Witness in the Dark (Love Under Fire #1)(23)

As he helped her over, she tried not to freak when he put his hands on her ass. It was obviously necessary.

He tossed over the bag, then the chain, and climbed over without needing any help. “Are you going to make me ask?” he said when they got to his gray Jeep.

“The chain?” she guessed, and he nodded. She shrugged. “It came in real handy. I don’t want to be without it. Just in case.”

“I see.” He wasn’t able to hide his smirk as he unlocked the door for her. After checking his phone, he pulled out onto the back road.

“How did you know my detail turned on me?” she asked when they were on their way.

He pursed his lips. “Wendy didn’t answer my call last night, so I decided to check things out in person. By the time I got there, you were gone. She said you took her phone and ran off. I thought I’d give it a shot and call you.”

She got the feeling there was more he wasn’t saying. But she let it slide for now. “Where are we going?”

“Does it matter?”

“No. I guess not.”

“What made you decide to trust me?” he asked after a few minutes.

She frowned and twisted her fingers together. “I don’t know that I actually do. But you are my only shot, so I don’t have much of a choice. If you screw me over, I guess I’ll know better in my next life.”

“I’m not going to screw you over,” he said, glancing over at her. He looked sincere. But so had Jack the Ripper, probably.

“As I said, I didn’t have any other option.” She leaned her head against the glass, hoping she hadn’t made a huge mistake.

“When was the last time you slept?” he asked.

“For more than a few hours?” She shook her head, unable to remember.

“We’ll be driving for a while. Get some rest.”

She nodded, but couldn’t close her eyes. Her nerves felt too frazzled to sleep. As though someone had flipped a breaker and she couldn’t shut it off. She was cold, not just because the Jeep hadn’t warmed up yet, but from a chill deep inside her body. “I can’t relax enough to rest.”

“Okay. Then tell me what happened at the safe house.” he suggested.

She told him everything, from the moment she thought something was up with Deputy Benson and Wendy, until the second Garrett had tapped on the window of the truck.

There were a few nods and a couple of chuckles. When she was done, he actually smiled at her. “So, you knew something was up because she was too nice?” He laughed again.

“Something in my subconscious must have warned me. I just knew something was off.”

“With instincts like those,” he said, “you might not need me, after all.”

He was wrong. She did need him, because she couldn’t keep going like this. And because he was trained for this sort of thing.

“I do need you,” she said quietly. “My mind won’t shut off. I’m constantly thinking of how to escape. Like, right now I’m wondering how much it would hurt if I had to jump out of your Jeep while it was moving. Would I be able to get up and run? How fast could you pull over and chase me down? Do you have a gun? Would you shoot me? Should I run for the trees or try to flag down another driver? Is there a camera watching my every move? I’m not cut out for this. I’m exhausted, but I can’t sleep because I can’t shut it off.” Her voice cracked and tears came to her eyes.

She knew Garrett didn’t like crybabies, so she tried to keep it together.

“Don’t jump out of the Jeep while it’s moving at this speed,” he told her. “Trust me, you couldn’t get up and run. I do have a gun, but I’m not going to shoot you. If I was, though, you should run for the trees because you definitely can’t count on another driver wanting to get involved.”

She nodded while trying to get her bottom lip to stop quivering. “Good to know.”

He reached out and patted her leg. “I won’t try to convince you to trust me, but I will say this. I’ll protect you with my life. I’m never going to hurt you, you have my word. For what it’s worth.”

At his continued sincerity, she finally broke down. Thank God. She had someone to help her through this nightmare.

She wasn’t alone.

“I’m sorry,” she said, and tried to wipe away the evidence of her weakness.

“It’s okay. Go ahead, Sam,” he said softly. “Your entire world has been turned upside down, and you’ve done a damn fine job so far of keeping it together. I’m going to give you a free pass this time. Cry if you need to. Then get some rest.”

With that, she burst into tears.





Chapter Sixteen


When Sam finally fell silent, Garrett looked over to see her sleeping. He relaxed at the sight. It meant she trusted him enough to be vulnerable. Humans could stay awake a very long time when their lives depended on it.

Though he was happy to see her safe and resting, he realized what it meant. He’d promised he’d give his life to protect her, and he’d meant it.

She was now his responsibility. No one else could be trusted.

He normally handled extractions and long-distance protection duties. He was never around the subject long enough to build any kind of relationship. The person was usually terrified or in shock, so it was easy to turn them over to their assigned handler without another thought.