Material Witness (30 page)

“Don't make this any harder than it
has to be.” Reaching up, Cassie kissed him softly on the lips. It wasn't the
kind of kiss he'd expected or come to know from her. It surely wasn't what he
wanted either. She didn't sink against him and mold into his arms or give up
her heart and soul to him. This kiss was restrained, as if she'd shut herself
off completely. As he put his arms around her to draw her ever closer, she
slipped away from his embrace.

Jake grabbed at the tightness in his
chest that threatened to choke the life out of him. He thought he'd die. Good
Lord, what was happening to them?

“You listen to me, Cassie. No matter
what happens, I want you to know that…” He swallowed hard. What could he say to
her?

He hadn't said the words. He loved
this woman with every beat of his heart, and he hadn't told her. He needed more
time.
They
needed more time.

“Good-bye, Jake.”

 The sting of her abrupt change left
Jake shell shocked. Other women? Cassie wasn't just some other woman. She was
special, incredible, like no one he'd ever met before in his life. She was
Cassie, dammit, and he didn't want to be let off the hook.

“Cassie, I'm going to find the
evidence—”

But she was gone already, quickly
striding through the opening in the doorway Kevin had given her. His partner
turned to him with a look of sympathy in his expression. Jake loathed his pity.

The walk into the corridor seemed
surreal. Agents in blue pinstriped suits lined the hallway. Police, both in
uniform and undercover, stood in their own groupings.

He searched the hallway, through the
throng of people standing and moving about, for some sign of Cassie. There was
none.

“She ran into the ladies room,”
Charley said, placing her hand on his shoulder. He glanced at Charley and saw
compassion in her eyes. “I take it she didn't take the news well.”

“Not particularly,” he ground out,
heading toward the restroom, ready to plow through the U.S. marshal parked at
the door.

“Jake, you can't go into the ladies
room.”

“Want to see me?”

A stronger hand held him back,
forcing him to swing around. Captain Russo gripped Jake hard by the upper arm.
“Give her some space, Jake. She'll come around.”

He stared at the closed door Cassie
had just fled behind. “She thinks I sold her out.”

“She needs some time,” Charley said.
“I'll talk to her when we get to the safe house.”

It was like the air had been sucked
out of the hallway. “
You'll
talk to her?”

“That's right.”

Confusion and anger whirled into one.
“What about this team you're supposed to be heading up to investigate Angel
Fagnelio and his cohorts? What about the Trumbella organization?”

Charley lifted her chin. “That will
go on unabated, but with Agent Radcowski heading up the team instead of me.”

“I didn't sign on with Radcowski.”

“There's been a change of plans.”

“Since last night?”

She didn't answer his question, Jake
noticed. In true Charlotte Tate form the ice woman forged on with the subject
at hand.

“I thought it best if I guard Cassie
until the trial. No one will know her whereabouts but me.”

“The only reason I agreed to let her
out of my sight—”

“She'll still have the protection she
needs, Detective.”

Captain Russo’s hand was gripping
Jake's arm again. “Don't be stupid, Jake. It won't help Cassie to cause a
scene. Come with me and we'll talk things through.”

Charley scanned the hall, then
glanced at the door to the ladies room. “I think that's a good idea. I'm going
to check on Cassie.”

“What the hell is going on here?”
Jake roared, throwing his hands up in the air and charging toward the restroom
door only to be held back by the captain.

“Knock it off, Jake,” Russo seethed.
“Don't make me have to arrest you.”

Charley gave a hard look to Russo,
then to Jake. “Great idea. Cuff him.”

* * *

Cassie splashed cold water on her
face and glanced at her torn expression in the mirror. She needed the shock of
the frigid water. She wouldn't cry. She refused to cry over Jake.

He wasn’t coming with her
. Good
Lord, she was truly alone
. And what was worse, Cassie couldn't even go home
to her own haven to lick her wounds. She was being forced back into hiding for
God only knew how long. Maybe forever.

She closed her eyes so she wouldn't
see the tears that refused to hide themselves from her reflection in the
mirror.

He didn't love her. She'd always
known Jake was an honorable man, a knight in black leather armor when she'd
needed him. He was a good cop, and, she thought with an ache in her heart, an
incredible lover who'd awakened senses she never dreamed existed in her.

But he didn't love her. What did she
expect? They'd only known each other a handful of days. This was her nightmare,
not his. No one was telling him he couldn't walk out the door and go home. It
wasn't fair for her to expect Jake to leave his family and friends to live in
hiding with her.

What she’d shared with Jake had been
real, special. For her anyway. And maybe on some level it had been real and
special for Jake, too. Cassie wanted to believe that.

She wasn't the same woman she'd been
before she met Jake. And now nothing would ever be the same again.

A dry laugh escaped her lips as she
pulled a paper towel from the dispenser and brusquely wiped the water and tears
from her face. The towel was abrasive against her cheek, but at least she could
feel
something
other than the pain in her heart.

She thought of the irony. Before
she'd met Jake, she tried so hard to keep her life in her control. It had made
her dead inside to the point of ruining her relationship with other men.

Jake had changed all that. He'd
opened her up, touched the marrow of her soul and made her feel again.

And she learned the one thing she
couldn't control was her feelings. She loved Jake. And right now loving him
hurt like hell.

A gust of wind blew into the confines
of the small restroom as the door swung open. Agent Tate stood in the doorway
in her navy pantsuit and flat-heeled boots.

“It's time, Cassie,” she said.

Cassie could hardly find her voice.
“Where am I going?”

