Laura Scott - Shielding His Christmas Witness

Efforts that had always backfired.

He was too busy with work to have anything leftover for a relationship, anyway. Hadn’t that been the main reason Jessica had cheated on him? Because he was too intense, too serious, too responsible.

The antithesis of fun.

He glanced at his watch, realizing it was almost time to either check out or pay for another night. Considering Kari’s ankle, he thought it was probably better to stay put. They hadn’t been followed here, and it wouldn’t hurt to give her a chance to rest.

The sound of a muffled thud came from her room and he wasted no time in barging over there to see what was going on.

Kari stood on one foot, her injured foot tucked up as if she were a dark-haired stork, staring morosely at the bucket he’d filled with ice a few hours ago. It was lying upside down on the carpet. He ignored the water and bits of ice to reach for her. “Are you all right?”

“You mean other than being a klutz? Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, leaning against him.

“Here, let’s get you back on the bed to elevate your ankle.” He had to fight the urge to lift her into his arms again, making do with anchoring his arm around her waist and helping her close the gap to reach the bed. He found it hard to believe Kari was pregnant, but maybe it was too early for her to show.

He hadn’t suspected Jess was three months along, either.

“I was trying to get more ice for my ankle,” she said, stretching out on the bedspread.

“I’ll get it,” he assured her. “Are you sure you can’t take some ibuprofen?”

“I’m sure.” She tilted her chin stubbornly. “I don’t want to take anything that might harm the baby. Besides, it doesn’t hurt that much.”

He shook his head, knowing that couldn’t be true. The skin around her ankle was not only swollen but beginning to turn back and blue as bruising set in. He’d picked up an elastic bandage from the drugstore, along with her vitamins, but he didn’t want to use it yet. Better to keep icing it, for now.

“You and your brother seem close,” she said as he pressed a towel over the wet spot in the carpet.

He glanced up in surprise. “Yeah, I guess. Miles is just a year younger than me, and there’s two and a half years between him and Mitch.”

“How many brothers do you have?” she asked, her brown gaze curious.

“Four brothers and a baby sister,” he answered, wondering why he was sharing his personal life with her. Maybe because he knew from reading her file that she was all alone in the world. As much as he’d kept to himself over the two years since Jessica’s death, he’d always known his family was a phone call away and would drop anything to help him.

The way Miles just had.

“Six in total,” Kari echoed in awe. “It must be nice to have so many people in your family.”

“Yeah, they’re not nosy, bossy, meddling or annoying at all,” he said drily.

“Sounds wonderful to me,” she said in a soft, wistful voice.

“They are, most of the time,” he agreed, silently acknowledging that he wouldn’t give up his family for anything. They were the reason he’d taken a position here at the Milwaukee branch of the FBI, when there were other, more prestigious places to work.

He finished cleaning up the mess, then tossed the towels on the bathroom floor before picking up the empty ice bucket. “I was thinking we should stay here another day,” he said. “Give your ankle some time to rest.”

“No complaints from me.” Kari smiled and he knew his brother was wrong. She wasn’t just pretty.

She was beautiful, especially when she smiled.

“We’re safe here, right?” she added, her brow puckered in a tiny frown.

He pulled himself together. “Yeah, we should be. I’ll get some ice, then go to the lobby to pay for another day.”

“Sounds good.”

He left the motel room and approached the cubicle housing the ice and vending machines. Spending another day here was good for Kari, but not necessarily for investigating the source of the safe house break-in. Although he was fairly sure he’d hear from his boss any minute.

A confrontation he’d rather avoid.

He swept his gaze over the small motel parking lot, taking note of anything out of place. There wasn’t so much as a new car parked in the lot, and the traffic on Highway WW seemed light for a Thursday morning.

Satisfied, he carried the ice bucket back inside. After filling a clean towel with ice chips, he draped it over her ankle.

“Be back in a few minutes,” he said, turning to retrace his steps. When he opened the door, he paused as a dark SUV complete with tinted windows came flying down the freeway exit ramp, going through a red light. Then he caught a glimpse of the barrel of a gun through the open passenger-side window.

No! They needed to move.

Now.

He barged back inside the hotel. “Kari, grab your stuff. We need to get out of here.”

To her credit she didn’t argue. She sat up, tossed the ice pack aside and then grabbed her vitamins. Instead of putting her shoes on, she carried them, wincing as she limped toward him.

He grabbed the laptop computer and his keys. They exited the motel and jumped into the car.

Marc hit the gas and sped out of the parking lot.

Despite his sixty-second head start, he could see the SUV was hot on his tail.

How had they found him? Not through Miles.

His boss? He didn’t want to believe it.

“They’re gaining on us,” Kari whispered, as she struggled to get her left foot into her shoe.

Crack!

The sound of gunfire had him planting his foot to the floor, pushing the car engine as fast as it would go.

Another gunshot echoed and he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

He couldn’t bear the thought of failing Kari and her baby. He had to figure out a way to keep them safe from harm.

Because there was no way he could cope with another death on his conscience.

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