Page 143 of Last Chance
“Believe me, I know. Thanks, Cherry.”
Another pat, and she returned to her desk.
Sawyer knocked on the door and stepped inside.
Janie turned from staring out the window. “Sawyer.” She ran into his open arms.
He wrapped his arms around her and held her against him. For long minutes, he trailed one hand up and down her back in a soothing motion. With the other hand, he cradled the back of her head, hoping the hold would help her feel secure. When her trembling stopped, he murmured, “Ready for one more hurdle?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Not really, but what choice do I have?”
“If you need to wait, I’ll make sure you have time to regroup.” No doubt the delay would tick off both agents, but Janie’s wellbeing was more important than their interview.
Her lips curved. “I appreciate the potential save, but I don’t think the feds would be happy with us.”
“I don’t care. My goal is to protect you, no matter what that looks like.”
She kissed him lightly. “Thank you, Sawyer. I’d rather get the interview over with as soon as possible.”
“All right. If you need a break, we’ll take one together. The interview questions can wait a few minutes while you take a breather.”
Together, they returned to the sixth floor conference room. All the men in the room stood when Janie walked inside.
Sawyer escorted her to the empty seat next to his. Once she was settled, the men around the table returned to their seats.
The FBI agents introduced themselves to Janie. Lowell flipped to a clean page in his notebook. “Do you need anything, Ms. Moran? Water, tea, coffee? We’ll be here a while, and we want you to be as comfortable as possible.”
“Water, please.”
Jesse left the room and returned with two bottles of water. He placed them in front of Janie. “Staying hydrated will help,” he murmured.
“Ms. Moran stays,” Saunders said. “The rest of you, get out.”
No one moved.
Sawyer should have known his teammates would remain to protect him and Janie. “Give it up, Saunders, and get on with the questions. You have one hour. After that, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“You aren’t in charge of this investigation,” he snapped.
His supervisor stared at Saunders. The junior agent turned a bright red and closed his mouth. When his colleague lapsed into silence, Lowell shifted his attention back to Janie. He smiled. “Ready, Ms. Moran?”
She nodded.
“May I call you Janie?”
“Please.”
“I’m Heath. My partner is Layton. We’re sorry to meet you under these circumstances, Janie, but we’re glad you’re safe. Tell us what happened from the beginning, all right? Start with the hijacking and go forward from there. We need every detail. Your boyfriend and his friends have given us a thorough picture of what happened based on their observations. To keep Hernandez in prison longer, we need your eyewitness testimony.”
“Will I have to testify against him?”
“I would plan on it.”
“We can protect you,” Saunders said. “We have safe houses. I guarantee Hernandez will never find you.”
Sawyer stiffened. “You’re talking about witness protection.” No way. Not without him. If he had to, he’d take a leave of absence and go with her, but he’d prefer Janie wasn’t dependent on the feds for safety.
Saunders scowled. “You’re willing to risk her life by letting her wander around town without protection?”