Deadly Vows by Shirlee McCoy Page A

be.
    As Ford watched, one of the figures separated from the others, walked to Ford’s side of the car and gestured for him to open the door.
    Medium height and build, with sandy blond hair, he leaned into the open door, shooting a look at Olivia before focusing on Ford. “Mr. Jensen?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Marshal Anderson Lawrence,” he said, offering a quick, hard handshake.
    “Nice to meet you.”
    “Likewise. We’re going to get into the car in front of yours. I’ll escort you there.”
    “What about Olivia?”
    “She’ll be in the same car, but we’ll wait until you’re safely inside the vehicle before we move her.”
    Ford wanted to argue, but it would be a waste of time. The marshals had their methods, and they weren’t going to change for him. He met Olivia’s eyes. “Are you okay with that?”
    “I’ll be fine,” she said, smiling the same sweet smile she’d offered the first day they’d met. Ford wanted to pull her close, press a kiss to her lips, tell her how much he loved her smile. How much he loved her.
    “Ready, Mr. Jenson?” Marshal Lawrence’s voice held a note of impatience that Ford didn’t miss and that he didn’t appreciate. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the one calling the shots. He leaned forward, letting his lips brush Olivia’s for just a moment before he pulled away and got out of the car.
    Cool night air enveloped him as he hurried to the waiting vehicle, and Ford inhaled deeply, trying to slow his rapid pulse. As far as he could tell there was no immediate danger, but his body hummed with awareness, his mind screamed a warning. Had this been the way Olivia had felt every moment of the past months? Had fear kept her heart beating rapidly, her ears straining for signs of danger?
    He should have been there for her.
    “Get in and slide across, Mr. Jensen,” Marshal Lawrence said as he pulled open the back door of an idling Cadillac.
    Ford gritted his teeth to keep from telling the marshal that he’d do what he wanted when he wanted. In his day-to-day life, Ford was the boss. He told his employees what to do and they did it. Not having control wasn’t something he was used to, and it wasn’t something he liked.
    He got in the car anyway, sliding over to the far door as Marshal Lawrence walked away.
    “How was the trip from Pine Bluff?” A man in the driver’s seat asked, as if Ford and Olivia had been on a scenic jaunt rather than running for their lives.
    “We didn’t run into trouble if that’s what you’re asking,” Ford replied, not bothering to turn his attention from the open door. How long did it take for three federal officers to get a woman from one car to another?
    “Good. We didn’t think you’d been followed out of town, but we weren’t sure. I’m Marshal Micah McGraw, by the way.”
    McGraw?
    Jackson McGraw’s brother, and the marshal Olivia was on a first name basis with. Ford would have given the guy a once-over if he hadn’t been so focused on the well-lit area outside of the car. Olivia would make an easy target as she got into the car. He hoped the marshals had thought that through.
    “Don’t worry. The team is just waiting for an all clearbefore they get Olivia out of the car,” Micah said, as if he’d read Ford’s thoughts.
    “An all clear from whom?” Ford finally pulled his attention away from the portico outside the car, met Marshal McGraw’s eyes. The guy was young. Maybe late twenties. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Looked like he’d know his way around a fight.
    “Didn’t my brother fill you in? We’ve got a half dozen marshal and FBI agents patrolling the perimeter of the hospital. We fell short in Pine Bluff, but we’re not going to do the same here.”
    “Fell short? That’s a nice way of putting it. My wife was almost killed.”
    “So were two of our men, Jensen. You can believe we take what happened tonight very seriously, and we’re doing everything in our power to figure out how Martino’s men found