Charlotte closed the door and with
surety in her step, walked over to the sink where Cassie was standing. She
leaned a hip against the gold-flecked vanity before crossing her arms across
her chest.

“I'm not quite sure yet,” she answered.
“I haven’t worked out all the details. But I’ll make sure you’re as comfortable
as you can possibly be outside of your own environment.”

Charlotte's honesty was laudable.
Cassie needed honesty more than anything right now. Still she needed more. Everything
she'd fought so hard for when Emilio died was disintegrating before her very
eyes. Tossing the crumpled paper towel into the garbage pail, she straightened
her spine and looked squarely at Charlotte.

“I want the truth. Is this nightmare
ever going to be over?”

To her surprise, Charlotte's lips
lifted to a genuine smile. “Yes, Cassie, it will. I have a feeling this will
all be over very soon.”

# # #

Chapter Sixteen

“It should be me going with her. She
thinks I've sold her out.” Jake peered over his shoulder as Captain Russo led
him toward the stairwell.

He was numb. Cassie was gone. Or she
would be as soon as Charley got hold of her. And that would be the end of it.

“Once things cool down, she'll
understand.” Jake was barely aware of Russo's voice as he spoke.

Things never cool down with the mob.
Cassie had said those words to him
when this nightmare started. And she was right. Would she ever forgive him?

It didn't matter. Somehow he'd failed
her. He should be the one hearing her voice every night and seeing her sunshine
smile each and every morning. But it wasn't going to be him.

As they reached the door to the
stairwell, Jake peered at the flurry of agents in the hallway. Kevin came
running through the swarm of people. Jake ground himself to a stop to keep from
going any further.

“Something doesn't feel right about
all this, Kevin. Where's Radcowski?”

“I don't know. He brought Fagnelio to
the bus but it's just sitting there.”

“Why are all these agents still here?
I thought Charley wanted to keep Cassie’s transfer low profile?”

“Probably afraid of another screw
up.” Russo shook his head impatiently. “It doesn't matter. It's out of our
hands. Come on, Santos.”

Just as Jake was about to turn toward
the doorway again, Cassie stepped out of the ladies room. His heart leaped. Her
eyes were red and puffy as if she'd had a good cry. Her gaze locked with his
and she smiled weakly, as if she'd forgiven him for failing her. He'd never
forgive himself.

She walked up to them, seemingly
unaware that his hands were bound behind his back. A flurry of U.S. marshal's
motioned to each other and began to gather around.

“I'm ready,” she said. She was
talking to Charley, but looking at Jake. 

“I'll walk with you to the car,” Jake
said. His arms ached to reach for her, to hold her and never let go. But he
couldn't move them in the confines of the handcuffs binding his wrists.

Charley held up a hand and stepped
between them, eyeing her warningly. “I'm afraid that's not possible.” She
turned to Kevin after taking a quick glance up and down the hallway. “I thought
Agent Radcowski was with you?”

“He said he wanted to see Fagnelio
off, but the paddy wagon hasn't left yet.”

She darted a glance to Cassie. “I
don't like hanging around in the hall like this. Let's go.”

 Cassie didn't cry aloud as she
turned away. Jake knew she'd wait until no one was looking.

“What the hell is this all about?”
Kevin asked, noticing the handcuffs for the first time.

“Go with her, Kev,” Jake pleaded.
There wasn't anything he could do. He hadn't felt so powerless since the day he
and Tyler had been ambushed in that alley. Fear crawled under his skin as he
tried to pull his hands free of their restraints, already knowing they wouldn't
budge without the key.

Kevin just nodded. “I'll make sure
she makes it off okay with Charley.” He headed toward the back door where they
were leading Cassie.

To his credit, Captain Russo actually
looked sympathetic. “I know it stinks, but you have to listen to me.”

But Jake wasn't listening. Instead,
he stood paralyzed as Cassie took each step down the corridor. The back door
opened to a heavy downpour, mirroring what he felt in his heart.

Someone popped an umbrella open and
Cassie stepped out into the rain. Even through the downpour, Jake could see a horde
of reporters rush forward to get their shot at their headlining news. A band of
police officers forced them back. Flash bulbs went off furiously.

“Cassie.” He breathed her name more
than said it. But now she was gone.

He hadn't been aware of how he'd been
pushing forward against police officers and Captain Russo as they held him
back. He was vaguely aware of being shoved into the stairwell and slammed
against the cold hard wall. As his face connected with concrete, a stabbing
pain shot up his jaw and cheek and blurred his vision for a moment. It took a
second for his head to clear and the sharp pain in his face to ebb to a steady
throb.

Cassie was gone.
Good God Almighty, they'd taken her!

“Quit acting like an idiot, Jake,”
Russo seethed. “Whatever you’re thinking you know, you're wrong.”

Jake blinked, trying to swing around
to face the Captain, but Russo’s full weight pinned him against the wall. A
second kick of adrenaline surged through him like a raging river.

“Charley was with Bellows the night
of the shooting. Charley shot Bellows at Cassie's apartment. Now she's leaving
with Cassie. Charley has to be the leak!”

“No.”

“Take off the cuffs, dammit!”

“Listen.”

“Not until you get me free.”

Russo slammed Jake against the
concrete wall again and grabbed him by the upper shirt, holding him under his
weight. The cold metal handcuffs bit into his wrists.

“Charley isn't the leak.”

“Why else would she have—”

 “He killed my son, Jake. My boy. I
had no choice.”

The raw emotion in Paul Russo's voice
was unmistakable, heartbreaking. It matched the strength of his force against
Jake. He couldn't break free with the handicap of having his hands restrained
behind his back.