âMy name is Alyssa. Whatâs yours?â
âBillie.â
âBut ⦠but Billy is a boyâs name.â
âOnly if you spell it B-i-l-l-y. I spell it B-i-l-l-i-e.â
âThereâs a boy in my class,â Alyssa said from the backseat, âand his name is Billyâ Daddy! Look!â His child pointed across the street. âIsnât that little white dog the cutest thing ever?â
If he ever said yes to a dog, it sure wouldnât be a yappy ankle-biter like that one. âUh-huh,â he said. When he had been forced to leave her favorite doll at the airport, Noah had soothed her tears by promising to replace it with a kitten.
âIf I had a dog,â she said, âit would be big. Like the one you had when you were a little boy, âmember, Daddy?â
How could he forget the gentle giant that had been more sibling than pet? âCash. My dad named him Cash Money, because heâd been abused before we adopted him, and cost a fortune at the vetâs.â
Noah glanced over at Billie, and for a moment there, the woman in the passenger seat looked mildly interested. She pointed left. âYou just passed my street,â she said.
Noah groaned. That meant driving up to Hamilton Street to make a U-turn in the post office parking lot. Halfway there, traffic on Main Street slowed, then came to a grinding halt. Noah gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles ached. Trapped at a dead stop between parked cars and the constant flow of traffic heading east, he and Alyssaâand Billie, tooâmight as well have bullâs-eyes painted on their foreheads⦠.
Dear Reader,
How many times have you wished you could escape your life and all its travails and tragedies? Or wanted to hop a plane or a busâor just start walkingâto get away from whiny kids, demanding bosses and inconsiderate neighbors, at least for a little while?
If youâre like me, the answer is âA lot!â At least, that was my answer, until I researched the Witness Protection program (WITSEC) and interviewed inspectors with the U.S. Marshals Service. These brave and dedicated people helped me understand that whether a witness goes undercover because heâs a bad guy turning stateâs evidence or a good guy whose testimony will help get bad guys off the streets, life in the program is anything but easy.
Imagine receiving completely new identities and documentation, youâre moved far from home and warned that all connections with the past must be severedâif you hope to remain safe (and alive) and protect loved ones from potential danger. Youâre told thereâs no going back. Ever. Not for Grandmaâs funeral or your nieceâs wedding. The doctor and dentist youâve trusted for years? Heâll never know why you didnât keep your last appointment. Because for all intents and purposes, the old you is dead.
Sounds pretty bleak and lonely, doesnât it? Thatâs because it is ⦠and thatâs why inspectors go above and beyond the call of duty, serving as parent, sibling, friend, confidant, counselor. Available 24/7/365, they help witnesses get beyond the temptation to reach into the pastâand save lives. (According to the U.S. Marshals Service, no witness who has followed the rules has ever been located, injured or killed by the parties they testified against.)
But what if, in a moment of weakness, a witness doesnât follow the rules? What if a child in protective custody unwittingly lets the cat out of the bag ⦠and leads danger straight to her door?
That is the backdrop of the story youâre about to read. I hope youâll enjoy this glimpse into the mysterious world of WITSEC, and that youâll write (www.loreelough.com) to share your thoughts on the light I attempted to shed on a sometimes dark and dangerous lifestyle.
Not to give anything away, but ⦠hereâs to happy endings!
Loree
LOREE LOUGH
Once upon a time, bestselling author Loree Lough sang for her supper. (That little corner in pubs reserved for âthe piano lady"? Well, thatâs where she sat, strumming a Yamaha in cities all across the U.S.) Now and then, she blows the dust from her six-string to croon a tune or two, but mostly, she writes. With the release of this novel, she will have one hundred books on the shelves (fifteen bearing a Mills & Boon® imprint), and 4.5 million in circulation. Her work has earned numerous industry accolades, movie options and four- and five-star reviews ⦠but sheâs most proud of her âReadersâ Choiceâ awards.
Loree and her husband split their time between a home near Baltimore and a cabin in the Alleghenies, where she continues to perfect her âidentify the critter tracksâ skills. A writer who believes in giving back, Loree donates a portion of her income to charity. (Complete list at Giving Back page, www.loreelough.com.) She loves hearing from readers and answers every letter personally. You can connect with her at Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
This book is dedicated to all WITSEC personnel, devoted to the protection of individuals and families for whom life in the shadows is a necessary way of life.