like this.”
“He probably needs help.” She reached over and grabbed his arm. “We can’t just ignore him.”
“Stay in the car, okay?”
Before she could answer, he checked his sidearm and then opened the door.
And that’s when the man lunged forward. The attacker was fast, but Max was faster.
Sydney screamed, but Max stayed focused on the threat in front of him. But when a gunshot went off, he instinctively turned to look. And there was Sydney wrestling another man with a gun.
He didn’t have time to do a thorough analysis of the situation, so he quickly launched into action. When his attacker landed a blow that connected hard with his jaw, pain shot through his head. But it wasn’t enough to lay him out. There was no way was he going to lose his first official witness as a US Marshal. With a swift uppercut he made contact with the attacker’s face. Calling on his martial arts training, he followed with a precise kick to the ribs. His assailant landed on the ground with a resounding thud.
He drew his gun and turned, ready to take the shot to save Sydney’s life. But somehow she had gotten the other guy on his knees and the man’s gun was now in her hand. How in the world had she managed that? “Keep that gun on him, Sydney.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” she said.
He pulled out his handcuffs and secured the original assailant. Then he walked over to her. The other man was on his knees with his hands in the air. He pulled out a second pair of cuffs from his jacket and put them on the perpetrator.
He would need to call this in ASAP, but he also needed to get Sydney to safety. What if others were coming? These guys could have been waiting for them. Which meant additional threats could be in the area.
He pulled out his cell and put in a call. Backup should only be a few minutes away. That would give him a moment with the suspects. He read them their rights since he didn’t want to get caught in a legal snafu, and then he looked at the first man.
“Who sent you?”
“I’m not talkin’.” The man’s blue eyes weren’t filled with fear but determination. Clearly he was a hired gun.
Max walked over to where Sydney stood beside the other man. Her auburn hair had come loose from her ponytail. “You sure you’re okay?” She looked shaken as she gripped her hands together, but after a moment answered him calmly.
“Yes.”
He turned his attention to the man. “You got anything to say?”
The guy grunted, and Max took that as a no. No surprises there.
As they held the men at gunpoint he leaned in to her. “Where in the world did you learn to incapacitate an attacker like that?” He guessed her to be only about five feet four, but she was a powerhouse.
Her brown eyes were wide as she looked up at him. “Self-defense classes.”
“That looked like a whole lot more than self-defense class.”
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
He was intrigued. Sydney Berry had secrets. And if he was going to be able to keep her safe, he probably needed to find them out. But at the moment he was just glad that her first secret actually worked to their advantage.
He was kicking himself for taking his eyes off of her earlier. She was his first and only priority. Granted, she wasn’t officially in the Witness Security Program, known commonly as witness protection, but he had been tasked to keep her safe until everything could be sorted out.
Sirens sounded in the distance. He looked at her. “Why don’t you get in the car? I’ll handle this, and then we can be on our way.”
She frowned but then got into the sedan.
A moment later the local police arrived, and Max filled them in on the specifics. He’d also looped in his FBI contact. Then he made the call he was dreading. Reporting this incident to his boss, Deputy Elena Sanchez, was hardly the way to make a good first impression, but he had no choice.
Then finally he was ready to hit the road with Sydney. But not to the original safe house. That was too risky now.
He wouldn’t feel even an ounce better until Sydney had safely completed her testimony in the morning. And even then the threat of the East River gang still loomed large.
Once they’d been driving for a few minutes, he decided to break the silence. “Want to talk about what happened back there?”
“You think those men were connected to East River or someone else associated with Diaz?”
He decided it best to be open and honest with her about the threat. “I think East River has put a hit out on you.”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that,” she said.
He saw her look out the window and take note of her surroundings. “I know it seems like I’m driving in the other direction now, but given what just happened we’re going to an alternative safe house.”
“But we’re not staying there long?”
“No. After you testify we’ll go to another location. This is just for tonight. We have a list of safe house options already planned for you.”
“I guess I don’t get much of a say in this, huh?”
“You always have a say, but you should know that I have your best interests in mind. Also, I’m sorry about what happened back there, however, I’m thankful that you were able to defend yourself.”
“Me, too,” she said quietly.
He looked over at her. As she stared out the window he could see the tension tightening her features. He tried a different topic of conversation. “How long have you been a sketch artist?”
She turned to look at him, and her shoulders immediately seemed to relax. “I’ve been drawing forever, but I started taking it seriously during college. I didn’t finish school and instead took art classes with my tuition money. Then I started with small jobs and it grew from there. Referrals are very important in my business. But I do more than just draw faces. That’s what you think of when you think of a sketch artist. I’m a forensic artist. I can do a lot more, like crime-scene reenactments and stuff like that.”
“I imagine the work comes and goes.” He wanted to engage in conversation to try to calm his own building nerves, as well.
“Yes. I’ve been very busy as of late, but those first few years were tough. I took other odd jobs to make ends meet. I worked at a library for a bit and as a server at a restaurant. All to pursue my real dream.” She shrugged. “With all the high-tech advancements, the field is changing a lot, it’s really exciting. Computers can do a lot, but there’s still something to be said about a human hand.”
“I’m a big fan of using technology in investigations. I had an experience with a traditional sketch artist in the past who wasn’t on point.” That
