The car pulled diagonally in front of her, blocking her way. Both the passenger and driver got out. Two large men on the prowl. Emerson pulled her Glock.
“Whoa, baby,” said one of the guys. “Why the heavy artillery? We just wanna say ‘Hey’.”
“Back off,” Emerson shouted.
Breathing hard, Stryker pulled to a stop by her side. “Get the fuck away from her.”
“Get lost, dude. Baby, get in the car.”
“I’m a cop,” Emerson said. “You two need to get in your car and drive away now.”
Anger seethed from his every pore. Stryker wanted to take both these guys down. “You heard the detective. She’s cutting you a break you don’t deserve. Get the hell outta here.”
Both men retreated into the car. The passenger spit out the window. “Rot in hell, motherfuckers.” The car sped off.
Emerson re-holstered her weapon, but she wouldn’t look at him.
Tamping down on his fury, Stryker said, “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m so pissed at myself,” she bit out. “So fucking pissed.”
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. I’m so obsessed with finding the killer that I ran after Blondie without thinking it through. I should have let him go.” Fear flashed in her eyes. “If I didn’t have my weapon, they could’ve taken me.”
“I would’ve killed them, and died myself, before I let them take you.”
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. With her in his arms, he could breathe. She was safe.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
When she pulled away, he said, “Let’s get outta here.”
“I need to question the woman who was talking to Blondie.”
They returned to the club. After walking through the sea of people, twice, Emerson wanted to scream. Not only had she lost Blondie, she couldn’t find the woman he’d been hanging with. Despair had her blood running hot.
Turning to Stryker, she said, “I’m calling it. Where are we going?”
“My place,” he replied.
17
Claire-Marie
Stryker, on a Harley, was the hottest thing Emerson had ever seen. As she followed him home, she imagined her arms wrapped around his hard torso while they flew down an open road.
Inside his house, he set his helmet and leather jacket on the kitchen table, then pulled her into his arms. Gazing into his fiery eyes brought the heat, every damn time.
“I’ve missed the hell out of you.” His embrace was strong, but his kiss was soft. “I have a surprise for you.”
“You do?”
“I got past the department’s firewall. You wanna see if we can access Doug’s police reports?”
“You are so good to me.” She kissed him with so much energy, he cracked a smile.
“That’s because I like you so damn much.”