Touch Me (9 page)

“I…” she swallowed. “Let me start at the beginning.”

“That would be good.”

“A few years ago, I was on my way home from work. It was really late, and I was still in college.”

She had to walk around. Otherwise, she would lose her courage.

“One wrong turn. It was really late and I had just finished my finals. I was so tired and I lost track of where I was going. I ended up in a bad part of town trying to find my way out. I stopped to look at my phone for a map and I heard this sound behind me. Nothing really loud like you think it would be. No, this was just a little popping sound.”

Comprehension moved over his features. “A gun with a silencer.”

She nodded. “I looked up and there was this man, just an ordinary man, who was coming toward me. In the alley right by where I parked, there was a man lying on the ground. By the time I reacted, the shooter was almost to my car so I got a good look at him. I got out of there as fast as I could.”

“And you testified.”

She nodded. “I couldn’t let him get away with it.”

“And that man went to jail?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t tried. My parents died thanks to this.”

“The wreck?”

“My father had a new car and the brakes went out on them. It wasn’t hard to do the math.”

“And so you went into protection.”

“Last night, after I got home, there was a call. Seems their system had been breached. There is a chance I will have to relocate.”

“What?”

“I just can’t deal with you and this right now. I have to get my life in order just in case. If you’re associated with me, then you’re going to end up being a target.”

He opened his mouth to argue but she shook her head. “No. I can’t do it. Please respect it.”

“It’s cowardly.”

The words struck her straight in the heart. “Maybe, but it’s the only way I know how to survive.”

She turned to walk towards the door, but he had one thing left to say. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.”

Hannah said nothing else. If she did, they would really fight and then she might give in. She had already told him too much as it was.  She hurried on her way to her house, hoping she would make it before he got it in his mind to come after her. Hell, she had left Hercules. Shaking her head, she decided to get him later.

When she opened the door, she barely paid attention, but then she realized the alarm had not sounded. That tell tale beep was missing. When she turned, she saw Agent Caulfield standing in the hallway.

Jack paced his living room, irritated with the turn of events. Witness protection. Of all the things he expected, this hadn’t been one of them. Who the hell expects something like that?

Hercules pawed at his leg. He stopped and looked down at the dog. She had left her dog with him.

“Did you know about this?”

Hercules cocked his head to the side as if he were really listening to him.

“Because, if you did and failed to tell me, you might just lose your status as wingman.”

He didn’t know much about witness protection, other than what he had seen in movies and on TV. They had made it look so glamorous, but he knew better. Just like with movies about the military, it was never as exciting as they appeared on screen. Life never was.

"But she didn't tell me."

Of course she didn't. This wasn't a secret you told someone you knew casually. He hoped that she would tell him later, as their relationship progressed.

"But now she thought she was going to move away, change her name? No fucking way."

Hercules rose to his feet as Jack stormed out of the room. If Hannah thought she was going to disappear on him, she just better change that way of thinking.

*  *  *  *

Hannah felt her heart beating in her throat. It as almost like that night she saw the murder, knew that look in a person's eyes. Agent Caulfield had come to kill her.

"Why are you here?"

He shrugged. "It all started simply enough. Do me a favor here, do me a favor there. Then, I was stuck."

"You've sworn to protect people."

"Yeah, well, I have a debt that I can't pay."

"Debt?" she said thinking if she kept him talking she could devise a way to get far away from this man.

"Yeah. See, I like Vegas. I lived there for a really long time and I liked playing the tables."

"But apparently you suck at it."

"Just a string of bad luck, that's all. But, one thing led to another...and I owe people big." He waved his gun. "And stop moving toward the call button. It won't work anyway, because I disarmed it and gave the code to the company. You have no way to call out."

*  *  *  *

Jack heard the man’s voice as soon as he reached the porch. Normally, he wouldn’t have noticed, but it was particularly quiet tonight. Plus, Hercules’ had growled. He shushed the dog and moved closer to the door.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, he peeked inside the kitchen window. He could see Hannah and his gut clenched with anger. Fear stamped her features. Someone was in there with her. He inched closer to the door, devising a plan that might work. He looked back at the dog he had considered a nemesis for months now and hoped Hercules understood the situation. If not, all three of them could end up dead. First, though, he would call the authorities. If it went bad, he knew at least the bastard would get arrested.

*  *  *  *

Dammit. She could make noise, but that might bring people who would get hurt in the process.

"So, you sold out people. People who trusted you."

He nodded. "It wasn't that hard to begin with. A little compromise here and a little compromise there. I never thought they would go for you, though."

"Why is that?"

He laughed. "Lord, you always were naive." He spat out the words. "He's dead. Walters has been dead for over two years."

She blinked. "What?"

"Walters, the gunman, he's been dead for two years. It wasn't that hard to have him killed. I know people on the inside. People who will do anything to get out."

"Why?"

"Don't you get it? You were no longer in danger at the time because Walters was going to sing. He was going to give out all the information he had about the Capanos and their organization."

"Then why am I still in hiding? Why didn't the agency tell me?"

"Because, you idiot, they thought you had run off. I told them you broke protocol."

Every revelation left her reeling. She had been so damned stupid. Of course, no one moved that much. "The last two times you moved me, it was because of that. You wanted me to disappear off the scope from the agency."

"Yeah. See, when you arrange the murder of a hit man, the agency frowns upon that. And I was just fine."

"What changed?"

"Seems that our man Walters isn't as stupid as I thought. He had already given a deposition. Of course, none of that mattered without your testimony. So, they started digging, and they have been digging for years. A few weeks ago, well, I noticed someone was sniffing through your file."

"My file?" Then the pieces all fell into place. "They were about to uncover the entire thing. You were going to end up in prison because of what you did."

