“Becca, your friend’s name is Hopper Jenkins,” she heard Christian calling out. The man flinched.

“How the fuck does he know my name?”

“I’m sure there’s an officer around here who knows you and he passed that information along.”

The man grunted. Christian called out to her. “Becca, why don’t you ask Mr. Jenkins to put the gun down?”

“That’s what we’re currently discussing,” Becca called out pointedly.

“Who the fuck is that guy?” Hopper said.

“He’s LAPD… and my ex-husband,” Becca said.

He snickered. “Maybe I should give you the gun.”

Becca let out a shaky laugh. “Mr. Hopper.”

“Shut up. I need a minute. It’s so loud I can’t think,” he snapped.

Helicopters buzzed overhead, the shrieking of sirens sounding in the distance as more officers descended. Becca was sure snipers were being deployed, and it wouldn’t be long before this entire area was on lockdown. All she wanted was to ask this man a few questions. Did he know Nate? Did he trust him? Why did Ash leave Freud with him? Where did she go?

Out of the corner of her eye, Becca could see Christian eyeing her. Twelve years together taught you how to communicate without saying a word, his gaze confirming what Becca was thinking. You need to handle this.

Self-defense wasn’t something Becca ever intended to learn. Before she dated Christian, her idea of a tough workout was hot yoga. But Christian’s own experiences, watching his girlfriend suffer after her assault, made him hypervigilant. “Every woman, especially one who works in law enforcement, should know how to handle herself,” he always said.

The second Becca stepped inside the gym for her first Krav Maga class, she was hooked. Her entire life she’d always felt slightly out of control. In the gym, she was in charge. The rush of power she felt, taking her opponent down with one strategic, well-placed blow to the arm or a single well-aimed kick. The difference was that if a defensive move went wrong in the gym, there were no real consequences. A bruise or bump, nothing a little ice and rest couldn’t fix. If it went wrong out here in the real world, it could be fatal.

Shooting a gun was also something she had never intended to do. Until she fell in love with a cop. Christian kept weapons for home protection, and that was something nonnegotiable. Becca decided that if there were going to be guns in her home, she would force herself to learn how they worked. In many ways it was a fear she had to overcome. On weekends Christian and Becca would spend hours at the gun range. She fully loved shooting, but she respected what guns could do and the power they wielded.