The Eyewitness

by Nancy C. Weeks

  “First, there’s no us. You’re in training and have someone overseeing your work at all times. Just how do you plan to keep this hidden from your coworkers or boss?”

  “I haven’t figured that out yet.” A nagging sensation compelled her to keep the bark a secret. “It was your idea that I keep the man in the shadows out of my statement. The same goes with this,” she said, holding up the evidence bag. “As for my job, nothing matters to me while this guy walks free.”

  Alec let out a noisy sigh. “You really don’t trust me to find this bastard, do you?”

  His defeated expression tore at her. “I’m not saying that.”

  “Then what are you saying?”

  “If you bring this to my boss, she will ask how you got it and laugh you out of the lab. Instead, if I run it, my involvement stays between us. This is me trusting you. All I expect is the same.”

  He let out a harsh laugh, rose, and placed his dish in the sink. “This is a new one. Emersyn D’Azzo is using me.”

  The man was poking under her skin again, but she shoved down her frustration. “We make a pact to work together.”

  “No.” He yanked the envelope from her fingers and placed it in his back pocket. “I climbed the damn tree while you were tucked snuggly in your bed. If there is useful evidence, I’ll run with it.” He left the kitchen, grabbed his jacket, and stalked toward the front door.

  Emersyn darted after him, slamming the front door shut as he opened it. “Give it back.”

  “No.”

  She reached behind him, but he twisted away. Jerk!

  “Damn it, Alec. It’s a good plan.”

  “What if the sniper watched you climb that tree tonight, Em?”

  “He couldn’t—”

  “With a high-power scope, he damn well could.” His finger brushed over the lace right above the V in her T-shirt. “This peachy lace will probably give him wet dreams.”

  She shoved his hand away. “That’s crazy. Why would he follow me around? The world believes I have no memory of the shooting.”

  “I’m not taking chances with your life. If your boss won’t run the sample, then it’s over. We’ll find another way that doesn’t leave a fucking target on your back.”

  She again tried grabbing the envelope. He flipped her around, pinning her between him and the door. He wasn’t threatening her—but she still had to fight the impulse to shove him so hard he’d land on his tight ass.

  “You don’t want to mess with me, Em.” His finger flipped a wave of hair behind her ear.

  She took his hand and placed it between her breasts. “Feel that bandage. It covers a raw scar where the slug was removed, the same slug that went through my father.”

  “Damn it—”

  “I didn’t ask to be in this.” She pressed his hand over the scar. “This is my pass to mess with whatever the hell I want.”

  “Then mess with this.”

  He leaned close, his breath caressing her lips before he took her mouth. Jolts of raw fire pulsed into her core. She let out a low growl as his tongue found hers. God, how could she want to shove the man down her porch steps one instant and be plastered as close to him as she could get the next?

  The gentleness from moments before drained from his body. Alec held the control, but she wanted the kiss. Somehow, this part of their cluttered relationship made sense. Since she didn’t have the strength to fight their magnetic chemistry, she matched his desire with her own, taking what she needed.

  He lowered one hand to her waist, drawing her close, while the other cupped her neck. Up close and personal, there was no doubt Alec wanted her as much as her body wanted him. Good.

  The loose step in the middle of the staircase creaked, and Alec jerked back. He yanked the door open and hissed, “Stay out of that damn tree.”

  Emersyn pinched the edge of the envelope and lifted it out of his pocket as he closed the door behind him, then she set the lock. When she turned toward the stairs, her mother stood with her arms tense around her waist, her mouth tight, lips in a straight line.

  “You’re playing with fire, baby girl.”

  “I thought you went to bed.”

  “Why do you push him like that?”

  An uncomfortable silence filled the room. “It’s Alec.”

  “You can’t play games with a man like him.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “How do you feel about Alec? Give me a straight answer.”

  The question shouldn’t have taken her by surprise, but it did. Did she trust him? Not in the least. Could she count on him to be on her side? No. But something kept dragging them together.

