Owen Porter’s head inclined toward her. “She does if she suspects you are dodging her.”

  “Emerson.” Gray’s delighted voice. “Have you been dodging the senator? How naughty. I approve.”

  She would have elbowed him, but Owen chose that moment to advance a step toward her. He motioned with one hand. “Just you, Emerson. We have to hurry, though. She has appointments in town today.”

  Of course, she did. Emerson had never thought that her mother had come all the way to Atlanta just to see her. That would be silly.

  “Did he say, ‘just you’ right then?” Gray asked. “I’m hoping I misheard.”

  “You didn’t mishear,” Emerson replied.

  “That’s rather rude of him. Clearly, we are a package deal.” Gray twined his fingers with hers.

  She jerked at the movement.

  “Partner…” His voice dipped lower. Just for her. “Remember when I said you needed to get used to me touching you? Consider our cover story activated now.”

  Only it wasn’t really a cover, was it? Not if they were truly lovers? And they very much were. She still had some faint marks on her body to prove that fact. Plus, she was sore in places that she just wasn’t going to mention to anyone.

  But Gray advanced, strolling as casually as you please toward the limo, and his grip tugged her forward.

  “An invitation wasn’t extended to you,” Owen informed him. His shoulders had stiffened.

  “Owen Porter.” Gray eyed him. “How many years are you going to keep guarding the senator? You’ve been her head of security ever since you left the Navy, yes? Former SEAL. Decorated. I would have thought you’d be looking for a job with more adventure. More of a challenge. But a little digging on you last night showed that you’d been in this position ever since your discharge papers were approved…that would have been right after Emerson’s father was laid to rest.”

  Emerson made sure to mask her surprise. He’d been digging on Owen? They’d collapsed together after the truly phenomenal sex. She’d assumed he’d stayed in bed with her all night. But, apparently, he hadn’t been as tired as she had been, and Gray had…investigated Owen? Who else had he investigated? While she’d been dead to the world?

  “Working with the senator is its own challenge, I can assure you of that.” Owen’s slightly mocking response.

  Gray seemed to consider those words. “I can buy that. She’s a pain in the ass, isn’t she?”

  “Gray!” Emerson couldn’t believe he’d just said those words.

  He winked at her. “Let’s go see what she wants, shall we?” With that, Gray ducked into the limo, despite his very clear non-invitation, and he pulled her in after him.

  Even as she got settled on the seat beside him, Owen was slamming the door and remaining outside. Emerson knew he’d stand guard and make sure no one else got close to the vehicle. That was his job, after all.

  Standing guard. Making sure that Maxine didn’t have to face any unwanted obstacles. To protect the senator from Maine at all costs.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Maxine began as she beetled her brows and glared at Gray.

  Ah, well, she did have one unwanted obstacle who’d just blasted past Owen. Honestly, Emerson was surprised that Owen hadn’t made more of an effort to block Gray.

  He would have failed with more effort, though. She’d come to realize that pretty much nothing stopped Gray from getting what he wanted. Obviously, he’d wanted to chat with her mother.

  “I was going to say the same thing to you. I mean, aren’t several senators in town for a meeting with the CDC? You shouldn’t be here. You should be getting ready for that meeting.” He made himself comfortable on the seat. Sort of sprawled even as his fingers kept right on twining with Emerson’s. “I don’t mean to get in your business…”

  Emerson was completely convinced that he did, in fact, want to get in her mother’s business.

  “But I think your driver made a few wrong turns,” he finished. “The CDC building isn’t anywhere close to this location.”

  Her mother raised her chin and let her icy gaze freeze Gray. “You do not want to play with me, Agent Stone.”

  “I don’t. You are so right. I have things to do. Killers to stop.”

  Her mother’s gaze shifted to his hand. The hand that gripped Emerson’s. “Why are you holding my daughter’s hand?”

  “Because we’re working on a case,” Emerson said flatly. “Why are you in front of the FBI office?”

