by Debby Giusti
Hiding in Plain Sight
The second thrilling Amish Witness Protection novel
After Julia Bradford’s son witnesses a gang shooting, hiding in witness protection on Abraham King’s Amish farm is the only hope the Englischer and her children have. Even as danger closes in, Julia is drawn to the community’s peaceful ways—and the ex-cop turned Amish protector. But when their location is discovered, can Abraham protect her family...and possibly have a future by her side?
“Hurry, Julia. We don’t have much time.”
Abraham held out his hand to her. Fear flashed in Julia’s eyes. Abraham’s heart went out to her for the situation they were in. All she wanted to do was keep her son safe, yet they were walking into the middle of a clash between two street gangs. They were taking a big risk that could turn deadly.
“We have to keep going.” Abraham put his hand on Julia’s shoulder and guided her forward. She scooted William closer toward Abraham so the boy would be protected between them.
“We’ll slip out along the side of the road,” Abraham said. “Act nonchalant.” They stayed on the sidewalk, keeping their eyes averted so they would not make eye contact.
“Hey, you!” someone shouted.
“They must have seen us!”
* * *
Amish Witness Protection
Amish Hideout by Maggie K. Black—January 2019
Amish Safe House by Debby Giusti—February 2019
Amish Haven by Dana R. Lynn—March 2019
Debby Giusti is an award-winning Christian author who met and married her military husband at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Together they traveled the world, raised three wonderful children and have now settled in Atlanta, Georgia, where Debby spins tales of mystery and suspense that touch the heart and soul. Visit Debby online at debbygiusti.com, blog with her at seekerville.Blogspot.com and craftieladiesofromance.Blogspot.com, and email her at [email protected].
Books by Debby Giusti
Love Inspired Suspense
Amish Witness Protection
Amish Safe House
Amish Protectors
Amish Refuge
Undercover Amish
Amish Rescue
Amish Christmas Secrets
Military Investigations
The Soldier’s Sister
The Agent’s Secret Past
Stranded
Person of Interest
Plain Danger
Plain Truth
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Amish Safe House
Debby Giusti
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
—Proverbs 3:5–6
To our law enforcement heroes.
May God bless them and keep them in His care.
Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
DEAR READER
EXCERPT FROM PROTECTING HIS SECRET SON BY LAURA SCOTT
PROLOGUE
Gunfire!
Julia Bradford’s pulse raced. “Kayla, where’s your brother?”
“He took out the trash.”
Julia rinsed the plate she was washing and glanced at the overflowing trash bag still on the floor by the kitchen counter, then peered through the window at the dumpster in the empty alleyway below.
Another round of gunshots. Her heart thumped a warning. She wiped her hand on a dish towel and hurried into the living area. “When did he leave?”
Her seven-year-old daughter clutched her doll and shrugged. Thankfully, Kayla seemed oblivious to the gang warfare that held this part of the inner city hostage.
“Come with me.” Julia reached for her daughter’s hand.
Kayla reluctantly rose from the floor, still holding her doll, and slipped her small hand into her mother’s. “Where are we going?”
“To Mrs. Fielding’s apartment.”
Kayla’s face broke into a wide smile. “Maybe she baked cookies today.”
If only all of life’s problems could be solved with a cookie.
“Hurry.” Julia ushered her daughter into the stairwell and up one flight of steps.
She knocked on the apartment door. “Mrs. Fielding?”
Relieved when the sweet neighbor with the warm gaze and understanding smile opened the door, Julia gently guided Kayla through the doorway.
“William’s outside,” she explained. “I heard gunshots.”
The older woman’s brown eyes widened. “Lord, protect that boy.”
“Can you watch Kayla?”
“Of course, dear.”
“Lock the door, Mrs. Fielding. The gangs have started following their victims into stairwells.”
“God help us.” The woman moaned as she pointed Kayla toward the table. “Sit there, baby. I’ll get you a cookie.”
Once the door closed, Julia waited to hear the click of the dead bolt fall into place before she raced down the stairs, pushed on the outer door and stepped into the cool night air.
A pop-pop-pop sounded, followed by a rapid burst of semiautomatic gunfire. Heart in her throat, Julia ran toward the sound.
“William?” She glanced into the alley, the neighboring apartment, the small grocery on the corner with its windows barred to stop the rampant crime.
“Thank you, Charlie,” Julia spat out, her hands fisted. Anger at her ex-husband bubbled up anew.
More gunfire, peppered with angry shouts.
Where’s Will?
