In that second, Stryker wasn’t just in love with Emerson. He’d fallen in love with that insane cat. Pima had gotten her to smile.
Stryker moved to the center cushion.
“You can’t use my cat to get in good with me,” she said.
He stroked her hand. And breathed easier when she didn’t pull it away. Stryker felt like the walls were closing in. He wanted to go outside where the night breeze would wick away the heat.
Never rattled, he was going to put it all out there and risk everything for the woman he loved. He kissed her finger, then her hand, then leaned back. He ran his fingers through her long blonde hair, letting the wisps tickle his digits. Then, took her hand in his again. When he looked into her eyes, she was waiting.
“You want the truth, don’t you?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I love you and I’m taking a risk. Isn’t that what love is? Risking everything for that special person. Putting that person first—”
“Did you kill Farraday?”
“Yes.”
She snatched her hand away. Her gaze turned cold. He was going to lose her. Instead of pushing off the sofa or screaming, she just stared into his eyes. “I’ve been under the illusion you’re a hacker, but you’re a cold-blooded killer.”
“Yes, to both.”
She picked up her wine glass, sipped. “How can justice be served, how can my brother’s memory be honored, if you take out the evidence?”
“I’m going after the leader,” he explained.
“So, you’re gonna kill this Barca, too?”
“Yes.”
“I need more, Stryker. Loving me isn’t enough. I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to say. You’re admitting to murder. I’m assuming the men who were with you are also guilty.”
He refused to comment on his crew, so he stayed silent.
Pushing off the sofa, she stood in the middle of the room. Hands on hips, she glared at him. “Who are you, really?”
“For the past ten years, I’ve been searching for my mother’s killer.”
“And you haven’t found him?”
“No.”
“Who else are you killing?”
“Drug gangs.”
Her mouth dropped open, her eyebrows jutted into her forehead. “I’m a police officer. I took an oath to uphold the law. How could you let this”—she pointed to him and to her—“happen?”
He rose, but he didn’t go to her. They stood five feet apart, but it felt like five miles.
“I couldn’t stop it,” he said. “What’s happening between us is bigger than two people working on a case or getting kinky together. I’m yours. You own me. And you’re mine. You. Are. My. Woman. I feel your love, your rage. It’s—”
She plowed into him with so much intensity, he staggered back. But he stopped their momentum and folded her into his arms. Their ferocious kiss had him growling through the building euphoria. Her groans were filled with anger. She was attacking him with her mouth and he drowned in their passion.
“Fuck you, Stryker,” she gasped. “You should never have come into my life. I fucking hate you. So, so much.”
Their kisses were intense one minute, soft and nurturing the next. She was grinding against him while clawing his back or fisting his hair. Her breathing was jagged, her eyelids heavy with lust.