  “It was just a kiss.”

  “Again, I know that kiss well.”

  Heat rose in Emersyn’s cheeks. “For the record, there isn’t anything between Alec and me. I get why Dad objected.” Just his name tightened her chest. So many wasted moments. “That’s no longer an issue. What is your problem with Alec?”

  “I know him. You don’t.”

  Chapter Six

  Alec needed a smoke. Cigarettes had never been his vice, but at that moment, he wished he had picked up the habit. A prop would allow him to lean against the half wall of the forensic science building and think through his next move.

  Emersyn D’Azzo drove him insane, turning him into a first-rate idiot. Why did he kiss her? And in her damn foyer.

  He was used to the constant acid burn in his stomach. This was different. He couldn’t remember ever being so unsettled. Part of it was caused by nightmarish dreams. Joe’s death haunted his nights, and during the day, he could almost hear the fucking sniper laughing at him.

  I got away with murder, and I’m going to do it again.

  A great lay always gave him a dreamless night. Only problem was, he had nothing left to give after his shift. Besides, he had no right to enjoy himself until Joe’s killer was either roasting in hell or locked behind solid steel bars.

  As soon as he’d gotten home last night after running from the D’Azzos’ home like a scared, moronic teenager, he’d tried to settle down with a couple beers. When that didn’t ease the tension, he’d changed into his running gear and ended up almost crawling home after a ten-mile sprint. His poor muscles had screamed in protest while Em slept soundly in her bed. She had even affected his shift. Gates had noticed his distraction and was on his ass all day. Of course, his commanding officer wasn’t in the best of moods either. The whole team was jumpy. There was going to be another victim any day, while they all danced around like trained monkeys.

  Em might be carrying around their only lead. He should have charged back into the house and ripped the evidence bag from her sticky little fingers.

  There would be no rest until he had answers to the questions that plagued him like a purulent disease. What case was Joe working on that he didn’t trust Alec enough to read him into it? He thought they had reached a place in their relationship where there were no secrets.

  How well did Joe know the shadow man Emersyn saw? More importantly, did his partner know the sniper?

  No, damn it! Joe was a good cop and a better man. Things were either right or wrong, no middle or gray area. But, fuck it, there was a connection. His partner had known something that got him killed.

  And then there were the two bastards from the hospital. Did they have the wrong room number, or did Shadow Man or the sniper send them after Em? And last, a new thought now churned his stomach acid to a boil. Did the sniper plant that evidence for Em to find? The crime scene investigators were too thorough to miss a Band-Aid tucked into a piece of bark.

  One thing was clear. He hadn’t known his best friend as well as he thought he had.

  Leave it alone. But what the fuck was ‘it’?

  “Hey, Pearce. Twice in the same week. What are you doing here?” Angela McCain asked, jogging down the front steps in four-inch heels.

  His jaw clenched. Hell, she was the one woman he didn’t want to have to mess with today.
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br />   He straightened and met her at the bottom of the steps, a lie already forming. “I left my cell at the D’Azzos’ last night. Em said she had it. This is the first chance I had to come by and pick it up.”

  Amusement seeped into Angela’s expression.

  “What’s with the look, Angela?”

  “No look. I’ve been in this building for years. You’ve never stepped into it once.”

  The soft spot at his temple pulsed. He moved around her. “Here for a phone. Nothing else.”

  He jogged up to the landing, but she called out his name. He turned toward her.

  “Emersyn isn’t like us. Don’t hurt her or . . . ”

  “Or what?”

  “You will really piss me off. There has been a protective shield around her since day one.” She met him on the landing and waited until a small crowd exiting the building passed. “Stay connected to the family for Joe.”

  “That’s all I’m doing.”

  Her glare grew tense, the deep brown in her irises swirling to black. “No, this is something new.”

  “Did I hurt you, Angela?”

  “No, but that girl isn’t prepared for you. If you are on a big-brother kick, fine. Don’t make it something else.”

