Star Witness. Lisa Phillips

girl’s face washed with relief, even though the boy hadn’t stepped back. She pointed down the hall behind Aaron. “In the kitchen. They’re a dollar, but if you hit the top three buttons on the left and the bottom right one at the same time, an orange soda will drop out.”

      The boy looked at her. “Why would you tell him that?”

      “He’s Ms. Winters’s new boyfriend. I saw them together earlier.”

      The boy looked back at Aaron. “For real? You’re Ms. Winters’s new boyfriend?”

      Aaron nearly rolled his eyes at the third degree from a kid who apparently thought his teenage self was something everyone needed to take note of. Was that what he had looked like at that age? Aaron must have seemed ridiculous. It was a wonder his foster parents hadn’t laughed at him.

      Aaron looked at the girl, admittedly a little intrigued. “Does Ms. Winters have a lot of boyfriends?”

      “I think you’re the first.”

      “How long have you been coming here?”

      “Like, four years.”

      That was interesting. So as far as the kids knew, Mackenzie didn’t date. At all. Maybe it wasn’t just him who noticed the air of “I’m hiding something” that she wore. Or he only saw it because he knew she was in witness protection.

      Aaron lifted his chin to the boy. “You might want to back up a step there, champ. Give the girl some breathing space.”

      The teen’s eyes narrowed and he moved forward. Aaron’s body tightened in readiness.

      “Is everything okay?” Mackenzie appeared beside Aaron, bringing with her the scent of cotton candy. She looked at the girl. “Megan?”

      “Everything’s fine, Ms. Winters.”

      Aaron watched the boy step back and wondered how Mackenzie managed to generate that level of respect just by smiling.

      “Class is over, so your sister is waiting for you.”

      The girl scurried around their huddle and disappeared around the corner into the room where Mackenzie had been teaching. Aaron turned back to see Mackenzie had closed in on the boy. “You take care, Hector.”

      Hector? This was the kid whose brother had shot at them on the street?

      “I don’t need advice from you.” Hector stepped back, motioning with his fingers.

      Aaron moved to shut down whatever the kid was about to do, but Mackenzie stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Let him go. He’s dealing with enough.”

      “Like an older brother who tried to kill you yesterday? I’m surprised he even showed up.” Aaron blew out a breath. “You shouldn’t let him disrespect you that way.”

      Mackenzie frowned. “You don’t think these kids understand love, or kindness?”

      “Trust me, they have one currency and that’s respect. Nothing else gets through to them.”

      “You sound as though you know what you’re talking about.”

      Aaron shrugged. “Same world, different city.”

      “Maybe you could tell me about it later.”

      “Why? So you can feel as if you know me?” He shook his head. “I’m not one of those kids.”

      “I know that. Aaron, I just—”

      “Thought we should be friends? Is that what you want? Or do you want me to keep you safe from the guy who wants you dead? Because you can’t have it both ways. That’s not how this works.”

      Mackenzie stepped back and her face blanked. “I’ll be in my office. Try not to start any more fights, okay? I’m only going to grab my purse.”

      He followed her, unwilling to mess up the only thing that would keep Eric’s respect when he found out Aaron was responsible for the failed mission and his teammate’s medical discharge. He watched her switch off her computer and shut out the lights. The other woman who worked there—Eva—met them in the lobby.

      “So I’ll meet you at the restaurant? Or are you going home to change first?”

      Aaron glanced between them. “What’s this?”

      Mackenzie sighed. “I forgot to mention it. I’m really sorry, Eva.”

      She thought Aaron wasn’t going to let her go?

      Eva glanced between them before her attention settled on Mackenzie. “But you have to come out. You promised. It’ll be fun, I’m telling you. All-you-can-eat appetizers and we’ll splurge on something chocolate for dessert even though we don’t need it. Come on, what do you say?”

      Mackenzie clearly wanted to go. Did she not want him tagging along and putting a crimp in girl’s night out? Well, too bad.

      Aaron smiled. “Sounds great. I’m in.”

      Eva’s eyes flickered, but she recovered quickly. “Sure, why not.”

      Aaron stuck his hand out. “Aaron Hanning, nice to meet you.”

      She shook his hand. “Eva Partez.”

      “Mackenzie and I’ll meet you there. All right?”

      Mackenzie swallowed. “Sure.”

      He grabbed her elbow and led her out before she could change her mind. Mackenzie locked the front doors as Eva sped off in a black Mustang with the top down. The sun had turned the sky pink and Aaron had to sidestep so he could see Mackenzie’s face without the glare.

      “All-you-can-eat appetizers?”

      Mackenzie sighed. “She’s been asking me to hang out with her for weeks and I finally broke down yesterday and agreed. I actually thought it would be fun, but now that Carosa might have sent someone to kill me...”

      “Carosa? As in the Colombian drug cartel?”

      She hesitated for a minute, and then nodded.

      “So that’s who the guy in the picture was.” He whistled. “You don’t mess around, do you? But don’t worry. I’ll be there to keep you safe, whatever this is. That’s why Eric asked me to stay.”

      “Why would you? I mean, it’s kind of clear that you don’t really like me. Why would you give up your time to protect someone who basically means nothing more to you than some stranger on the street?”

      “What I’m protecting is Eric’s witness. It’s his career on the line because of your safety. And I never said I didn’t like you.”

      “Seemed kind of obvious to me.”

      “Well, I’m—” he swallowed “—sorry for that. In the future, I’ll try to be...nicer.”

      Mackenzie laughed. “That was hard for you to say, wasn’t it? Big tough guy like you. It must be rough, having to be pleasant.”

      Aaron didn’t like one bit that she was laughing at him. “Let’s just get going, okay?” He grabbed her elbow again and headed down the street toward where he’d parked his truck.

      “Why do you do that?”

      “What?”

      “Haul me around like a sack of potatoes.”

      He loosened his grip but didn’t let go. “Guess I need to be nicer about that, too. I don’t usually work with people who are willing to cooperate. I normally have to push a lot harder to get the result I want.”

      “Then maybe you should just try asking nicely.”

      “Is it going to be as uncomfortable as apologizing?”

      Mackenzie laughed. “Probably.”

      Okay,