Protected Secrets

by Heather Woodhaven

  He found it hard to believe that the deputy was better than he was at relaxing. “I don’t watch anything on TV unless you count half watching various preschool programs.”

  Her mouth stretched wide to reveal a dazzling smile that lit up her entire face. “If you had said Pixar movies, I would’ve let it slide, but I’m afraid preschool programming doesn’t count.”

  He couldn’t help but match her grin. “Hey, some of those have pretty good plots. What do you watch?”

  She grew quiet. “Well, I haven’t had a chance lately, but I’m sure there are some good shows out there.”

  He’d called it. She was like him—a workaholic. Though he hadn’t always been that way. There was a time, not too long ago, when he’d enjoyed lounging. He used to place value on daydreams, personal goals, aspirations and even wish lists. Now his life revolved around work and his responsibilities to Winnie. Not that those things didn’t bring him joy, but—

  “Are you going to wake her to put on her pajamas?” Delaney continued to stare at Winnie, tilting her head in curiosity. Her voice had a soft, soothing timbre to it.

  “No. Though I’ll set them out in case she wakes in the middle of the night demanding them.” He kneaded the stiff muscles on the side of his neck. Impending tension knots and pain could be avoided with a good run, but even if they let him use the hotel gym, he wouldn’t leave Winnie in the room. “By the way, I’m not going anywhere without her from now on. The Marshals can stay with her at the courthouse as easily as they could at some safe house.”

  Her smile disappeared. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  “For one, I’m the one in charge of staying with you, and I don’t do kids.” She pulled her shoulders back and the hardness returned, shrouding her features.

  “Sure you do. Winnie likes you.”

  Her left eyebrow lifted, but she didn’t engage. “If we can figure out how they found us in the first place and protect against it happening in the future, you’ll have no reason to worry anymore. The only electronic device we found in the safe house was the video baby monitor that you brought.” Delaney pulled out a chair and sat at the table.

  “You’re not implying the hackers used the monitor to—”

  “I’m only presenting the facts.”

  He didn’t like that insinuation. “That’s a one-to-one communication device. It can’t be hacked to find our location.”

  “Our tech guy agrees with you on that point. But if they had tracked our location already, they could’ve hacked the monitor to eavesdrop, watch to see when we left and get a jump on the two marshals we had stationed with Winnie.” Her eyes widened. “Looks like someone is up.”

  Winnie bounced on the giant bed behind Bruce and flopped down spread-eagled on the mattress. Then she jumped up to do it all over again. Bruce groaned. Now that she was this hyped-up, it would take hours to get her back to sleep again. Her giggles made it hard to mind too much, though. His little girl didn’t have a care in the world, the way it should be. He, however, wouldn’t be able to rest until he knew how the criminal organization tracked them down in the first place.

  Delaney bit her lip and jotted something down on the hotel notepad. “Has Harvey Jeppsen been your personal lawyer for quite some time?”

  Bruce tried to see what she’d written, but she was still writing. “He’s the company lawyer,” he answered. “I suppose we’ve been connected for the past five years, but it’s not really common knowledge.”

  Her face fell, almost as if she was disappointed. “So, he hasn’t been your personal lawyer up until now?” she asked.

  “No, not really. He’s been an advisor occasionally but he’s never billed me for questions I’ve asked him on personal matters.” The only things he’d needed a lawyer for had been Winnie’s adoption and his divorce. Harvey had referred him to a different lawyer for the adoption, and the divorce had been handled without lawyers since Shannon didn’t ask for anything. She’d just wanted out of the marriage...and motherhood. “Why is it important? Are you suggesting the hackers bugged Harvey’s phone and traced outgoing calls?”

  “I don’t know. I’m examining all the possibilities.”

  If his lawyer proved to be the weak link in security, he could remedy that. “I’m happy to tell Harvey to stay out of this. I don’t even need a lawyer. It only seemed wise to have one in the first place because the murder and malware attempt happened on my company’s property and—”

  “Bruce,” she said softly. “It’s not necessary to waive any rights. We’ve added more safeguards. I’ve already been given a new phone and a new number. Your lawyer has agreed to being paged at the last minute. The Marshals will transport him to your trial interview. Making it last-minute will hopefully decrease the risk of any further attempts.”

  “What about Nancy?” He berated himself for not having thought of her sooner.

  “Nancy,” Winnie shouted, looking around the room.

  “No, honey, she’s not here,” Delaney said. She leaned back in her chair and looked surprised at herself. Apparently, the term of endearment had just slipped out. Bruce couldn’t help the smile on his face either. She might try to act hard and professional, but no one could resist liking his sweet Winnie. Not even someone who feigned disliking kids.

  Her side glance had to have seen his smile, but she ignored it. “Mrs. King is safe.”

  “Has she had—” he searched for a word that wouldn’t scare his daughter “—incidents like ours?”

  “Her pretrial was scheduled after ours so we don’t know if her location had been compromised. She’s been moved to another safe house as a precaution, but other than that, it’s been quiet.”

  A small knock at the hotel door sounded. Delaney stood in one smooth motion, her hand at the small of her back. “No reason for concern,” she said, but she kept her eyes on the door. “Please make sure Winnie doesn’t follow me, though.”

