Gray, Ginna by The Witness Read Free Book Online Page A

all that long, but that's what all the other guys say. So don't you
worry, if anyone can keep you safe, it's Sam."
    Too nervous to carry on a conversation, all Lauren could manage
was a soft, "Mmm." Taking the hint, Agent Owens fell silent.
    After a nerve-racking wait, Sam returned and climbed back into the
car. "Everything is go. Drive over to that green-and-white plane and park
beside it with the passenger side next to the steps. Get as close as you can.
Then you grab the bags while I get Miss Brownley inside."
    "You got it."
    As the car bumped over the uneven ground the sound of engine noise
grew steadily louder, until it was almost deafening. Lauren realized that the
plane they were about to board was waiting for them with the engines running.
    The instant the car stopped Sam bailed out and jerked open the
rear door.
    "C'mon, move it."
    Lauren felt exposed when he snatched the blanket off of her, but
before she could protest he grasped her arm, hauled her out of the car and
bundled her up the steps and into the plane.
    The pilot sitting at the controls looked to be in his fifties. He
turned around and flashed her a reassuring grin and a wave.
    "That's Bob Halloran!" Sam yelled over the roar of the
engines. "He's retired FBI and an old friend of mine, so you're in good
hands! Take a seat and buckle up. We're already cleared for takeoff. Soon as we
load our gear we're outta here."
    He moved back to the open door, and caught the duffle bags that
Agent Owens tossed to him. Then the younger man hurried up the steps, pulled
them up and slammed the door closed behind him.
    "Let's get this crate off the ground!" Sam yelled as he
and Dave Owens made their way to the front of the plane.
    Minutes later, Lauren stared out the window and watched the
airstrip drop away. The plane banked and began a sharp climb, heading over the
mountains to the west. Behind them, Denver's sprawl grew steadily smaller,
fading into nothing more than a smudge on the pristine snow, then disappearing
altogether.
    Only then did Lauren's heartbeat slow to normal. She leaned her
forehead against the cold window glass and closed her eyes. They had made it.
She had gotten away.
    Sighing, she settled back in her seat and willed her tense muscles
to relax.
    The plane was a six-seater—a noisy, bumpy little craft, so small
that neither Agents Rawlins nor Owens could stand up straight inside it.
Normally Lauren was frightened of planes, especially small ones, but at the
moment all she could feel was relief.
    She stared at the back of Sam Rawlins's head and marveled at the
man's calm.
    He sat up front beside the pilot. The two men were carrying on a
conversation of sorts, though they had to shout to make themselves heard over
the engine noise—something about a hunting trip they had taken together the
previous year, but Lauren wasn't paying much attention. At least he was talking
with his friend. That was more than he had done with her. After whisking her
out of the police station, he hadn't said a word to her the entire drive.
    Not that she minded. Sam Rawlins made her uneasy. Just the thought
of spending the next few weeks with him sent a shiver down her spine. What on
earth would they talk about? Or perhaps they wouldn't talk at all. Maybe he
would simply go about his business and give her the silent treatment, as he'd
been doing all morning. She didn't know which would be worse.
    The way her luck was running, she supposed she shouldn't be
surprised that she'd gotten stuck with this taciturn man. If she had to hide
out for months with a bodyguard, God alone knew where, why couldn't it have
been someone pleasant...someone like that nice Agent Berringer?
    At least Bob Owens would be with them. She glanced at the man
sitting behind the pilot, hanging on every word of the conversation between the
two older men. He was young, clearly a rookie, and he seemed eager to please
Agent Rawlins. Still...he had been polite and pleasant to her.
    Lauren leaned her head against