A Page Straight From Jamie Hill - #apagestraightfrom

Pieces of the Past – Book One

Witness Security – The Series

by Jamie Hill

Imagine the music from the Twilight Zone.  Jamie just informed me that the page I had featured today is NOT her work.  I have no explanation, nor do I know whose work I've credited her with.  Even the buy link goes to her work, and I usually work from one email at a time, so I'm at a loss.  I've asked her to submit her page, but I don't know if she'll trust me again.  Egads...I think the Google Gremlins were at work.

Hooray....she trusted me and send me the page that should have gone here:

Doug helped Christine wash and dry the dishes after dinner. She sent the text messages they’d discussed. He heard Peyton on the phone in the other room but couldn’t hear what she was saying—she was the one that concerned him. Younger kids were easier to handle in Witsec. Peyton definitely reinforced his opinion that teenagers were a nightmare.

He felt a twinge of guilt for flashing his gun at her, but it had done the trick. She’d cooperated since he reminded her that this was serious business, with no time for school-girl antics. Yet he still felt bad. They were a nice family, one who didn’t deserve to be here. He’d read the file. Larry had done a number on them. Doug didn’t buy the man’s ‘misguided thinking’ story, as if he didn’t really understand what he was doing. Larry understood. The easy money was just too hard to resist.

Christine moved next to him. “I think I’m done. I’ll still need to make a couple calls in the morning.”

He nodded. “I’ll need your phone.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Really? You can trust me, you know. I won’t use it—”

“Unless you need to, and then you will. Nope, sorry, I need the phone.”

She handed it over without another comment. Doug stuck it in his pocket. He wouldn’t tell her or Peyton, but he was leaving their phones in the house. Unsure about how sophisticated their stalker was, he wasn’t taking any chances. Tracking cell phones was easy for someone with access to the right equipment.

Peyton joined them, her phone in hand. “I don’t suppose you’ll let me keep this.”

“Sorry.” Doug added it to the one in his pocket.

“What about my laptop? Can I bring that?”

“We’ll have a computer where we’re going. It’s set up on a secure network. You’ll have some access to that.”

“Some access. Great.” She turned and walked out.

“Gee. This is going to be fun.” Doug moved to the front window and peered out.

“She’s not normally this way, you know,” Christine defended her daughter. “With everything that’s happened…”

“I understand. Her behavior just doesn’t make this any easier.”

“Easy?” her voice bristled. “You think any of this has been easy? It may be just a job to you, but this is our life.”

He faced her. “In my line of work, it’s never ‘just a job’. I get that. You need to get that I’m doing the best I can under less than perfect circumstances. Believe me, you and the kids are my top priority.”

She gazed at him. “I do.”

Doug blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I do believe you. And I thank you. I haven’t said that yet. But I appreciate what you’re doing for us.”

He forced his breathing to remain even. The way she looked at him a moment ago, when she said ‘I do’, a world of other thoughts raced through his mind. Ideas that scared the hell out of him worse than the situation they were in. “You’re welcome.” He started to add I’m just doing my job but he wasn’t sure that was true anymore. Things were fast becoming personal, for better or worse. The unfortunate choice of words made him groan again.

Glancing out the window again, he focused on the black SUV which stopped in front of the house. Doug turned back to Christine. “Are you ready? Because things are fixing to get interesting."

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K5XAGY2/

If you'd like to read the blurb....here you go:

The past is closing in on Christine Scott. Uprooted from her pleasant life in Chicago, she and her two children are thrust into the Witness Security Program when the mistakes of her husband catch up with him. He lands in prison, while she and the kids are transplanted to a quiet Kansas town. Christine does her best to keep life normal for her active ten-year-old son and persistently moody seventeen-year old daughter. But when they start receiving gifts from an anonymous sender, reminders of their old life, it becomes obvious that someone has found them.

Doug Jackson's been in service with the US Marshal’s office for fifteen years. He hasn’t lost a witness yet, and doesn’t intend to start with Christine or her family.  If he can get them to cooperate, his job might be easier. Unfortunately, no one seems concerned about making Doug's life easy. Not the man in the white sedan who eludes him, nor the pretty Christine, thoughts of whom he can't seem to shake. Their lives depend on Doug keeping his head in the game, and he's determined to do just that.