  * * *

  Delaney stepped to the door’s peephole and found an officer she knew from her days on the force waiting in the hallway. She exhaled and turned back to Bruce. “Excuse me a moment.”

  Delaney stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

  “It really is you,” the police officer said. “Been a long time. Good to see you’re doing well, kiddo.”

  Delaney bit back a retort and focused on trying to remember his name. “Fred,” she said. “Good to see you, too.” The Ames Police Department had agreed to help the Marshals by loaning their SWAT team until more deputies could be sent to the area.

  “The feds want a word with you,” he said. “We took their badge numbers and ran their identifications through the computer. They’re really FBI. It all checked out.” He gestured at two men in suits who were walking down the hallway in her direction.

  “You’re sure their IDs are legit?”

  “Even their photos.”

  But the FBI shouldn’t be anywhere near her witness while he was in protective custody. Knowledge of his location was meant to be as limited as possible. She found it hard to believe that the Marshals and US Attorney’s Office would blatantly disregard protocol without first informing her. “How about you stay here while I chat with them?” She gave the approaching agents a smile and nod as they quickly closed the distance. “Deputy Marshal Patton. How can I help you?” She didn’t offer a handshake but kept her hands on her hips, so she could grab her weapon fast, if needed.

  The first suit gestured at the door behind her. “That Mr. Walker’s room?”

  “No, it’s mine,” she answered and hoped Fred didn’t reveal her falsehood. The rooms to either side of Bruce and Winnie were reserved for the Marshals. At night, Delaney would take the room directly across the hall. “Mind telling me how you two came to find us here?”

  “Word from on high,” the agent on the righ
t answered. “We need to talk to Mr. Walker immediately. We’re investigating a related crime.”

  Witnesses were sometimes interviewed by different departments for related crimes, but any FBI agent worth their salt would’ve known to fill out such a request with the US Attorney’s Office first.

  So either both of the agents in front of her were poorly trained newbies, or they weren’t agents at all. “Word from on high” was about as vague an answer as she’d ever heard.

  She smiled sweetly. “What case are you working on?” she asked.

  The first agent seemed surprised by her friendliness before exchanging a glance with his partner. She used the opportunity to calculate how many weapons they each carried. The guy on the left side had at least two guns, judging by his gait when he’d walked down the hallway, but the guy on her right only had one that she noticed.

  Her first order of business would be to lead them away from Bruce’s room. All other hotel occupants had been moved to a different floor, and thankfully, since there were no sports events happening throughout the weekend to book up the rooms, they had been able to clear the entire east wing on the main floor. If she managed to escort the agents farther down the hallway, the SWAT team members would be more readily available to assist.

  The second man narrowed his gaze on Delaney. “It’s confidential. Can we speak to Mr. Walker now?”

  “Of course,” she said, practically cooing. “You’ll just need to check your weapons in with the officer here, and I’ll take you right to him.” She gestured at Fred, whose stern frown conveyed his confusion, but he made the slightest adjustment of hand placement, which she knew from experience meant his index finger had unlocked his holster.

  She turned back to the agents and gave them a nonchalant wave. “But I’m sure I didn’t need to tell you that. Procedure, of course.”

  The first “agent” pulled out his gun so fast Delaney only managed to grab the handle of hers in the holster. His partner had a gun pointed at her, as well. Delaney prayed that Fred had managed to draw his own gun or she was out of options.

  * * *

  Bruce’s hands pressed against the door on either side of the peephole. Despite the warped fish-eye view, he could see two guns were pointed at Delaney. He shoved himself backward, ran to the unlocked connecting door and barged in without knocking. A new deputy marshal—he’d yet to learn the name—sat at a round table, cleaning weapons. The man’s hands froze at the sight of Bruce, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Two men have guns aimed at Delaney and another police officer in the hallway, right in front of my door.”

  The marshal muttered some words that Bruce hoped his daughter hadn’t heard, but the deputy’s weapons were loaded and ready in three seconds flat.

  “You probably don’t want to startle them,” Bruce added, one foot already back inside of his room.

  “Stay in there and let me do my job.” The man crept toward his own front door. Bruce darted to pick Winnie up off the bed. Giggles from their room would certainly raise the suspicions of the men with guns. “Honey, let’s play hide-and-seek.” He picked her up and whispered, “I’m going to hide you and then count to ten and find you. Be really quiet, okay?”

  Her smile lit up her entire face as she nodded rapidly. Bruce had heard tales of the terrible twos, but so far he loved that she could be redirected to something else in a heartbeat. She also didn’t care to understand the rules of hide-and-seek. He set her down on the floor of the closet. “Okay, you have to be super quiet and stay there. I’ll come find you soon.”

  Thankfully, his statement made perfect sense to Winnie. She pressed her tiny hands over her face, light laughter seeping out.

  Bruce searched the room for something, anything, to help Delaney. His eyes rested on a solitary piece of stationery next to the television set. Hotels often slipped bills underneath the doors in the morning. If something could be slipped under the doors, surely it could be slipped back out into the hall. He picked up the blank piece of paper and checked on the hallway situation through the peephole. Delaney’s voice carried through the door as she shouted at the men. “I suggest you put down your weapons and tell me what you’re really doing here.”