  Her mother’s stare rose. Pinned Emerson. Blue eyes. Not the exact shade of Emerson’s. Her hair was blond. A blond applied every few weeks to make certain that no grays ever showed to the public. “You’re not seriously going to do this undercover mission with him.”

  Gray sighed. “Figured you’d gotten the details from one of your spies. You have got to stop prying into FBI business. Get a new hobby.”

  Her mother sucked in a sharp breath. “I am not prying.” She toyed lightly with the string of pearls that circled her neck. She always wore those pearls. Fancy rings. Glittering bracelets. “I am simply looking out for my daughter’s well-being. It’s what any loving mother would do.” Then, “Emerson, you’ve trained with him for several weeks now. You’ve even managed to arrest a serial killer. Good job.” Flat. “I think this exercise can now come to an end. I’d like for you to return to DC. You were offered the position at Georgetown, and I think it would be in your best interest to take it.” She sent them a thin smile. Smugly satisfied. Certain. “Thanks for your cooperation, Agent Stone. But you are no longer needed in Emerson’s life. This is where you say goodbye.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “What do I think of Emerson? I think she’s danger wrapped in a beautiful package. I’ll never underestimate her. That’s a mistake other people make. Not me.” – Gray Stone

  Emerson stiffened her spine. Soft, classical music played in the back of the limo. Her mother’s pale blue dress matched her emotionless eyes, and her mother seemed utterly certain that her decree would be followed. Then again, she was always certain. But by this point, Maxine Marlowe should be used to Emerson disappointing her.

  I didn’t take the career she wanted for me. I turned down law school for med school so I could be a psychiatrist.

  I didn’t keep dating the man she’d carefully selected for me. Told Nathaniel not to let the door hit him in the ass on his way out of my life.

  And despite her telling me that I need to head to Georgetown, I will absolutely not leave Gray.

  Emerson sent her mother a cool smile. The senator wasn’t the only one who’d perfected an icy grin over the years. “I have no interest in the position at Georgetown. I declined it. Twice. As you are well aware. I will not be leaving because I’m quite happy where I am.”

  “Emerson, you are meant to be in an academic setting! You’re brilliant. You soared through college. Had top grades your whole life. You have opportunity after opportunity in front of you, but you are going to throw away these chances—for what? To play with criminals?” Disapproval dripped from her words.

  Her mother had been horrified when she enrolled in med school. Emerson had been thrilled.

  “You should be in a lecture hall,” Maxine continued. “You have papers to publish. You can’t still be angry that Nathaniel had the research breakthrough before you and released that paper⁠—”

  “Nathaniel wouldn’t know a breakthrough if it slapped him in the face.” She’d certainly been tempted to deliver that slap. “As I told you before, it was my work. That’s why a retraction was published in the journal. He stole my work.”

  “And yet you’re still trying to shove the jerk down her throat. Totally not a mother-of-the-year move there, Senator,” Gray drawled.

  Gray doesn’t give a shit who my mother is. He’s not intimidated by her power. By the contacts she has. In fact, I don’t think he’s intimidated by anything at all in this world.

  And, damn, that was sexy. “I’m very happy with Gray.”

  Her mother’s lashes—fake, they were also carefully applied, just like the hair coloring—flickered. Her gaze slid to Gray. “But are you happy, Agent Stone? You made it quite clear that you had zero interest in working with my daughter. She isn’t actual FBI, as I believe you’ve pointed out on numerous occasions to numerous people. Surely you would like to get back to your original team. I’m certain that another agent—perhaps Trinity Coleman or Agnes Quinn—could work undercover on this case with you. You don’t need my daughter.”

  “Oh, but I do.” He brought Emerson’s hand to his lips. Kissed her knuckles.

  She didn’t flinch. Or jerk. But she might have shivered the smallest bit.

  He smiled. She caught the wicked grin from the corner of her eye. “You see, I need Emerson. Very, very much.”

  Emerson wet her lips.

