A Stranger Is Watching

by Linda Randall Wisdom

  Jenna shook her head. She looked confused by what he was telling her.

  “Why would I have to hide? I’ll tell the authorities what I told you. They’ll be put in jail, and it will be all over.”

  Riley wanted to reassure her that everything would be all right. He wanted her to know he would protect her all the way. Except he’d known, from the moment he’d made that phone call, it had been taken out of his hands. There was no way the department would allow him to stay with her, even though he was a U.S. Marshal. Because of their personal involvement, he wouldn’t be considered to be any good as a bodyguard. His brain understood the rules, but his body refused to listen.

  She was his! He didn’t give a damn if the statement was chauvinistic. All he cared about was Jenna. Jenna with the wide navy eyes, and hair, which, when she didn’t tie it up, tumbled in loose curls down to her shoulders. Jenna, whose laughter was the song of angels.

  Fanciful thoughts weren’t a part of his makeup, but the phrase seemed right when he thought of her now.

  He should have seen the fear written on her face the moment she’d stepped into the apartment. Instead, like an insensitive bastard, he’d hit her with the accusation about the pregnancy test because he hadn’t wanted to believe in that possibility.

  The idea of her being pregnant hit him square in the gut and practically drove him to his knees. Riley remembered a case that had haunted his sleep for many months in which an escaped killer had viciously murdered a pregnant woman. He’d never forgotten the husband’s anguish. And he’d vowed he would never put himself or Jenna in that situation. There was always the fear that one of the killers he’d arrested in one of his former cases would return for vengeance and take it out on those he loved. He’d seen it happen to others. He wouldn’t allow it to happen to him or allow Jenna to become a statistic. So why did he feel so empty when she told him the test was negative?

  Now it was up to him to do what he could until someone arrived. If what she said turned out to be true, there would be some happy cops wrapping up more than a few cases. And Grieco’s attorneys would be earning their fees in court.

  But what about Jenna? What would all of this do to her? She was always so open, so happy. He could only pray what was about to happen wouldn’t change what she was now. Could she withstand all the tension and pressure that would be in store for her? He felt she could, but that didn’t mean he would allow her to go through it alone.

  One thing he did know, he wasn’t going to abandon her. If he had to break a few rules, so be it, but he wasn’t going to allow her to go on without him.

  He walked over and crouched down in front of her. “The men you overheard tonight are killers, Jen,” he said softly, taking her hands in his. Finding them cold to the touch, he rubbed them briskly between his own. “Grieco is a killer. He has a good operation going and he won’t want anyone screwing it up. Especially a waitress with good hearing. We can’t take any chances.”

  Jenna stared at Riley. She realized the man she was seeing just now wasn’t the man who made such glorious love to her or the man who ran with her on the beach at dawn. She didn’t see the laughing lover who’d once showered her with gold-foil-covered chocolate coins and told her she was the end of his rainbow.

  The man she was looking at was U.S. Marshal Riley Cooper. Stern, cold features that could have belonged to a man, who, more than a century ago, would have tracked down thieves escaping on the backs of horses instead of in cars. This was a man whose world revolved around the law and everything it stood for.

  Like it or not, she was now going to enter that world.

  She sensed her life would never be the same again.

  Chapter 1

  Three Years Later in Kansas City

  When Faith arrived home after her evening run, she had no idea of the serious consequences that awaited her.

  All she cared about was enjoying her favorite time of day. She had enjoyed being outside in the park just before sunset, when the sky was a brilliant collage of pinks, oranges, blues and lavenders and the heat of the day was just starting to dissipate.

  After coming home from work, she’d changed into shorts and a tank top and headed out for a well-earned run, as she did every night. She felt that as long as she ran she could forget everything that haunted her nights. She could forget the unwelcome changes that had disrupted her life.

  While she ran she told herself to just concentrate on putting one foot down after the other, that all she had to do was run long enough to become so tired she could sleep that night without dreaming.

  Faith always ran the course mapped out for dedicated joggers. She never bothered to look at any of the other runners who were on the track at the same time. All she cared about was tiring herself out. By the time she finished her six miles, she would be aching and ready to return home and fix herself some dinner.

  Tonight, she’d stopped at the grocery store for a bottle of water and had taken her time walking home as part of her cooldown. By the time she unlocked her front door, she was ready to prepare her dinner. She stepped inside her house and had barely closed the door behind her when she felt an arm grab her around the neck, pulling her tightly against a rockhard body. A powerful hand had covered her mouth so swiftly she’d no chance to take a breath much less scream.

  “Hey, there, Jenna.” The smell of beer had her gagging with revulsion as thick lips caressed her skin. “Guess you thought you were pretty smart, huh? That they had you well hidden away. Guess what? We’re smarter.”

  She couldn’t stop the hot tears that dripped onto the back of her attacker’s hand. It had been some time since she’d felt this kind of fear racing through her veins.

  But this time was much worse. This time she knew no one would come in at the right time to save her. She knew that tonight she faced her death.

  Two days later on the Kauai Coastline

  “Talk about retiring in style, ole buddy. Who do you have to kill to get digs like this?”

