Megan stared back at her through dull eyes. "No, it's not. You have no idea, Annie."
"No idea about what?"
"I don't think now is the best time for questions," Griffin interrupted.
"You don't?" she asked with annoyance. "It seems like the best time to me, considering I was almost run over a few minutes ago."
"I'm sorry," Megan said. "I'm really sorry." At the end of her sentence, she got up from the couch, walked into the other room and shut the door behind her.
Annie was surprised by Megan's abrupt exit. She looked up at Griffin. "Do you think one of us should go in there and talk to her?"
"Let's give her a minute," he said, sitting down next to her. "I know you have a lot of questions, Annie, but first tell me what happened."
"I was looking at a text on my phone. Megan was throwing a bag of garbage in the dumpster. The next thing I knew, a car came racing around the corner, so fast it looked like it was on two wheels. I thought it would go down the street, but it turned in to the lot and headed straight for us. I pushed Megan out of the way and dove for cover. I think the car hit the dumpster and then turned around again." She shook her head in bewilderment. "I didn't know if he was coming back at us, but then you and Vinnie were there, and he drove off."
"Did you get a look at the driver?" he asked, his gaze intent on her face.
"I saw a hood, I think. I didn't see a face. I don't know; it happened so fast. I'm not even really sure what kind of car it was."
"It was a Ford Taurus."
"Did you see the license plate?"
"There was no license plate."
"Are you sure? Doesn't there have to be a plate?"
"There's supposed to be, but there wasn't one."
"We need to call the police."
"I'll call who needs to be called," Vinnie said. "The kettle is on. There's tea in the cupboard. I'll make the calls downstairs after I check the security camera."
"You have a camera on the lot?" she asked.
"We do," Griffin said with a nod. "But without a license plate, I'm not sure we'll have much more to go on than we have right now."
"I'll let you know," Vinnie said. "Call if you need me."
As Vinnie left the room, her gaze narrowed. She was still feeling light-headed, but she wasn't so fuzzy that she wasn't aware something was off in the way Griffin and Vinnie were reacting to the situation. "What did Vinnie mean when he said he would call who needs to be called? Isn't that the police?"
"Sure," Griffin said. "Don't worry about that. Are you feeling all right? You didn't hurt yourself when you jumped out of the way?"
"My knees sting a little, but I'm fine. I'm certainly doing better than Megan." Her gaze moved to the bedroom door and then came back to Griffin. "She said they found her. Who was she talking about? Don't tell me you don't know or you can't say."
"I don't know, Annie. I am telling you the truth. I don't know who tried to run you down."
Her lips drew together. "But you do believe it was deliberate, and that Megan was the target, right?" She could see the truth in his eyes.
"Probably."
"Why? Who is she? Why are you protecting her? You owe me some answers, Griffin. Or I can ask the police some of these questions. Maybe they can get answers out of you."
"Is that a threat?" he countered.
"Do I need to make it one?" she asked, not backing down. "You can talk to me or you can talk to them."
"All right," he said slowly. "I will tell you what little I know so that you don't put Megan in even more danger."
"How on earth could I do that?" she asked in bewilderment.
"Megan is a valuable witness in a criminal case. She's been in witness protection for the last ten months."
Griffin's words shocked her to the core. She didn't know what she'd expected to get as an explanation, but it hadn't been this.
"Are you part of her witness protection?"
"Not really," he said.
"What does that mean?"
"The man you saw in the bar Saturday night, the one who brought Megan to me, is a US marshal. He's been in charge of Megan's protection. In the time that she's been with him, there have been no incidents, no threats to Megan's life, no indication that her whereabouts had been discovered. But Megan was starting to go stir-crazy with the isolation, the lack of conversation with anyone besides the marshals protecting her. She ran away twice. They were afraid she'd manage to escape at some point and not only would the case lose its prime witness, but Megan could get herself into more trouble."
"So, they brought her here? To you? Why?"
"I've been friends with the marshal on her case for more than a decade. I've done him favors in the past, giving his protectees a place to work and live until they no longer need to be in hiding. When cases go on for almost a year, people have to find a way to have a life, or they can't survive."
"But aren't you putting yourself and everyone in the bar in danger?"
"He doesn't bring me anyone too high profile and definitely not from this area. Megan's case is important, but more on a local level than a national one, and she's a long way from home. Witnesses have to live somewhere."
"I guess. Is Vinnie calling your friend and not the police?"
Griffin met her gaze and gave a small nod. "He'll talk to Paul first and then we'll go from there. I did warn you to stay away from Megan. You should have listened to me."
"You could have been more forthcoming, Griffin."
"I really couldn't. I wouldn't have told you now if your life hadn't been put in danger by the mere fact that you were standing with Megan. I'm sorry about that."
"You don't sound sorry," she couldn't help saying, seeing the angry light in his eyes.
"I told you not to get involved with Megan. I asked you not to come back to the bar, but you did."
"Because Justin wanted my help, and you didn't turn it down."
