Witness in the Dark (Love Under Fire #1)(26)

After paying, he handed her some of the new clothes. “Go change. Then let’s get out of here.”

When she emerged from the restroom, he plopped the new hat on her head, then pushed the cart out of the store. “Head down,” he reminded her.

Wordlessly, she helped load the bags into the back and got in the passenger side. “I can help drive if you need me to,” she offered, deliberately not looking at the stick shift. She was pretty sure she could manage after her extensive training with the stolen truck.

“I’m good, but thanks. You can go back to sleep if you want.”

“I’m fine now.” It was almost six in the morning.

He turned on the radio and tapped his leg to the music. Before the first song ended, she lowered the volume and turned to him. “Why are you doing this?”

Doing his job was one thing, but he’d said—several times—his only job had been to pick her up and get her to her protection detail. This went way beyond that. Despite his talk of budgets and the Marshals, he had clearly gone off grid with her. He could be risking his job, as well as his life, to keep her safe.

“Doing what?” he asked.

“Why are you helping me? What’s in it for you?”

She’d wondered about that since he called her, though up until now she hadn’t wanted to think about it too much. But it was her experience thus far that Garrett told her the truth, even if it wasn’t in his best interest. She trusted that if she asked, he would tell her, whether or not she liked his answer.

Maybe that was why she hadn’t asked until now. She was too afraid to hear the truth.

“I figure since the protection detail I took you to didn’t end up protecting you very well, I haven’t completed my assignment yet.”

“Oh.” A sense of duty. It could have been worse. “How did you know so quickly?”

“I was keeping tabs on you. I knew you wouldn’t have run away without a good reason.”

He’d been keeping tabs? She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “Why keep tabs on me?”

It took so long for him to answer she’d nearly forgotten the question.

“Because you’re going through a lot of shit in order to do the right thing,” he finally said. “If you’re willing to risk everything not to give up on doing the right thing, shouldn’t I be willing to do the same?”

She thought about that. “Am I doing the right thing? Or am I just being a stubborn idiot?”

“I’m sure both points could be argued.” He threw her a wink. “I choose to think you’re brave, not stubborn. And you’re much too smart and resourceful to be an idiot.”

She felt her face grow warm with his praise. “Thanks. I hope you won’t end up regretting all this. If someone finds us, you should get the hell out of there. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. In fact, I want you to promise me if it comes to that, you will run.”

He laughed. Loudly. “Sorry. I’m not going to promise that.”

“Why the hell did I drag you into this?” she muttered to herself.

“As I recall, I’m the one who grabbed you in that alley. And I’m the one who called and told you to meet me.”

True enough. So, why did she feel like she was the one putting him in danger?

“Everything has a price, Sam,” he said quietly. She watched in the early morning light as his face turned somber. “Every decision we make has a cost. There’s a cost for telling the truth, too. Not many people are willing to make that sacrifice. Especially when the truth doesn’t directly affect them. When someone takes that risk, they’re a hero.”

A hero? He thought she was a hero?

“You’re nuts,” she told him, but smiled shakily.

She turned the radio back up. As they fell silent and drove, he listened to the rock music and hummed along with several of her favorites. That made two things she had in common with this man, which made her feel a little better.

And relax enough to fall asleep again.

When she woke, the Jeep was bumping down a lane that didn’t look wide enough for the vehicle. There were more puddles than gravel.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Almost there,” he told her as her head whacked up against the glass.

After what felt like miles going uphill, the lane evened out and turned into a gravel parking area next to a modern log cabin nestled into the hillside. An expansive deck took up the entire right side. The front of the structure was mostly large panes of glass that came to points at the top.

“Welcome home,” he announced with a flourish.

She stared at the beautiful cabin. This place didn’t look anything like the rundown safe house she’d been stashed in. The Marshal Service might have given him a budget, but she was pretty sure it didn’t cover a gorgeous property like this. Which meant…

“Is this your house?” she asked cautiously.

Surely, he wouldn’t bring her to his own place. He wouldn’t want to risk his personal home, if they should come under attack. But she could see him living in a place like this. Rustic and masculine. Out of the way.

“It’s one of them. I have four houses, completely off the grid, owned by shell companies. No paper trail back to me.”

“Why four?”