Free Touch Me by Melissa Schroeder Page B

this…Friday night was a mistake.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “What?”
    “I can’t…”she trailed off when she saw the anger in his eyes. She couldn’t lie to him. Not now, not ever.
    “I’m under witness protection by the US Marshals.”
     “What the hell are you talking about?”
    She could hear the anger in his voice and she didn’t blame him. She put him in danger and anyone associated with him. He didn’t even know that. When he did, he would probably never forgive her. She shouldn’t have done it, shouldn’t have taken a chance, but she had. Now they would both have to live with it.
    “I…” she swallowed. “Let me start at the beginning.”
    “That would be good.”
    “A few years ago, I was on my way home from work. It was really late, and I was still in college.”
    She had to walk around. Otherwise, she would lose her courage.
    “One wrong turn. It was really late and I had just finished my finals. I was so tired and I lost track of where I was going. I ended up in a bad part of town trying to find my way out. I stopped to look at my phone for a map and I heard this sound behind me. Nothing really loud like you think it would be. No, this was just a little popping sound.”
    Comprehension moved over his features. “A gun with a silencer.”
    She nodded. “I looked up and there was this man, just an ordinary man, who was coming toward me. In the alley right by where I parked, there was a man lying on the ground. By the time I reacted, the shooter was almost to my car so I got a good look at him. I got out of there as fast as I could.”
    “And you testified.”
    She nodded. “I couldn’t let him get away with it.”
    “And that man went to jail?”
    “Yes, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t tried. My parents died thanks to this.”
    “The wreck?”
    “My father had a new car and the brakes went out on them. It wasn’t hard to do the math.”
    “And so you went into protection.”
    “Last night, after I got home, there was a call. Seems their system had been breached. There is a chance I will have to relocate.”
    “What?”
    “I just can’t deal with you and this right now. I have to get my life in order just in case. If you’re associated with me, then you’re going to end up being a target.”
    He opened his mouth to argue but she shook her head. “No. I can’t do it. Please respect it.”
    “It’s cowardly.”
    The words struck her straight in the heart. “Maybe, but it’s the only way I know how to survive.”
    She turned to walk towards the door, but he had one thing left to say. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”
    Hannah said nothing else. If she did, they would really fight and then she might give in. She had already told him too much as it was.  She hurried on her way to her house, hoping she would make it before he got it in his mind to come after her. Hell, she had left Hercules. Shaking her head, she decided to get him later.
    When she opened the door, she barely paid attention, but then she realized the alarm had not sounded. That tell tale beep was missing. When she turned, she saw Agent Caulfield standing in the hallway.

Chapter Fifteen
     
    Jack paced his living room, irritated with the turn of events. Witness protection. Of all the things he expected, this hadn’t been one of them. Who the hell expects something like that?
    Hercules pawed at his leg. He stopped and looked down at the dog. She had left her dog with him.
    “Did you know about this?”
    Hercules cocked his head to the side as if he were really listening to him.
    “Because, if you did and failed to tell me, you might just lose your status as wingman.”
    He didn’t know much about witness protection, other than what he had seen in movies and on TV. They had made it look so glamorous, but he knew better. Just like with movies about the military, it was never as exciting as they appeared on screen. Life never was.
    "But she didn't tell me."
    Of course she didn't. This wasn't a