  “She’s quite spectacular,” Gray continued. “She can profile on the spot. Pick up small details. Analyze. Evaluate. Trinity and Agnes are good agents, yes, do not get me wrong, but I need a phenomenal profiler for this case. As I’m sure your, ah, FBI spies—I mean sources, your FBI sources have already told you, the perp we are after targets couples. I need someone who will pose as a believable romantic partner for me. A partner who can profile in her sleep. Emerson is perfect for me.”

  Maxine stopped toying with her pearls. She leaned forward. “On your last investigation, you let a twisted killer put his hands on my daughter.” Icy fury. “He had an ice pick shoved beneath her chin.”

  “You’ve read the case report, hmmm?” Gray tightened his hold on Emerson’s hand.

  “I thought you would protect her. Now I see that isn’t the case. You will use her as bait. That’s what you did in that dingy garage with Jake Waller, isn’t it? You used her to draw out the killer, to get his confessions. You think you’ll use her again on this current hunt. Emerson is expendable to you.” A hard, negative shake of her head. “She is not expendable to me. Emerson is done with her failed experiment. She’s coming back to D.C. where she can be safe.”

  Gray let go of Emerson’s hand. She immediately missed the warmth of his touch.

  But his hand just rose and curled under her chin. Tenderly, he turned her head toward him. “Emerson,” Gray said her name like a caress.

  Her mother cursed. She did that often actually, behind closed doors. Sure, she might look like a lady, but when cameras and constituents weren’t close, she talked like a, well, a former SEAL. Because she spent a great deal of time with Owen.

  I know they’ve been a couple for years. I suspect they were together even before my father died. A tabloid story had hinted at their personal relationship once, only for the report to be immediately squashed by Maxine.

  “Do you want to go back to D.C.?” Gray asked Emerson.

  “No.”

  “Do you want to work this undercover case with me?”

  “Yes.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Do you trust me to keep you safe?”

  “Yes.” No hesitation. If she hadn’t trusted him, she wouldn’t have fucked him. She’d learned from her mistake with Nathaniel. Only take a lover if you trust him completely. She did trust Gray, and because of that, she’d been able to lower her guard with him and get lost to the pleasure they created together.

  He flashed her a smile. Warm. One that lit his eyes. More gold, less darkness. “Glad that’s settled. After all, we have a meeting to attend.” He turned his head toward Maxine. “Feel free to call next time. You don’t have to pull out the limo just to impress us.” He began to ease toward the door.

  “Stop.” Maxine’s voice. Shaking around the edges. “Do you think someone trying to kill my daughter is a joke?”

  He focused on the senator. All traces of warmth left his face. “No, I think it’s a lethal mistake.”

  Emerson remembered how he’d responded when Jake Waller had grabbed her. She swallowed. “I don’t think you fully understand the situation, Mother.”

  “Oh, I do understand, Emerson. You don’t. When we came up with the deal for you to work at the FBI, you were supposed to face no real danger. You were to hear about the cases, to stay in the office, to read the old files.”

  Emerson’s brows rose. “Excuse me?” That had never been her plan.

  “You were not supposed to be in the field. Not ever. As in, not even once. But Grayson Stone pushed and ignored the rules I’d set up. He risked your life because he thinks he can use you in order to bring down his prey. As I said, you’re expendable to him. I won’t allow this. Not happening. Your partnership is terminated.” An inhale. “As of now. I will be contacting his supervisors at the FBI. He can take someone else out as his partner on this case.”

  She could feel the anger rising beneath her skin. Emerson was sure her cheeks had to be darkening. Her heart pounded, her body tensed, and she… “Gray, did you ignore rules?”

  “Rules don’t apply to me.”

  Such a Gray thing to say.

  “And I don’t really have supervisors any longer at the Bureau. Due to my track record, a whole helluva lot of closed cases, and a traitorous bastard in the upper echelon at the FBI that I helped to bring down…let’s just say that I now get to make all the choices as to what happens with my team. And who is on my team.” He winked at her. “Guess what, Emerson? I choose you.”

  Maxine slapped her hand down on the seat near her right thigh. “Because you want to use my daughter? Use her and fuck her?”

