Moving Target (16 page)

He moved his palm up to the side of her face that wasn't bruised and she leaned into it. "I'm sorry, honey. I don't think it will ever be safe for you here. Even after the trial."

She closed her eyes. Maybe she shouldn't be hurting so bad about it, but it was just one more thing taken away from her.

Daniel's soft lips brushed first one of her eyelids, then the other. When she opened her eyes, he was looking at her with an expression that told her how much he cared.

"Stay far away from the window." His warm brown eyes focused on hers. "I didn't close the heavy drapes so you could have some sunlight, but you can't go near the window, just in case you're seen. Understand?"

She nodded and reached up to touch the large bruised bump on his forehead from the attack yesterday. That and her own bruises and cuts were a good reminder she was in danger, which meant he was in danger, too.

A knock came at the door.

"Hold on." Daniel ducked into the bathroom and came out with a can of the hairspray that had been brought up with the other essentials. He sprayed it over the beds and in the air.

She didn't even have to ask why. He was trying to mask the scent of their sex.

He handed her the can of spray and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She set it on the end table as he walked away from her.

The sight of him moving slowly to the door as he drew his gun made her shiver. After checking through the peephole, he opened the door just wide enough that she could see three men, but he still held the gun. Whatever the men were saying she couldn't hear because they spoke in such low tones.

Then Daniel introduced her to the Deputies, Gary McNeal, Tyrone Jacobs, and George Harper. After she shook hands with them, Gary McNeal entered the room to stay with her. An odd feeling curled in the pit of her stomach to have someone other than Daniel with her.

Daniel gave her a single nod before shutting the door behind him.

While Daniel was gone, Gary kicked back and watched a baseball game as Ani used her nervous energy to straighten up the beds. She hoped like crazy the hairspray masked the scent of sex, and that Gary didn't wonder why the room smelled like hairspray when her hair was still wet.

Feeling rather depressed about being stuck in the hotel and not able to be out in her city, she started ironing the wrinkles in the clothes that had been brought for them. Gary seemed friendly enough, but she didn't attempt to get into any kind of conversation with him the couple of times they spoke. The silence between them was actually kind of comfortable.

Less than an hour had gone by when a knock sounded at the door. Gary drew his gun like Daniel always did, and gripped it as he checked the peephole, then holstered it again after letting Daniel in.

Daniel stepped inside with a nod to Gary, who stayed in the room, and let the heavy door slam shut behind him. He was carrying a white paper bag, a white plastic bag, and two Styrofoam cups with steam wafting through the plastic covers.

Something in one of the packages he was carrying smelled
really
good and her mouth watered. Something sweet, along with the scent of ginger.

"Mmmmm . . ." She pushed herself up from the chair she'd been sitting in and went to him. "I hope whatever it is tastes as good as it smells."

"Like Korean sweet bean rolls?"

Ani almost clapped her hands in excitement. "Lord, it's been so long since I've had one. Gimme, gimme."

Daniel snorted a laugh and set the packages down on the vanity table in front of the mirror. He handed her one of the steaming cups. "Ginger tea from the Korean bakery, with piñon nuts in the tea."

She snatched the cup from him. "I know exactly what bakery you went to." She sipped at the very hot tea that tasted of ginger with a hint of piñon. "This is sooooo good."

"None for me, Parker?" Gary said with a touch of humor in his voice.

"Hell, no." Ani looked at him. "Mine," she said, then grinned. "You can have some if you want."

"No, thanks." Gary shook his head and smiled. "Ate my fill a little while ago," he added as he walked to the door, then let himself out of the room, shutting it securely behind him.

Daniel handed her a sweet bean roll and she bit into it with relish. Her favorite—white bean. The roll was so soft and the sweet bean paste had just the right texture and flavor.

"Perfect." While she devoured her roll, she set the cup down and peeked inside the plastic bag. She looked up at him from beneath her lashes when she saw the box of condoms. A
huge
box. When her gaze met his, she swallowed down her last bite of roll and said, "Big plans for the week?"

