LITMIR.BIZ

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That had never happened before.

      Eric usually wore a suit and tie. Maybe it was the jeans and a black T-shirt he was wearing that made him different. He seemed relaxed...and tired.

      “Is there a reason you’re staring at me?”

      Mackenzie turned away, praying he didn’t see the awkwardness. So unprofessional. She spoke over her shoulder as she walked. “I’m going to see if they have a first-aid kit.”

      Inside the coffee shop, broken glass crunched under her feet. The two baristas and half-dozen customers looked shaken, but no one seemed to be injured.

      Eric entered right behind her, probably intent on protecting his charge. He’d always been efficient. It was probably why they gave him the responsibility of working in witness protection.

      Mackenzie went to the barista, crouched by an older man who seemed to be having trouble breathing. “Do you have any medical supplies? My friend is bleeding.”

      * * *

      The woman who’d made Aaron’s Americano jumped up and ran behind the counter. He stepped away from the crazy lady who’d launched herself at him—that part hadn’t been all bad—and tried to ignore the sting in his shoulder.

      He crouched in front of the old man clutching at his chest. “Take a breath. Blow it out slow and try to relax.”

      Outside, the sirens grew to deafening proportions. Aaron turned just as two police cars and an ambulance parked on the street outside. He looked back at the old man again. “Medics are here.”

      The man’s brow flickered. “Army?” His voice was barely audible.

      “Yes, sir. Good guess.” He wondered what the old man would say if Aaron told him he wasn’t just army, but Delta Force. But that wasn’t something anyone but close relatives could know.

      Aaron glanced around. The crazy lady stared intently at the door the barista had disappeared behind. She looked shell-shocked, which he didn’t blame her for, since she’d just been shot at on the street. He’d never seen anything like that stateside, except in the news. It was usually contained to the war zones his team was dropped into, not downtown Phoenix.

      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.

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