She turned left at the intersection, then right onto a side street. Her gut tightened. Halfway down the block two bodies lay sprawled on the roadway. Dark swaths of blood pooled on the pavement.
Fear tangled her spine.
William!
She wanted to scream his name, but her outcry would draw attention to a fourteen-year-old enamored of punk teens and twentysomethings who flaunted knives and guns and endless cash.
She blamed Charlie, her ex, who was serving time. So much for fatherly love. The only thing he had provided for his children was a heritage of crime.
Slipping into a nearby alleyway, she peered at the thugs marked with tattoos and piercings milling around their fallen comrades.
More shots. A man gasped, his face caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. He clutched his chest and collapsed to the pavement. Just that quickly, the rival gangs scattered.
Footsteps sounded. Julia held her breath and narrowed her gaze, trying to determine who was approaching.
Her eyes widened.
William!
She stepped from the darkness and grabbed her son’s hand. “Where were you?”
“Mom, please.” He jerked free.
“You snuck out.”
“I told Kayla.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
She glanced back. Three men stood staring at them. Julia’s heart lurched. She motioned William forward. “Go home. Now.”
Footsteps slapped the pavement behind them. She turned again. Her heart stopped. The men were running toward them.
“Hurry, Will.”
With his long legs and easy gait, her son moved ahead of her. They turned left at the corner and right at the next intersection. Her lungs burned. She gasped for air.
William climbed the stairs to their apartment building and plugged in the code. The door clicked open. He disappeared into the stairwell.
Julia followed him inside and up the stairs. He stood at the door of their apartment, fumbling with the key.
Shouts sounded below.
“Where is he?” Male voices. “Where’s that punk kid? David’s friend. He saw it all go down.”
Another voice, coming from the same group. “I know his apartment number. Follow me.”
Heavy footfalls pounded the stairs.
Julia’s heart stopped. She reached around William and jiggled the key. The door to their apartment opened. She shoved him into the living room, slammed the door behind her and engaged the lock.
“Hide, Will. In the bathroom.”
She grabbed her cell phone off a side table and followed her son through the bedroom to the bath beyond, locking both doors behind them just as the gang members crashed through the front door and entered the apartment.
“Lay down.” She motioned William into the tub. “Cover your head with your hands.”
Trembling, Julia punched 911 into her cell. “The Philador gang,” she said, breathless, once the operator answered. “Three of them...in my apartment.”
She gave the address, the words spilling out one after another. “My son and I...locked in the bath. Hurry.”
Angry shouts. Glass shattered. A heavy object clattered to the floor.
God, can You hear me? Protect my child.
Julia pushed her weight against the bathroom door, hoping it would hold. Her heart raced. A roar filled her ears.
If only the police...
Sirens sounded.
Would they get there in time?
Voices in the bedroom. Something or someone rammed the bathroom door.
“You’re dead, punk.”
William glanced up, his face twisted with fear.
Another crash to the door.
She thought of her daughter with Mrs. Fielding in the upstairs apartment.
Keep them safe.
“Police!” a voice shouted.
A shot, followed in a nanosecond by another. A scream. Then the scurry of feet.
Someone pounded on the door. “Ma’am, it’s the police. Unlock the door.”
Could she trust the voice? Could she trust anyone?
Will climbed from the tub, his cheeks wet with tears, his nose running. He touched her hand.
She saw his lips move, but she couldn’t understand what he was saying.
He nudged her aside, undid the lock and slowly opened the door.
Hands grabbed both of them and pulled them through the bedroom, past two bleeding bodies on the floor, past the group of officers huddled around another gang member. His wrists were cuffed behind his back. Curly black hair, a mustache and goatee, deep-set eyes that stared at her as they passed.
Recognition flickered in the back of Julia’s mind.
A female officer introduced herself and held up a badge. “We’re taking you someplace safe.”
Julia shook her head. She reached for William and pulled him close. “My son?”
“He’s going with you.”
“Kayla? My...my daughter—”
“Where is she, ma’am?”
“Upstairs.”
Without letting go of William’s hand, Julia climbed the stairs, pulling her son behind her. The officer followed.
“It’s Julia.” She tapped on Mrs. Fielding’s door. “I need my daughter.”
The door cracked open. Mrs. Fielding peered through the narrow crevice.
“Where’s Kayla?”
“Mama!” The child yanked on the door. Her eyes widened as she glanced at the throng of police swarming the stairwell. “What’s wrong, Mama?”
Julia pointed to the female officer. “We’re going someplace with this lady.”
“I don’t wanna go.”
“Shhh, Kayla. It’ll be okay.”
“My dolly.”