"There, finally. God, help me you
are
stupid. It took you long enough to figure that one out."

"And now you came to kill me, why? If they thought I was missing, why would they even worry about this stupid plot of yours? It looks like you’re in the clear.”

“You’re the last string of evidence.”

“And you’ve come to take care of me.”

“God, finally!”

There was a sound out on her porch and her heart froze. If it were Hercules, Caulfield would have no problem killing the dog to ensure his own safety.

He kept his gun pointed at her as he inched his way over to look out the window. In that one second, the front door burst open and she fell to the ground as she had been trained to do.

A shot went off and she felt a prick in her side. There was a lot of noise and men’s voices. She turned. Jack had crashed through the door and was struggling with Caulfield on the floor. Hercules was standing beside the two men barking and snarling. Jack had a hold of Caulfield’s wrist. He hit it against the floor twice and the gun went sliding across the wooden floor. She scrambled to get it, ignoring the sharp pain on the side of her hip.  As soon as she secured the gun, she stood and rushed over to them.

“Stop it or I’ll shoot you.”

Caulfield stilled and looked at her. “You don’t have the nerve.”

Jack rose to his feet and walked over to her. Caulfield shifted his weight, but Hercules snarled and moved closer.

“The lady might not have the nerve, but I do. I’ve been trained to do it, in fact. And if I don’t kill you, well, Hercules will probably rip you to shreds.” Jack inched closer to her, and said, “Give me the gun.”

She shook her head.

“Hannah, you don’t want to do this.”

She cocked the weapon. “Yes, I do.  He had my parents killed.”

Even she heard the rage in her voice. Caulfield apparently just realized how much trouble he was in. Color drained from his face.

Jack stepped up behind her. He didn’t touch her, but she could feel his body heat against her back.

“Don’t do it, babe. Believe me, you’ll never forget it.”

“I didn’t kill your parents.”

She wanted to kill him. She wanted to shoot the bastard and watch him bleed to death. He might not have killed her parents, but he worked with the people who did. He had made her life horrible these past few years, moving her back and forth, and now, threatening her life.

But she couldn’t do it. She sighed and nodded. Jack reached around her and took the gun from her. Then, he pulled her into his arms. It was only then that she started to shake. Shock, she knew that was what she was going through. She had felt it that night all those years ago and it was overwhelming her again.

He kissed her temple and kept the gun trained on Caulfield.

“Just so you know,” Jack said. “The lady didn’t shoot you, but I will if you make a wrong move. But I’d spare your life. I would shoot you in just the right spot to make it hurt like a motherfucker.”

She heard the sirens and shivered against Jack, burrowing her nose against his bare neck.

“Oh, too bad. I guess it’s good for you I called the police.”

Men came running up to the house and there was a lot of yelling. Hercules was barking and the room started to spin.

“Hannah?” Jack asked the question but it sounded as if she were far away from him.

“I love you,” she said, then everything faded to black.

Jack looked down at Hannah with the sound of beeping machines surrounding him. He wasn’t supposed to be in ICU, but he had pretty much told the nurse on duty she didn’t have a choice. Apparently, she was the mother of a Marine so she broke a few rules and let him sit by her bed. He took the seat again and reached out for her hand.

He had been through things that were worse in the larger scale, but this almost killed him. If something had happened to her, he probably would have completely lost it.

“Excuse me?” a woman said.

He turned. A woman dressed in a drab suit, her hair pulled back and a frown on her face. Fed.

“What do you want?”

She blinked, apparently not expecting that response.

“I’m Agent Anderson. I wanted to talk to Ms. Richmond.”

“ID.”

Again she blinked but she complied. After he studied her badge, he was satisfied. “You can talk to her after she wakes up.”

“I’m awake,” Hannah said, weakly from the bed. He turned and wanted to shout with joy. She was as pale as milk, but she was awake.

“Hey, babe,” he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit with a stray bullet.”

He chuckled.

“Ms. Richmond,” Agent Anderson said, her voice dripping with impatience.

Anger whipped through him. Hannah had almost died thanks to their incompetence. “Can’t you just leave her alone? She just woke up from surgery, one that she would not have needed if it wasn’t for you and your agency.”

The agent nodded. “I do apologize. I just want to clear everything up.”

“It’s okay, Jack. Please. I want to get this over with.” She looked at the agent. “I might not be of much help, other than to tell you that Caulfield had a gambling problem and started selling info to support his habit.”

“Did he reveal anything else to you?”

“No. I don’t think he did any of the killings. That’s why this was such a screw up. I think he got criminals to do it, then he would help them somehow.”

The agent nodded. “I’d like to go into more detail with you, but your doctors gave me five minutes. I have a feeling Captain Johnson will hold me to that.”

He looked at the woman and she said, “Of course I know your name, it’s in the report.”

“I won’t have to move again?”

“No. The Capanos are in disarray over this and with Walters dead, there really was no reason to keep you hidden.”

She left them alone after that.

“Well, that’s that,” Hannah said. He could hear the sleepiness in her voice.

“You need to rest now, so go to sleep.”

She smiled, even as her eyes closed. “You really are bossy.”

He leaned down and gave her another kiss. She was sleeping before he sat back down. She might not understand all that had happened, but she had told him she loved him.

There was no way she could go back on that.

*  *  *  *

A week later, Hannah found herself on her couch with a very fussy Marine taking care of her. Jack hadn’t let her out of his sight since the day of the shooting.

“I can take care of myself, Jack.”

He gave her a look that was all mean and grumpy, so she lapsed into silence. She didn’t understand why he was being so damned sullen, but she didn’t have the energy to deal with it.

Hercules set his chin on her shoulder. She patted his head. “Thanks, buddy.”