Ice spattered the windshield and laid a thin layer on the streets
and sidewalks. Trees began to sag with the extra weight on their
limbs. U.S. Deputy Marshal Colton Phillips leaned forward and
inspected the roiling dark gray clouds moving in from the west. At
least the roads were still passable; the weather lately had been
warm in St. Louis, especially for February.
But he didn't have much time to get his witness to the St. Louis
Downtown Airport. He was meant to transport the man to his
temporary new home in Denver. The pilot of the U.S. Marshals
Service's jet had called earlier to warn Colton that, due to the
weather, the airport would most likely shut down within forty
minutes. Which didn't leave him much time to make the flight.
Colton kept his gaze trained on the lead black SUV in front of his
own. He kept some distance between them in case Josh McCall, the
marshal driving, had to stop suddenly on the slippery road. Colton
had memorized the route to the airport as well as alternative ones
in case of trouble. And the more time ticked down and the slower
the traffic went, the tenser Colton became.
When they reached a stoplight, he glanced in his rear-view mirror
at Don Saunders, the low-life criminal who had bargained his way
into the Witness Protection Program in exchange for information on
a child-smuggling organization. His skin crawled at the sight of
Saunders's smug look.
Weasel was too kind of a description for his witness. Scumbag fit
the man better. Behind Don's cold, small dark eyes, Colton didn't
glimpse much intelligence, but what the criminal lacked in that
area he made up for with a bulky frame over six and a half feet
tall and a rock-hard muscular physique. According to the records,
Saunders lifted weights in his spare time between illegal
activities-the last being the kidnapping of Annie Duncan and her
two-year-old daughter, Sophia.
It wasn't his job to question why a creep like Don Saunders would
get into WitSec after what he'd done. But it didn't stop Colton's
gut from clenching at the expression on Saunders's face as they
slowly wended their way through the traffic toward the airport.
At a four-way stop, Colton waited his turn to proceed, scanning the
area. His gaze latched on to the other Denver U.S. Marshal, Quinn
Parker, who accompanied him in the backseat next to their witness,
his attention glued on Saunders. At least Colton didn't have to
worry about the criminal trying to escape while he was driving
them. Parker was by-the-book, down to the last detail. His job was
to keep Saunders in place while Colton drove or at this moment
crept.
The lead SUV crossed the intersection, and Colton pulled up to the
corner, his brakes gripping the street but not enough to stop
without sliding a few feet.
He looked both ways while Don Saunders mumbled, "You need to go
back to driving school."
Colton gritted his teeth and ignored the man's comment- one of many
complaints he'd expounded on in the short time Colton had been in
his presence. Deputy U.S. Marshals Josh McCall and Serena Summers
had briefed him and Parker on Saunders's activities that led to his
being put in WitSec. The man claimed the death of Annie Duncan's
husband was just the tip of a huge organization.
An old Mustang approached from the right, slowing down. Colton
eased his foot down on the accelerator and started across. The
driver of the Mustang suddenly picked up speed, running the stop
sign and fishtailing around the corner into the lane ahead of him.
Colton slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the guy. Again Colton
lost control for a few seconds as the back end of the SUV swung
around partway before coming to a stop. He quickly checked in the
rearview mirror behind him, catching sight of Saunders on the right
side in back.
With his hands secured behind him, Saunders jerked forward, the
seat belt halting his forward motion. The man let out a few choice
words. "You're supposed to protect me, not get me killed in a
wreck."
"Okay, Parker?" Colton glanced over his shoulder at the other
marshal.
"Fine," he muttered, his attention on Saunders, his hand on his
gun.
Colton corrected the SUV's direction, then continued forward,
falling in behind the Mustang still traveling between him and the
lead car. His gut rumbled with tension. He hated it when an
operation didn't go exactly as planned. He smiled, thinking back to
the perfect operations he had participated in. Not many. That was
why he always expected the unexpected.
A white truck trailed their SUV close, only feet from the bumper.
Not good when the streets were icing over. Drivers should know
better.
Colton's hands tightened about the steering wheel, the hairs on his
nape tingling. Something didn't feel right about this. Nearing
another stoplight, he reached for his cell phone to call the lead
SUV when the Mustang came to an abrupt halt in front of him,
forcing Colton to stomp on the brakes and skid to a stop, missing
the car by inches.
