“He wasn’t there for you guys, at all.”
“My past shaped me into the person I am.”A cold-blooded killer.
“Tell me about your mom.”
“She was the best. She always put my sister and me first. I played a lot of sports and she never missed any of my games. Not one.”
“Did she work?”
“She was a prosecutor.”
“How did she die?”
“She was gunned down outside our house one night.” He hated talking about this. “I couldn’t save her. She died in my arms.”
“Oh, God.” She reached out and held his hand. “I’m so sorry. When did this happen?”
“Twenty years ago.”
“Where?”
“Arlington,” he replied.
She studied him for a few seconds. “You think her death is gang related.”
“I do. She put away several drug kingpins.”
“I’ve fallen in love with a vigilante,” she murmured.
The repairman arrived and installed a new glass door. When he finished, Stryker and Emerson left.
On the way to her place, she said, “I admire that you’re going after your mom’s killer. I didn’t do that when my brother died.”
“Not everyone can do what I do. My cross and dagger tat is there for a reason.”
“What does it mean?”
“A reminder of God’s wrath when I die.”
“That hasn’t stopped you, though.”
“No, it hasn’t.”
Back at Emerson’s, she gave Stryker a spare house key and told him the codes to her garage door and home security system.
“I think the people who burglarized your company also broke into your home. You’re being hunted.” She pulled her secondary weapon out of her safe. “I’ll drop the bullets and shell casings off this morning so forensics can analyze them. Going forward, we watch each other’s backs.”
Despite her anger, she loved him. He would spend the rest of his life cherishing every moment with her for as long as she would have him.
They stripped down and crawled into bed. She snuggled close. He inhaled her beautiful scent and held her in his arms, running his fingers over her bare back.
“I love you, Emerson.”
Even in the semi-dark room, her smile made his heart pound faster. “I can’t walk away from you. I hate you too much.” She kissed him. “Still raging mad at you.”
He smiled. “How ‘bout I get the name of The Father from Barca and you go after him and arrest the son of a bitch.”
She laid her head back down on his chest. After a long minute, she said, “Bring me with you. I need to meet the man who murdered my brother.”
