Star Witness

by Lisa Phillips

  The cop looked up from his little pad at Mackenzie. Her eyes were on the EMTs carrying the old man out on a backboard. “I’m sorry people got hurt. I didn’t know.” She looked at Aaron, tears in her eyes. “What do I do now?”

  “How should I know?” Why did she persist in looking to him for help? Did Mackenzie really think he knew how to help someone in witness protection? He was on vacation, not some kind of hero for hire.

  “You’re not going to help me? You’re just going to abandon me? What if they come for me again, what if they...kill me?”

  Aaron motioned to the officer. “That’s what the cops are for. They’ll be able to keep you safe. I’ve got a life to get back to.” Not to mention a career to rebuild, and a whole lot of reparations to make.

  She blinked and a tear fell down her cheek. He didn’t want it to prick his heart, but it did. The last thing he needed was a vulnerable woman looking up at him with brown eyes that really were too big for her face.

  Aaron cleared his throat and turned to the cop. “You have someone who can look out for her?”

  The officer nodded. “Of course. If you’ll wait here, I’ll inform my sergeant that Ms. Winters feels that this wasn’t a random shooting and that her life is in danger.”

  He walked away and Aaron looked at Mackenzie again. “We’ll get you squared away, don’t worry about it. No one’s going to hurt you.”

  “You’re really not going to help?”

  This again? Why did she think it had to be him who kept her safe just because he’d thrown her to the ground while bullets were flying? That was nothing but a reflex.

  He couldn’t let the hurt on her face get to him. He sighed. “Look, you seem nice and all, but I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick here. I’m not your hero.”

  She swiped away tears that were still falling. “Of course you are, Eric. You’re the only one who can help me.”

  TWO

  Mackenzie watched the realization wash over his face.

  “You think I’m Eric.”

  She didn’t know what to say. This was Eric. Had he hit his head when he pulled her down onto the sidewalk?

  “I’m not Eric.”

  This was bizarre. “Well, if you’re not Eric, then who are you?”

  The man’s lips curled up into a smile, and he stuck out his hand. “Sergeant Aaron Hanning, U.S. Army. I’m Eric’s twin brother.”

  She stared at his hand. What was there to smile about? “I just told you I’m in witness protection.”

  “How was I supposed to know you were going to say that?”

  “I thought you were Eric!”

  “That’s apparent now, but I didn’t know it then.”

  “This is awful. Eric’s going to make me move for sure. I don’t want to leave. I like it here. I’ve lived in Phoenix for years.” Mackenzie sucked in a breath to try to get control, but Sergeant Aaron Hanning, U.S. Army, just stood there smiling at her. She put her hands on her hips. “There is nothing funny about any of this.”

  “You just told me my brother works in WITSEC. I thought he worked at the courthouse, or ferrying prisoners around and whatnot. This is cool.”

  “Cool? It’s going to get out. I’ll be exposed. My life is over because of you.”

  “Me?” He glanced around the room, and then sighed and looked back at her. “Look, I’ll call Eric. We’ll get this figured out. Get your name removed from the witness statement or something so you’re not in danger.”

  “You’d better.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “This is your fault. I’m already in danger, I didn’t need this.”

  His eyes widened. “I didn’t shoot at you. I saved your life. Maybe you should say thank-you instead of yelling at me because you blew your cover to me.”

  Mackenzie gasped. “It’s not a cover, it’s my life.”

  “Okay, okay, calm down already.”

  “Calm—”

  Sergeant Aaron Hanning, U.S. Army, put his hand over her mouth. “I’m going to call Eric, okay? He’ll tell us what to do, and we’ll get you squared away.”

  She took a breath and nodded. The frustration bled away a little, leaving a sick feeling its place. His eyes flickered, but he didn’t look away. He just kept staring into her eyes until Mackenzie reached up and pulled his hand away from her mouth. “Please call Eric.”

  He blinked and whatever connection they had dissipated. Aaron pulled out his phone and stepped away. He stuck the phone between his ear and shoulder and pulled open the first-aid kit that was on the counter.

  Officer Parkwell strode back in, his mouth set in a thin line. “We have a witness that identified the plates of the car your shooter was driving. It belongs to a local gang member. At this point we think it’s highly unlikely this was anything but a random shooting. Unless you can think of a reason someone might want to harm you?”

  “It could be about the arts center where I work. In fact, I think it is about the center. Someone slashed my tires before they shot at me.”

  It wasn’t a happy thought to consider that she was the cause of someone being hurt. Or that she had grieved someone enough they felt they needed to retaliate and slash her tires. But tensions often ran high at the center. Especially when a person took into account the tough background each of the kids had.

  “The performing arts center down the street?” The cop scribbled on his notepad. “Is that where your car is?”

  “Yes, in the center’s parking lot, around back.”

  “We’ll get someone over there to check it out.”

  The cop strode out again.

  The shooter had followed her before they fired. Was that to confirm she was their target? Nothing about this felt like coincidence. Even if it wasn’t related to her testimony all those years ago, it was still about her.

  Aaron came back over. “I got voice mail. Eric’s been in D.C. the past couple of days. He could be on a plane coming home.”