  The woman turned and stormed down the stairs without a glance back. Her past was almost as rough as his. But she’d climbed out of it and was now married with two preschoolers. Their short time together meant nothing to either of them. So why was she in his face about Em? Everyone around him seemed to have the same message. Was there a damn sign plastered on his forehead that only he couldn’t see?

  He shoved the door open hard enough to make a security guard stiffen. Alec planted a smile on his face as he reached for his badge. As soon as he made it through security, he headed for the stairs. The instant the door shut behind him, a blaring fire alarm filled the stairwell.

  He raced up to the third floor and reached the lab at the same time the sprinklers in the ceiling burst open, soaking Em and her lab partner. He yanked on the door, hard. It didn’t budge. His fist hit the glass. “Em, open up!”

  She jerked around, her cheeks flushed and her eyes dilated. Turning her back to him, she pulled on her partner’s arm. He yanked free of her hold, and his fingers flew across the keyboard in front of him. When nothing seemed to happen, he rushed across the lab and keyed a code into an instrument panel. When he couldn’t manually cut the power to the machine, he heaved it from the wall.

  Alec pounded on the glass again. “No! Don’t touch the plug.”

  It was as if his words evaporated into the glass. Water was pooling under the instrument, but the tech’s hand went right for the cord. His body jerked hard twice as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. His knees gave out, and he fell back, his head hitting the floor. Em let out a screech and dropped down beside him.

  “Don’t touch him!” Alec roared. “The water is electrically charged! Move the hell back!”

  Small sparks zipped from the electrical socket, and then it burst into flames. Em leaped onto the examination counter as water flooded around her.

  “Alec, I have to shut down—”

  “It’s not worth your life!”

  “What the hell happened?” Angela cried, racing toward him from the stairwell. “Dear God—Ben!”

  “He tried to unplug one of the machines,” Alec explained. “We have a live wire, and the floor’s covered in water. We need to shut the power off before we open the door.”

  “The damn power should have gone down when the alarm sounded.” Angela gripped her phone and issued several orders to whoever was on the other end of the line. The entire floor went dark. The next instant, her key was in the slot, and the door was open. Alec charged toward Em, lifting her into his arms. He didn’t put her down until he reached the stairwell. Her body trembled as he set her back on her feet.

  “Help Ben.”

  Alec raced back to the lab and found Angela checking his vitals. “He lost consciousness, but there’s a heartbeat and he’s breathing.”

  “I’m not waiting for fire and EMT.” Alec heaved the man over his shoulder and headed toward the door.

  “That’s fine.” Angela stood, almost in shock. “What happened here?”

  “Questions later. Let’s go.”

  Em met them in the hallway, her body still trembling and her eyes wide as she breathed heavily. Several firemen arrived on the floor, and one took Ben from him. Alec removed his sport coat, draped it around Em’s shoulders, and followed the fireman out of the building.

  Once outside, he led Em away from the crowd. “Are you hurt?”

  She swallowed hard. “No,” she whispered and pulled the jacket close around her, shutting out the cold breeze. “Is Ben okay?”

  “His heartbeat was strong. He may have passed out.” Alec placed an arm around her shoulders, and she turned to him. “What happened up there?”

  “I don’t know. I logged off and was putting things away when all hell broke loose. The alarm sounded, and the next instant, the sprinklers burst over us.”

  “Em, what happened to the bark sample?”

  Her jaw clenched, and the hurt in her eyes disappeared. “I didn’t do this,” she said almost to herself. “I gave Ben the sample, and he was running it while he finished with what he was working on.”

  “It’s still in the lab?”

  “What test is that, Emersyn?” Angela stood directly behind them.

  A soft hue of pink seeped into Em’s cheeks as she faced her supervisor. “I asked Ben to run something I found last night.”

  “Which was?”

  Em’s shoulders slumped, and for some reason, the slight movement sent raw anger into Alec’s gut.

