The Marshal's Witness Read Free Page B

caring that it made the pain worse. “No. I won’t agree to that. You’re too angry. You obviously blame me for what happened.I’ll tell the Justice Department that I won’t—”
    “You think I want to be assigned to this case?” His jaw went rigid as he stepped back to her side. “You’re not an innocent bystander who happened to witness a crime. You chose to cover up your boss’s crimes for fiveyears. The only reason you went to the Feds was because DeGaullo killed your friend, and you knew you were next. As far as I’mconcerned, you’re almost as bad as he is.”
    Her body flushed hot beneath his scalding words.
    “But,” he continued, before she could speak, “since I’m a former army ranger, and people are trying to kill you, the government has decided I’m their most qualified marshal to keep you alive. Against my wishes, they’ve assigned me as your temporary guardian.”
    His eyes flashed as he held hergaze. “Four men gave their lives for you. I’m not going to allow their sacrifices to be meaningless. When I became a marshal, I made a vow that I’m honor bound to keep. I will keep you safe, whatever it takes, whether you want me to or not.”
    * * *
    R YAN FIRMLY SHUT the door to Jessica’s hospital room and slumped back against the wall in the hallway. He scrubbed his hands across his faceand rubbed his tired eyes. For two weeks he’d sat in that uncomfortable plastic chair in the corner of Jessica’s room, watching over her. He’d slept in the cramped window seat, listening to the machines hooked up to her beeping along with her vital signs, calling the nurses when she cried out in pain. He’d held her hand when she twisted against the sheets in the throes of a nightmare.
    Andthe minute she woke up, he’d been a complete jerk, blaming her for his friends’ deaths. Did he blame her? Yes, partly, but that didn’t excuse his actions. His mother would be appalled if she’d seen her son treat a woman that way, any woman, regardless of what she’d done.
    Especially since the reason he’d behaved that way had nothing to do with the explosion, and everything to do with the wayshe affected him. When he’d looked into her soft brown eyes and that shock of attraction rippled through him, just like when he’d first met her, he’d been so disgusted at himself that he’d lashed out. How could he want her so much, knowing about her past, the choices she’d made that went against everything he believed in?
    Physically, she was exactly his type—petite and curvy. Even with herstitches and bandages, she made his blood run hot. He could understand that. She was a beautiful woman, and he was still young enough to appreciate that. What he couldn’t understand was why her appeal went far beyond her outward appearance.
    When he looked in her eyes he saw the pain she didn’t acknowledge, the kind of pain that went far deeper than cuts and bruises. He knew what caused thatpain in him—the lives he’d taken while performing his duties, the betrayal by someone he’d trusted, the men under his command who’d lost their lives as a result of that betrayal.
    But why was she suffering? What had happened to put those shadows in her eyes?
    And why did he care?
    He rubbed his neck to work out the stiffness. He didn’t know what it was about Jessica Delaney that drovehim so crazy. All he knew for sure was that he needed to put some distance between the two of them. The only way to do that was to finalize her new identity and get her new location set up.
    He reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and texted the message that would set everything into motion... Sleeping Beauty is awake .

Chapter Three
    In the three weeks since she’d awakened in the hospital to find Ryan Jackson in her room, Jessica had learned a few things. One was that he had a bit of the devil in him. So, as she stood beside him on the front lawn that had already turned brown in the cool fall air, she did everything