Minutes of crossfire ensued before a strange calm swept over the mall. Shells of bullets littered on the floor. Slowly people who laid down on their bellies rose to their feet. Emily shoved her shotgun back into the bag of clothes in her hand, lifting her eyes to see a group of men in black around Logan.

“Who are you?!” One of them charged at her but Logan stepped in. “She’s my assistant. She must be so flustered.” He pulled her closer to himself, “Are you alright?”

Emily continued looking at the hefty men surrounding them, a lot of questions filled her mind.

“They are my father’s secret security agents. You don’t need to be scared.”

Shaking her head, she remembered Maddy’s words that they moved around in plain sight but there was nothing plain about them.

A loud wailing voice shook the atmosphere. Logan dismissed the guards to see clearly. A mother held on to her bleeding unconscious son. A chord of pity struck in Emily and that was it. Collateral damages always happen, too bad innocent victims have to suffer.

“We need to take him to the hospital!” Logan ran towards the mother, “Barney come help me!” Emily froze at the sight, watching Logan’s white shirt stain with the blood of the child and the mother running right behind them.

“Boss, are you sure you want to do this? The police are going to be out soon, this will-“

“What am I supposed to do? Let the poor boy bleed to death? Open the damn door, Barney!” The other guards marched behind him, this time their Jeeps formed an escort for them.

Despite Barney’s reckless driving and the mother’s sobbing in the car, all Emily had her eyes fixed on, was Logan. His troubled expression and worry for the child. Only one question echoed in her brain and it was, ‘Why?’

Getting to the hospital, Logan helped pull the young boy from the car to the stretcher and even followed until he was wheeled into the theatre. Logan proceeded to comfort the mother while Emily and Barney stood afar off watching.

“You can’t understand him too, right?” Barney broke the silence.

“What?”

“Logan!” He pointed, “Even I also wondered what kind of person he was. With his father and family’s record, you’ll expect some brashness, rigidity, and a level of aggressiveness. But he retains his innocence nevertheless.” He paused for a while, “I know who you are, Miss Emily.”

Emily’s brows furrowed. Her palm sweaty and her heart thumping that her cover was blown.

“You’re just like me…hard…hurt and broken. Don’t worry, Logan knows how to handle people like us.”

She had several words to say but all she could say was, “Hmm.”

Her mind flashed to one of her operations where the instruction was to completely wipe out the family. The piercing cry of that four-month-old even as she held the gun to his face. She couldn’t bring herself to shoot instead she dropped the child at an orphanage. Despite sending part of her allowance to the orphanage every month, it still never eased her guilt that she wiped out a whole family.

“Emily?” Logan’s arm rested on her shoulder, she jerked up. “Yes?”

“I’ve been calling you.”

“I’m sorry, I was just-“

“I get it, the shootout must have been so traumatizing.” A smirk emerged on her face as if to say ‘Do you know who I am?’

“Do you need some medical check-up?”

“No, I’m fine. What about the…boy?”

Logan smiled, “the doctors are still operating on him but the nurses confirmed that he’ll be fine.” Lifting his wristwatch to his face, “It’s already 7 pm, I guess we can still make it to the family dinner.”

She affirmed, walking carefully beside him. She could see Barney walking in front of them.

“You know, I think Barney thinks I’m a jerk.” His tone was too familiar for Emily to respond so she just grunted.

“He lost his son to a gang attack some years ago and he grew rigid. I must say he made several attempts on my life.”

Emily stopped in her tracks. Was she hearing him clearly or was her hearing ability going bad?

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah.” Logan smiled, folding the arm of his shirt. “He thought my father was responsible for the attack and thought it wise to go after his son too.”

Emily swallowed hard, “so why does he work for you now?”

“Because he’s human, Emily. My father got him arrested and he got a full-on death sentence but I was able to get him out.” Logan chuckled like he wasn’t speaking of one who nearly killed him.

“And?”

“Turns out his daughter who was his only surviving child needed a heart transplant and I funded it. She’s alive today.”

“Your money didn’t bring back his son.” Emily’s blood was slowly getting heated.

“Violence wouldn’t have brought him back either. I know he was mad and angry but helping him out of prison and saving his daughter was enough to soften his anger.”

“And you made him your driver? What if he kills you?”

“I don’t know but this is Barney’s second year working for me and I love him. He may not say it too but he hates me a lot less now.”

Emily hopped into the car not sure of what to make with Logan’s information. A part of her was grateful nothing he would do could pacify her anger. The Morales made her this killing monster and they would have to bear the consequences.

“What about you, Emily? How’s your family?”

Her breath roughened, her blood hitting its boiling point. “Don’t have any.”

“That’s it?” Shrugging his shoulders, “Don’t you have some story?”

“No, that’s it…I don’t have a family.”

“But all of that’s in the past, how about you become my family now?” Stretching his hands for a handshake.

“No,” She receded, “I like to work alone.”

“We are home!” Barney announced.