  Mackenzie hoped that was it. Because in the meantime, she was stuck with the injured, sarcastic twin brother of the all-American U.S. marshal who was supposed to be the one helping her. Why couldn’t Eric be here now?

  Mackenzie wrapped her arms around herself. It was like being eighteen again, having her whole life end because she’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The sound of gunshots from the car had frozen her. Again. She rubbed a hand on her collar, over the place the bullets had entered. She wanted the comfort of a hug, but she’d already gushed over Aaron enough when she’d thought he was Eric.

  He’d acted quickly, saving her life. Another “she’d have been dead, if not for...” to add to the long list already in her WITSEC file. But she had to keep her distance, because not only was he a stranger to her, but he didn’t seem like the kind of man who appreciated a woman who couldn’t stand on her own two feet.

  “Are you okay?”

  Mackenzie tried to smile. “Sure, I’m fine.” It wasn’t as if her whole life might be over or anything. “It’s just late and it’s been a really long day. I didn’t need this drama with you on top of it.” She looked at the front window. “I hope that man’s going to be okay.”

  He moved close to her side, and then he said, “Me, too. So, listen, if you’re going to be fine, then I’m going to head out—”

  She whipped around to look at him.

  “I’ll talk to Eric, and when the police have what they need, they’ll probably let you leave.”

  She was supposed to just go home? Mackenzie swallowed. “Uh, sure. That’s fine, I guess. You need to get to the hospital anyway, right?” There was blood all down his sleeve.

  He nodded. “Right.”

  But he didn’t leave. Mackenzie’s cheeks burned under his stare, so she lifted her chin and stared right back. “
You said you and Eric are twins?”

  He nodded.

  “Uh...that’s nice.” Probably identical twins—they looked similar enough that she’d mistaken Aaron for Eric. But now that she looked closely, she could see slight differences in the nose, where Aaron’s looked as if it had been broken. Her cheeks heated. “I thought you were leaving.”

  “So did I.” His lips curled up, his eyes on her. “And yet I don’t seem to have gone yet.”

  He might think this was amusing, but Mackenzie did not. He was nice enough looking—okay, so he was downright gorgeous—but that didn’t mean she wanted him to stare at her. He might get the idea that she actually wanted a relationship.

  His phone rang.

  * * *

  Aaron reached for his back pocket and hissed. Ouch. His medical leave was only supposed to be two weeks, but given how hard he’d hit the sidewalk and rolled, he guessed the recovery was going to be longer.

  He stepped away from Mackenzie. “Hanning.” The background noise was a steady rush of people and movement.

  “You called?” Eric’s breathing was labored. Was he in a hurry?

  Aaron perched on a circular table in the corner. “So...you work witness protection, huh?”

  There was a short pause. A door shut and Eric said, “Who told you that?”

  “Met a friend of yours tonight. Mackenzie Winters. She thought I was you, but that was after she and I nearly got shot in a drive-by.” Aaron rubbed his eyes with his free hand. It was a shame his coffee had spilled all over the sidewalk.

  “I got her voice mail, but it didn’t say anything about a shooting. I take it you saved her?”

  “A gun went off. After I reached for the weapon I wasn’t carrying, I just moved us. It was a reflex, nothing more.”

  What was it with everyone assuming he was some kind of hero? He still hadn’t told Eric he was on medical leave or why he’d instinctively fled from anything army related.

  Reconnecting with his brother was long overdue, there was no doubt about that. But the real reason he’d come to Phoenix to see Eric was more about what he was going to face when he returned to work. About the fact his teammates wouldn’t even let him see Franklin. They’d expected him to apologize before he left, but how did you say sorry when you’d blinded someone? It just wasn’t good enough. “I’m not a hero.”

  Eric sighed. “I’m boarding another flight right now, I’ll be back ASAP. Can you stay with Mackenzie?”

  “Why? She’s fine. The cops are taking care of her. I didn’t think this had anything to do with her being in witness protection. She said something to the cop about the center where she worked.”

  “The likelihood is that it isn’t connected with her being in WITSEC. But I’d still like someone watching out for her until I can get there to assess the situation.” Eric sighed. “Please do this, Aaron. I really need your help.”

  Eric wanted him to stick around with Mackenzie longer, when his last failure had cost someone their sight—and their future? “I’m not your guy for this one. Don’t you have resources? Surely there’s a plan when things like this happen.”

  “Of course there is, but that was before I spent two days in D.C. trying to get to the bottom of a potential leak in my office.”

  “No offense, but I’m on leave with an injury. This doesn’t really concern me.”

  “You saved her. She’ll trust you, and she needs someone to keep her safe until I can find out if this is related to her past. And find the traitor in my office.”

  Aaron blew out a breath. “You think a U.S. marshal is responsible?”

  “All I have is supposition right now. We can’t rule anyone out until the FBI determines who caused the leak of a number of files. It could have come from inside or outside of the office—at this point we still have no idea. We had the FBI warn the witnesses whose names were leaked, and those with active threats have been moved.”

  “So why was Mackenzie still in Phoenix?”

