Lisa Phillips - Star Witness

Some trip to come and see his brother this was turning out to be. First Aaron’s twin was too busy to see him, and then he suddenly had to fly to D.C. for whatever reason a U.S. marshal needed to be somewhere. A federal court case was the obvious guess. Why didn’t he know more about what Eric did?

He’d figured they could spend some time together, reconnect. That wasn’t going to happen now. Aaron had been bouncing around his hotel room earlier before he ran out for coffee just for the sake of something to do. Anything was better than staring at the ceiling trying to sleep.

EMTs raced in, carrying their bulky bags. Aaron got up and out of the way. He looked at the woman he’d collided with. She dressed kind of dowdy, but she had nice eyes. It was a shame she was loopy, and paranoid. Just because someone had been shooting in her direction didn’t mean they were out to get her.

Her arms were folded, the sleeves of her wool cardigan pulled down over her hands. She clutched her elbows, making herself look small. Vulnerable.

Aaron stepped closer to her. “Are you okay?”

She really did look shaken. Maybe all this was for real. He’d have to make sure the cops looked out for her if she really was in some kind of trouble. But what trouble could a harmless-looking woman be in?

Her eyes locked with his. Beyond her, three cops stood huddled on the sidewalk and she motioned to them with a tilt of her head. “What do I tell them?”

“The truth is probably a good plan.”

Her face paled. “I guess. Someone did just try to kill me.”

She looked as though she believed it. So was she a great actress, or was she really onto something? “The police can help. You can’t hold back anything from them.”

“Okay. I can do this.” She gave him a short nod. “I can tell them I’m in witness protection, if you think it’s for the best.”

“You’re...what?” Aaron sucked in a breath and choked. “Do not tell them that.”

A uniformed police officer strode in, all business as though this was an everyday occurrence, and maybe it was. Maybe she hadn’t just told him what he thought she had. Witness protection? Surely that wasn’t something you just blurted out.

Mackenzie’s face jerked from the cop to him and her eyes widened, as though she wanted to latch on to him for safety. Why was she looking at him that way?

The cop looked between them. “You folks all right?”

She shifted up on her toes, as though she was anxious to leave. “My name is Mackenzie Winters and someone just tried to kill me.”

The cop’s eyes widened. “I’m Officer Parkwell. Maybe you should tell me what happened.”

Mackenzie. It wasn’t the name of a woman you overlooked—it was too special for that. Aaron liked it. She looked at him, as if she was asking for permission. He shook his head.

She should definitely not tell the cop she was in witness protection. Why had she told him? They didn’t even know each other. There was probably a procedure to these things. If this Mackenzie woman really was part of that, shouldn’t she know what the rules were?

She turned to the cop. “Okay, well, someone tried to kill me. I think they’ve been stalking me, whoever they are, because they slashed my tires tonight so I couldn’t drive home. While I was walking to the bus stop a car pulled up by me, and someone started shooting.”

She looked at Aaron and relief washed over her features. “Thank God you were there. I’d be dead if you hadn’t acted so quickly.”

Aaron shifted his feet. “No problem, ma’am.”

It wasn’t a big deal. Why was she making it such a big deal? Anyone else would have done the same thing. Just because he’d got them both out of harm’s way didn’t mean Aaron was someone special.

He knew he wasn’t a hero, because heroes didn’t ruin missions and get their teammate hurt. His shoulder injury was inconsequential compared with the fact Franklin wasn’t ever going to see again. And it was Aaron’s fault.

His first time as leader of their now four-man Delta Force team, and he’d led them right into a trap. The package had been retrieved—eventually—and the information brought home to whoever needed the intelligence, but the success of the mission on paper didn’t make the reality any better. Not when Aaron had been shot and Franklin blinded by shrapnel. Sure, they couldn’t have known there would be that level of resistance at the plant they’d infiltrated, but they were trained to be prepared for anything.

The truth was that while Aaron had been a spotless Delta Force solider for years, when the responsibility of leading the team was on him, he’d frozen. And the cost of that hesitation, that moment of trying to decide whether to continue on or abort had been high. Too high.

The cop looked up from his little pad at Mackenzie. Her eyes were on the EMTs carrying the old man out on a backboard. “I’m sorry people got hurt. I didn’t know.” She looked at Aaron, tears in her eyes. “What do I do now?”

“How should I know?” Why did she persist in looking to him for help? Did Mackenzie really think he knew how to help someone in witness protection? He was on vacation, not some kind of hero for hire.

“You’re not going to help me? You’re just going to abandon me? What if they come for me again, what if they...kill me?”

Aaron motioned to the officer. “That’s what the cops are for. They’ll be able to keep you safe. I’ve got a life to get back to.” Not to mention a career to rebuild, and a whole lot of reparations to make.

She blinked and a tear fell down her cheek. He didn’t want it to prick his heart, but it did. The last thing he needed was a vulnerable woman looking up at him with brown eyes that really were too big for her face.

Aaron cleared his throat and turned to the cop. “You have someone who can look out for her?”

The officer nodded. “Of course. If you’ll wait here, I’ll inform my sergeant that Ms. Winters feels that this wasn’t a random shooting and that her life is in danger.”

He walked away and Aaron looked at Mackenzie again. “We’ll get you squared away, don’t worry about it. No one’s going to hurt you.”

“You’re really not going to help?”

This again? Why did she think it had to be him who kept her safe just because he’d thrown her to the ground while bullets were flying? That was nothing but a reflex.

He couldn’t let the hurt on her face get to him. He sighed. “Look, you seem nice and all, but I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick here. I’m not your hero.”

She swiped away tears that were still falling. “Of course you are, Eric. You’re the only one who can help me.”

TWO

Mackenzie watched the realization wash over his face.

“You think I’m Eric.”

She didn’t know what to say. This was Eric. Had he hit his head when he pulled her down onto the sidewalk?

“I’m not Eric.”

This was bizarre. “Well, if you’re not Eric, then who are you?”

The man’s lips curled up into a smile, and he stuck out his hand. “Sergeant Aaron Hanning, U.S. Army. I’m Eric’s twin brother.”

She stared at his hand. What was there to smile about? “I just told you I’m in witness protection.”

“How was I supposed to know you were going to say that?”

“I thought you were Eric!”

“That’s apparent now, but I didn’t know it then.”

“This is awful. Eric’s going to make me move for sure. I don’t want to leave. I like it here. I’ve lived in Phoenix for years.” Mackenzie sucked in a breath to try to get control, but Sergeant Aaron Hanning, U.S. Army, just stood there smiling at her. She put her hands on her hips. “There is nothing funny about any of this.”