“It’s going to be a blast, right, kids?”
All five children shouted their excitement in unison.
“Help us,” Gordon said, and everyone cracked up.
Emerson hugged Heather goodbye. “Thank you for having me. I had a lot of fun.”
Outside, Emerson asked Stryker about his call.
“Spinetti’s attorneys might have found a loophole. He could be getting out of prison.”
“Oh, no.”
“I’m swinging by Cooper’s to talk to him. He lives ten minutes from your place. Come with me.”
“I’m gonna work,” she said. “You can tell me all about it when you get home.”
With a nod, Stryker pulled on his helmet.
After strapping hers, she hopped on the back. When she wrapped her arms around him, the tension gripping his back was palpable. Once they reached Emerson’s, he pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. “Let’s clear the house.”
She dismounted and pulled off her helmet. “I’m fine.”
“It’ll take five minutes.” They went in through the garage and into the house. She turned off the alarm and they checked every room. They were alone. “I love you,” he said.
She smiled. “I love you.”
One brief kiss and he was gone.
As he rode away, she closed the garage door and waited until it hit the floor before retreating inside. She found Pima scratching on the post of his new house and stopped to rub him before she went upstairs to shower.
She stripped out of her clothes, happy to remove her vest.
As the hot water pounded her back, she thought about Spinetti getting released and the danger Stryker would be in. She finished showering, dried off, and walked into her bedroom. After dressing in a tank top and shorty shorts, she padded downstairs.
Movement caught her eye and she turned. Everything went into slow motion. Strong arms wrapped around her and a wet towel was pressed over her nose and mouth, stifling her scream. She flailed and kicked, but things turned hazy…and slow…and dark.
23
Saving Emerson
Stryker leaned his backside against Cooper’s kitchen counter. “You sure about this?”
“That’s what I’m hearing.” Cooper tossed his empty beer bottle into recycling. “You sure you don’t want something to drink?”
Stryker shook his head. “What if I told you Spinetti was using the Internet fraud business as a cover for something else?”
Cooper chuckled. “I love the way you think, but we were thorough in our search.”
“We missed something.”
“Like what?”
“He’s the head of one of the DMV’s biggest drug rings.”
Cooper stared at him for several seconds. “Seriously?”
“The Trinity. He’s The Father.”
