Lisa Phillips - Star Witness

“Of course there is, but that was before I spent two days in D.C. trying to get to the bottom of a potential leak in my office.”

“No offense, but I’m on leave with an injury. This doesn’t really concern me.”

“You saved her. She’ll trust you, and she needs someone to keep her safe until I can find out if this is related to her past. And find the traitor in my office.”

Aaron blew out a breath. “You think a U.S. marshal is responsible?”

“All I have is supposition right now. We can’t rule anyone out until the FBI determines who caused the leak of a number of files. It could have come from inside or outside of the office—at this point we still have no idea. We had the FBI warn the witnesses whose names were leaked, and those with active threats have been moved.”

“So why was Mackenzie still in Phoenix?”

“Her file was not one of the ones that were leaked.”

“So the shooting is unrelated.”

Eric’s footsteps stopped. “We still have to keep your involvement in this under wraps. If Mackenzie is being targeted for anything, then she should be kept safe. The leak could be a diversion. I can’t go through normal channels because everything is balanced on the edge right now. I can’t disrupt anything or the FBI case unravels. If there’s a mole, whoever it is will bury themselves so deep we’ll never find them.”

Aaron got to his feet, his eyes on Mackenzie. He might not be a true hero, but there was no way he was going to leave a woman unprotected if he could help it. “What do you want me to do?”

“You’ll help?”

“I’m not going to leave you hanging.” Maybe this was the chance he’d wanted to connect with his brother. If the cost was reopening the wound in his shoulder, Aaron would gladly pay it. Eric was all the family he had, and at least his brother didn’t think he was a failure like his team did. They wouldn’t even let him in Franklin’s hospital room. “What do I do with her?”

“Keep an eye on her until I get this whole situation figured out. The FBI thinks it should only take a couple of days to track the source of the virus that copied the files. Have Mackenzie stick to her normal routine, but keep your eye out. The cops will do their own investigation to find out if there’s a threat against Mackenzie, and I’ll be there tomorrow.”

Mackenzie turned. Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed at whatever was on his face. So she wasn’t used to direct attention. And why not? She was a pleasant-looking woman; she just downplayed her looks, unlike pretty much every woman Aaron had ever dated.

He hung up and crossed the room to her. “Eric asked me to keep an eye out for you. In case someone is after you, I can make sure you’re safe.”

“So you believe me?”

Aaron shrugged his good shoulder. “Does it matter? Someone may or may not be trying to harm you, and in the meantime I’m going to make sure they don’t succeed. The truth will come out in time.”

“Oh.” She glanced around the café.

Aaron took gentle hold of her elbow. She was the protectee now, and he would maintain a professional distance.

“Let’s walk to my truck.” His shoulder needed looking at, but he’d have to find supplies somewhere. He did have extra gauze and bandages in his hotel room, plus no one would know she was there.

He looked around the parking lot as they walked but didn’t spot anything suspicious. Eric wanted her safe, and the best option for that was a hotel he already knew was secure. But that was probably the last thing Mackenzie wanted.

“We can stay at your house.”

Her eyes widened. “I don’t have a guest room.”

“I’ll sleep in the truck.”

“You can’t do that. You’re injured.”

“I’ve slept in worse places. Believe me.” Aaron got the feeling he was going to have to do a lot of reassuring with this woman.

When she’d settled herself into the passenger seat of his truck, Aaron turned to her. “Okay, here’s the deal. You do exactly as I say and you don’t ask questions. If something happens, we’re not going to stop in order for me to explain it to you, we’re just going to run.”

THREE

By the next morning, Mackenzie had almost managed to forget that someone tried to kill her the night before. But when Eric walked into the Downtown Performing Arts Center, it all flooded back.

Aaron was around somewhere, supposedly protecting her, although she hadn’t seen much of him. She hadn’t told him anything the night before, but she had convinced him to stop by the E.R. and get stitched up. Mackenzie had driven back to her house and in the end she’d convinced him to spend the night on the couch instead of in his truck. He’d said it was so he could see her front door, but she’d seen the pain in his eyes. Especially considering he’d refused a prescription for pain pills.

“Who is that?”

Mackenzie turned to Eva, who taught classes at the center while Mackenzie ran the office. They were standing at the entrance to the hallway that led to the classrooms. “An old friend of mine.”

“What kind of old friend?” Eva grinned. Mackenzie blinked. She hadn’t even thought of Eric in those terms before. She supposed he was handsome enough, though Aaron was the better-looking brother. Both of them could be movie stars. The idea that either one would ever look twice at someone like Mackenzie was laughable. “Thank you, Eva. I needed that.”

Eva blinked. “What did I do?”

“You reminded me that life isn’t all doom and gloom.” Mackenzie wrapped her arm around Eva’s shoulders. “And that the best things don’t ever change.”

“You’re welcome. I think.” Eva stepped back from their huddle, smiling. “I should get to my next class. The natives will be getting restless.”

Mackenzie nodded.

“Are we still on for dinner later?”

“Absolutely.” Mackenzie smiled, excited to have been invited. Which was good, since anticipation covered the feeling of being a complete ninny because she was all worked up over one dinner. Eva probably went out with her friends all the time while Mackenzie couldn’t remember the last time she got invited to hang with someone. Plus it had the added benefit of taking her mind off the fact that someone had shot at her and she now had a permanent shadow in the form of Sergeant Aaron Hanning, U.S. Army.

Eva was one of their best teachers, able to easily relate to the street kids who populated the center. Her application two months ago, after the previous teacher had suddenly quit, turned out to be a blessing Mackenzie never expected.

Mackenzie studied her WITSEC handler as he approached; his suit was still crisp though it was after lunch. But the look on his face said he was about to apologize for something.

“Hi, Eric.”

He nodded. “Mackenzie. How are you?”

She motioned behind her. “Let’s go to my office.”

He followed her in and sat in one of two chairs in front of the desk. Castoffs from a doctor’s office. The whole room was smaller than the closet she used to have before she became a federally protected witness.

The brothers weren’t much older than her, she didn’t think. Eric wore the air of authority that came with the marshal’s star badge with ease, while his predecessor had been a burly guy with a gray goatee and a thing for barbecue ribs.

Eric shifted in his chair. “How are you?”

Mackenzie poured Eric a cup of coffee. “Do you think Carosa still wants to kill me, even after all these years?”

He took the cup from her. “If you weren’t in danger anymore, you’d have been released from the witness protection program. Carosa is still out to kill you for testifying against his brother.” He took a sip and sighed. “I don’t want you to be unaware of the reality of the situation. But I did run a check with immigration this morning, and to the best of our knowledge, he’s still in Colombia.”