  Riley walked out of the surf with a surfboard under one arm. Rusty brown hair hung down in wet, dripping tangles to his deeply tanned shoulders. His mouth twisted with a wry smile as he faced his onetime partner who stood at the edge of the beach.

  “What are you doing here, Gaines?” He stuck the end of the surfboard into the sand.

  Dave Gaines grimaced as grains of sand found their way into his highly polished black leather loaf ers as he crossed the wide expanse of beach.

  “I thought I’d fly over and see how the other half lives.” He waved his hand to encompass the sprawling house behind him. “Not too shabby a beach shack, partner. I would have rung the doorbell, but hell, you don’t have one. For all I know you probably don’t even have electricity. I already know you don’t have a phone.”

  “Since I don’t want company, I didn’t see any use in having one.” Riley pushed his hair away from his face. “Pretty formally dressed for a casual visit,” he nodded to indicate his ex-partner’s suit that was rapidly wilting under the Pacific sun. “Why don’t you cut the bull and tell me why you’re here,” he said, indicating the manila envelope Dave held in one hand. “Neither one of us was much for small talk.”

  Dave shook his head. “Can’t blame a guy for trying. We need your help, Riley. One of your witnesses received a very unwelcome visitor a few days ago.”

  Riley laughed. “What do you want, sympathy? I’m out of that, remember? Benedict accepted my letter of resignation. It’s great being retired. I have a nice monthly pension, and I can surf anytime I want to. You’re a smart guy, Dave. I have faith in you to take care of any problems that crop up. Hell, just tell Benedict to use whoever took my place. I’m too happy being a surf burn.”

  Dave looked at his friend’s barely there swim briefs with something akin to envy.

  “Hey, I hear you, buddy, but this one’s important.” His grin dimmed. “Grieco’s thugs tracked down Jenna.”

  Riley froze at the name that invaded his dreams whenever the nights becam
e too long and lonely. Nights when a bottle of scotch wouldn’t do the trick.

  He swallowed hard as he thought of Grieco’s men and what they could do to a person.

  “They tracked her down? Is she—” He couldn’t voice the words.

  Dave shook his head. “She was lucky, but only because a neighbor heard her screams and called the cops.” He opened the manila envelope and pulled out several photographs, which he held out to Riley.

  Riley hesitated before taking them out of Dave’s hands. The color photographs were a graphic testament of what violence could do to a woman.

  He could see the pain in her shimmering navy blue eyes. Dark bruises dotted her cheekbones and one eye was swollen. Blood had crusted over on a split lip, and a nasty cut bisected one brow and another marred her chin. Her coffee-colored hair lay in tangled clumps around shoulders marred with more bruises. The other photos showed further bruising and cuts on her body. She stood there looking like a lost child who had just visited hell. He saw only bare traces of the Jenna he remembered. She hadn’t changed her hair color or length during the past three years. But she didn’t look the same to the man who knew her so well.

  He swore darkly as he studied each photo that showed a woman physically and emotionally devastated.

  “Was she raped?” he asked in a raw voice as he returned to the first photo. He didn’t want to think of any further indignities that could have been done to her. He knew only too well how harsh a man could be to a defenseless woman. If she’d been touched that way, he swore he would kill the man...slowly.

  Dave shook his head. “I don’t think rape was his game. The suspect tore her clothing and played some nasty head games with her. He wanted her terrified of him the entire time. He did such a good job she’s still terrified. He escaped and now she’s afraid he’ll come back to finish the job.”

  Riley couldn’t take his eyes off the wounded face and eyes that showed the terror Dave was talking about. He could feel raw anger burning in his gut.

  “What about her hands?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Her hands?”

  “Her hands! Dammit, did he hurt her hands!”

  Dave was taken aback by the violence brewing within Riley. He should have been used to it. He and Riley had worked together for twelve years before Riley got out. He knew just what Riley and Jenna had been to each other before their world blew up in their faces. He knew why they were apart and how much their separation had initially affected Riley. He should have realized that just because three years had passed it didn’t mean Riley was over her.

  “He broke her right forefinger and middle finger.” He sounded reluctant, as though he anticipated how Riley would take the news.

  Riley sorted through the photos again as the other man kept on talking.

  “The cops called an ambulance once they saw her. One of them found our card in her purse and called our office from the hospital. Someone went down to talk to her, but she refused to tell him anything. She said she wanted you. When she was told you were no longer with the Marshal’s Service, she got pretty hysterical. They called me in, and I flew out there immediately. She didn’t want to see me, either.” Dave took a deep breath. “The doctor finally had to give her a sedative. We need you, buddy. We need you bad. Even more important, Jenna needs you.”

  I always thought U.S. Marshals rode in on big horses and cleaned up the rowdy cow towns. I’d like to paint you that way one day, Riley.

  Riley closed his eyes, but it didn’t stop the voice he could hear deep inside his brain. A voice that was soft and musical, with the faintest hint of a Southern accent. He used to listen to her and think of rolling green lawns and gentlewomen walking in their pastel-colored crinolines and carrying parasols to protect their magnolia skin from the sun.

