Witness in the Dark (Love Under Fire #1)(78)

But…

“He’s in danger, then.” she said.

“No more than usual,” Hugh said, glancing over at Angel in confusion. “You need to worry about yourself and the case for right now. Garrett will be fine.”

“Okay.” They were right. He was a seasoned federal marshal.

“Let’s go over what you remember about the shooting in the safe house.” Hugh threw questions at her and scribbled on a notepad for hours.

“Do you know why Howe killed her?” Sam finally asked. It seemed like the proof was solid, but didn’t there need to be a motive?

“Heather Riddell was a paralegal in the law office that Howe was using to set up divorce proceedings from his wife. We think she might have overheard something or seen something she wasn’t supposed to. Maybe he was planning to hide assets from his wife’s lawyers, something like that. We’re only guessing.”

Which meant Heather might also have been trying to do the right thing. Just like Sam.

“We do know she did not have a date planned with Kenneth Holden. She never mentioned it to her mother or any of her friends. She was still wearing clothes from work. All the correspondence from the dating site was uploaded after her death. It was a cover-up. Kenneth Holden’s only crime was looking a lot like Congressman Howe. We have our tech people trying to track down where the file originated. That would help the case substantially.”

“Maybe if you have enough evidence, I wouldn’t even need to testify,” she said hopefully. It was long shot.

He shook his head. “You are our key witness. You’re not having cold feet, are you?”

She almost choked. “Cold? My feet are frozen stiff, but I’m still going to do this. Howe needs to pay for what he did.”

“Then let’s make that happen.”





Chapter Sixty-Two


Over the next three months, Hugh came back to see her several more times. He became a welcome distraction from the monotony of her life in the Bird Cage.

Early on, she had taken on the challenge of trying to make enough food for dinner. So far, there was no such thing as leftovers with Justin around.

Sam’s father would occasionally call and check in. They would chat for a bit, then usually the conversations would drag a little and become awkward, so they traded off coming up with reasons to get off the phone.

They were still working out their relationship. But she was touched that he was trying so hard. He seemed to want to make it work.

They didn’t quite know how. Not yet.

Speaking of relationships…

Always before she and her father hung up, she would ask about Garrett. Her father would tell her he was doing well, but nothing else. She was pretty sure whatever new mission he was on was top secret.

She went to the large windows in her room and looked out, wondering where Garrett was now and what he was doing.

And if he was thinking about her.





Chapter Sixty-Three


Garrett couldn’t take it anymore. It had been nearly three months since he and Sam had parted, and he still reached for her in his sleep, aching when his arms came up empty.

He picked up his phone and called his boss to brief him on the job he’d finished the day before.

“Thorne,” his boss answered.

“It’s McKendrick.”

“How did it go?”

Garrett could hardly remember. “Good. It’s done.”

“Excellent. How much time do you need before your next assignment?”

“I wanted to ask you about that. I was thinking maybe Justin or Angel could use a break. Three months is a long time.”

So damn long.

“They’re fine,” Thorne said curtly.

Garrett let his head fall back against the wall. Obviously, he was going to have to try a different tactic. “I thought you’d want a fresh detail guarding your daughter.”

“You proved to be much too fresh, don’t you think? She’s still hurting. Even I can tell, and I’m not good at those things.”

“Maybe I should talk to her.”

“Maybe you should leave her the hell alone.”

“I feel like I need to see her through this, sir. I’m having difficulty focusing on my other jobs. I’m worried Howe might make a desperate attempt on her life before the trial. I want to be there to protect her.”

“Fine,” Thorne snapped. “I’ll put you on perimeter, but no contact. You can make sure she’s safe without causing more personal damage.”

“I can live with that, sir.” Though it wasn’t what he was hoping for.

“She’s in the Bird Cage. I’ll send you a file with the stakeout address you can use.”

At least he would get to see her again, if only from a distance.

His heart relaxed.





Chapter Sixty-Four


The day before Sam was needed in the courtroom, Hugh showed up with a hanging rack of fancy clothes.

“Are we playing dress-up while you ask me the same questions for the four hundredth time?” she asked, leafing through the hangers.

He laughed. “I thought it was the six hundredth time.”

“You’re probably right. I zoned out for the last two hundred.”