"I should have. You were nosing around the bar from the second you stepped into it. I knew you were going to be trouble. Every time I turned around, there you were. And now look where we are."
Anger ripped through her. "You're acting like this is my fault. And it's not."
"Dammit, Annie. Why do you have to be so…" He waved his hand in the air in frustration.
"What?" she demanded. "What is wrong with me now?"
"This," he said, framing her face with his hands and pressing his mouth on hers.
She was so stunned by the kiss, she parted her lips in surprise, and that only made the kiss get hotter. Griffin's mouth was possessive, demanding, filled with anger, desire, and conflict. And she reacted with the same mix of turbulent emotions. She felt overwhelmed, consumed, and hungry for more. Every taste of his lips was a tease, and she wanted the hands that were running through her hair on her body—all over her body.
It was crazy, ridiculous. How could she want someone who didn't even seem to like her very much?
But he was kissing her like he needed her, like he couldn't get enough.
She needed to push him away. But he tasted so good, and the heat between them was filled with an electric connection that felt impossible to break.
But she had to break it. She had to come back down to earth.
Finally, she pulled away, her breasts heaving as the blood rushed through her veins. She stared at Griffin, wondering why he didn't look as unsettled as she felt. "Why—why did you do that?"
"There's always a question with you."
"And I want an answer. Why did you kiss me? Was it to stop me from asking questions?"
"I kissed you because I've been thinking about it since I met you."
Her jaw dropped in shock. "No, you haven't. You've been pissed off at me since I showed up in the bar."
"I've been pissed off at myself," he corrected. "Because as much as I wanted you to go away, I also wanted you to come back."
She had no idea what to say to that.
"My life is complicated," he continued.
"Everyone's life is complicated."
"That might be true, but I like things simple, and you are not simple, Annie Callaway."
She didn't know what that meant either, but then the past hour had been filled with one confusing moment after the next. Was he complimenting her or insulting her? Who knew? She tucked her hair behind her ears as she tried to slow down her heart with some deep breaths.
"Do you want me to apologize?" he asked.
"God, no. And, just for the record, I think you're a lot more complicated than I am."
"I shouldn't have kissed you."
"I just said don't apologize. It happened. It's…fine."
"It was better than fine," he said, a gleam in his eyes.
Her cheeks heated up again. She cleared her throat. "So, what now? What happens with Megan?" she asked, desperately needing to change the subject.
He blew out a breath. "Megan," he said, as if he'd almost forgotten about the woman in the next room.
"Yes. Megan. Let's talk about her."
"The marshals will come and get her, and move her somewhere else."
"If whoever is after her found her here, they might find her again."
"They might," he said evenly. "But the marshals will do everything they can to protect her."
"She's really scared."
"She is," he agreed. "But hopefully this won't go on much longer."
"She'll be safe after she testifies?"
"She should be. Once she tells her story, there won't be any reason for anyone to try to shut her up."
"What about revenge?"
He shrugged. "It's not impossible, but that's not usually the case."
She tilted her head, giving him a thoughtful look. "So, the Depot is like a halfway house or a hideout or an underground railroad," she added, her imagination taking flight.
"Whoa! Let's just call it a place for someone to work for a few days before they go somewhere else."
"And how appropriate that they're working at a former train station, a place where people used to come to catch a train on their way to somewhere else."
"I hadn't thought of it that way."
And now she couldn't think of it any other way. Her superhero idea suddenly coalesced in her head. She could use Griffin and Vinnie and the train station for her story pitch. She had a desperate urge to find a pen and some paper.
"What is going on in your head?" Griffin asked, giving her a wary look. "I can see the wheels turning."
She wasn't about to tell him her idea. He'd only shut her down, and right now she wanted no limits, no barriers, no walls. "Just thinking about everything." She paused as Vinnie returned to the apartment.
"Can I speak to you in the hall?" Vinnie asked Griffin.
"Yeah."
As Griffin went to speak to Vinnie in private, she stood up and walked over to the window, which faced the employee parking lot. Since they'd come upstairs, the sun had gone down, and the lot was filled with dark shadows, only one light near the entrance and another near the back door offering any illumination. There were three cars in the lot, one of which belonged to Griffin and the other two probably belonged to other staff members. She'd barely noticed the cars before, but the lot was spacious enough that they hadn't been damaged during the attack.
She shivered as the memories ran through her. The car speeding around the corner, the squeal of the tires, the roar of the engine. The vehicle had come out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly. Everything looked normal now, but was it? Was someone out there waiting to get another shot at Megan?
Griffin came back into the room and joined her at the window. "See anything?"
"No, it's quiet and dark."
"We need more lights, more security," he muttered.
She turned to face him. "What did Vinnie say?"
"The marshal is on his way to pick up Megan. He should be here shortly. He'll get her to a safe place."
"I hope so. I feel like he never should have let her out of his sight. Isn't it his job to stay with her?"
"There are different levels of protection depending on the level of the danger, the individual involved. It's not uncommon for people in the program to be on their own, with a local contact. And he's actually not that far away."
