Star Witness

by Lisa Phillips

  Aaron raced for the back door at the end of the hall, hoping and praying he wasn’t too late. Carosa must have gotten to her. Maybe she was just outside and he could reach her in time.

  He flew out the door and scanned the area with his weapon ready. Black earth and dark sky, lots of stars and a full moon meant good visibility. Once his eyes adjusted, he would be able to see as clear as if it were day. But she wasn’t here. It had been only minutes since she’d entered the bathroom, but Mackenzie was as good as long gone.

  Footsteps shuffled through the shrubs behind him, and before Aaron could turn and face his attacker, someone slammed into him. He hit the dirt with at least two hundred fifty pounds on top of him and the breath burst from his lungs. Aaron rolled, using the momentum to push the guy off so he could gain his feet.

  The guy looked ex-military but didn’t hold his stance like any of the Special Forces branches Aaron was aware of. More like a grunt who thought too highly of himself. Left-handed. He punched before the guy had straightened, catching him off guard. But not for long.

  The mercenary swung with the butt of his rifle. Aaron ducked and punched again. The exhilaration of a fair fight rushed through him, lighting his nerve endings. With the hyperawareness that came from intense combat, Aaron deflected and drove forward with the force of his strength and training and pinned the guy on the ground.

  “Where is she?”

  The mercenary didn’t answer. He labored for breath under the force of Aaron’s knee and shifted to get a grip, but Aaron was determined.

  “Where are you supposed to take her?”

  The guy looked up. His face morphed in to a sneer. “I have no idea. Payment upon delivery, you know how it goes.”

  “Unfortunately, I do.”

  Aaron released his grip and the guy slumped to the ground, wheezing. Sickness churned his stomach as he got up. This guy was nothing more than a thug for hire without an honorable bone in his body. And Mackenzie had willingly gone with them, most likely to her death.

  Who did that?

  Doug raced out the back door with Sabine right behind him. Blood trickled from a cut on his cheek.

  “You guys okay?”

  Sabine was out of breath. “We’re good. Where is she?”

  Aaron lifted his hands and let them fall back to his sides. “They got to her.”

  “What?”

  “I should have known.” He kicked at a rock on the ground with every bit of strength he could muster. “She climbed out the bathroom window and just gave herself up to them. I knew when she said thank-you that something was off. I knew it. I should have asked what was wrong, but there wasn’t any time and I wanted her to be quick.”

  How had she duped him so thoroughly? What made her get that idea in her head in the first place? He had no idea why someone would make that decision. There must have been something to trigger it, because it wouldn’t have come out of nowhere.

  Aaron’s hands curled into fists and he growled. The computer.

  “What is it?”

  Aaron ignored Doug’s question and raced inside, down the hall to the kitchen table. The computer’s screen was completely smashed, a hole in the middle where a bullet had torn through it. The answers to all of this might have been right there, and now there was no way to find out, to understand why Mackenzie had walked away.

  Why she’d left him.

  Aaron ran his hand down his face. For all his trying to be honest with her, wanting to share his feelings so that she knew where he stood, at the end of the day Mackenzie had chosen not to trust him. His heart ached, the feeling so foreign he wanted to rip the thing out of his chest just to be rid of the pain.

  He sank to the floor. The one woman in the world he wanted to understand him, and it was as if she didn’t even care. Why else would she have left him without saying anything?

  Doug crouched beside him. “Dude, talk to me.”

  “She didn’t trust me.”

  Sabine’s forehead crinkled. “I don’t think it was about a lack of trust.”

  “She said goodbye to me and I didn’t even realize.” Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose. “She thought she didn’t have anything else to live for, so she walked to her death like some kind of condemned prisoner. No fighting. Everything was over so she might as well give up. Who does that?”

  Sabine crouched on his other side. “Someone who’ll sacrifice themselves to save the person they love.”

  “We were fine. We’re all trained for this, and she knew that. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “To you.” Sabine squeezed his shoulder. “Because you knew we had the skills to survive. All Mackenzie knew was that men were coming for her—just her. We were surrounded. She acted, albeit unwisely. She should have shared what she was planning. But she probably didn’t because you’d never have allowed it.”

  Doug scoffed. “Of course he wouldn’t.”

  “Why? You both sacrifice every day, putting your lives on the line to make the world safer. Why shouldn’t Mackenzie do the same?” Sabine glanced between the two men as though what she said was the most obvious thing in the world.

  A smile curled Doug’s lips.

  Aaron squeezed his eyes shut. “She thought she was saving us.”

  “Seems like that to me.”

  He looked up at his friends. “So how do we save her?”

  * * *

  The more miles they drove, the more certain Mackenzie was of where they were going. In the early hours of the morning they pulled up outside the Downtown Performing Arts Center. The huge building looked ominous, lit by the glow of streetlamps that highlighted the boarded-up front windows. For years she’d loved coming here, knowing she was finally doing something good with her life.

  The idea of going inside made her want to scream and rage against the injustice of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time—and getting shot in the chest for it. Why couldn’t Carosa just leave her be?

