Free Witness Protection by Barb Han

Was it regret? Did Nick wish he could take those words back?
    She braced herself for more bantering. Instead, Luke’s smile morphed to a serious expression, and he gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Nope. You’re looking at a free man.”
    “Lucky for single women everywhere,” Nick said, easing the tension.
    She made a mental note to ask about that later.
    “Aren’t you on a case?” Nick glanced at Sadie when he said, “Luke works for the FBI.”
    “Coffee’s for you, by the way.” Luke held out a cup toward his brother.
    Nick took it and held the cup to his lips for a few seconds before he took a sip. “Thanks, man.”
    “No problem. I’m around until after Gran’s birthday. Do I need to be checking the rearview or did you ditch the son of a bitch who redecorated your face?” All the charm in his features returned full force.
    “Just a couple of bumps and bruises. Nothing permanent, like a bullet hole. I think we walked far enough out of the way. No one should be able to track us.”
    Sadie leaned into Nick for warmth.
    Luke’s expression turned serious again, all cute playboy disappeared, when he asked, “What are we dealing with here exactly? I take it she’s one of yours in the program.”
    Nick nodded. “Except she wasn’t mine before. I inherited her when her handler was killed.”
    “And this guy being killed put her at risk?”
    “She was relocated two years ago after testifying against Malcolm Grimes and assigned to a marshal by the name of Charlie.”
    Luke clenched his jaw muscle. “
The
Malcolm Grimes? One of the biggest crime figures in Chicago?”
    “The very one.”
    “I read about that case, but I don’t remember you being involved in that one.”
    “I wasn’t,” Nick said, taking another sip of coffee. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a moment. “That’s good. Really good.”
    “Isn’t that case old news?”
    “It was until Grimes broke out of jail and her handler was found murdered.”
    “That’s not good. Sounds like a mess. And an inside job. Does everyone at the U.S. Marshals Service check out?”
    “Nope. This case has a stench so strong even my boss wants away from it just in case our channels of communication are dirty,” Nick said. “A supervisor who was spotted with Grimes’s men has now gone missing.”
    “Damn. Okay, so she testified and put the bad guy away. Why come after her now? They have to know the agency would be watching.”
    “You’d think. My predecessor relocated her after the trial twice, the last of which was to a small town where she should’ve been able to live out her life in peace.”
    “Until her man breaks out of jail and comes after her with reinforcements.”
    “Exactly,” Nick agreed. “Possibly with her handler’s help. And, worst-case, a supervisor’s.”
    “That stinks to high heaven.”
    “Don’t I know.”
    “And you think you can help her if...” Luke let his sentence die. He was silent for a minute, chewing on more than his gum. “Even so, taking her to the ranch?”
    “I know what you’re about to say.”
    “Then you know you can’t break protocol. Not even to keep her safe. And you also know I mean this in the best possible way. God knows I invented doing things on my terms. But stashing her with us? Not a good idea.” Luke turned to Sadie and said, “No offense.”
    “None taken. I agree with you,” she said.
    “True,” Nick interjected. “Here’s the thing. Everywhere I take her, these guys show up. They’re barely a half step behind. The man power they have is staggering. I thought about staying on the run. And I can. But what do I do when I need to investigate a lead? Leave her exposed, alone in a hotel room? I don’t have backup on this. And these guys are one step behind me out in the open like this.”
    “From the looks of your face, they’ve been catching you, too.”
    Nick pressed the heel of his right hand to his forehead. “It’s been a problem.”
    “What about