Page 45 of Safeguarding the Witness

When he placed his battered glasses back on his nose, she looked up at him and shook her head. “Just like that, you turned into Clark Kent. You know, Superman’s alter ego.”

“You must still be hallucinating.”

“Seriously, Spence. You were a total commando when you fought Julio.”

“Standard training.”

“Dad signed me up for all sorts of self-defense classes. I wasn’t great at any of them.”

“You were quick to pick up Julio’s gun,” he said.

“Blame it on survival instinct,” she said. “Remember how Quintana asked if I’d ever aimed a gun at another human being? Well, now I’ve done that. And she was right. Much as I despise Julio, I don’t think I could have pulled the trigger. Even if I’d had a clear shot, I’m not a killer.”

Not like her sister. He doubted Madison would hesitate before firing.

He wrapped his arm around Mollie’s shoulders, infinitely glad that she’d come through in one piece. “This is enough for one day. We’re going back to the safe house.”

“No argument from me.”

“Madison made a point of telling me that Julio was the person after you. She doesn’t wish you any harm.”

Mollie snuggled against his chest. “She could just call and tell me that. She’s avoiding me. Why is she talking to Dad?”

“The next time he calls, I’ll ask him.”

“My sister always thinks that she has to protect me, but it’s really the other way around. She dives into trouble over her head, and I’m supposed to pull her out before she drowns.”

That matched his impression of Madison. “Sounds about right.”

“But how am I supposed to help her when she keeps so many secrets? I mean, she pretended to be dead for five years. Never asked about my life. Never told me where she was living. Never mentioned the b—” She clapped her hand over her mouth to hold back her words.

“Never mentioned what?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

Obviously, she was hiding something, but so was he. He hadn’t told her about the kiss with Madison and decided that was probably for the best. This family had enough problems without adding more complications.

He changed topics. “Madison said we’d learn something important when we talked to the undercover agent, but she didn’t tell me what it was.”

“See what I mean? She’s no help at all.”

“She also told me that Youngblood was originally working for her, protecting you and your father in WITSEC.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” she said. “The marshals are supposed to protect me.”

“Madison claims they weren’t doing a good job in Salt Lake City. She stepped in and directed her men to eliminate the threat. She also sent you the teal dress.”

“Wish I’d kept the dress.”

All things considered, Mollie was handling things very well. No hysterics. No complaints. “Madison hired Youngblood, but now he’s working for Julio.”

“He was in the barn,” she said. “The dirty double-crosser.”

Instead of strolling toward the house and interacting with all the other people, he guided her to where his Escalade was parked. A lot had happened in the barn when she met with Julio, and he wanted to hear all about it.

Chapter Sixteen

During her visit to the Salem hospital emergency room, Mollie found herself to be the center of attention. Only a few of the doctors had seen a person drugged with chloroform. Apparently, the hankie-over-the-nose routine was old-fashioned while there were more reliable methods to render a victim unconscious—a veritable supermarket of date rape drugs. She was tested and released, told to watch for extreme dizziness or hallucinations.