  She flexed her hands. The tight, thin plastic of the tie her captors had used again cut into the skin of her wrists. The soldier walked around the car and opened her door from the outside, the only way it could be opened. She’d learned that the hard way from attempting to jump from the vehicle after he’d forced her into it.

  Being laughed at was not one of her favorite things.

  Mackenzie sat in the car until he reached in and hauled her out by the arm. She bit her lip, not giving him the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her. The street was deserted. It was as though every living being had run for cover. Marched into the building by the force of the large man’s will, she scanned every corner for help. Inside was just as desolate.

  The soldier shoved her, and she stumbled into the room. Carosa stood there, arms folded across the silk shirt he was wearing. A gold chain hung around his neck. Khaki pants and brown loafers completed an outfit that looked more like something a used car salesman would wear than the middle-aged son of a senile drug lord.

  Where was Eva? She’d assumed her former friend would be here, wanting her piece of Mackenzie, too. Or that Eva had been the one bringing Mackenzie to her uncle.

  His eyes fixed on her. They were so much like his brother’s dirt-colored ones that for a moment she was back in that hotel so many years ago. But she wasn’t going to back down.

  Carosa sneered. “Very good. Now we finish this.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  Mackenzie held her body tight against the trembles that stretched down to her toes. God, help me. This is so much worse than stage fright. Why did I think I could fight it? Except that this whole thing had come about because of her decision to sacrifice herself for Aaron and his friends.

  She hadn’t prayed once or asked God to help her do the right thing. So what right did she have to cry out to Him now? Mackenzie hung her he
ad. The weight of guilt bore down like a thousand pounds on her shoulders.

  “And my money?”

  She looked up, surprised to see the soldier still in the room.

  Carosa crossed to them. “I have one more job for you.” He handed the soldier two small packages. “Place these at opposite ends of the building. Ground level. And if I was you, I wouldn’t accidentally drop one.”

  “That’ll cost you double.”

  “Done.” Carosa motioned to the door with his chin. “The money will be wired to your account. Once you’ve placed the bombs, you may leave.”

  “Whatever, man. Just so long as I get paid.”

  Mackenzie watched him saunter out, and then turned back to Carosa.

  “Now the real fun begins,” he said.

  She backed up, but he grabbed hold of her bound hands and pulled her across the room. She wanted to kick and scream, but the strength had evaporated from her limbs. Her pulse pounded in her fingers. She was pushed to sitting and her brain spun, unable to latch on to a single thread of thought.

  Where was help? Who was going to come and save her? Did she even have the right to expect a rescue? She had to face the fact that it was possible no one would find her here. She needed the courage to fight, despite how bad the situation looked. She had to be strong if she was going to get herself out of this alive.

  “You won’t get away with this.”

  * * *

  “Thanks, Sabine. I owe you big-time for this.”

  Aaron ended the call and threw the phone in the cup holder. He raced through surface streets across the heart of Phoenix, already certain where Mackenzie was even before Sabine confirmed it for him.

  “What did she say?”

  He shot Doug a glance. “She hacked Eva’s email account. There’s a bunch of messages between her, Schweitzer and Carosa. Apparently she was playing them off against each other. In one of the emails, Carosa said he’s going to end things tonight at the place where it started. She said it reads like a suicide note.”

  “The place where it started—wouldn’t that be the hotel where Carosa’s brother killed Mackenzie’s manager and security guy?”

  Aaron shrugged. “That’s what I thought at first, but there’s no way he could get her to a hotel in New York if it’s all going down tonight.”

  Doug glanced out the window. “How far away are we?”

  “I’m driving as fast as I can.”

  “I’m just saying, there’s no time to lose.”

  “You think I don’t know that?”

  “Fine. It’s just, I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to worry about the woman you love until you finally see her. The relief when you do is about the best thing you can ever feel. Until then...not so fun.”

  “Oh, thanks. That’s helpful.” Aaron made a right turn so fast that Doug grabbed the dash to brace himself.

  “That’s me, Mr. Helpful.”

  Two minutes later they pulled onto the street that backed onto the center. Aaron cut between a law office and a restaurant and parked. They scaled a chain-link fence and sprinted forward. At the back door of the center, Doug gestured that he would lead and go right and that Aaron should go left.

  They crept inside, and Aaron searched the halls with his gun drawn. He passed Mackenzie’s office, dark now, and kept going to the end of the hall, where he came upon one of the mercenaries. He was crouched, doing something with a package.

  Aaron hit the man on the back of the head with the butt of his gun. The soldier slumped to the ground, leaving the package exposed. And beeping. Aaron set his gun down, pulled a pocket tool out and clipped one of the wires.

  Silence.

  He blew out a breath, grabbed his gun and sent Doug a text to watch out for bombs on the other side of the building. Faint voices drifted to him from a room—a man’s and Mackenzie’s. He had to get to her before he lost her forever. Aaron crept toward the door.

  * * *

  Mackenzie tried to sound confident while inside she was shaking. “Do you want to end up in jail like your brother?”

  “What if I do? What business is it of yours?”

