Free Witness Bares All by Abby Wood Page A

had
done a doozy on her. There was no happily-ever-after written in the
stars for her.
    Agent D and she were two very different
people. Donovan had his high level of responsibilities, code of
honor, and seriousness. She was more spontaneous, a
fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, live-life-to-the-fullest kind of
gal. And against her better judgment, she’d thrown herself at him,
fucked like it was going out of style, and somehow, during all the
chaos, fell in love with an agent for the FBI.
    But, he didn’t return the feelings.
    Donovan pulled the vehicle off the old
logging road and came to a stop. Josie sat up straighter. A lone
cabin nestled deep in the woods, symbolizing beauty, serenity, and
vacancy, sat in front of her. This was no safe house. The whole
scene belonged on a postcard depicting a national forest for
tourists to visit. A reenactment of pioneer life. “This is where
you are keeping me?”
    “Yeah.”
    “There are other people here.” She studied a
rather large man slugging another equally big man in the shoulder
walking around to the back of the cabin. Her chest tightened. He’d
made it perfectly clear. No one was supposed to know where she was
staying. Something wasn’t right. Her chest tightened, and her
breath seemed to lodge in her throat. Any one of these people could
work for Renfro Jackson.
    She pulled the door handle, but Donovan had
control of the locks. “Let me out.”
    “It’s okay. This really is a safe place for
us to stay.” He turned off the engine. “You’ve heard me mention
Agent Tony. Bryce and Taylor, the agents that transported you after
the incident at the casino, are also here. They’re all here to
double up on security. Tony’s girlfriend even came to keep you
company. You’ll like her. I think you have a lot in common with
each other.”
    “You’ve slept with her too?” She whipped
around and glared at him. “Can we compare notes? Maybe we could
even swap partners…Agent D?”
    His black eyes narrowed, but he didn’t deny
it. His hand came up and rubbed the whiskered five-o’clock shadow
along his jaw.
    Shush, shush, shush.
    It was a familiar sound lately, usually one
that came when he was at a loss for words and had to think up an
answer.
    “Oh, whatever.” She snorted, sat back, and
waited for him to unlock the door.
    He had her face encased in his hands before
she could spew any more anger toward him. “Dammit. Don’t be like
that. And stop calling me Agent D. My name’s Donovan.” He exhaled.
“Josie…Marie…Oh fuck it.” He leaned over and claimed her mouth with
his own. His tongue pushed past her lips. Hard, fast, and
possessive, he just as quickly let her go. “Come on. Let’s go get
settled.”
    She sat with her mouth open, afraid to
breathe, and stared out at the rustic cabin. There was no way she
was going to believe that Donovan didn’t love her. Not with a kiss
like that. The man had more feelings wrapped up into his cold
exterior than even he knew about.
     

Chapter Two
     
    The love between Tony and Jolene was
apparent to everyone, but especially to Josie. She turned her gaze
away from the couple embracing and moved a few steps away from the
crowd. Peering out into the distance, she noticed a path leading
from the yard down a slight embankment.
    She had more freedom today than any other
time since being placed in a safe house because of the remote
location. Not wanting to admit that she found the rustic setting
quaint and charming, she kept her mouth shut and stayed out of the
friendly conversations floating around the cabin all afternoon.
Donovan had briefed her with the rules set up to protect her, but
he’d forgotten to mention exactly how far she could wander around
outside. She glanced back at her keeper. He was holding up a
security camera while Taylor and Brice verbally told him which way
to move.
    Walking quickly away from the house, she
jogged along the path and out of sight. She inhaled and let her
body relax. She hadn’t had