Shirlee McCoy - Deadly Vows

It had been four months since he’d last seen his wife, four months that he’d spent hounding U.S. Marshals, trying to get a lead on Olivia’s whereabouts. He’d finally found her, and he wanted to rush forward and pull her into his arms, but he knew she wouldn’t thank him if he did. Just as he knew she wouldn’t thank him for finding her. He’d broken one too many promises, ignored her one too many times. When she’d called to tell him she was entering witness protection, she’d said it was for the best. A clean break.

It hadn’t been clean for Ford. It had been painful, filled with regrets and rife with a million lost opportunities.

“Ford. You shouldn’t be here,” she said quietly.

“But I am.”

PROTECTING THE WITNESSES:

New identities, looming danger and forever love in the Witness Protection Program.

Deadly Vows—Shirlee McCoy, April 2010

has always loved making up stories. As a child, she daydreamed elaborate tales in which she was the heroine—gutsy, strong and invincible. Though she soon grew out of her superhero fantasies, her love for storytelling never diminished. She knew early that she wanted to write inspirational fiction, and began writing her first novel when she was a teenager. Still, it wasn’t until her third son was born that she truly began pursuing her dream of being published. Three years later she sold her first book. Now a busy mother of five, Shirlee is a homeschool mom by day and an inspirational author by night. She and her husband and children live in Washington and share their house with a dog, two cats and a bird. You can visit her Web site at www.shirleemccoy.com, or e-mail her at shirlee@shirleemccoy.com.

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Special thanks and acknowledgment to Shirlee McCoy for her contribution to the Protecting the Witnesses miniseries.

In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame, deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.

—Psalms 31:1-2

To Marge Garrison.

Thank you for the warm hospitality and love you show to all who enter Starr Road Baptist Church. The love of Christ surely shines from you, welcoming all to come and be part of His family.

PROLOGUE

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

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

MEMO: Top Secret, Top Priority

TO: FBI Organized Crime Division

FROM: Jackson McGraw, Special Agent, Chicago Field Office

DATE: March 20, 2010

RE: Operation Black Veil

At 4:00 P.M. EST, Ford Jensen, estranged husband of Olivia Jarrod, boarded a plane heading for Billings, Montana. Despite repeated requests to cease, Jensen continues to search for his wife. We have people in place to tail him when he arrives, but there is to be no contact between agents and Jensen unless absolutely necessary. For his safety and the safety of our witness, it is imperative Jensen not be seen as a potential trail to Olivia. Our mystery informant confirms that the Martino crime family has offered a reward to the person or persons who are able to find and assassinate Ms. Jarrod. To maintain the witness’s safety, the U.S. Marshal Service has been contacted and the witness has been relocated from Billings.

Our informant believes that, in the event the Martino crime family does not succeed in its attempts to find and silence Ms. Jarrod, a hit will be arranged upon Ms. Jarrod’s return to Chicago for Vincent “Bloodbath” Martino’s trial. We are working closely with the U.S. Marshal Service to ensure Ms. Jensen’s safety before, during and after the trial. There is to be no discussion or communication about the trial or witness outside of secure channels. Any questions or information regarding the Martino crime family are to come directly to me.

We continue to seek the identity of our mystery informant, but must not do anything that will jeopardize our position with her. No overt movements toward revealing her identity are to be made. We will continue to move within secure channels to gain more information. If you have any information, be advised that it must be shared only with Special Agent McGraw. The sole purpose of our task force is to protect our witness and to put Vincent Martino behind bars where he belongs. To that end, every effort must be made to continue to receive information regarding the Martino family.

Questions or information regarding this matter are to be directed to Special Agent McGraw.

She’d popped.

Olivia Jarrod turned sideways and stared at her reflection, not sure if she should be elated or horrified. The flat plane of her stomach was gone. In its place was a subtle roundness that was emphasized by her fitted T-shirt. She placed her hands on the bump, imagining tiny hands and feet, translucent skin, a swiftly beating heart.

Her baby.

And Ford’s.

She frowned, pulling the fabric taut against her abdomen as she turned from side to side. Thinking about Ford was something she tried not to do. The last few months had been difficult enough without reliving her failed marriage, thinking about the year she and Ford had been separated or dwelling on the last time she’d seen him.

She frowned again, turning away from the mirror and the telltale evidence of just how easily she’d fallen for her husband’s charming ways again. She still didn’t know why he’d shown up on the doorstep of her Chicago bungalow just a few days after Christmas. Had he been lonely in their penthouse? Had he decided to fight for their marriage?

Olivia had asked herself the same questions over and over again in the days after she’d fled Chicago, but she had no answers. All she knew for sure was that Ford didn’t want kids. Too much trouble, he’d said years ago. Too many complications. He had too much riding on his career and too little time to devote to the mess and chaos children brought.

He’d be shocked if he found out he was going to be a father.

Appalled.

Angry.

There were plenty of words Olivia could think of that would describe Ford’s reaction to impeding fatherhood. None of them were good.

It was a good thing she knew it. Otherwise, she’d pick up the phone and do what she knew she wasn’t supposed to. She’d call Ford. She’d tell him that in a few short months he was going to be a father.

And she’d probably end up dying because she’d contacted him.

After all, wasn’t that the first rule of witness protection?

No contact with anyone or anything from the past.