Pieces of the Past (Witness Security Book 1) (23 page)
Read Pieces of the Past (Witness Security Book 1) Online
Authors: Jamie Hill
Someone shoved her aside, but she couldn’t move. She stayed there, crying, until his face was covered by the bloody sheet.
“Come on.” Doug slid an arm around her waist and led her out. “Ben’s going into surgery. They said we could wait in here.”
The room was crowded, but they found two seats in the corner.
She glanced around. “Are we safe here?”
He shrugged. “Safe as we can be. This place is crawling with cops and injured
law enforcement officials. It’s going to take a while before it’s really secure, but I think we’ll be okay for now.”
“Is Ben hurt badly?”
“I saw him. He’s tough. He’ll be fine.”
She nodded, wiping her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Christi. You didn’t love the man anymore, but he didn’t deserve to go out that way.”
Sniffling, she thought about what he said. “I’m not sure what he did deserve. He seemed at peace with it being his time to go. He told me he was wrong, he was sorry, and to tell the kids he loved them very much.”
Doug shrugged. “Nice words. Too little, too late.”
She wiped her face one last time and gazed at him. “He told me something else, too.” Lowering her voice, she added, “Where we can find the seventeen million dollars.”
His jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?”
“You always ask that. Would I kid about such a thing?”
“Where the hell is it?”
“Details are in
two bus lockers, one in Chicago, and the other in another town. He said something about overseas bank information.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Oh my God!”
Christine smiled. “I know, right? He said to spend it on the kids.”
Doug looked at her with disbelief. “No way! We’d be on the run for the rest of our lives! Always hiding, always looking over our shoulders.”
“With seventeen million dollars.”
He shook his head. “Christi! You can’t be serious.”
“Why not? How will it be so different from Witsec? Always on the run, always in hiding, for the rest of our lives.”
“With the support of the US Marshal’s Service behind
us. It’s completely different.”
“I thought you were mad at the US Marshal’s Service. I thought you didn’t know what you wanted to do.”
“I am. I
don’t
know. Other than marrying you, I have no idea what I’m going to do.”
She smiled again. “We could have a million dollar wedding, and still have sixteen left over.”
“When I said you could choose your name, I didn’t know it was going to be Kardashian.”
“Just tossing out possibilities.”
She sighed. “And just imagining, of course. I could never keep the money after everything he did. But it was fun to think about it for two seconds—and see the expression on your face.
Priceless
.”
Speechless for the first time since she’d known him, he could only smile.
Gilford stood at the waiting room entrance peering around. He appeared relieved when he spotted them. Motioning them to come, he said, “There you are. We’ve got a secure waiting room set up around the corner.”
They followed him to a just-as-crowded area,
but this one had a lot more cops. McGuire approached, his arm in a sling. “You two okay?”
Doug nodded.
“I just checked, your marshal is almost out of surgery. Docs say he’ll make a complete recovery.”
“Excellent.” Doug breathed an audible sigh of relief.
The prosecutor looked at her. “Did you talk to Stewart before he died? Did he give you anything?”
“He was really weak,” she said truthfully.
“Damn it! Carlos de Salazar put the word out that he wouldn’t seek further retribution now that Stewart is gone. ‘The price of a man’s life’ he said, or some such bullshit.”
She cocked her head. “What does that mean?”
“It means he’s not looking for the money anymore. Unfortunately, other people still might be. If Stewart would have told you where it was, you’d have been in the clear. No one would have a reason to bother you anymore.”
“In the clear?
” Her mind raced. “Does that mean no more Witsec?”
“No more Witsec. You
and your family would have your lives back.”
She looked at Doug.
His grin was the most gorgeous sight she’d ever seen.
Epilogue
Silver Lake, Kansas
Ten months later
“Stop right there!” Christine hollered.
Doug and Ethan froze in their muddy tracks. Daisy continued prancing around the kitchen floor, leaving brown paw prints as she went.
“You, out!” She pointed to the dog.
Ethan’s eyes widened. “But Mom, it’s pouring outside.”
“She can go under the deck. I’m sorry, but the three of you should have had enough sense to come in out of the rain sooner.
I just finished cleaning house, and now this.”
Doug grabbed the dog’s collar and helped her out. “Go on, girl.”
Daisy whined and Ethan whined louder. “Mom!”
“It’s all right.” Doug placed a hand on his shoulder. “We goofed up, boy. Leave your shoes here and go get into dry clothes. When you come back, start mopping this floor. I’ll change and get some old towels to dry off Daisy.”
“Okay, Dad.” Ethan smiled at him and made a face at his mother as he walked by.
