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“Was it his idea to send the man to impersonate my mom?”
“I don’t know. But it was definitely his idea to send the man. Someone got the idea to use her after she threw the scooter through the restaurant window.”
“But the police now know that it was that guy who wrote the ‘C’ word on my door, not her, right?”
“It doesn’t matter, Honey.”
“Why not?”
He hugged her tighter. “I need you to be strong. I need you to brace. Can you do that?”
She tensed. She knew it was going to be bad.
“Your mom died. It was a heroin overdose.”
The tears that Amy had tried to suppress now started to flow. “How could that have happened? I don’t understand. She’s been drinking and doing drugs forever. Why now?” she sniffled.
“I think it was Kraken, but I can’t prove it, Kostya can’t either. I don’t think we ever will. She overdosed on a very pure strain of heroin within twenty-four hours of posting bail. It was a strain that the D.C. coroner had not seen before. Then somebody from Frank’s organization started impersonating her forty-eight hours after that. So no, I’m not absolutely sure that they killed your mom, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure they did.”
“I’m so glad Frank and the other man are dead. They deserve it…”
“What else?”
“It’s just I can’t believe I’m crying for Kiki. She’s been dead to me for years. Do you know why I’m crying?”
“She was still your mom. It’s only natural. Knowing you like I do, you were probably hoping for a miracle. You hoped one day you could reconcile.”
She started to sob in earnest. “You’re right.”
Tissues magically appeared, and after awhile she stopped crying and blew her nose.
“Better?”
“A little.”
He hugged her close again. “I’m so sorry this happened. It’s all my fault.”
She felt the guilt coming off him in waves. How could she not have noticed that before? “I love you, Ryker. I love each and every part of you. Do you know that?”
He gave her a confused look.
“Has anyone from a mission ever targeted your team before?”
He thought about it. She saw the wheels turning. “Once.”
“In how many years?”
“I don’t know. Just the one time in the nine years I’ve been a SEAL.”
“Then how were you to know?” She kissed the bottom of his jaw.
“But still—”
She’d had enough. She nipped the bottom of his jaw.
“What was that for?”
“I’m going to punish you anytime I hear this bullshit about Kraken coming after me, when this Frank man was obviously just an evil man.”