  “I climbed up to the sniper’s nest and—”

  Angela’s hand rose to silence her, and Em shut her mouth. “You were ordered to stay clear of your father’s case. What did you hope to find at this point? We’ve been all over it.”

  “I had to see it for myself. I can’t explain—”

  “Em overstepped,” Alec interrupted. “No argument there. But the question you should be asking is why the sprinklers were raining down on your people as if the lab were in flames. There was no smoke, no fire.”

  Angela turned her glare on Alec. “You were part of this?”

  Em stepped between them. “No. He had nothing to do with it. While I was up in the tree, I found a piece of a bandage embedded in the bark.”

  “Any attorney worth his salt will argue you planted it.”

  “But I didn’t. Whatever we found wouldn’t be admissible in court, but it could have given us a lead. I asked Ben to help me run it. I don’t know what happened, but none of this is Ben’s fault.”

  “You’re right on that account.” Angela took a moment to collect her thoughts. The tension between them was thick, heavy. “Emersyn, you and I worked side by side all day. Why didn’t you bring this to me?”

  “I figured you would—”

  “And there’s your problem. You have no idea what I would have done. You don’t know me. And by sneaking behind my back, you proved one thing. I can’t trust you.”

  Angela’s words came out in a jeering whisper. Alec could almost feel each syllable jab Em. She tugged his jacket around her as protection from what was coming, and all he could do was stand at her side, helpless. But he wasn’t helpless, nor was he going to stay silent.

  “It’s damn cold out here,” he said. “Before any of us says something we’ll regret, I think Em needs to get out of her wet clothes.” Alec’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He glanced at the screen. “I have to get this.”

  The information the dispatch passed along made his heart drop to his stomach. When he turned back to Em, Angela was also on the phone, probably receiving the same news.

  “I’ll walk you to your car,” he said, taking Em’s arm.

  She pulled away. “What’s happened?”

  “There’s been a shooting,” Angela answered as she watched the
ambulance with Ben leave the parking lot. “It appears to be our guy. I need to get back inside and find a lab space.”

  “Can I help?” Em’s voice came out soft, doubting.

  “Go home, Emersyn.”

  “But I can—”

  “I don’t even know if you work here anymore. I’m going to have to report this.”

  “Hell, Angela,” Alec swore. “Give her a break. It was her second day, for God’s sake.”

  Both women turned on him. “Stay out of it.”

  Em moved across the parking lot, and Angela stormed back into the building. Alec went after Em and caught her arm as she opened her car door. She tugged his jacket off her shoulders and handed it to him.

  “Thanks.”

  “Em, wait.”

  She faced him, her eyes filled with unshed tears. She blinked once, then again. One light wind, and she would fall apart.

  He had seen the look before. Five years ago, at the fucking frat party. But he was a better cop now, a better person, and could sense her hurt. “Angela will calm down. You blindsided her.”

  “I need to go, Alec.”

  “Not like this. I can give you a ride home.”

  “No. I’m fine.”

  “Like hell you are.”

  “Why are you being nice to me? Go ahead. Tell me how stupid it was to take the sample from you. And it was even stupider to try and run it without my supervisor’s knowledge.”

  He moved in close, until they were inches from each other. “Stop. I understand why you did what you did.” He placed his jacket back around her trembling shoulders. “Whatever happened in that lab wasn’t your doing.”

  She straightened. “This time you believe me.”

  “Let’s not rehash history.” He took hold of his jacket collar. “You need to listen to me. This is strike two—the second time someone tried to kill you.”

  “You’re overreacting. It was a mistake, a broken water pipe maybe.”

  He held up one finger. “Actually, the first attempt was the bullet. Then there were the two assholes in the hospital. Just because Nathan didn’t get anything from them doesn’t mean they weren’t there to kill you. It stays on the list.” He faced the front of the building. “This is number three.” He ran his hand across the back of his neck. “We both agree that the shadow man you saw and the sniper are working together. Is there anything else about that night you haven’t told me?”