Lisa Phillips - Star Witness

“You just told me my brother works in WITSEC. I thought he worked at the courthouse, or ferrying prisoners around and whatnot. This is cool.”

“Cool? It’s going to get out. I’ll be exposed. My life is over because of you.”

“Me?” He glanced around the room, and then sighed and looked back at her. “Look, I’ll call Eric. We’ll get this figured out. Get your name removed from the witness statement or something so you’re not in danger.”

“You’d better.”

“Excuse me?”

“This is your fault. I’m already in danger, I didn’t need this.”

His eyes widened. “I didn’t shoot at you. I saved your life. Maybe you should say thank-you instead of yelling at me because you blew your cover to me.”

Mackenzie gasped. “It’s not a cover, it’s my life.”

“Okay, okay, calm down already.”

“Calm—”

Sergeant Aaron Hanning, U.S. Army, put his hand over her mouth. “I’m going to call Eric, okay? He’ll tell us what to do, and we’ll get you squared away.”

She took a breath and nodded. The frustration bled away a little, leaving a sick feeling its place. His eyes flickered, but he didn’t look away. He just kept staring into her eyes until Mackenzie reached up and pulled his hand away from her mouth. “Please call Eric.”

He blinked and whatever connection they had dissipated. Aaron pulled out his phone and stepped away. He stuck the phone between his ear and shoulder and pulled open the first-aid kit that was on the counter.

Officer Parkwell strode back in, his mouth set in a thin line. “We have a witness that identified the plates of the car your shooter was driving. It belongs to a local gang member. At this point we think it’s highly unlikely this was anything but a random shooting. Unless you can think of a reason someone might want to harm you?”

“It could be about the arts center where I work. In fact, I think it is about the center. Someone slashed my tires before they shot at me.”

It wasn’t a happy thought to consider that she was the cause of someone being hurt. Or that she had grieved someone enough they felt they needed to retaliate and slash her tires. But tensions often ran high at the center. Especially when a person took into account the tough background each of the kids had.

“The performing arts center down the street?” The cop scribbled on his notepad. “Is that where your car is?”

“Yes, in the center’s parking lot, around back.”

“We’ll get someone over there to check it out.”

The cop strode out again.

The shooter had followed her before they fired. Was that to confirm she was their target? Nothing about this felt like coincidence. Even if it wasn’t related to her testimony all those years ago, it was still about her.

Aaron came back over. “I got voice mail. Eric’s been in D.C. the past couple of days. He could be on a plane coming home.”

Mackenzie hoped that was it. Because in the meantime, she was stuck with the injured, sarcastic twin brother of the all-American U.S. marshal who was supposed to be the one helping her. Why couldn’t Eric be here now?

Mackenzie wrapped her arms around herself. It was like being eighteen again, having her whole life end because she’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The sound of gunshots from the car had frozen her. Again. She rubbed a hand on her collar, over the place the bullets had entered. She wanted the comfort of a hug, but she’d already gushed over Aaron enough when she’d thought he was Eric.

He’d acted quickly, saving her life. Another “she’d have been dead, if not for...” to add to the long list already in her WITSEC file. But she had to keep her distance, because not only was he a stranger to her, but he didn’t seem like the kind of man who appreciated a woman who couldn’t stand on her own two feet.

“Are you okay?”

Mackenzie tried to smile. “Sure, I’m fine.” It wasn’t as if her whole life might be over or anything. “It’s just late and it’s been a really long day. I didn’t need this drama with you on top of it.” She looked at the front window. “I hope that man’s going to be okay.”

He moved close to her side, and then he said, “Me, too. So, listen, if you’re going to be fine, then I’m going to head out—”

She whipped around to look at him.

“I’ll talk to Eric, and when the police have what they need, they’ll probably let you leave.”

She was supposed to just go home? Mackenzie swallowed. “Uh, sure. That’s fine, I guess. You need to get to the hospital anyway, right?” There was blood all down his sleeve.

He nodded. “Right.”

But he didn’t leave. Mackenzie’s cheeks burned under his stare, so she lifted her chin and stared right back. “You said you and Eric are twins?”

He nodded.

“Uh...that’s nice.” Probably identical twins—they looked similar enough that she’d mistaken Aaron for Eric. But now that she looked closely, she could see slight differences in the nose, where Aaron’s looked as if it had been broken. Her cheeks heated. “I thought you were leaving.”

“So did I.” His lips curled up, his eyes on her. “And yet I don’t seem to have gone yet.”

He might think this was amusing, but Mackenzie did not. He was nice enough looking—okay, so he was downright gorgeous—but that didn’t mean she wanted him to stare at her. He might get the idea that she actually wanted a relationship.

His phone rang.

* * *

Aaron reached for his back pocket and hissed. Ouch. His medical leave was only supposed to be two weeks, but given how hard he’d hit the sidewalk and rolled, he guessed the recovery was going to be longer.

He stepped away from Mackenzie. “Hanning.” The background noise was a steady rush of people and movement.

“You called?” Eric’s breathing was labored. Was he in a hurry?

Aaron perched on a circular table in the corner. “So...you work witness protection, huh?”

There was a short pause. A door shut and Eric said, “Who told you that?”

“Met a friend of yours tonight. Mackenzie Winters. She thought I was you, but that was after she and I nearly got shot in a drive-by.” Aaron rubbed his eyes with his free hand. It was a shame his coffee had spilled all over the sidewalk.

“I got her voice mail, but it didn’t say anything about a shooting. I take it you saved her?”

“A gun went off. After I reached for the weapon I wasn’t carrying, I just moved us. It was a reflex, nothing more.”

What was it with everyone assuming he was some kind of hero? He still hadn’t told Eric he was on medical leave or why he’d instinctively fled from anything army related.

Reconnecting with his brother was long overdue, there was no doubt about that. But the real reason he’d come to Phoenix to see Eric was more about what he was going to face when he returned to work. About the fact his teammates wouldn’t even let him see Franklin. They’d expected him to apologize before he left, but how did you say sorry when you’d blinded someone? It just wasn’t good enough. “I’m not a hero.”

Eric sighed. “I’m boarding another flight right now, I’ll be back ASAP. Can you stay with Mackenzie?”

“Why? She’s fine. The cops are taking care of her. I didn’t think this had anything to do with her being in witness protection. She said something to the cop about the center where she worked.”

“The likelihood is that it isn’t connected with her being in WITSEC. But I’d still like someone watching out for her until I can get there to assess the situation.” Eric sighed. “Please do this, Aaron. I really need your help.”

Eric wanted him to stick around with Mackenzie longer, when his last failure had cost someone their sight—and their future? “I’m not your guy for this one. Don’t you have resources? Surely there’s a plan when things like this happen.”