  His instinct was to fling the door open and slam his fists against the chins of the men who threatened her. He barely contained the impulse.

  The gunman closest to the door said, “Not happening.”

  If he could distract the gunmen for just a second, maybe the other deputy could help...

  He leaned over and shoved the piece of paper under the door and out into the hallway.

  Bruce hopped back up to peek out the door. The gunman closest to the door glanced down to see the paper. Delaney took a step closer to him. What was she thinking? Would Bruce’s attempt at creating a distraction get her hurt? He wasn’t sure he could watch Delaney get killed. His hand reached for the hotel door handle.

  FIVE

  Delaney didn’t care what the paper was that she’d stepped on. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Deputy Marshal Sanders had slipped out of the hotel room behind the fake agents with his gun firmly trained on the agent to her left, who held Fred at gunpoint. Deputy Sanders and Fred could team up and take that agent while she handled the one right in front of her.

  She locked eyes with the gunman, whose expression showed that he had realized his mistake in looking down at the paper. He snarled and lifted his gun to aim, but she slapped both of her hands around his extended arm.

  She flipped the gun out of his hand and into hers, a half-second maneuver she’d practiced hundreds, if not thousands, of times. She slammed the butt of the gun into the man’s stomach, grabbed his neck with her other hand and yanked it down as she pulled her knee up until it connected with his nose. He bellowed and grabbed his face.

  She took a step back to point the gun at him but another body plowed into her from the side. Her shoulder and head slammed into Bruce’s hotel door. The deafening ring of two gunshots served to further disorient her.

  “Stop!” Deputy Sanders aimed his weapon at something beyond her scope of vision and took a shot. Where were the gunmen?

  Delaney twisted against the weight pressing against her legs. Fred had collapsed against her. He groaned and held a hand over his heart. She dropped to her knee, using her body as a fulcrum to press him upright so she could get around him. “Are you hurt?”

  Despite his sweat-covered face, he shook his head. “Vest,” Fred whispered.

  The door that held their weight gave way and she fell backward into strong arms. Bruce’s face appeared over hers as he dragged her into the safety of the hotel room. Bruce would’ve made a wonderful fireman, judging by the ease with which he carried her. Having someone watch out for her well-being unleashed a longing for companionship she didn’t know she had, but she couldn’t reflect on it.

  “What are you doing?” She scrambled to her feet and shut the door behind her. “Someone could’ve seen you.”

  Bruce gestured toward the hallway. “I heard gunshots and you fell against the door. I thought you were hit.”

  “Daddy, find me,” Winnie’s voice, though muffled, called out. Just hearing the child’s voice drove the truth of the situation home.

  He was her protectee. A piece of evidence was to be in a vault, kept safe and free from any compromising influence so as not to be altered. She was to see to her witness in the same manner. “Take Winnie into the other room. Lock it up tight. Don’t open the door for anyone.”

  He nodded. As soon as Bruce and Winnie disappeared through the connecting door and the bolt clicked, she darted back into the hallway. On the ground to her right, the gunman that had squared off with Fred and Sanders was slumped on the floor at an odd angle. She scanned past the blood on his shirt to find his wide-open eyes devoid of life.

  Fred stood up but still had a hand to his chest.

 
; She tried to make sense of the scene in front of her. “The fake agent tried to shoot me and you jumped in front of the bullet while Sanders took him down. You saved my life.”

  Fred nodded but said nothing. The pounding in her head grew louder. Shouts from other officers down the hallway fought for her attention. Another gunshot in the distance sounded.

  The gun she’d removed from the first assailant had slipped from her fingers when Fred had barreled into her, and she didn’t take time to look for it. She twisted her torso and retrieved her own weapon. Were more gunmen coming?

  Deputy Sanders rounded the corner at the end of the hallway with his hands up. “There was another exit just past the vending machines. He got away.”

  “You’re telling me the man that I disarmed got away? How is that possible?” Frustration mounted. “I had him.”

  “You had him while his partner was about to blow you away,” Sanders snapped. “I shot the assailant while the officer took a bullet for you, and the second gunman slipped past me.”

  Delaney hung her head. Two fellow law enforcement officials had risked their lives to save hers. She didn’t need to express her aggravation that one of the men got away. They had to be feeling it, as well.

  “He won’t get far, though,” Sanders added. “I know I hit him as he ran. We’ll have all hospitals in a two-hundred-mile radius on standby.”

  The moment of adrenaline started to fade as fast as it had started. “Thank you,” she said to Sanders. “Thanks to both of you,” she added to Fred.

  “You’d have done the same for us.” Fred still held a hand over his vest.

  “They’ve got an ambulance coming to check on you,” Sanders said to Fred.

  Delaney put her hands over her face for a second. Unbelievable. Her first case acting as lead and not only did fake agents get through a police barricade, one got away. She couldn’t even use the one they did have as a witness, seeing as how he was dead and all.

  She probably shouldn’t open with that when she called in to headquarters.