Christmas Witness Pursuit. Lisa Harris

so sorry you saw what you did. Sorry your being in the wrong place at the wrong time put you in this situation in the first place.”

      “I guess as a deputy you would understand death.” She turned and caught his gaze. “Does it ever fade, some of the things you see?”

      He looked away, wanting to ignore her question, but knew he couldn’t. “I’ve had to learn to deal with things I’ve seen, but that still doesn’t always make it easy. There are faces and stories I’ll never be able to forget.”

      “Thank you for what you’ve done for me.”

      He shrugged off the gratitude, ready for a change in subject. “I’m just doing my job.”

      “Maybe, but you saved my life.”

      Thirty minutes later the nurse had just finished stitching up Griffin’s arm when his phone rang again. He stepped into the small hallway at the back of the clinic for privacy and took the call.

      “Deputy O’Callaghan...this is FBI Special Agent Mark Hill. I understand you have one of our witnesses in your custody. Victoria Faraday.”

      “I do. We’re at the clinic in Timber Falls and she’s in with the doctor right now.”

      “The report I received said she’s suffering from memory loss and you’d been shot.”

      “I’m waiting for a report from the doctor about her, but yes. Thankfully the bullet just grazed me.” Griffin took a deep breath before asking, “I’m assuming you’ve received the news that both your agents were killed?”

      “Unfortunately, yes.”

      Griffin hesitated. “I’m extremely sorry for your loss.”

      “So am I. They were good men that are going to be greatly missed. Jinx Ryder—the man behind this—has been a thorn in the FBI’s side for far too long.”

      “What can you tell me about the case?”

      “I can send you the file...but, briefly, she was out hiking eight months ago and witnessed the brutal murder of a couple not too far from where you are.”

      “I remember that headline.”

      “We’d been hunting Jinx for over a year. He’s suspected to be involved in a dozen other felonies, but we’ve never been able to pin anything on the man. Not until Victoria Faraday.”

      “And she’s your eye witness.”

      “Our only witness. That is why I need your help. The highway north of you was just shut down, which means it’s going to take some time to get anyone to you. They’re calling this the storm of the decade.”

      Griffin glanced at the closed door where Tory was still meeting with the doctor. “What do you need me to do?”

      “She’s going to need protection until we can get there.”

      Griffin frowned. Playing the role of bodyguard wasn’t exactly on his to-do list for the weekend. While he wasn’t keen on babysitting, neither was he willing to leave her stranded.

      “Can you get her somewhere safe for the next forty-eight hours or at least until this storm passes? Somewhere out of the way and secure until I can get someone there?”

      Griffin mentally flipped through his limited options. “My parents own a ranch not far from here. I suppose I could take her there for a couple of days. It’s unlikely these guys would be able to track her down.”

      “Sounds like the perfect plan. And, Deputy O’Callaghan...this needs to stay under the radar. Jinx clearly has a long arm. Someone was able to track down that escort—”

      “Exactly, which has me worried.” Griffin vacillated, but he needed to know what was going on. “If you want to ensure her safety, you need to find out where your leak is.”

      “I can assure you there is no leak—”

      “I’m sorry, Agent Hill, but two of your agents were just murdered and your witness barely escaped with her life.”

      “And we are doing everything we can to find out how that happened.”

      At the end of the hall, Tory stepped out of the examination room with the doctor.

      “I need to go,” the FBI agent said, “but keep me updated.”

      Griffin frowned as he hung up. If the FBI didn’t find their leak—or at least admit they had one—keeping Tory safe might prove impossible.

       THREE

      Tory stepped into the clinic hallway with the doctor, wishing he had given her a prescription to restore her memory. Instead he’d told her all she could really do was watch for symptoms and wait for her memories to return. But that was easier said than done. She was tired of fighting to resurrect memories she knew were there but couldn’t find. And scared at how vulnerable that made her feel.

      “Deputy O’Callaghan...” The doctor dropped his pen into his front jacket pocket as Griffin walked up to them. “Sorry we took so long, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

      “That’s fine,” Griffin said then turned to her. “How are you feeling?”

      “While I did hit my head in the accident, the doctor believes my amnesia should resolve itself eventually.”

      “That sounds like good news.”

      “It is,” Dr. Swanson said. “In the meantime, she’ll feel as if her thoughts and memories are clouded, but clearly they are already slowly returning, which is a good sign. I would, though, like to keep her here overnight for observation—”

      “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Griffin shook his head. “Staying here would make it harder to limit who knows where she is. And the more people who know, the riskier this whole situation becomes.”

      Tory felt another wave of panic hit. “Then what am I supposed to do? Is the FBI sending someone else?”

      “Because of the storm, they won’t be able to get any agents here for at least forty-eight hours. They’ve asked me to ensure your safety until they get here.”

      She worked to process the news. If trained FBI agents hadn’t been able to stop an attack, how was Griffin—a local sheriff’s deputy—supposed to keep her safe? She’d never be able to live with someone else dying trying to protect her.

      “This isn’t your case—”

      “No,” he said, “but I do have a solution. I want to take you to my family ranch, which is about thirty minutes from town. If we leave now, we should get there before the storm hits.”

      She pressed her fingertips against her temples, trying to deal with the fact that once again she was having to trust her life to a stranger. “I don’t know—”

      “It’s just a precaution until the storm passes. You’ll be safe there.”

      “Will I?” She looked up at him, unconvinced. “Two agents are dead, which means I’d be putting your family at risk. And who’s to say they can’t find me there, too?”

      She didn’t want to sound ungrateful, because she wasn’t. But she barely knew this man, and now he wanted to take her to his home to keep her safe? There had to be another option. Surely the roads weren’t that bad yet. If they could get to Denver, there had to be an FBI safe house where she could stay until this nightmare was over. Something that wouldn’t involve him and his family.

      “I know this all has to be overwhelming,” Griffin said, “but my job now is to keep you safe. Plus, my mom’s a nurse and she’ll be able to keep an eye on any medical issues.” He turned back to the