The vehicle behind him plowed right into his bumper. The grinding
crash of metal on metal filled his ears. The collision jarred his
SUV and shoved it into the Mustang. In the side mirror, Colton saw
a large man exit the truck and saunter toward him. Colton searched
for the lead SUV, which was halfway down the street slowing down,
but with the heavy traffic, changing directions wouldn't be easy.
"The guy in the passenger's side is getting out, too. He may have a
gun under his coat," Marshal Parker said, pushing Saunders down in
the seat.
Wearing a cowboy hat pulled low, the man in the Mustang also jumped
out of his car and headed toward the SUV, a thunderous expression
carved into his features.
Trapped. A setup?
Colton assessed his chances, made a quick decision and threw his
car in Reverse, shoving the truck back a few feet to give him room
to maneuver around the Mustang. Then, slamming his car into Drive,
he swerved to the left and hit the accelerator as much as he dared
with the slick conditions. He left the three men standing in the
road. One man stuck his hand in his coat pocket.
"Duck," Colton shouted as he took the corner, tossing a glance in
the direction of Josh's car. It had finally made a U-turn and was
heading back toward the scene. Colton sped away, not wanting to
stick around to find out if a gun was in that man's pocket.
"Everyone okay?" Colton asked as he braked slightly to take another
corner ten miles per hour too fast for icy roads. The back of the
SUV swerved from one side to the other, but Colton righted it and
increased his speed as much as he could afford to.
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Twenty-five minutes to
get to the plane.
"No, I'm not okay. What if I had been shot? Not to mention the
possibility of whiplash. This isn't keeping me safe. If you two
can't keep-" Saunders yelled.
"We're fine back here." Parker's calm voice cut into Saunders's
tirade.
Keeping his gaze swiveling between the road and his rearview
mirror, Colton fumbled for the phone button in the SUV and speed-
dialed the other marshals in the lead vehicle. "I'm taking a
different route to the bridge. Take care of those guys. I'll get
Saunders to the airport," he told Josh McCall.
"I've called for support. A police car isn't far away. When they
come, I'll catch up with you."
That might or might not happen. He was on his own as far as Colton
was concerned. "Was that little accident planned? Do they have
guns?"
"Don't know. They're angry and so are the other motorists around
them. Traffic is backing up. I'll call you after this is
straightened out. How are you going?"
Colton gave Josh another route he'd mapped out in his mind in case
something didn't feel right. He always had a backup plan. "If
they're after Saunders, how did they know about this transport from
the safe house? How did they even know he was in custody?"
"Don't know, but believe me, we'll be looking into it. Keep to the
plan. Don't go off doing your own thing." Steel thread ran through
Josh's voice-a man whom Colton had butted heads with over how this
case should be handled in the short time Colton had been in St.
Louis. Since Josh's partner had been killed recently, Colton
thought he was afraid to take a risk. It was just as well that
Colton's only business there was to transport Saunders to Denver.
Actually, Colton had come up with several different ways to get to
the airport. Up ahead the stalled traffic forced him to swing his
vehicle down a side street and take another direction than what
he'd told Josh. Until he knew what was going on, he had to think
the worst: those guys in the white truck and Mustang were gunning
for Don Saunders.
"This ain't the way you told him." Saunders hugged the door as
though trying to get out.
"Worried your boss got wind of your change of allegiance even with
all our precautions?" Colton couldn't keep the sarcasm from his
voice, glad the specialized lock made it impossible for the man to
dive out of the SUV.
"No. Unless you guys told him." Saunders threw a glare at Colton,
then Parker.
Saunders was being transported to Denver because one of the pieces
of information he told them was that he was supposed to meet a
contact there involved in the smuggling ring. He wouldn't say
anything else about it until he was out of St. Louis. If anyone got
wind of Saunders being in custody, he wouldn't be able to meet the
contact in Denver.
Colton took another turn, pushing the SUV as fast as he could
safely go if no one suddenly stopped in front of him. "Nope. Kinda
hard to tell him anything when we don't know who he is. But
remember this deal goes away if you don't kee...
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