  Shocked, Emerson turned and saw the flash of anger on her mother’s face.

  “I choose Emerson because I happen to respect the hell out of her.” Gray’s response came instantly. “She’s brilliant. She keeps her head in the field when things go south, and she’s also one incredible shot. She’s the person I want at my side when there’s danger. You’re her mother, though, so I shouldn’t have to tell you just how great she is. That’s something you should already know. By the way, I don’t like your tone when you talk to her. You need to watch that.”

  Both Emerson and her mother swung their heads toward him.

  “Since we’re having this little chat—and you are delaying Emerson and I from a very important meeting—it’s my turn to interrogate.”

  Uh, oh. Emerson knew this was not going to be good. “Gray…”

  “Why the hell have you let a stalker prey on her for years while you did nothing to stop him?”

  Emerson’s attention jumped back to the senator. Her mother seemed to stop breathing.

  Then she grabbed for her pearls. Rubbed them with her index finger and thumb. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Liar, liar.” A soft taunt and accusation from Gray. “You know exactly what—who—I’m talking about. But I’ll clarify. I mean the bastard who broke into your home all those years ago. The one who left that scar on Emerson’s throat.”

  Her mother’s gaze darted to Emerson’s throat. “You don’t understand the situation.” Maxine’s guarded response. “I am sure Emerson doesn’t want me getting into the specifics.”

  Gray grunted. “The specifics are that some creep terrorized a seventeen-year-old girl. And from what I can tell, he’s been keeping tabs on her for years. The broken mirror bullshit? The breaking into her homes? Taking shit that belongs to her? Playing games with her? Oh, it’s ending. So are the threats on her life.”

  Maxine stopped rubbing her pearls. “Excuse me?”

  “When we were in Briar, someone broke into my motel room.” Emerson was pleased that her voice held no emotion. She made sure to keep her hands flat against her thighs. No unnecessary movements. “A spray-painted message was left on my wall. The message said I would be dying.”

  Maxine leaned forward. “You need to stop working these FBI cases. They are putting too much stress on you. You are going to fracture, Emerson.” A firm nod. “I didn’t want to bring this up in front of an outsider, but you leave me no choice. Agent Stone, you’ve been misled.” She rubbed the pearls. “Emerson is emotionally fragile⁠—”

  His laughter cut through her words. “You really need to watch your tells, Senator Marlowe. When you lie, you clutch those pearls way too much.”

  Her eyes widened. She immediately let go of the pearls.

  “Emerson isn’t emotionally fragile, and you damn well know it. But she does have a soft heart. I suspect she’s let her feelings for you allow her to be manipulated for far too long. But that shit is ending.”

  “Oh, really?” Maxine’s face flushed. “And I guess you are the one ending it?”

  “Damn straight, I am. Unlike Emerson, I don’t care at all about you. Have zero fucks to give, so there will be no manipulation of me. I’m her partner. That means I protect her from every threat. I’m sure you did your research on me before you decided I would be working with Emerson⁠—”

  “You didn’t want to work with her! You fought it tooth and nail! You said she’d be a pain in the ass⁠—”

  “She’s a pain in the ass that I happen to quite like. So understand me when I say that no one will threaten her. No one will manipulate her. And that stalker BS? You didn’t put an end to it. I will.”

  “There was no proof of an intruder all of those years ago⁠—”

  “Sure, there was. She’s got a scar on her neck.”

  Emerson could have sworn the scar burned.

  “You don’t understand—” Maxine began.

  “I understand that Emerson didn’t hurt herself. I understand that I will be hurting the person who hurt her. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He glanced at his watch. “Emerson and I are late for our own meeting. Very tacky, that. I don’t like to be tacky. Got to keep it classy, am I right?”

  Her mother’s mouth opened. Closed. Opened another time.

  “Great talk, Senator Marlowe. Super fun.” He paused. “That was sarcasm. One of my tells. I get sarcastic when I lie.”

  No, he was sarcastic all the time. Gray was just playing games with her mother.

  He slid toward the door. Opened it. “Emerson? Ladies first?”