She swallowed deeply. They hadn’t had a chance to talk. More police officers had arrived asking for statements. Reporters had also shown up in droves. No doubt, the media would dig into that old case involving the police officers and their possible involvement in her parents’ deaths. The media would also expose Roland’s connection to her family, and she hoped he was okay with that.
Once everyone had left, except for the few members of the media who were intent on hanging around, Striker had locked up her home and brought her to his place. The news crew hadn’t been allowed near his home since Striker lived in a gated community.
Margo had fallen in love with his town house the minute she walked through the door. It was spacious with a beautiful view of the mountains. And for some reason, she felt right at home. He had told her to get comfortable while he ran her bathwater because a good soak in the tub would work wonders for her. When she told him she had nothing to put on, he told her he had plenty of T-shirts. That reminded her of the last time she’d worn one of his shirts.
“Talk to me, Striker. Share your thoughts.” Margo had a feeling she was asking him to do something he didn’t do on a regular basis.
“I went home,” he finally said.
“To Little Rock?”
“Yes. I haven’t been back since I left. There was no need. Wade and Mom were gone and my mom’s only sister, Aunt Gussie, died while I was locked up. I stayed away because I wanted to start a new life. Have a new beginning. I found that here in Charlottesville. I had everything I thought I needed. The only people in my life were those I wanted, and I didn’t need anyone else.”
He paused before saying, “And then...”
She’d been hanging on his every word. “And then what?”
“And then I met you.”
Elation swelled Margo’s heart. “I hope meeting me was a good thing.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t think so at first.”
She could accept that. “But now?”
His hold on her hand tightened. “And now I can’t imagine my life without you. But I had to come to terms with some things. I hadn’t buried the past as deep as I thought. Not as deep as I should have. That’s why I returned home, and I’m glad I did.”
He paused again and then said, “Going home, visiting with people like my high school coach, who’s still there, and walking the neighborhood and seeing the changes, good changes—all that made me appreciate how that town shaped me, molded me. Gave me values. I also went to visit the man who fathered me. He had a stroke a few years back and is in a nursing home. After seeing the condition he’s in, I could no longer hate him for how shabbily he treated me and my mother. I even apologized to him for hating him so much.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute. “Whoever said you can’t go back home didn’t know what they were talking about. For me it was important to go back before I could move forward. I can do that now. And I want to do that. With you.”
Margo swallowed. “You’re sure of that? That you want to move forward...with me?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
He shifted so they were facing each other. “I love you, Margo. I knew I loved you when I left here that day, but I felt I’d failed you. And the thought of how close you’d come to dying—of how close I’d come to losing you—shook me up a bit. That’s why I had to come to terms with some things. I’ve done that, and more than anything, I want you in my life.”
“Oh, Striker.”
Striker pulled Margo into his arms and held her tight. Close to his heart. “But I want us to do this like normal people and not rush things. I want us to date, have fun, enjoy things together as a couple, and then when we’re ready for that next step, we’ll take it. Together. We won’t be using anybody’s timeline but our own. Okay?”
She smiled at him, fighting back tears of joy. “I wouldn’t want things any other way.”
Striker captured her mouth in a kiss that held so much love and promise. He didn’t know that he could love a woman this much. At first the thought had been scary. Now it was wonderful.
When he released her mouth, he whispered against her wet lips, “I love you so much, Margo.”
“And I love you.”
He smiled before sweeping her into his arms and standing. “Now for your bath.”
“Will you join me?”
“That’s my plan,” he said, heading up the stairs. “I don’t intend to let you out of my sight for a while.”
She smiled, tightening her arms around his neck. “Trust me, I have no problem with that. Like I said earlier, I want you for my forever-protector.”
“Baby, you got me.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
DR. RANDI FULLER glanced up at the knock on her door. “Come in.”
She smiled when Detective Ingram walked in. She was still baffled at the vibes she got whenever she was around the detective. She’d gotten the same vibes that night when she’d met Margo Connelly. For some reason that she didn’t quite understand, her subconscious was saying that over the span of their lives the three of them would become the best of friends. She definitely couldn’t understand the logic in that.
First of all, she’d met Margo Connelly that one time and didn’t expect to ever see her again. And second, unless she returned to Charlottesville to work on another case, there was no reason her path would cross with Detective Ingram’s either. Besides, as a rule, she’d made it a point not to have close female friends due to an incident that had happened while she was in college. Her older sister, Haywood, was all she needed. Randi considered Haywood her best friend and confidante. And then there was her mom, Jenna. She and her mother had always had a close relationship. In fact, she was close to both her parents. Very few people knew she was the daughter of world-renowned defense attorney Randolph Fuller.
“I was hoping to see you before you left, Dr. Fuller. It’s been quite a day and one of the cases I worked involved Margo Connelly again.”
“What happened?”
Detective Ingram spent the next ten minutes telling her what had gone down at Margo Connelly’s home. “I’m glad Ms. Connelly is okay,” Dr. Fuller said.
“So am I. It’s bad enough to have one person out to get you, but to have two others at the same time is crazy. I think she might need a full-time bodyguard.”
“It certainly sounds like it.”
“And I guess you heard about the medical examiner’s report regarding Erickson’s death,” Detective Ingram said.
Randi nodded. “Yes. According to the coroner, Erickson had been dead a good two hours before Small’s visit.”
“Yes. So that means Small wasn’t the one who killed him.”
“Any leads as to who did?” Randi asked.
Detective Ingram shook her head. “Not a one. The FBI will have their hands full trying to figure this one out. Even the security cameras where Erickson’s cell was located had been tampered with. We know it was an inside job, but by whom? Rumor has it that the mob replaced Erickson and it was decided that he would never leave prison alive.”
Randi nodded again. “That doesn’t surprise me. Erickson knew too much about the mob’s business.”
“I wonder who’s in control now.”
Randi smiled. “I hope you don’t think that I know. And in case you’re wondering, I also don’t have a clue as to who killed Erickson. Usually victims come back to me wanting justice, but I doubt Erickson will. We didn’t hit it off, and I warned him he would die before me.”
“You did?”
“Yes. It was after he made a few veiled threats during our one-on-one meeting,” Randi said, “although, at the time, I had no idea his life would end so soon.”
“And now the mystery of Erickson’s death is another murder to be solved.”
“And it will be.”
Detective Ingram glanced around. “Need help with anything?”
“No. I’m just packing up a few things. I wasn’t here that long.”
“But you were effective, and we appreciate it. So, you’re headed back to Richmond?”
Randi had shared that much with the detective. “Yes, I leave in the morning. I’ll be home only for a day or two and then I’m leaving again. To come back here, I canceled plans for a short visit to an island off of South Carolina. I plan to finally go there and spend at least two weeks doing nothing.”
“What will you be doing later tonight? A gentleman friend of mine and I are grabbing a few beers and chips after work if you want to join us.”