Page 36 of Security Breach

She nodded. “Even in my dreams, his face is in shadow. Believe me, I would give anything if I could remember because this nightmare would be over sooner. I don’t want David hurt because of me.”

He kissed her temple. “I’ll be fine, baby. As for not remembering things, you’re already recalling more details than you did when you first woke in the hospital and gave your statement to the feds.”

“Safety,” Elliot said. “She feels safe with you, David. That’s turning a key in her mind to unlock the memories.”

“It’s not enough,” Emma said. “How many people has the Butcher killed while my brain protected me because I was afraid?”

“That’s on the FBI,” Caleb said. “They could have arranged for you and David to meet, but they wanted to keep the upper hand.”

David shoved aside his empty mug. “We need to focus on the present and how we’ll protect Emma from this serial killer.”

“We do whatever is necessary.” Elliot’s expression darkened. “No matter what, the Butcher is going down. His killing spree stops here.”

“You heard Agent Wells,” Emma said. “The Butcher is crazy smart. Agent Jordan told me he hasn’t made any mistakes. That’s why they haven’t been able to catch him.”

Levi snorted. “You got one part right. The Butcher is crazy. No one is perfect, though. He’ll make a mistake.”

“He already has made one,” David said, voice soft. “He hurt my woman and killed her family. He picked the wrong woman to terrorize. I’ll make him pay.”

“We’ll make him pay,” Owen corrected. “We’re a family team. We do the job together. Emma is family. Anything that hurts Emma hurts all of us.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me,” she said, voice soft. “Or how much you all mean to me.”

“Enough to keep yourself in exile to protect us?” Levi asked. When she didn’t reply, his lips curved slightly. “Figured as much. Nothing else would have kept you away from David this long.”

“My months of exile prevented me from seeing my grandfather the last months of his life.” Her voice hardened. “I will never forgive the Butcher for what he did.”

He might have done more than Emma realized. Although the MO wasn’t exactly the same in Mr. Watt’s death, David was beginning to piece a few things together and he didn’t like the picture forming in his mind.

His cell phone rang. David glanced at his screen and swiped his thumb across the surface. “Yeah, Kip?”

“The Fortress team is here, sir.”

“Let them through.”

“Yes, sir.”

Time to make plans to end the Butcher’s reign of terror.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Emma stared at the five tall, muscle-bound men who walked into the kitchen with silent treads. Talk about intimidating. They also looked like they could go toe-to-toe with the worst criminals the world had ever seen without batting an eyelash. The newcomers reminded Emma of David and his brothers.

The Montgomery brothers greeted the men with handshakes all around and a few shoulder claps. The team of five must have made quite an impression on the Montgomerys. She trusted David’s judgment. If he trusted them, she could trust her life to them as well.

“Welcome back to Maple Valley and the Rocking M,” David said. “Want coffee? We just made a fresh pot.”

“I’m in,” one of the men said. “Who’s the pretty lady, David?”

“This is my girlfriend, Emma Tucker. Emma, meet Eli, Jon, Cal, Rafe, and Jackson. These men are members of a Fortress black ops team.”

“The best one,” Eli said with a slight Southern drawl. “We also have the best name.” His eyes twinkled as he glanced at his teammates.

His dark-haired, intense companion rolled his eyes. “I still say the name is lame.”

“You, my friend, have no taste.” Eli turned his charming smile on Emma. “Ignore Jon, ma’am. He’s griping because my last name is Wolfe and our team is named Wolf Pack.”

“You’re the only one who loves the name, buddy,” Cal said. “The other teams are shaking their heads, snickering behind our backs. That should tell you something.”

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