  Except she hadn’t wanted him when life had taken a turn for the worst. Although he’d wanted to be there for her, she had rejected him.

  “I’m out of it, Dave,” he said finally. “If she needs someone, get Marcia. They got pretty close while we were...while we knew each other,” he spoke haltingly.

  He wondered if Jenna would have become involved with him if she’d known she would lose her ability to create art that was so good the world was meant to see it. By all rights he should have driven her home that first night and not sought her again. But then he would have lost out on something that was so perfect that the light had gone out of his world the night she’d overheard Grieco’s men and he’d known a change was inevitable.

  In the end, she’d had no choice but to go into the Witness Relocation Program, which meant she had to leave all facets of her former life behind. Except Riley hadn’t meant for her to leave him behind. From the moment he knew she would be entering the Program, he started making arrangements to do the same. Superiors were unhappy with his decision, but he didn’t care. He just knew Jenna wasn’t going alone. What he hadn’t planned on was her not wanting him with her.

  He felt the pain every day after a marshal escorted her out of state. Within a short amount of time she had a new identity and was settled into a new life. Riley had no idea where she was. He’d been barred from learning, and the frustration of not knowing only made matters worse for him. Jenna might have been out of sight, but she was never out of mind. His work wasn’t enough for him no matter how hard he threw himself into it In the end he’d handed in his resignation and left with the intention of turning into a true beach burn. He’d done a pretty good job of it, too.

  Dave looked stunned by his announcement. “You can’t do that to her. She’s alone, Riley, and she’s asking for you.”

  “You, of all people, know I can’t go back.”

  “They found her without you, Riley. Which means someone with a very good sniper scope could still show up. You can’t put her in any more danger than she already is by going up there.”

  All Dave got for his speech was stony silence. Riley started to turn away. Dave grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around.

  “Damn you, Riley! Do you know what I found when I flew out there? I found a woman who was so scared she couldn’t stop crying. And then she kept apologizing for crying. That bastard terrorized the hell out of her. He left her feeling so afraid she can’t sleep unless the lights are on. She refused to be examined until I was called. And then I had to promise I’d be there as soon as I could. She just about lost it in there.”

  Riley’s jaw was clenched tightly to keep him from roaring with anger. Jenna looked delicate, but he’d always felt she was like the willow tree and could bend in the face of adversity. He’d always thought she was safe. She had a new life, maybe even a new love. Maybe even a family. She sure didn’t want him in her life, so why would she ask for him now?

  “Why don’t you call her boyfriend?”

  Dave shook his head. He didn’t bother to mask his disgust. “Come on, Riley. Did you honestly think she would want a man in her life? She loved you, man.”

  Riley didn’t want to think about it. “How is the case being handled?”

  “The local cops are putting it down to her surprising a burglar. Instead of knocking her out and taking what he could, he settled for playing some pretty nasty games with her. There were no fingerprints, and he wore a ski mask, so she couldn’t see his face.”

  Riley took a deep breath and looked off to the pounding surf behind him. The waves had been perfect that afternoon. He had been able to go out there on his board and ride them with no other intention than to see how long it would take for him to spill. This was the life he had made for himself. He told himself he wanted nothing more than the surf and an occasional evening with a willing woman. The first was easy. The second wasn’t. Not when he saw Jenna’s face everywhere he went.

  “Where is she now?” he asked finally.

  “Kansas City.”

  I’ve always hated the cold. I like to live where there’s water and lots of sun.

  “Couldn’t get her much farther from the beach, could you?” Riley muttered. “Oh
, hell.” He crushed the photographs in his hand. He stared at his friend and held out his arm, pointing at him as he made his demands. “I’m an outside consultant. I do it all my way, and I don’t come cheap.”

  “You know I can’t promise anything like that!” Dave argued.

  “Benedict will go along with it and you know it. That’s the only way I come on board. I have to be in complete charge. If I take her, only I will know where she is. The only person I will contact is you. If I set her up in a new life, only I will know about it. And I’m going to change her appearance, which should have been done three years ago. Somebody sure screwed up. This way we know it won’t happen again.”

  Dave exhaled the deep breath he had been holding. “All right, but Benedict won’t be happy.”

  “Ask me if I care.” Riley hefted his surfboard back under his arm and started up to the house. “Have a beer while I shower and change?”

  Dave settled for slipping off his loafers and socks before following.

  “No wonder life has been so quiet,” he shouted at Riley’s back. “I didn’t have to work with a son of a bitch like you.”

  “Yeah, well, that SOB is back,” he said wryly.

  Twelve hours later Riley stared at the nondescript house in the quiet neighborhood.

  “We told her she couldn’t go back to her apartment,” Dave explained as the two men climbed out of the car. “I handpicked the men who are with her now.”

  Riley thought of the automatic nestled against his spine, artfully hidden by the pine green polo shirt that hung over his jeans. He might be back in action, but he refused to wear a suit or cut his hair. It hung loose around his shoulders.

  At the door Dave identified himself to the marshal, and the two men stepped inside. Riley stared grimly at the man seated on a couch. An open pizza box sat on the coffee table and a baseball game played on the television.