“Hey!” she called after him.
“Let it go, Christi. I’ll talk to him later.” He pulled his soaked T-shirt off.
She couldn’t argue. Doug and Ethan had taken to each other immediately. It was good for the boy to have a man in his life again. Some therapy sessions had helped him remember the good things about Larry, who would always have a fond spot in his heart. But when Doug adopted Ethan, he’d become his dad in every sense of the word.
Doug kicked out of his boots and wet jeans. “We were out in the north field when the sky opened up. Just didn’t have time to get back.”
“I know.” She felt bad for yelling, but her hormones were raging and she couldn’t always make herself stop.
Watching him strip to his boxers in the kitchen had her cheered up in no time.
He grinned at her amusement. “You think this is funny, don’t you?”
“Now I do. It’ll be really funny once the floor and dog are both clean again.”
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and rubbed his hands over her burgeoning belly. “You’ve got to remember, E’s been the baby in the family for eleven years. He’s never seen the pregnancy-hormone side of you.”
She groaned. “I’m as big as a house, and I’m only six months along! I swear, with each pregnancy I start showing earlier.”
Doug kissed the nape of her neck. “Then we’ll have to limit ourselves to three or four more kids, tops.”
“Ha!” She snorted. “You’re lucky to get this one.
Maybe
one more. If we would have kept that seventeen million, then we could have afforded a huge brood.”
His lips moved to her earlobe. “Are you ever sorry we didn’t? You wanted a million dollar wedding, and you got a justice of the peace in a community center.”
She chuckled. “I didn’t really
want
a million dollar wedding, I was just kidding. Ours was perfect. So was the honeymoon.”
“Kansas City. Woo hoo, hold down the excitement.”
She patted his hands, still rubbing her tummy. “Stop it. The Plaza was beautiful with all the Christmas lights. Everything was perfect. The kids loved spending their vacation with my parents.”
He cupped her baby bulge.
“And look at the present we gave each other. She was conceived that week, I’m sure of it.”
She leaned back against him. “I know. It was so romantic. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Doug squeezed her gently. “Me either. So, have you given any more thought to names?”
“No. I hate every single one on that list you gave me. But I haven’t had time to think about it, with your birthday party tonight.” She
moaned. “Doug, in just over an hour your friends will start showing up, and we’re not ready.”
“We’re almost ready. I’ll hurry, I promise. This wasn’t supposed to be a lot of work for you, remember? They’re bringing snacks and drinks. Mom’s got the cake. We’re just providing seats for the butts.”
“Speaking of butts…” She reached behind and grabbed his ass.
“Ah, ah, ah, we said we needed to hurry, remember? That’s not hurrying.” He kissed the side of her mouth. “That’s an invitation to slow and sensual.”
The back door opened and his mother blew in with a whiff of wind. She talked and peeled out of her raincoat at the same time. “Wow, is it pouring out there! Daisy’s pretty mad, I didn’t let her in. She’s a wet mess. I came early to see if I could help. Oh, my!” She surveyed the kitchen and Doug standing there in his boxers. “I guess I came
way too early.”
He
spun them around so Christine blocked his mother’s view. “Hi, Mom. Nope, you’re fine. E and I got caught in the rain. I was just going to change.”
She smirked. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”
Ethan appeared behind them. “Dad! You’re naked in the kitchen!” he whooped.
“He’s not naked,” Christine tried to explain, but everyone was laughing too hard for it to matter.
He kissed her temple one last time. “Clothes.”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“Hi Grandma!” Ethan dodged muddy prints to give her a hug.
“Hey, buddy. What do you say you find me a mop?
We’ll get this kitchen back in shape in no time.”
“You bet!” He ran off.
Christine chuckled. “He’s thrilled to have help. Doug asked him to do it.” She bent over to pick up her husband’s clothes. “I’ll just take care of these.”
“No bending or stooping. Here.” Liz Jernigan grabbed the clothes and passed them to her.
“We’ll set the shoes on the porch for now.”
“Thanks, Mom.” She dropped the things in the hamper then returned.
Her mother-in-law talked as she mopped. “So how many are we expecting at this soirée?”
“Between ten and twenty.
Most of the marshals who aren’t working said they’d try to make it. His boss even promised to make an appearance. A few people were concerned about the weather, so we’ll see.”
Liz waved a hand. “Kansas in June. Never know what you’re going to get.”
“And then there’s Jordan, who may or may not be bringing a date. Last text Doug received, they were fighting about something. So she may arrive solo.”
“That girl is a pip. Speaking of pips, how’s Peyton enjoying her graduation trip to New York? Is she leaving your parents behind in the dust?”
