Interesting? Unlikely.â
She wanted to wound him. Payback, he thought, knowing heâd earned it.
âI grew up in the barrio of Los Angeles,â he said. âAbout fifteen miles from here. The only mostly Anglo kid on my street or in my class. My mother died of a drug overdose when I was five and I never knew my father. My grandmother raised me. She was tiny, religious and lived her life in fear of me losing my immortal soul.â
He smiled as he thought about the amazing woman who had raised him. âShe couldnât stop me from joining a gang when I turned twelve or getting arrested more times than either of us could count. By the time I turned eighteen, Iâd spent a total of three years in juvenile detention and jail. I didnât expect to make it to my twenty-fifth birthday. Iâm not sure she did, either. Gang life was hard and dangerous. But she was determined I would be one of the rare ones who made it out. She insisted I go to mass with her twice a week, if I wasnât locked up, and she never stopped praying for my soul. She wanted more for me.â
Madison started on her soup without speaking. Tanner told himself that silence was a good sign. He didnât usually talk about his past with anyone, but he knew he owed her something and this was all he could think of.
âShe begged me to give up the gang, to find another goal. Something that would give me a future. Two weeks before my eighteenth birthday, Nana was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting. Sheâd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I couldnât even go after someone for revengeâthe shooter was in my own gang.â
Madison raised her gaze to his. âWas it you?â
âNo. I wasnât around when it happened or I would have prevented it. Instead I could only hold her hand as she slowly bled to death.â
âIâm sorry.â
âMe, too. She wasâ¦â He hesitated, then figured he might as well say it all. âSheâs the only person Iâve ever really loved and the only one who loved me back. I told her I would make things right, but I didnât know how. You canât kill someone in your own gang, although I was willing to for her. She told me to forget about the gang and the streets. To leave. She made me promise to join the Marines for one tour. That was all. When that was done, I could do whatever I wanted with my life. So I agreed. I buried her and enlisted on the same day.â
âThings seem to have worked out the way she wanted.â
âYeah. I got out of the inner city, saw some of the world. Grew up. Once I realized Iâd been damn lucky to escape with my life, I never wanted to go back.â
âGood for you.â
He shrugged. âGood for her. For never giving up. After life on the streets, life in the service was a snap. When my tour ended, I found work as a mercenary. I took to it.â
âI can imagine.â
âI worked my way into a job with a high-profile security company. Long hours, great pay and I got to see the world.â
She picked up the toast. âThereâs a woman involved, isnât there?â
âOh, yeah.â
âRich?â
âKidnapped daughter of a Swiss banker.â
âAh. Let me guess. You rescued her and at the same time swept her off her feet with your many charms.â
Despite the tension between them, he smiled. âPretty much.â
âReally?â
âAre you surprised because you donât think Iâm charming or because itâs such a cliché?â
Madison considered the question. âBoth.â
âShe was young and spoiled and enjoyed being rescued. I became her flavor of the month. For reasons not clear to anyone, she wanted to marry me. Her father didnât approve but he wasnât used to telling her no.â
âYou said you hadnât loved anyone but your grandmother. So you didnât love her?â
âI
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