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“Walker! GO!” She throws her finger to the door.

Micky’s face is plastered at the front window, and when he sees me, he goes crazy. I brace when I open the door, only to be greeted with him leaping onto me and licking my face with all the enthusiasm of a puppy. Technically, he’s almost two, but his energy hasn’t slowed down.

“Come on in.” I wave to my dad and try to calm Micky down.

He follows me to the kitchen, where I start the coffee and lay out a bowl of water for the dog.

“What’s got you here so early?” I ask him, opening the fridge and giving silent thanks that my mom stocked the place for me.

“Can’t a dad just want to have coffee with his son?”

“Sure, but when that son is in bed with his woman, maybe we should set ground rules.”

His eyes light up with humor right as he sits. “Noted. Tomorrow, I won’t barge in, but I came with a purpose. Actually, two purposes. Think you’ll thank me.”

Alarm bells go off at the suggestion in his tone. I stop prepping Emi’s coffee mug and cut my eyes to him. “She didn’t.”

“She did. But luckily not many were available on short notice.”

“How many are we expecting?”

“I think a dozen.”

I blow out a low whistle through my teeth, fighting back the irritation with my mom. I should have been prepared for this.

“No offense, Walk, but what did you expect? She’s over the moon excited. All morning, she’s been on the phone gushing over Emi. She wants to show her off.”

“I don’t mind showing her off, but I wanted one weekend alone without a ton of activity. Since we started dating, it’s been one thing after another.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have brought her here then. Your mom is on full speed. Try not to disappoint her.”

“You’re right, I’ll let Emi know. She’ll probably love it.”

“I think that woman would love anything having to do with you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means there’s no denying the way she feels about you. It’s written all over her face. I can say the same about you. Never thought I’d see the day you fell hard for a woman. It’s taken you long enough.”

“It took a while for the right woman to come along, but I’m not an idiot. As soon as I saw her, it was all over.”

He smiles his all-knowing smile that he’s had my whole life. Without spelling it out, he knows what I’m saying.

“Okay, so you mentioned two purposes. What else besides an impromptu party to show off my girlfriend?”

“I wanted to hear more about this drug case you’re working on.”

“I’ve basically told you all I can. Our team is solid and highly qualified to follow this through, but the writing’s on the wall. As soon as we get close, DEA is going to sweep in and take over.”

“You okay with that?”

“Hell no, but I know the process. It’s not my call. Not much I can say, and it’s not worth the headache of bitching. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to see it through.”

“There any danger involved?”

“Not yet, who knows what will happen as we get closer. But like I said, we’re solid. I trust these guys.”

“Stay safe.” There’s a sense of worry in the way he says it.