Christine chuckled. “We talked to her a while ago. They’re having a great time. She called to wish Doug a happy birthday.”
He appeared in the doorway wearing clean clothes and a big smile.
His mother nodded. “I’d expect this is about the happiest birthday he’s ever had.”
Doug drew Christine into his arms again, and nuzzled her neck. “First of many, Mom. First of many.”
She leaned back against his muscular chest and sighed.
My favorite place to be in the world.
Ethan peered around the corner. “Can we let Daisy in yet?”
The End
Also by Jamie Hill from Books We Love
Romantic Suspense (with a touch of heat!):
A Cop in the Family Series
Jamie Hill’s Triple Threat (The complete A Cop in the Family Series)
On the Edge, a romantic suspense novella
Romance, Woman’s Fiction
:
The Blame Game Series
Blame it on the Stars, Book One
Blame it on the Moon, Book Two
Blame it on the Sun, Book Three
Blame it on the Rain, Book Four
Impulsive
, a short story collection which includes
Three Wishes
Coming in Fall 2014
Witness Security – Book Two
Time to Kill
Read a sample
now
Prologue
Six months earlier
Los Angeles, California
“What the hell are you looking at?” the shout from across the street was directed at him.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
He knew better than to make eye contact with anyone when he walked in his neighborhood after dark.
He actually knew better than to go out alone at night, but he ran out of milk and double ‘A’ batteries. Milk, he could manage without for a short time. The batteries powered his video game controllers, and there was no going without those for even one night.
The woman’s cries for help had gotten his attention. Yes, she was a hooker, and yes, the guy beating on her was probably her pimp. He could go home and dial nine-one-one, but the couple would probably be gone by the time the cops made it to their neighborhood. He sure as hell wasn’t going to whip out his phone and make the call with the pimp watching him. The guy was whacking on her with a billy club. There was no question he had other weapons at his disposal.
Sorry lady.
He hurried on. When he’d first moved in, his neighbor Roy had told him about the various types of activities which might be witnessed when the sun went down. Apparently pimps had better luck collecting fees from their streetwalkers when they were on the job, rather than trying to find them with cash on hand when they weren’t.
There was the occasional gang dust up, but those were fewer now that two rival families had moved out of the area.
Old Mrs. Turner in the yellow house on the corner baked hashish brownies for resale purposes. There was usually a steady stream of traffic coming and going from her place.
Roy himself had a penchant for the ponies. Three times he’d asked to borrow cash to pay back his debts. He’d always returned the money, but the last time it’d taken quite a bit longer. He’d been forced to tell
Roy he couldn’t loan him anything else, and had been relieved when his neighbor had taken it well.
An unexpected inheritance had allowed him to take a year off from work to follow his dream of writing a novel. He’d gotten halfway done when a slump set in. The next few chapters came slower. Figuring out the ending was like pulling teeth, especially when he was trying to concentrate and the neighbors weren’t cooperating.
He hated the noise and found the violence distasteful, but the rent affordable and that said a lot for Los Angeles.
The City of Angels. The Entertainment Capital of the World.
Everyone knew all the action happened in the big cities. If he was truly going to be a writer, he needed to be in the center of things.
Of course if the author gig didn’t work out, he could always go back to his assistant manager job at Gamestop. But he’d allowed himself one year and he figured he could make it that long, provided he was frugal and spent wisely.
Approaching his block, he spotted a strange car parked in front of his small, four-unit apartment complex. The vehicle stood out even though the street was dark. He recognized his favorite shade, metallic emerald green. He’d wanted a car that color ever since he’d seen it on his old man’s 1965 Chevy Coupe Classic.
What make
and model is this one?
He couldn’t tell in the dark, and got closer to squint at the emblem on the trunk.
Someone in the back seat sprang up, pressing his face against the inside of the rear window.
He jumped, dropping the gallon of milk into the street where it burst open. “Dammit!” He glanced back up and realized the face in the window belonged Roy, his neighbor. Roy’s eyes were bugging and he was trying to scream.
His heart thudded. “Roy?”
A second man rose from the back seat and without a sound, inserted an icepick into Roy’s temple, then drew it out quickly.
Roy’s tongue protruded and his eyes bulged wider before they froze in an unforgettable, tormented expression of death.
The other man turned and looked directly at him.
Don’t make eye contact!
It was too late. They’d seen each other.
The man opened his car door.
The bag containing the twenty-pack of double ‘A’ batteries hit the ground as he bolted, running faster than he ever had in his life.
Chapter One
Present day
Topeka, Kansas
