Free Emerson's Fury : L.B. Pavlov by L. B. Pavlov Page B

as far as I know,” I said sadly.
    “Oh my gosh, that’s awful. What happened at Indy’s birthday? Why does it happen then?” he asked with concern in his voice.
    “I don’t really know the specifics. When my mom was pregnant with Indy, someone took her,” I said, and he was stunned and didn’t understand what I had said.
    “Took her? Like kidnapped her?” he asked. He had stopped eating; this was obviously very upsetting.
    “I think so. They don’t like to talk about it. I just know that some men held her at some warehouse or something. They beat her up and left her on the floor. She went into labor with Indy, and they both almost died,” I said, and now my voice was shaking. I realized that I had never talked about it with anyone but my brothers. My parents avoided talking about it, and so they had just told me the basics to help me understand Dad’s nightmares at that time of year.
    “Holy shit, Emerson. That’s crazy. Why did they take her? Did she know the men?” he asked, and he was clearly horrified for my mother.
    “I’m not completely sure. I know my dad had just been drafted the year before, so I think it was for money. She didn’t know them all, but one of the guys they went to high school with. I think he had liked my mom and was mad at her or something crazy like that,” I said, trying to understand it myself as I said it.
    “Who does that? That’s insane. How did your dad find her? He must have been a mess,” he said, and his voice was filled with emotion.
    “The FBI found her, I think. My dad saw her, though, on the ground. He thought my mom was dead, so I think the trauma really haunts him,” I said, and I had a lump in my throat for my father.
    “I can’t imagine how he felt. Thinking his wife and unborn child were gone?” he said sadly.
    “Yeah. A few years ago, I was upset that he had had several nightmares during that week in May, and I tried to talk to him the next morning. All he would tell me was that when you think you’ve lost your one true love, you know in your heart that you won’t survive it. He relives that every year,” I said, heavyhearted.
    “That’s so sad, Emerson. I feel really bad for him. Does Indy remember anything? I can’t imagine a newborn would remember. Was he OK when he was born?” he asked with concern.
    “Well, they were both in the hospital for a little while. Indy was born in a pretty traumatic situation, but he doesn’t remember a thing, thank goodness. It seems to have affected my dad the most because he thought he lost them. He is a very protective husband and father, and I think that experience made him very cautious. We had security with us when I was young until my mom finally convinced him that we didn’t need it a few years ago,” I said, looking into his sympathetic eyes.
    “His family means everything to him. I can completely understand why he wants you all protected.”
    “Me too,” I said earnestly.
    “What happened to the guys who took her?” he asked curiously.
    “They are all in prison,” I said righteously.
    “Well that’s good,” he said definitively.
    “I hope for a long time,” I added, stabbing my steak with my fork.
    “Emerson?” he said, almost whispering.
    “Yes?” I said, looking up.
    “You are my one true love,” he professed, and I felt my heart explode as the words came out of his mouth.
    “I know that you are mine,” I replied, grasping his hand.
    It was a magical night. I had shared something very personal with Cross that I had never shared with anyone else. I trusted him completely. We had both told each other that we loved one another, and Cross was the first and last person I would ever say it to. He was the love of my life, and I had never been happier.
    In the weeks that followed, I continued training hard, and Cross was very supportive of my training. He had stopped fighting completely, and I wasrelieved. I had started having a lot of anxiety about him fighting, and he didn’t want