Free Love at First Flight by Marie Force

D.C?”
    He leaned against the open car door. “Well,
here's the thing: I'll tell you, but it's imperative you don't tell anyone you
went there with me, okay? Someone's life depends on it.”
    “Of course. I won't tell anyone.”
    Hesitating, he realized he was about to
take a woman he met on an airplane to see a witness in protective custody. But
his gut told him he could trust her, and he trusted his gut.
    She looked up at him with those
captivating eyes. “I won't tell anyone, Michael. You have my word.”
    He nodded, closed her door, and walked
around to get in.
     
    “The witness to the Benedetti shootings
is fifteen years old and a handful,” he explained as they left the airport
parking lot and headed south. “We have her in protective custody in D.C. She's
giving our guys some trouble, and they need me to talk to her. She has, well,
how can I put this...”
    Juliana laughed at his pained
expression. “She has a crush on you, does she?”
    “She seems to have a soft spot for me.
That's all I'll admit to.”
    “I love it,” she said with a giggle.
    “I'm glad you're entertained. She's a
pain in my ass.” Exiting the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Michael cut down New
York Avenue on the way to Interstate 395.
    “Why do you keep looking in the mirror?”
Juliana asked.
    “We have to be careful we don't lead
anyone to her. There're people who we believe would harm her to keep her from
testifying.”
    “Oh.” Juliana turned around to look
behind them. “I don't see anyone.”
    “Yeah, it's late on a Sunday. I think
we're good. Besides, they think I'm out of town.”
    “They watch you? ” Juliana asked, horrified.
    “I've sensed a presence lately, but I
haven't actually seen anyone.”
    “God,” she sighed. “Your job is
dangerous. I never would've thought that.”
    “It's not usually. This trial has gotten
a lot of attention, which has thrust me into the spotlight—against my will, I
might add. I hate all the media crap that goes along with this kind of case.
All I care about is keeping Rachelle safe.”
    “What happens to her after the trial?”
    “Witness protection. We've already put
her family in the wind. Since she's a minor, we've kept her mother close by
until the trial, but the rest of them are gone.”
    “Wow. I just cut hair.”
    He laughed. “Right about now, I think
that would be a wonderful profession.”
    “I'll bet you do. What's she like?”
    “Rachelle?”
    Juliana nodded.
    “She's a great kid who was in the wrong
place at the wrong time. Her aunt lives in the apartment complex where the
shootings went down. She was there visiting and ran out to her mother's car to
get something. She saw the whole thing.”
    “And suddenly my troubles seem so
insignificant.”
    “It does have that effect, doesn't it?”
He pulled into the parking lot of a 7-11. “I'll be right back. Do you need
anything?”
    “No, I'm good. Thanks.”
    He came back a few minutes later. “Blackmail,”
he said, handing her the bag so she could see that he had bought all the latest
gossip magazines, a Glamour , a Cosmo , four candy bars, two packs of
gum, and six scratch-off lottery tickets.
    “That's quite a care package.”
    “I spoil her. That's why she likes me.”
    “If that's what you have to tell
yourself.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “She thinks you're cute ,” Juliana said in a singsong voice. “Oh, shut up.”
    She was still laughing when he pulled up
to the J.W. Marriott on the corner of Fourteenth Street and Pennsylvania
Avenue. “How close are we to the White House?” she asked.
    “A few blocks that way.”
    “I don't know why I never think to spend
a day here. It's only an hour from Baltimore.”
    Michael showed the hotel security his
I.D. card, and they were waved in. “I loved living here when I was in law
school. It's my favorite city.”
    A police officer stood guard in the
fifth-floor hallway.
    “Hey, Michael.” The cop grimaced. “The
brat's on fire.”
    “So I hear.