hoped Thorne wouldn’t ask him what hadn’t felt right. It was just a feeling he’d had, and would be hard to explain. Maybe it was the fact Wendy had been super nice, or maybe it was that Tom wouldn’t look Garrett in the eye.

Maybe it was nothing at all, and he was just dead tired and imagining things.

“I don’t need to tell you how valuable this asset is,” Thorne said.

“No.” Garrett understood. Sam had witnessed a high-ranking government official commit a felony. No doubt Howe would be willing to pay a pretty penny for her to be out of the picture. Permanently. No one could be trusted to do the right thing by Sam. Not even his boss, when it came right down to it.

Money talked. And in D.C., everything was political, even the Marshal Service. Ashton Howe was rich and powerful. The odds were heavily stacked in the congressman’s favor, not Sam’s.

Unfortunately, there was nothing Garrett could do about that.





Chapter Eleven


A cell phone woke Sam the next morning. Wendy wasn’t on the sofa when Sam sat up in bed. Instead, it was Deputy Benson with his feet hanging over the arm. She wondered why he hadn’t taken the other bed. Maybe he hadn’t slept, at all.

He was speaking so quietly into the phone, she couldn’t hear what he was saying. He looked over at her, meeting her gaze briefly before looking away.

“She’s up.” He nodded. “Okay.” He hung up and offered a strained smile. “Good morning.”

“Morning.”

“How’d you sleep?” At least Benson’s friend routine seemed a little more sincere than his partner’s.

“Better than I thought I would, considering.” She stretched, feeling stiff.

“What would you like for breakfast?”

“Uh… I’m not that hungry.”

“We’ll be on the road for most of the day, so you should try to eat something.”

“A bagel?” she suggested.

He nodded and started typing on a different phone. “It’ll be here soon.” He nodded toward her room. Apparently, that meant she was supposed to leave him alone.

She dressed in the fancy jeans and snug T-shirt from her bag. It was a little scary that Garrett was able to get her clothes that fit this well. Had he measured her in her sleep or something?

She shook her head at that thought and went out to see Wendy and Deputy Benson sitting on the sofa watching television. A small paper bag was on the coffee table. Benson picked it up and handed it to her without taking his eyes off the screen. She looked to see what was so exciting.

They were riveted by a news report. A car had exploded, closing the bridge—

Holy crap.