not what you’re thinking.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?” Jackson demanded.
Ben rolled his eyes. “Because I know you. She’s not in cahoots with them.”
“You still want to say that? You’re lying in this hospital bed because someone stuck a knife in you.”
“They were trying to get to her.”
“So you say. How do we know they weren’t trying to help her escape?”
Ben gave him a look of disgust.
“Why wasn’t she with you anyway? Why did you have Christine instead of Callie?”
Ben closed his eyes briefly. “Christine had come down really hard on her. Basically accused her of withholding evidence. Made all sorts of threats. She had Quint there giving his best DEA glare, trying to intimidate her.”
“Did it work?”
“Depends on your point of view. Poor kid was shaking in her boots. But she didn’t have any information to give.”
Jackson leaned back in the chair and studied Ben’s expression. Had his mentor gone soft?
Ben shrugged self-consciously. “I wanted to give her some time to settle down. It’s been real hard on her. So I left her in the office and took Christine and Quint down. I figured I’d ask them to lay off terrorizing the witness—at least until the holidays were past, you know?”
Jackson nodded. He knew. That was just the kind of thing Ben did. Going above and beyond to be sure his witness was not only safe physically but emotionally, too.
Jackson was careful with his words. “That doesn’t mean she wasn’t involved.”
“Gut instinct says she’s innocent.”
Jackson snorted. “Is that your healthy gut speaking or the one that was knifed?”
Ben laughed weakly. “Good one.” He closed his eyes.
“You’re tired and I’ve got to get back to my witness.” Jackson stood and rested his hand lightly on Ben’s shoulder. “Take care. Don’t worry—I’ll keep her safe until you come back.”
When Jackson turned to leave, Ben grabbed his sleeve. “Seriously, man.” He paused, dragged in a breath. “Don’t go into this thinking she’s guilty. If you do, you might make a mistake that costs her life.”
Jackson looked down at his friend. He couldn’t say the words, but he nodded his promise.
As he made his way back to the hotel, Jackson replayed the scene in his head. Ben was right, of course. He had to keep an open mind. Honestly, it didn’t matter at all to WITSEC if she was innocent or guilty. She was a protected witness who could provide testimony to convict the real bad guys. For that reason alone, she had to be kept safe.
It was a job he took very seriously.
By the time he reached the hotel, Jackson was envisioning dinner. He could have stopped to pick up something for them, but he decided to indulge his witness and let her choose. Maybe that would put them on a better footing.
The lobby was mobbed with Christmas revelers, so Jackson ducked around back to the lesser-used elevator bank. He squeezed in with a couple of bellhops and a room-service cart. The news was playing on the elevator television screen, and Jackson immediately recognized the scene from this afternoon.
He could just barely make out the news anchor’s voice over the chatter. “In other news, the Christmas season took a dangerous turn this afternoon when armed robbers tried to mug a woman exiting an office building in midtown. The woman escaped unharmed but her companion is hospitalized with a knife wound. Police are asking anyone with information about a late-model, dark blue SUV to contact the number showing on the screen.”
So that was the story they were giving out. Innocent mugging. Jackson shrugged. It wasn’t like they could reveal the truth that the assistant United States attorney responsible for prosecuting the biggest drug cartel of the past decade had almost been abducted on a Manhattan street. Not good PR for New York or the Texas justice system.
Jackson was turning his focus back to dinner plans when another conversation caught his attention.
“Dude, look.” One waiter nudged the other and pointed at the screen.
Jackson glanced up in time to see a quick flash of Christine Davis’s face on the screen. Uh-oh—someone would not be happy that picture had been released.
“The blonde? Nice.”
“No, man. The car. See the car? That looks like the one I saw parked right outside on 55th when I went for my smoke break.”
“I thought you stopped smoking.”
“Forget that. The car I saw. It looks like the one they showed in the picture. Even had the same dent.”
Jackson froze. Ben said the car had a dent. He looked up, but the news had moved on to another story.
“You think there’s a reward?”
The first guy hesitated. “A reward is nice, but not if it costs me this job.”
“I thought you were on break. It’s not like you were sneaking out or something. Talk to the boss.”
“Yeah. Let me just deliver this burger to 1408 first.”
Jackson fiddled with his phone, pretending to read a message, then reached over and pressed a different button to get off at the floor below Callie’s.
He took off down the corridor, through the fire exit and up the flight of stairs, taking the steps two at a time. He dashed down the hall and flashed his badge at the man standing guard. “Inside. We’ve got trouble.”
The marshal took one look at Jackson’s face and started defending himself. “No one saw her, sir.”
“What?”
“The room service. I placed the order and I accepted the food. She stayed in the bedroom. No one saw her.”
“That’s not the problem, and it’s not your fault.” Jackson wanted to kick something. The only person at fault was him for leaving her. How had they managed to find her again already?
He burst into the room, calling to Callie to grab everything. “We’re leaving.”
“Again?” She sighed. “Can’t we wait until I finish eating?”
“No. Staying to finish could cost your life.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?”
“I just rode up in the elevator with hotel staff who recognized the car
