LITMIR.BIZ

       TWO

      Smoke filled Sydney’s lungs as she tried to draw a breath. Max was on the ground beside her, and his face was bleeding. Then she noticed the shards of glass littering the floor around them, and realized he must have been hit by one.

      Max gripped her waist and pulled her up off the floor. “We’ve got to move.”

      Trying to catch her breath, she took a step and pain shot through her leg. Blood covered her right arm as it throbbed at her side. But now was not the time to worry about that. They were literally under attack.

      The smoke was clearing a little so that she could see. But that also meant they could be seen by whoever had attacked them.

      A gunshot rang out, and Max pushed her back down to the ground.

      “Where did that come from?” she asked.

      “I’m not sure, but it sounded like it was from outside. We’re going to move farther in to the interior of the house.”

      Her heart raced as, on their hands and knees, he guided her further away from the windows and toward the center of the house. I don’t want to die. She’d been through so much in her life. She wasn’t going to give up now. She could handle this, too. Taking a deep breath, she crawled toward the bathroom door.

      Pulling her in, he shut the door and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She couldn’t help but flinch as he touched her—but it wasn’t from the pain.

      “What hurts?” he asked.

      “My arm and my leg. But I don’t think it’s too serious.” She paused and looked up at him. “Your face is bleeding.” She reached up and touched his cheek, trying to determine where the blood was coming from. “Looks like you got hit on the side of your face with a piece of glass.”

      “Yeah, I think it’s just a nick. I’ll—”

      His remark was cut short by a deep male voice that rang throughout the house. “Anyone here?”

      Max put his fingers to his lips indicating that she should not respond.

      “Preston, are you there? It’s Davies.”

      She watched as Max’s shoulders visibly dropped. “He’s one of ours,” he told her.

      “Back here, Davies.”

      Max helped her to her feet and opened the bathroom door.

      Through the clearing smoke she saw a man and woman both dressed in suits approaching them. “The suspect was able to flee,” the tall blond man said. “We wanted to make sure the package was secure.”

      “Are you okay?” the woman asked.

      “A bit sore,” Sydney replied. “But I guess it could’ve been much worse.”

      The woman looked at Max. “So, what happened?”

      Max wiped the blood from his face with a handkerchief. “They broke through the window with a smoke bomb. Probably planned to use that as a diversion to grab Sydney.”

      The blond man stepped closer. “Ms. Berry, I’m sorry, ma’am. We should’ve introduced ourselves. I’m Phillip Davies and this is Elena Sanchez. We work with Max and are both deputies with the US Marshals.”

      They shook hands with Sydney.

      “I’m sorry to rush you,” Elena said. “But we need to address any immediate medical issues, and then you two need to move. It’s not safe here.” As she ushered them down the hall, she said, “Ms. Berry, I’ve got a bag for you in our car. Given these attacks, we have to assume our system has been compromised in some way. An electronic security breach is unlikely, but it’s more possible in my mind than a mole within the US Marshals.”

      She led them into the living room with the blown-in window and assessed the surroundings. Then she turned to Sydney. “Ms. Berry, you’re going to be taken to a safe house that wasn’t in the list of those assigned to you. Deputy Preston, this is officially need-to-know right now. Meaning you, Deputy Davies and I are the only three people to know the locations of any future safe houses. Keeping the circle this small will ensure Ms. Berry’s safety.”

      Sydney noted Elena’s take-charge attitude. She liked the tall dark-haired marshal with welcoming brown eyes already.

      Elena took her arm. “I’ll get you safely to the vehicle while they secure this area. Deputy Preston, we’ll switch cars and you’ll take mine.”

      “Roger that,” Max said.

      Elena led her out the front door and to the driveway. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

      “Not badly. Probably just superficial wounds.”

      “I’ve got a med kit in the car. I’ll take a look at your arm.”

      “Thank you.” She paused and tried to gather her thoughts. “Am I still going to be able to testify in the morning? Because I think that—”

      “Wait a second, Ms. Berry.” Holding up her hand, Elena cut her off. “Since you’ve been sworn in as a witness already, you shouldn’t say anything about your testimony. I don’t want you to get in trouble with the court. I understand that you want to testify, and we will do our best to make sure that happens. Deputy Preston will continuously conduct a threat assessment, and it will ultimately be his call as to whether it is safe to bring you into the courtroom tomorrow morning.”

      “Can I ask you something?”

      “Sure.” Elena removed the medical kit from the trunk. “Sit in the car while I see to your arm. Ask away.”

      “How long have you known Max?” She tried not to yelp as Elena pushed up her sleeve to reveal a nasty cut that was still oozing blood. Elena opened the kit and started to clean her wound.

      “Just about a month.”

      “A month? That’s it?”

      “He’s recently transferred from the FBI. But don’t worry. He has a stellar reputation. Word is that he took on the toughest assignments in the gang unit, including a stint of deep undercover years ago that proved to be invaluable in a number of convictions.” Elena finished cleaning the cut and then bandaged it. “So you should have no concerns about him.”

      “How long have you been with the US Marshals?”

      “For quite some time.” Elena gently pulled Sydney’s sleeve down over the bandage. “And I wouldn’t change a thing. Best decision I ever made. I thank God every day for opening up the opportunity for me.”

      She received a measure of comfort from Elena’s words. If it weren’t for the Lord, she wouldn’t have made it through the past few years. And now she needed Him more than ever.

      “I’m sure Deputy Preston has mentioned that given the attacks, the prosecutor and the FBI will want to talk to you about your safety and your options. One of those options is witness protection. I just didn’t want you to be surprised when those discussions started in case he hadn’t given you all those details.”

      “I understand,” she said softly.

      “Here, take these.” Elena handed her a package with two pain relievers and a bottle of water.

      “Thank you.”

      “The perimeter is secure,” Max reported as he approached the vehicle with Davies beside him. Sydney had to admit the two men were

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