He gave her a grin and a wink, and heat flooded her body. Her fresh pair of panties were totally damp now.

She turned her attention back to the pastry bag. "Got any more?"

"Knock yourself out," he said, just as his cell phone rang.

Ani dug into the bag and pulled out a huge almond cookie and another bean roll. Too perfect.

Daniel tensed when "unknown" came up on his cell caller ID. He flipped the phone open and answered, "Parker."

"John Singleton," came the man's voice on the other end of the line. "We've talked before. I'm the AUSA for the Borenko case," the assistant United States attorney continued without pause. "We need to take care of witness prep with Anistana King. She'll probably be on the stand day after tomorrow—Friday. I'd like you to bring her to the U.S. attorney's office at nine tomorrow morning."

Daniel clenched his jaw and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
Damn
. The last thing he wanted to do was move Ani.

"We need to run her through her testimony and make sure there are no surprises," Singleton was saying.

Daniel raked his hand through his hair. "We'll be there," he said before the prosecutor dropped the connection.

"What's wrong?" Ani watched him as he raked his hand through his hair again.

He jammed the phone into the holster on his belt. "We have to be at the U.S. attorney's office tomorrow morning to go over your testimony."

"Okay." She straightened her shoulders and raised her chin. "I'm ready."

"Are you?" He went to her and took her by her arms and couldn't help the harshness in his tone. "I'm not. I'm not ready to take the chance of you being in public and being a target for any reason. Hell, just taking you to the trial is going to be bad enough."

"Hey." Ani tugged on his overshirt with both of her hands. "Everything will be fine. We'll get through this." She gave him a little smile. "We've made it this far, haven't we?"

Not without several near misses, Daniel thought as he crushed her to him and held her tight. The thought of putting her at risk scared the shit out of him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and settled her face against his chest.

"I'll be fine, Daniel," she murmured. "With you, I'll be okay."

As he and the other Deputy Marshals escorted Ani through the lobby of the Martinique, Daniel's gut ached.

Five Deputies surrounded her, counting Daniel. One in front, another behind her, and one on the opposite side from Daniel. One additional Deputy walked ahead of them. As was the norm, all the Deputies were dressed in civilian clothing, ensuring they blended with the crowd.

With such a tight guard, Daniel should have felt some confidence, but as badly as the Borenkos wanted Ani, he didn't believe she was safe enough.

The fact that other Deputies had lost their lives doing their job grated at him. Every loss of life was another slam to his chest.

Last night Daniel and Ani had made love two more times and this morning he'd woken with her in his arms. It had felt perfect. She was perfect.

He couldn't get his fill of her. Every time he saw her, touched her, scented her—it stirred desire in him, primal and deep. It all magnified his need to protect her, keep her from harm of any kind. Especially from the Borenkos.

Even if she were merely a program participant and he just her contact, he'd protect her with all he had. Failure of any kind wasn't an option.

He felt that ache in his gut, an ache that became more intense whenever she was in potential danger.

And his personal feelings for her grew stronger every minute that passed. Damned if he knew what to do about it.

This morning, Ani wore black jeans and a black T-shirt, along with a black ball cap she'd tucked her hair under, and of course she wore her body armor under a T-shirt. Earlier this morning he'd gone out and purchased some of that beige makeup crap from the pharmacy. She'd smoothed the makeup over the bruise while he'd watched, and she'd winced when she'd touched the purpled skin. It seemed to help tone the bruise down so that it didn't show as badly. But it didn't lessen the fury in his heart.

While they headed through the hotel, she kept her face lowered, just as he'd instructed her to.

Four blacked-out SUVs were parked in front of the Martinique. Before Daniel would allow Ani out of the hotel, he and another Deputy spoke with two more Deputy Marshals who had been watching the street.

Another Deputy had been running constant counter-surveillance around the block and two others had swept the vehicles for explosives.

None of the Deputy Marshals had spotted anyone loitering or sitting in any of the parked cars. Deputies had been on duty from the time Ani had arrived at the hotel, keeping an eye on the street. They rotated out so that they were on duty for eight hours before being relieved.