"I didn't know that."
"How would you? Anyway, Paul had been with Megan for a while, but she was losing her mind being isolated from the world. That's why he brought her here. I've done it before and it's been a successful experience. He doesn't have to lie to me, and I can watch out for the person. Although, in this case, I didn't do a very good job."
She could see the guilt in his eyes and she didn't know how to address it or if she even should address it, because frankly she still had a lot of unanswered questions. But she was too worked up to ask them now. "I'd like to say good-bye to Megan."
He nodded. "I'm sure she'd appreciate that."
"Did Vinnie see anything on the security camera?"
"Nothing beyond what you saw."
"And the police?"
"Paul is going to talk to them. He'll fill them in on Megan's situation. They'll get a copy of our security footage. And if they need to speak to you, I'm sure they will be in touch."
"So that's it?"
"That's it."
"Okay, I guess this doesn't really have much to do with me."
"Wrong place, wrong time."
"That seems to be happening a lot lately. I thought San Clemente was going to be a sleepy little beach town, a good place to hang out and relax, but I was almost attacked by sharks and now almost run down by a mysterious maniac."
"The key being almost," he reminded her. "They were close calls, but you survived."
"And here I thought you were more of a glass half-empty kind of guy," she said lightly.
The tension in his expression eased. "I usually am, but it's been a different kind of few days for me, too."
As they gazed into each other's eyes, desire ran through her again. She could still taste his mouth on her lips, and she wanted to see if another kiss would be as good as the previous one. How crazy was that?
Her breath grew shallow and her palms began to sweat as she fought against the strong current pulling her toward Griffin.
He seemed to be fighting, too, his eyes darkening, his jaw tightening, his hands moving into his pockets, as if those pockets would keep him away from her.
He'd taken the kiss he wanted. Why shouldn't she take the kiss she wanted? She licked her suddenly dry lips, feeling as if she was about to step off a cliff.
Then three sharp raps came on the door.
And her opportunity was lost.
She blew out a breath as Griffin went to answer the door. She had a feeling she'd just had another close call…
Eight
"This is Paul Daniels," Griffin told her, introducing the man she'd seen in the bar on Saturday night. "Annie Callaway."
"Miss Callaway," Paul said with a short nod, his expression somber. Then he turned to Griffin. "We need to talk—in private."
"You can have this room," she said. "I'm going to check on Megan."
She walked over to the bedroom door, gave a knock, and said, "Megan, I'm coming in." She didn't wait for a reply, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her.
Megan was in the middle of a queen-sized bed, lying on her side facing the door, her eyes red and swollen, but there were no tears now. She looked defeated, completely lost, and Annie's heart went out to her.
She sat down on the edge of the mattress and gave her a tentative smile. "How are you feeling?"
Megan's thin shoulders gave a shrug, but even that small gesture seemed to exhaust her.
"Griffin told me a bit about your situation," she said. "I don't know much, but I do know that you're in trouble because you're trying to do the right thing. I'm so sorry for what you're going through. I want to help."
"There's nothing you can do," Megan muttered. "There's nothing anyone can do. I just want this to be o
ver."
"Griffin said that's going to be happening soon."
"If they don't kill me in the next couple of weeks."
She didn't know what to say to that. "I can't imagine how you're handling all this."
"You really can't." Megan sat up and moved back against the headboard. "And I would never want you to experience life as a fugitive. I did nothing wrong, but I'm the one who's running. It seems upside down."
"It certainly doesn't sound fair."
"Paul brought me here because I was really depressed. I felt so isolated and lonely. I didn't want to do it anymore. What I thought would be days turned into weeks and then months, almost a year. I tried running away. I thought maybe I could just reinvent myself and skip the trial. But Paul found me and convinced me to give him another chance. He said he knew a place where I could go and be around people. I didn't think it would work out, and Griffin kind of scared me when I first met him. But then I met you and the other employees. You were all really nice to me. You all treated me like I was a normal person. It had been so long. I started to think maybe I could do it for another few weeks. Now it's over. They'll take me somewhere else. I heard Paul's voice. He's already here."
"Yes, he's talking to Griffin."
Megan nodded. "Thanks for pushing me out of the way, Annie. I froze when I saw the car. I didn't understand what was happening."
"I know that feeling. Luckily today, I found a way to act. I wish I could do more for you."
"I wish you could, too. But no one can. I have to testify. Otherwise, all of this will have been for nothing, and I will never ever be free." She paused. "I'd tell you more, Annie, but I don't want to bring you into this. You almost got killed because of me."
"I understand your need to keep your secrets, but you still have my number, right?"
"Yes."
"You can always call me. I'm happy to listen to you rant or to talk your ear off just to distract you. Maybe after you testify, you can come back here. Although, I'm sure you probably want to go home…wherever that is." It was so difficult to hold back the questions running through her head, but she didn't think Megan was up to a grilling, and maybe she didn't need to get any more involved in a dangerous situation.
Cant Let Go GO PL Page 8
