Christmas Witness Protection

He could agree with that. She still hadn’t opened her eyes. Just how bad was her headache?

“That part of the world has nomadic tribal families,” she continued. “Many live very remotely and have long-standing grudges and rivalries that go back generations. Every now and then violence will break out. It’s really horrible and really bad, but it’s on a smallish scale.”

“I get it,” Noah said. “You hurt one of my people, so we hurt one of yours. Like rival gangs in North America. Or something from a historical drama about ancient clans.”

“Or Shakespeare,” she said wryly. She took a deep breath. “Then suddenly the violence escalated, from knives, sticks and a handful of relatively minor injuries a year, to dozens getting shot by military-grade weapons. About two dozen people were killed at a wedding last year and when local authorities investigated, they found the weaponry came from the Canadian military. Troops on the ground said they’d all been stolen from us.”

“But that wasn’t true?” Noah asked.

“No.” She shook her head, then winced again. “Bertie gave them away. He bartered them, too. He gave weapons to warring families and local warlords so they could ‘protect’ themselves.” Her fingers moved in air quotes. “He did it to build connections. He did it to grease wheels. He did it to gain intel. And whenever I challenged him on it, and believe me I did, he said it was just part of keeping our troops safe and helping us be effective in our mission.”

“By arming a handful of local families to increase how badly they could hurt each other,” Noah said.

“See, you get it!” Her eyes snapped open. “But to hear most people tell it, I’m the villain here. That’s what I’m learning through this. That whether people believe me or not, they still think I’m wrong. The official line is that he’s completely innocent. The unofficial line is so what if a few dozen people in a completely different part of the world, who are determined to kill each other anyway, get to it a little faster? Is that worth ruining a good man’s reputation and career over?”

The question was rhetorical, but he couldn’t have argued with it if he tried. “I get what you’re saying. You didn’t deserve the backlash, and I’m sorry it drove you into witness protection.”

Something flashed hot and fierce in her eyes.

“You think a bit of hate, online chatter and pathetic death threats drove me into witness protection?” she asked. “Nobody and nothing drove me to anything. What happened is three thugs got paid by some unknown fan of Bertie’s to jump me in an alley outside base one night, thinking they’d ‘teach me a lesson’ about ‘being quiet and keeping my mouth shut.’”

She’d been attacked? Why hadn’t that been in her file? Something tightened in Noah’s chest. An unfamiliar pain filled his core. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to defend her. He wanted to step back in time, stop the men who’d tried to hurt her and then stop anyone from hurting her ever again.

“They were caught,” she said. “All pled guilty. I don’t think investigators have found out who paid them yet.”

“But they hurt you,” he pressed, gently.

“Not as badly as they wanted to.” She shrugged. “I’ve gone through worse in basic training.”

“Yes, okay,” he said. “But it had to be serious enough if you went into witness protection...”

“The RCMP and the inquiry officials asked me to go into witness protection because they were worried about losing a witness,” she said, “and I felt I had a duty to just go lie low somewhere until the inquiry.”

That he believed. He believed she’d have dug her heels in and stood her ground no matter how many random attackers and death threats came at her, and that as much as she seemingly resented being in witness protection, she saw it as some kind of duty.

But none of that changed how much the knowledge that she’d been attacked was tearing him up inside. He’d felt that way growing up sometimes, seeing what his foster siblings had gone through, which had been what had driven him into law enforcement and made him want to dedicate his life to saving people. But the feeling had never quite hit him this fast or this strong.

“Our problem isn’t that three random criminals thought they could intimidate me out of doing my duty,” Holly continued. “I fought back. I can take care of myself. I always do. What I’m worried about are all those innocent witnesses whose identities are being auctioned off in six days to people who want to hurt them.”

There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, followed by throats being cleared. Noah stood and turned. Liam Bearsmith, Jessica Eddington and Mack Gray stood with Seth at the top of the steps. Noah made brief introductions around the room. Of the undercover detectives, only Liam looked like he could be in law enforcement, but with his broad shoulders and strong jaw he was usually pegged as private security. Most of his undercover assignments were posing as a bodyguard or enforcer for some rich and corrupt man, and he’d helped crack two human trafficking rings. Mack, on the other hand, had an intensity to him, between his jet-black hair, lean strength and sharp blue eyes, that tended to make people think he was either himself a criminal or an actor who’d once played one on television. While Jessica had a diminutive form and bubbly energy that made her come across as a former high school cheerleader whose life goal was to be a soccer mom. All three had faced more guns, investigated more crimes and taken down more violent criminals than anyone would ever guess.

And like him, all three were currently off duty or on leave, for one reason or another.

“What’s the situation like outside?” Noah asked.

“Chaotic.” Liam spoke for the group. “Tons of emergency vehicles and personnel scrambling everywhere, with no one really knowing what’s going on. Several of the empty warehouses have smoke coming out their windows. Emergency response teams are doing a sweep of the area. People don’t know if it’s a fire, a gas leak or what.”

“Are they heading this way?” Noah asked.

“Not yet.”

Right. Noah glanced at his watch. He’d give them fifteen minutes, tops, and then they’d have to make a move. “Solutions?”

“Seth briefed us,” Liam said, “and here’s what we’ve come up with for a plan. Mack’s going to go underground and see what rumblings he can dig up from our various criminal contacts. Jess will head into the witness protection headquarters, right in the office itself for some kind of retraining, and will be our eyes on the inside. Law enforcement will be scrambling to warn witnesses, relocate as many people as possible, as well as find the Imposters. If Snitch5751 is among them, she’ll find him or her. Seth will keep doing his thing online. I’m going to go see what I can dig up in the broader law enforcement world, as well as dig into Elias himself. He’s been in the force for years. He might’ve made enemies.”

“And one of the red herrings I’ve posted has already paid off,” Seth interjected. “A news organization has already found the fake wedding license application I created and posted it about it on social media. Clearly they had a search running for news about Hildegard Asher. They won’t be the only ones. Hopefully the Imposters will chase after my trail of false bread crumbs while I find them for real.”

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.