“I did see some…stuff…”
“That’s good, Misty. Tell me what you know,” he said, keeping his tone smooth, polite, trustworthy.
“I just don’t know if I can do this.” Her fingers began to tremble.
“You can, Misty. This is the right thing to do. I’ll keep you safe and then that man will never hurt another person again — will never hurt you again.” It was a vow he hoped to keep. If his agency said she wasn’t needed, his hands would be tied. After only a few hours, he felt a need to keep her protected, and the only way would be if she talked.
She looked up, paused a couple of heartbeats before barely whispering: “Not everything is so black and white. There is very much a gray area when it comes to the law.”
Bryson knew this. He hated it, but he was well aware.
“We need to stay on track, Ms. Elton. I think that is wisest.” He’d reverted to her last name when he felt a flash of desire to pull her into his arms — to comfort her. Focus on the freaking job.
“I agree, Mr. Winchester,” she said rigidly. “I’m very tired now, though. Would you mind if we continued tomorrow?”
He wasn’t going to get anything else from her tonight. She was finished with talking, and to push it now would probably be pointless.
“Axel will be back at any time with dinner.”
“I’m not hungry, but thank you.”
She stood up and moved toward the door to her room.
“Ms. Elton,” he called out, and though her back stiffened, she turned her head and looked back at him. “I’ll be right next door, in the morning.”
His last remark was meant to reassure her that she wouldn’t be alone, but it was also a warning so she wouldn’t try to run.
He was a good guy — he took pride in that. But it would be a mistake to think that made him weak. Bryson had an edge of pure danger running through his veins. He thrived on it. And that’s probably what made him one hell of an agent.
Chapter Four
“Do you think that Jesse Marcus constitutes a threat to your life?”
Misty looked up at the two agents and wondered if they were mentally unstable. How many times and in how many ways had she already told them that Jesse would kill her the first chance he got?
“I know this seems repetitive, Misty, but if we are to put you in the witness protection program, there has to be a direct threat against you. We need this on record that you are in danger,” Bryson said, his tone gentle.
“I don’t think Jesse will try to kill me. I know he will, Agent Winchester. Jesse told me that when he was through with me, he’d make sure I was never able to divulge his secrets. He told me he’d killed former girlfriends. He won’t hesitate to take my life. I don’t want to testify, but if you are going to force me to do this, then I won’t agree unless you can guarantee my safety. I think that’s a fair trade-off,” she said, her arms crossed as she looked at both men.
“We agree. There have been witnesses not in protection who have come up missing. I’m not telling you this to frighten you; I’m telling you because Jesse is not locked up at this point, and you need to be aware of that. You’ve done an excellent job so far of keeping away from him, but he knows we’re closing in. He knows it won’t be much longer until we issue the arrest warrant.”
“I understand that. But is there any way for me to just continue to hide out until this is all over? Can’t you get him behind bars without my testimony?” This would be ideal for her.
“I wish I could, but from what we’ve found on you so far, we believe that you’re a valuable asset to this case. We don’t need the whole story right now. We encourage you to speak to your lawyer, look at your options. This process isn’t short. It takes months, even years sometimes, but if you want our help, we need you to sign notarized statements that you will testify if you are called upon to do so.”
Bryson wasn’t being cruel as he sat across the table from her in the local FBI offices. She’d absolutely refused to go to the police station. There was no way Jesse wouldn’t hear about exactly where she was if that happened.
She didn’t trust the cops, and she barely trusted the FBI. She’d rather this entire mess were behind her, that she was on the other side of it, finally living a somewhat normal life.
“Then what happens if I sign the document?”
“We get you set up in a new location. You use an alias, get a job, go on living your life. We will check in on you, make sure you’re fine, and that’s where you’ll stay until the hearing. When it’s over, you can either keep the name, stay in the location, and resume your life as the new person, or you can go back to who you were,” Axel said.
“I don’t get any time to think about this?”
“I’m sorry, but you need to decide now.” They’d already told her this several times.
If she didn’t do what they wanted, they were well within their rights to lock her up, and she’d be locked up in a county jail, a place where Jesse would have much easier access to her.
Looking at the two options before her, she decided that testifying was the lesser of evils. Still, speaking to the attorney seemed a really good idea, even if that frightened her, too.
She was so sick and tired of being afraid. How dare Jesse do this to her, make her into such a weak woman? It wasn’t okay, not okay at all. She was sick of the men in her life having such power over her. It had been that way since she was a small child.
None of it was her fault, but that’s just the fate she’d been handed.
“Fine. I’ll sign your piece of paper,” she finally said.
“I’m really glad to hear that, Misty,” Bryson replied, and their eyes connected for just a moment, a moment that had her stomach tightening.
It wasn’t attraction. She couldn’t possibly feel that toward him. It was fear. That had to be what it was. She lowered her eyes quickly, unwilling to look too deep.
There was a knock on the door, and then an intern stepped in with their lunch and set it on the table. Misty’s stomach rumbled, surprising her. She hadn’t eaten in over twenty-four hours, but her nerves had been tied in knots, making it impossible.
Now that she’d made a solid decision, even if it wasn’t an ideal solution, her stress levels were actually going down and the thought of food was heavenly.
“I’m going to get the paperwork,” Bryson said. He stood and followed the intern out, leaving her sitting there with Axel, who made her much more nervous than Bryson did.
She didn’t know why, as he was the one always cracking jokes, but the guy seemed more lethal to her. Maybe it was the almost cold look in his eyes. She just didn’t know.
But as he passed her a cheeseburger, fries, and a shake, she made sure not to brush his fingers with hers. After several minutes passed, and her hunger pangs eased, she grew more curious, and she found herself wanting to talk.
“How long have you and Agent Winchester worked together?” Nerves shot through her as he looked over her way. Damn, this guy was intimidating.
Axel stuffed a few fries in his mouth, chewed and swallowed, and then answered her question. “Five years.”
Taking a deep breath, she asked him the question of the hour, one she should have already asked.
“Why am I so important in all of this? I don’t understand. There must be a hundred — a thousand — other women who would love to testify against Jesse. I just want to live my life, put all of this behind me. I just want to be free of these stupid mistakes I’ve made.” Her voice gained force and clarity during her impassioned speech.
One look from his cold hazel eyes and she backed down. Damn, this man’s interrogation tactics must be out of this world.
“Not all cases are so black and white, Misty. The more evidence we obtain on this piece of scum, the more likely we are to lock him up and throw away the key. If he stays on the street wearing a badge — carrying a gun — then no one is safe. Don’t you understand that?”
He seemed genuinely perplexed that she wasn’t taking this more seriously. It wasn’t that she thought it was a joke; it was just that she didn’t want to face the giant, and that’s what Jesse was to her — a giant man with a giant fist, and an even bigger temper.
It would take Jesse only seconds to kill her. He could have her neck snapped before she ever got the chance to call out for help. He could leap across a table and strangle her before anyone even thought about stopping him. If Jesse knew he was going to jail anyway, what would it matter to him if he killed her? The man was that crazy — crazy enough to get in one last victim before being locked up for good. A courtroom full of witnesses would be neither here nor there to him.
“I don’t trust people,” she said as she sipped on her vanilla shake. Her stomach was feeling much better now.
“I figured that out when you Tased my partner,” he said with a chuckle.
“You didn’t seem in a hurry to help him,” she countered, feeling only a bit guilty over the whole Taser incident. Bryson had grabbed her, after all…