Christy Barritt - Key Witness

UNDER THE BODYGUARD’S PROTECTION

When Elle Philips witnesses an armed robbery while standing in line at the bank, she sets into motion a deadly game of cat and mouse. Mark Denton, a security contractor and former navy SEAL, also witnesses the robbery, and is hired by Elle’s father to keep his daughter safe following the incident. And while Denton’s desire to protect Elle goes beyond professional bounds, he cannot let personal desires cloud his judgment—judgment he’ll have to rely on when the robbers’ true motives are revealed...and Elle becomes a target in the ultimate plot of revenge.

“Denton? What are you doing here?”

“I’m escorting you to the debate.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Escorting me to the debate?”

“That’s right. In light of the recent threats against you, your father has hired me as your bodyguard. He didn’t mention it?”

Her eyes narrowed further. “No, he did not. I’d say I don’t need a bodyguard, but I think we’d both know I was lying if I did.”

Good, she knew the reality of the situation. That made his job somewhat easier.

Senator Philips strode into the room. “Denton! Thanks for coming out at such short notice. I begged Elle to take a long vacation somewhere until all of this passed, but she refused.”

“There’s a chance she wouldn’t be safe on vacation, either, Senator. We still need to figure out who we’re dealing with here, but my gut feeling is that these guys aren’t going to let anything stop them.”

Elle shivered, her cool confidence leaving her gaze a moment, replaced with fear.

CHRISTY BARRITT

loves stories and has been writing them for as long as she can remember. She gets her best ideas when she’s supposed to be paying attention to something else—like in a workshop or while driving down the road.

The second book in her Squeaky Clean Mystery series, Suspicious Minds, won the inspirational category of the 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery. She’s also the coauthor of Changed: True Stories of Finding God in Christian Music.

When she’s not working on books, Christy writes articles for various publications. She’s also a weekly feature writer for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, the worship leader at her church and a frequent speaker at various writers’ groups, women’s luncheons and church events.

She’s married to Scott, a teacher and funny man extraordinaire. They have two sons, two dogs and a house-plant named Martha.

To learn more about her, visit her website, www.christybarritt.com.

Key Witness

Christy Barritt

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you.... No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as

I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.

—Joshua 1:3–9

This book is dedicated to all of the wonderful people who’ve believed in me and pushed me

to follow my dreams throughout the years. Your encouragement hasn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

A special thanks goes out to the brave, brilliant and inspiring gang over at the Norfolk FBI Field Office. Thanks for giving me a glimpse into your world

and patiently answering my questions.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

EPILOGUE

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Excerpt

ONE

“Everyone down! Any quick moves and we’ll shoot. Understand?”

Elle Philips dropped onto the marble floor of the bank. The contents of her purse scattered everywhere as she hit the ground, but she didn’t care. She remained frozen, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, her heart rate quickened. She raised her head, just enough to take a quick inventory of the situation. Two men. Black masks. Guns.

Elle knew that only two tellers were working right now, and that the manager had just left for a late lunch—Elle had passed him on her way in. Three other customers had also sunk to the floor. A frail-looking older woman, a college-aged girl and Denton. The dark-haired man had been in line behind her today. She knew Denton’s name, only because they often came to the bank on the same days, same times. Over the weeks, they’d been flirtatious as they passed time in line.

Today, they’d only begun their casual teasing of each other when the robbers had burst through the doors of StoneCrest Bank on General Booth Blvd. in Virginia Beach, Virginia. At the moment, Elle glanced at Denton. He sat only a few feet away. His perceptive eyes met hers, silently communicating the urgency of the situation. Something about his calm gaze made her racing heart slow for a moment.

The shorter of the two robbers locked the glass doors at the front of the bank. He then stepped between the customers, the barrel of his gun bouncing against his black pants. The second robber, the one who’d ordered everyone to the ground, rushed toward the tellers, a bag in hand. “If you do what we say, no one will get hurt.”

The first robber—Shortie, Elle nicknamed him—kicked Elle’s purse back to her, sending more lipstick and pens rolling everywhere. “Give me your cell phones. If anyone even tries to call the police, I’ll...I’ll kill you.”

A shudder ripped down Elle’s spine, and her hands trembled as she riffled through her purse. Most of the contents lay askew, but her cell phone remained lodged in one of the deep pockets, refusing to budge. The device seemed to hang on tighter as Shortie loomed over her.

“Come on, lady!”

Finally, she jerked the phone from its hideout. Its metal burned in her hands, reminding her that this was her lifeline to the outside world. If only she could call the police...

No, let them get their money and get out of here, she told herself. Be compliant. That’s what security experts always said. If only she weren’t so bad at embracing compliance. Still, she was levelheaded enough to know when to back off.

She shoved her phone into Shortie’s gloved hand. He grunted as he snatched it from her. Once all the phones were collected in a black bag, the man laid them on the counter at the center of the bank.

Julie, the young teller behind the counter, raised her hands in the air. Her eyes stretched wide with fear. “Whatever you want. Just don’t hurt anyone.”

The other robber, the ringleader, Elle thought, shoved his gun at the teller. “I want all of the money in your drawer. If the police show up right now, you’ll be the first one I take out.”

Just do what they say, Elle prayed. Then maybe they would leave. The police could come and get some fingerprints and take eyewitness accounts. The justice system would be the heroes when they tracked down the robbers. Elle prayed that no one would try to be heroic and end up making the situation worse for all of them.