  She stared at Carosa in shock. “But why? Are you going to go after the man who killed your brother in that prison riot?”

  “That scum was dead the day he laid a hand on my brother. My only lament is that it was not me who stuck him like a pig.” Carosa pulled a chair over and sat with his knees only inches from hers. “Now that you’ll be dead, too, I find I’ve lost interest in the chase. There is little left to live for, you see.”

  “You’re planning on dying with me.”

  “Clever girl.”

  “You don’t want to be with your niece?”

  His eyes flickered with something that actually looked like surprise. “My what?”

  “Eva. Your niece. She works for me. She’s the reason you found me.”

  “You lie. I have no relatives save my decrepit father. And this Eva you’re talking about is nothing but a stupid girl who shouldn’t have stuck her nose in something not her business just because she needed money. But I’ll deal with her, too.”

  “She’s your niece.”

  He shook his head. “Impossible.”

  “I’m telling you the truth.”

  “And I should believe you?”

  There was movement in the doorway, but when Mackenzie looked no one was there. Just wishful thinking that Aaron had found her when there was no possible way he could have. She would die here, at the whim of this psycho. Alone. Just like always.

  Unless she could buy some time.

  Mackenzie pushed aside the rush of cold. “I’d rather you didn’t kill me. I mean, who’s going to clean up the mess?”

  Carosa shifted in his chair. “I feel as if I should say a few words to mark this occasion. Since it will be the last either of us ever sees on this earth.”

  “How about I say something?”

  Mackenzie gasped. He was really here. Aaron had found her.

  Carosa shot up out of his chair, his gun pointed at Aaron. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to bear the sight of the man she loved being killed. A gun fired and someone fell, but it wasn’t Aaron. In front of her lay the gruesome sight of Carosa’s dead body, and beyond Aaron, at the door, stood a woman.

  Eva had shot Carosa.

  “Drop your gun.”

  Her former friend pointed a gun at his head. Aaron crouched and placed his weapon on the floor. He spun and his leg flew out, catching Eva behind her knees with a swipe. She yelped and fell backward, and her gun fired.

  Mackenzie screamed. The bullet hit the wall behind her head.

  Aaron grabbed the side of Eva’s neck, and Mackenzie took in deep breaths, not wanting to see Aaron kill someone she’d thought of as a friend, even if Eva had betrayed her. But Aaron held on to her until she was limp but still breathing, and he set her on the floor.

  Then he pulled Mackenzie to her feet and his breath came warm on her ear. “Mackenzie.” The sound of it was like the chiding of a small child. “Why did you leave like that? Didn’t I promise I would keep you safe?”

  A sob worked its way from her throat, followed by another until the tears flowed freely. Aaron cut the ties and freed her. He massaged her hands until blood circulated again and then wrapped his arms around her.

  “You came.”

  His chest rumbled with laughter. “You doubted me?”

  “I wouldn’t let myself believe it. I thought I didn’t deserve to be saved.”

  Aaron drew her away from him and touched his warm palm to her cheek. “You don’t ever have to doubt me. I’ll always be there for you.”

  Undeserved, just like God’s grace. She didn’t have to do anything to earn it. God would always love her no matter what
she did or the kind of person she was. She wanted to laugh now, thinking of the years she’d spent trying to prove she was worthy of His love.

  Here in front of her was all the proof she needed. Not because of the atonement she’d done, but for who she was. God had taken the bad and used it to make Mackenzie’s life into something beautiful.

  Aaron’s face dipped until his lips touched hers. It was just starting to get interesting when his phone rang.

  * * *

  “This had better be good, dude.” His smiled dropped. “You’re kidding me.” He hung up, already pulling her out of the room. “Doug couldn’t disarm the other bomb. We have to get out of here. It’s going to go off.”

  “Not so fast.”

  Aaron’s body froze. Mackenzie looked over his shoulder as he turned. Eva. She was up on her feet with her gun pointed at them again. “Neither of you is going to get out of here alive.”

  Aaron spun around. She’d been down. Out. How could he have been so careless as to assume Eva was no longer a threat? In his haste to get to Mackenzie, he’d made a rookie mistake. One they were all going to pay for.

  He straightened and stared down the barrel of Eva’s gun. “The whole building’s going to blow in a second. We have to get out of here or we’ll all be dead.”

  “You think I’m just going to let her walk away after what she did to my family? I’ve been waiting years to get back at her without it looking as if I did it! I didn’t hire gang bangers to kill you in a drive-by and then bring in mercenaries to abduct you only to have them double-cross me...” She dissolved into a rant. “All that work to look innocent and they go and ruin it. And I’m not leaving just because you say there’s a bomb. Nice try.” Eva’s lip curled. “I’m not about to leave the two of you—”

  A boom shook the building like an earthquake, gone in a flash. Eva’s confident facade slipped. The building creaked and shuddered. Mackenzie screamed as the room started to list to one side. Eva’s eyes darted around the room. Aaron seized the opportunity, rushing her when her focus was elsewhere, and grabbed for her gun a split second before her eyes came back to him.