Even though Daniel and the other Deputies didn't see anything or anyone suspicious, his jaw still tightened when they brought Ani out of the hotel. They rushed her into one of the waiting SUVs, the one immediately behind the lead vehicle.

He and two of the Deputies who had been surrounding Ani climbed into one of the vehicles with her. Two pairs took the rear SUVs, and another pair of Deputies were already in the front vehicle.

From the time they'd left the hotel room, until they were seated in the vehicle, everyone had remained quiet.

Once they were driving along Fifth Avenue, Ani tilted her head back and let out a long breath. "This is too much, Daniel."

She looked at him and her features were strained. "The closer we come to the trial, the more scared I get."

He could have echoed the same sentiment—that he was scared shitless for her—but he chose to reassure her instead.

"Everything will be fine. After your testimony tomorrow it'll all be over with."

"Will it?" Ani's belly churned at the thought that it was almost time to face something she'd known was ahead of her for over two years. "I'll be in hiding for the rest of my life."

Daniel looked at her like he wanted to take her into his arms to reassure her and make her feel better, but of course he couldn't. Not with all of the other Deputies in the SUV.

Ani settled for occupying herself by taking in the sights of her city. She drank it all in, wishing again she could feel some excitement at being in New York City—taste it, smell it, live it. But knowing she'd never truly experience it all again put a damper on her mood. Not that it could really get any darker considering she was a murder target.

Sometimes she was so angry at her father that she wanted to scream. God, she missed him. But if it wasn't for his being involved with the Russian Mafia to begin with, none of this would ever have happened. He had been bought. And they all had paid.

New York City couldn't possibly be more different than the places in Oregon and Arizona that she'd lived in after leaving the city. Towering buildings crammed one up against another; streets packed with people of every nationality, creed, and color; cars nearly outnumbering mustard-yellow taxis; stores selling every possible thing a person could wish to purchase; and vendors hawking everything from tourist items to fresh fruit and vegetables.

Ani caught a whiff of roasted chestnuts and peanuts through the SUV's air vents as they drove. She could almost taste hot dogs and her mouth watered at the thought of eating one with the works. Or with a load of sauerkraut, plain yellow mustard, and ketchup. Nothing compared to New York's hot dogs or pizza.

The city was so bright, so vivid, so colorful.

That was, if one ignored the aged walls dirtied from pollution, scaffolding on too many buildings to count, and the cracked sidewalks marred with gum and other sticky substances blackened and trod on by countless people.

But that had never mattered when she'd lived here. She'd just loved it.

Her thoughts turned for a moment to that tiny town in Arizona where she'd lived for the last year. What a difference.

People in the small town would smile and say hi when she passed them on the sidewalk. If a person did that in New York, they were likely to get mugged.

Along the way to Federal Plaza, they passed Madison Square Park, Union Square, and SoHo boutiques. As they skirted Chinatown, Ani wished she could go back to her favorite dim sum restaurant and have her fill of fried potstickers, along with steamed dumplings crammed with pork, shrimp, and other delicacies. Not to mention the baked pork buns and hot jasmine tea.

She sighed again as countless memories assailed her. Just breathing in the city's air brought to mind things she'd nearly forgotten.

Much too quickly, it seemed, they reached Federal Plaza, which was south of Canal Street. When the four SUVs arrived, the Deputies in the first vehicle stopped at a Marshal checkpoint. Then all four SUVs drove down a side street to an alleyway next to a dark red brick building. The vehicles stopped in front of a metal plate that slanted about three feet upward. The plate lowered so the SUVs could pass through. They drove up to a corrugated metal door beneath the building that slowly rose, allowing them entrance to a dark parking garage. Daniel told her Deputy Marshals escorted other witnesses and prisoners into the building this way.

She sure felt like a prisoner right now. And all because of the Russian Mafia.

After everyone climbed out of the SUVs, Daniel and the other Deputies escorted her from the underground parking lot, which smelled of oil and dirt. They left the garage by way of an elevator, then navigated through a series of hallways to another elevator.