“Kayla, please.”
She ran back into the apartment and returned with the doll clutched in her arms.
Julia squeezed Mrs. Fielding’s hand. “Thank you.”
“God keep you safe,” the older woman said. “I’m praying for you.”
If only God would listen.
The officer touched Julia’s arm. “We need to leave now.”
“My purse?”
“I’ll have someone retrieve your things.”
“I homeschool my children. There are books and—”
“I’ll tell them to bring the schoolbooks and supplies.” The officer put her hand on Julia’s shoulder and pointed her down the stairs.
Outside, the flashing lights of the ambulance and police squad cars captured them in their glare. Julia pulled her children close and ran toward the waiting car, her head lowered as the officer had instructed.
They slid into the back seat of the large sedan. Heat pumped from air vents. Julia buckled seat belts and wrapped her arms around the children, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest.
The officer glanced at William. “Did you see anyone shot this evening?”
He lowered his gaze and nodded. “Oscar... Oscar de la Rosa.”
“Who shot him?”
William glanced at Julia before he answered, his voice little more than a whisper. “Frankie Fuentes.”
Julia’s heart broke. Her son was caught in the middle of a Philadelphia turf war between the Philadores and Delphis. Both gangs killed in cold blood and left no witnesses.
Kayla snuggled closer, her eyes heavy.
“Everything’s all right, sweetie,” Julia assured her.
But it wasn’t. Nothing was right and everything was wrong.
ONE
“I have your new identities.” US Marshal Jonathan Mast sat across the table from Julia in the hotel, situated on the outskirts of Philadelphia, where she and her children had been holed up for the last five days. He was a pensive man with a dark beard and equally dark eyes.
“The night of the shooting I asked you to be patient, Mrs. Bradford, and you have been, which we all appreciate.” He glanced at the two other marshals at the table. Both Stacy Porter, slender and focused on her job, and Karl Adams, more laid-back with an easy smile, nodded in agreement.
Julie didn’t feel patient. She felt frustrated and stir-crazy. Keeping her children content in a two-room suite had been a challenge. Plus, she was scared to death about their safety.
The Philadores wanted to kill William so he wouldn’t testify against their leader. As much as Julia didn’t trust law enforcement, she had to rely on the US Marshals and their witness protection program to keep her family safe. No wonder her nerves were stretched thin. She had slept little over the last four nights, and the nagging headache and dark circles under her eyes were proof of her struggle to maintain some semblance of normalcy in her children’s lives.
/> As efficient as Marshal Mast seemed, he failed to realize how antsy kids could be without sunshine and fresh air. Fortunately, Stacy and Karl had seemed more empathetic. Both in their early thirties, they had played games with William and Kayla and had provided pizza and colas and an abundance of snacks. But even a diet of junk food got old.
“We’re ready to transport you and the children,” Jonathan Mast continued. “We’ll fly into Kansas City tonight, then drive to Topeka and north to Yoder.”
“What’s in Kansas?”
“What’s not there is more important. Kansas is one of the few states where the Philadores don’t have a strong presence. As I’ve mentioned previously, Frankie Fuentes is a killer. He runs drugs, has his hand in prostitution, trafficking and illegal gambling. Three weeks ago, he gunned down two cops in cold blood. No witnesses and no way to bring him to justice. Your son saw him kill Oscar de la Rosa. William’s testimony will send Fuentes to jail for a long time.”
Jonathan pulled out his phone and accessed a photograph. He handed the cell to Julia. “Abraham King will watch over you in Kansas.”
Julia studied the picture. The man looked to be in his midthirties with a square face and deep-set eyes beneath dark brows. His nose appeared a bit off center, as if it had been broken. Lips pulled tight, and no hint of a smile on his angular face.
“Mr. King doesn’t look happy.”
Jonathan shrugged. “Law enforcement photos are never flattering.”
Her stomach tightened. “He’s a cop?”
“Past tense. He left the force three years ago.”
Once a cop, always a cop. Her ex had been a police officer. He protected others but failed to show that same sense of concern when it came to his own family. After Charlie, she wanted nothing to do with men in uniform.
The marshal seemed oblivious to her unease.
“Abe is an old friend,” Jonathan continued. “A widower from my police-force days who owns a farm and has a spare house on his property. He lives in a rural Amish community.”
“Amish?”
“That’s right.”
“Bonnets and buggies?” she asked.
He smiled weakly. “You’ll be off the grid, Mrs. Bradford. No one will look for you there. If anyone asks, you’ll be working as Abraham’s housekeeper, at least until the trial.”