  “Her file was not one of the ones that were leaked.”

  “So the shooting is unrelated.”

  Eric’s footsteps stopped. “We still have to keep your involvement in this under wraps. If Mackenzie is being targeted for anything, then she should be kept safe. The leak could be a diversion. I can’t go through normal channels because everything is balanced on the edge right now. I can’t disrupt anything or the FBI case unravels. If there’s a mole, whoever it is will bury themselves so deep we’ll never find them.”

  Aaron got to his feet, his eyes on Mackenzie. He might not be a true hero, but there was no way he was going to leave a woman unprotected if he could help it. “What do you want me to do?”

  “You’ll help?”

  “I’m not going to leave you hanging.” Maybe this was the chance he’d wanted to connect with his brother. If the cost was reopening the wound in his shoulder, Aaron would gladly pay it. Eric was all the family he had, and at least his brother didn’t think he was a failure like his team did. They wouldn’t even let him in Franklin’s hospital room. “What do I do with her?”

  “Keep an eye on her until I get this whole situation figured out. The FBI thinks it should only take a couple of days to track the source of the virus that copied the files. Have Mackenzie stick to her normal routine, but keep your eye out. The cops will do their own investigation to find out if there’s a threat against Mackenzie, and I’ll be there tomorrow.”

  Mackenzie turned. Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed at whatever was on his face. So she wasn’t used to direct attention. And why not? She was a pleasant-looking woman; she just downplayed her looks, unlike pretty much every woman Aaron had ever dated.

  He hung up and crossed the room to her. “Eric asked me to keep an eye out for you. In case someone is after you, I can make sure you’re safe.”

  “So you believe me?”

  Aaron shrugged his good shoulder. “Does it matter? Someone may or may not be trying to harm you, and in the meantime I’m going to make sure they don’t succeed. The truth will come out in time.”

  “Oh.” She glanced around the café.

  Aaron took gentle hold of her elbow. She was the protectee now, and he would maintain a professional distance.

  “Let’s walk to my truck.” His shoulder needed looking at, but he’d have to find supplies somewhere. He did have extra gauze and bandages in his hotel room, plus no one would know she was there.

  He looked around the parking lot as they walked but didn’t spot anything suspicious. Eric wanted her safe, and the best option for that was a hotel he already knew was secure. But that was probably the last thing Mackenzie wanted.

  “We can stay at your house.”

  Her eyes widened. “I don’t have a guest room.”

  “I’ll sleep in the truck.”

  “You can’t do that. You’re injured.”

  “I’ve slept in worse places. Believe me.” Aaron got the feeling he was going to have to do a lot of reassuring with this woman.

  When she’d settled herself into the passenger seat of his truck, Aaron turned to her. “Okay, here’s the deal. You do exactly as I say and you don’t ask questions. If something happens, we’re not going to stop in order for me to explain it to you, we’re just going to run.”

  THREE

  By the next morning, Mackenzie had almost managed to forget that someone tried to kill her the night before. But when Eric walked into the Downtown Performing Arts Center, it all flooded back.

  Aaron was around somewhere, supposedly protecting her, although she hadn’t seen much of him. She hadn’t told him anything the night before, but she had convinced him to stop by the E.R. and get stitched up. Mackenzie had driven back to her house and in the end she’d convinced him to spend the night on the couch instead of in his truck. He’d said it was
so he could see her front door, but she’d seen the pain in his eyes. Especially considering he’d refused a prescription for pain pills.

  “Who is that?”

  Mackenzie turned to Eva, who taught classes at the center while Mackenzie ran the office. They were standing at the entrance to the hallway that led to the classrooms. “An old friend of mine.”

  “What kind of old friend?” Eva grinned. Mackenzie blinked. She hadn’t even thought of Eric in those terms before. She supposed he was handsome enough, though Aaron was the better-looking brother. Both of them could be movie stars. The idea that either one would ever look twice at someone like Mackenzie was laughable. “Thank you, Eva. I needed that.”

  Eva blinked. “What did I do?”

  “You reminded me that life isn’t all doom and gloom.” Mackenzie wrapped her arm around Eva’s shoulders. “And that the best things don’t ever change.”

  “You’re welcome. I think.” Eva stepped back from their huddle, smiling. “I should get to my next class. The natives will be getting restless.”

  Mackenzie nodded.

  “Are we still on for dinner later?”

  “Absolutely.” Mackenzie smiled, excited to have been invited. Which was good, since anticipation covered the feeling of being a complete ninny because she was all worked up over one dinner. Eva probably went out with her friends all the time while Mackenzie couldn’t remember the last time she got invited to hang with someone. Plus it had the added benefit of taking her mind off the fact that someone had shot at her and she now had a permanent shadow in the form of Sergeant Aaron Hanning, U.S. Army.

  Eva was one of their best teachers, able to easily relate to the street kids who populated the center. Her application two months ago, after the previous teacher had suddenly quit, turned out to be a blessing Mackenzie never expected.

  Mackenzie studied her WITSEC handler as he approached; his suit was still crisp though it was after lunch. But the look on his face said he was about to apologize for something.