Page 28 of Security Breach

David scowled. “Watch your language. You’re on speaker.”

“Sorry,” the other man muttered, sounding insincere. “I’ll leave Nashville as soon as I can. Don’t touch the package.”

David rolled his eyes. “Get real, Jordan. I’m a cop. I’m not leaving a suspicious package sit unopened in my house.”

“Are you out of your mind? A bomb could be in there.”

“Could have been, but wasn’t. And before you ask, I took precautions not to contaminate evidence. The killer sent a note and photos. I’ll send you copies.” He expected a verbal explosion and wasn’t disappointed. More ripe cursing from the special agent. “Last warning, Jordan. Control your mouth or this call ends, and I’ll be less cooperative with the next piece of information.”

“Fine,” he snapped. “Don’t send me copies of anything, Montgomery. I’m coming to examine the evidence and send it to the FBI lab for analysis. Don’t mess with the evidence. Don’t breathe on it or touch it. Am I clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Where are you?”

“The ranch.”

A loud groan from the fed. “I can’t believe you took my witness there. That’s the first place the killer would look for her, obviously.”

“And yet he didn’t touch her, did he?”

“You should have chosen a place off the grid.”

“That plan didn’t work well for you and the Marshals.”

“What does that mean?”

“Do you need me to spell it out for you?”

A growl. “I should take my witness into protective custody.”

“Try it.” Although soft, David’s voice held an underlying layer of steel. “You’ll regret it.”

“Are you threatening me, Montgomery?”

“I’m explaining the facts. You aren’t taking her.” Not without him. “If you want the evidence, you better hurry. Otherwise, it might end up in a private lab.”

More swearing as the call ended.

Emma leaned her head against David’s shoulder. “Agent Jordan is furious.” She sounded worried.

“I meant what I said, baby. He’s not taking you.”

“Will he cause you trouble?”

“He’ll try. Your safety is my first priority. It should be his.”

“Maybe I should return to witness protection.”

“After seeing the pictures the killer sent, it’s obvious you aren’t safe in WITSEC.”

“What should we do?”

“We have two options. Run and hide, or stand and fight.”

“I can guess, but tell me your choice.”

“Stand and fight. I may have to choose a different battlefield to protect our employees, but we should stand and fight.” He cupped her cheek. “I can and will protect you, Emma. If you trust me, I won’t let you down.”

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