Protected Secrets. Heather Woodhaven

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СКАЧАТЬ protect the most handsome man and the cutest little girl on the planet. Every time Winnie smiled it felt like a vise around Delaney’s heart, reminding her that she could’ve been a mother if only she’d gotten her life back together a little sooner. And Bruce...

      Everyone liked Bruce. He stayed remarkably positive about their time cooped up in the house. He made comical faces to keep Winnie laughing and took turns playing two of the deputies in a game of Scrabble while the third was on patrol. He provided a list of groceries and made the most delicious stir-fry she’d ever tasted. In her line of work, often the witnesses had their own seedy, criminal pasts. While she appreciated their willingness to testify, it often stemmed from wanting to make a deal for themselves rather than from any genuine sense of public responsibility. But Bruce was a hardworking, upstanding...

      She couldn’t even let herself think about it or she’d start wishing for what she couldn’t have. Deputy Marshal Francine Jackson and Deputy Marshal Jim Lewis were guarding Bruce and Winnie while she took an early morning run. It gave her a chance to clear her head and work out, but more important, to get a feel for the neighborhood and potential risk areas. Her phone buzzed and she slowed to a walk to answer. “Deputy Marshal Delaney Pat—”

      “Delaney?” The male’s voice shook on the line. “I, uh... I didn’t expect to be talking to you.”

      “And this is?”

      “Harvey Jeppsen.”

      An awkward silence followed. Harvey Jeppsen had been her lawyer for the private adoption. He’d been there with her in the hospital room when she’d signed away her legal rights to her baby. He’d listened to her sobs before and after. Why was he calling?

      “I was told this is the number to contact my client, Mr. Walker. Are you the marshal in charge?” His voice held a hint of disbelief.

      Her shoulders dropped. “Yes. I’m afraid he’s not able to talk right now. I can have him reach you in thirty minutes.”

      “No matter. I just received word he’ll be at a pretrial interview later this afternoon with the US Attorney’s Office. Please tell him I’ll meet him there.”

      Delaney didn’t confirm or deny, but she hung up only to get another call from the US Attorney’s Office with the same information. It was last-minute, but in a case like this, that didn’t surprise her. She jogged back to the safe house to start preparing for the trip. At least a brand-new black SUV with all the bells and whistles had arrived.

      She imagined Bruce would be pleased with some forward motion on the case. It’d do him good to get out of the safe house for a bit. Maybe it would make him smile the way he had when... She cut the thought off abruptly. There she went again, thinking about his future facial expressions. The infatuation needed to be nipped in the bud. She lengthened her stride and reached the house in record time.

      Thirty minutes later, she was showered, dressed and ready. “We probably should get going. I like to be extra early to allow time for contingencies.”

      Bruce frowned. He hadn’t responded the way she’d expected. In fact, he seemed to be unhappy about going at all. “Any chance we can bring Winnie?”

      “No.” She didn’t mean to snap. “Francine will stay here and take great care of her.” Francine had fallen head over heels for Winnie. Unfortunately, Winnie acted as if she was set on making Delaney do the same. If she allowed herself to soften, she feared she’d be ruined when the case ended, devastated that she couldn’t hold and snuggle her own little girl. “It will be a fast trip,” she added.

      A knock at the front door signaled it was time to go. The US Marshals had sent a fourth deputy to join in the transport. Bruce scratched his forehead. “Let me just put her down for her nap time.”

      Bruce picked up Winnie and kissed her little porcelain cheek. He started singing a song, tones so quiet and low that Delaney strained to hear it, but the concert wasn’t for her. He disappeared into a side bedroom. A moment later he came out with a video baby monitor and handed it to Francine.

      “Okay, she’s singing to her stuffed animal, which means she should fall asleep soon. You have a way to reach me if I’m needed?”

      Francine nodded. “Of course.”

      Delaney could see the uncertainty building in his eyes. “We have to go. Now,” she said. Tag teaming with the deputy outside, she led Bruce to the door of the black SUV. They all wore plainclothes, which typically meant a polo shirt and pants, so as not to draw attention, but they didn’t compare colors ahead of time. Unfortunately, the other marshals had all decided to go with navy blue, just as she had. If they needed somewhere to hide along the way, they could blend in at Best Buy.

      A silver SUV was in front and a navy SUV was behind them. They would accompany her and Bruce to the federal building in Des Moines. She knew the route well enough to skip the GPS. “An hour’s drive on I-35. I noticed they’ve widened the freeway since I’ve last been here. Should be smooth sailing.”

      She started the car and they drove in silence. A few minutes later, she merged onto the freeway. The other deputies spread out, so as not to be an obvious caravan, but they communicated their movements on the radio attached to the right of her steering wheel.

      Much like a dentist was trained to watch for tense patients, she noticed Bruce’s fingers gripping the sides of the leather seat and dug for something to say to distract him. “How long have you lived in Ames?” she asked. A small part of her wanted an excuse to ask how long Harvey Jeppsen had been his lawyer.

      The brake lights flashed on the car in front of her. Delaney stepped on her own brakes and nothing happened. She shoved harder and the pedal went down to the floor, but their speed remained the same.

      “What’s happening?”

      She couldn’t answer because she wasn’t sure herself, but the distance between the SUV and the car in front was rapidly decreasing. She slid into Neutral and pulled on the parking brake. The speed remained the same.

      She glanced in the side mirror and maneuvered into the small spot between two cars. The radio crackled with questions, but she ignored them because the wagon in front of her wasn’t going fast enough. She swerved onto the shoulder, almost clipping the car full of oblivious teenagers.

      “One more inch and we would’ve hit. Sign says shoulder closed. Why are you doing this? Is there someone after us?” Bruce checked the side mirror.

      She grabbed the radio with her right hand. “Brakes are out. Taking next exit.” She dropped the radio as she used both hands to take the ramp, hoping the sharp curve to the right would slow them down or at least offer an empty pasture. “I can’t talk now,” she told Bruce.

      The radio crackled. “Affirmative. We couldn’t make that exit in time. Will take the next one and join you. No suspicious activity?”

      “I think the brakes going out is suspicious enough,” Bruce muttered. He leaned as far forward as he could and looked out the window. “There is a road to the left that’s pretty unpopulated. Think you can make it?”

      “We don’t have much choice.”

      The grade sloped and the SUV’s speed increased. She pressed the brake hard out of habit. Her head lurched forward and backward as the SUV abruptly slowed. She pressed the brake pedal again to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. “The brakes are working again.”

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