a gold bar out of Fort Knox.
“Everyone can go, except Ryon and Daria.”
The others filed out, shooting them looks of sympathy. As good a boss as Nick might be, nobody liked to be the one singled out for a meeting when he took on that tone. Once everyone was gone, Nick moved closer to him and Daria, taking a seat at the table across from them. Most of Nick’s attention was for his mate, and Ryon was puzzled. But not for long.
“Daria, I spoke with your father today.”
That gave her a visible jolt. Her eyes widened. “Dad? How did you get in touch with him? Why?”
“Actually, he got in touch with me. The news story about the killings here went national and your name was mentioned as the wildlife biologist who stumbled onto one of the bodies and became injured.”
She rubbed her temples. “Oh, no. I didn’t think he would hear the story all the way in Missouri.”
“Yeah. He’s apparently been going nuts calling the Sheriff’s Department for the past two days trying to find out where you were. Of course, that information was being kept secret and Jesse has been so swamped that he missed receiving your dad’s messages until this morning.”
“What did he tell Dad?”
“Just that you were fine, staying with friends while you recovered from your so-called scrapes and bruises,” he said wryly. They all knew the danger had been much more than that. “He promised your dad you would call.”
“Damn. I’d hoped to get through this without him finding out.” She frowned.
“Any particular reason?”
She leaned back, looking annoyed. “He’s a worrywart. Dad and I are close, and he’d be in my hip pocket if he could, keeping his baby safe.”
Nick’s sudden smile was wistful. “Dads are like that. You should cut him some slack.”
Ryon wondered at his tone, the expression, but the moment passed.
“Well, thank you for telling me. I would’ve called him in another day or two anyway, though I wasn’t going to mention my, um, adventure.”
“You should know that he’s been trying to reach you since before he knew you’d been hurt. Not only does he want to make sure his daughter’s all right, he has some news from home and needs you to call right away.”
Daria looked alarmed. “Is he okay? Did he say what’s wrong?”
“Your dad is fine,” Nick assured her. “No, it’s something else. He wanted you to hear it from him.”
“He told you what it is?”
“Yes. But I think you should talk to your dad.”
Jesus! Half the damned time, that’s all the man had to say. He would either speak in riddles or not give any information at all. It made Ryon want to hit something.
Nick rose, signaling the conclusion of their brief meeting. Ryon frowned at his boss, but the man wasn’t giving anything away. After issuing a reminder to Ryon that the team was leaving early in the morning, he headed out.
Ryon took Daria’s good hand as they walked into the hallway, and she looked at him in surprise. Pleasure also blossomed on her face.
“It’s been forever since someone held my hand.”
“That’s a shame,” he said with a grin. “Because if ever there was a pretty hand made for holding, this one is it.” He brought said hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. He loved her sweet scent, sort of like orange and ginger. He’d smelled a candle like that once in some fancy bath store. He liked it, a lot.
“What a sweet thing to say.”
Only her worry seeping through their bond regarding the impending talk with her dad put a blight on his mood. Just a temporary one, though, because in the wake of that came a tentative caress against their bond. A brush of contentment and well-being that couldn’t be faked. He doubted she knew she was doing it, reaching out to him as a mate, and that both scared and elated him.
The last thing he wanted was for her to feel trapped.
“Would you like to come to my room to make your call?” he asked, trying to keep the boyish hope from his voice. “I’d like to make you dinner instead of going to the cafeteria.”
She brightened. “You can cook?”
“I’m a pretty damned good cook, if I do say so,” he said proudly. “My mom made sure I knew how when I was growing up, and I found it to be very therapeutic.”
“That’s cool,” she replied with enthusiasm. “I can’t cook to save my life, except for the prepackaged stuff I have to keep with me when I’m staying in the field, performing my studies.”
“MREs. God, I remember those days from the SEALs.”
“Meals ready to eat, the bane of my existence.” She smiled. “We have something in common.”
“Oh, yes.” He grimaced. “I had to endure those for far too long. Every single one I choked down made me long for my mother’s kitchen.”
“You’re lucky. My dad is a fair cook, but not a ton better than me. We ate out a lot.”
“Nothing wrong with that, but it’s good to enjoy a home-cooked meal once in a while. I’m going to spoil you.”
“Well, Mr. Hunter, I’m going to let you.” She sounded light, happy. It was a good look on her, too.
“Great! What’s your favorite food?”
“Um, anything someone else cooks?” She snickered. “We already established I’m grateful for whatever isn’t freeze-dried.”
“Seriously, there must be some hard limits. Stuff you don’t like.”
“Hmm. I’ll eat almost anything, but if I had to say, I’m not big on pasta.”
He gave a mock gasp. “What? That’s just wrong!”
She laughed. “I know I’m weird, but I don’t care for slimy food. Don’t like calamari or escargot, either.”
“Okay. Squid pasta it is.” He loved the sound of her voice when she giggled. “Nah, how about chicken quesadillas? I grill my chicken and everything, don’t use that precooked meat in the package.”
“That sounds fabulous.”
When they got to his quarters, he let them in and gestured to the phone as he led her into his living room. “Feel free to use my phone. I’ll be in the kitchen to give you some privacy.”
“Thank you.”
Walking to the fridge, he opened the freezer door and got out a package of boneless chicken breasts, trying not to eavesdrop. Okay, trying not to
“Hey, Dad! Yes, I’m fine, I’ve just been— No, no, everything’s okay.” A pause. “No, there’s absolutely no need for you to fly out here!”
He smiled at the hint of desperation flowing through their bond. His mate definitely didn’t want her father rushing to the rescue. Taking care of her was Ryon’s job anyway—even if she didn’t know it yet.
“Just a few scrapes and bruises, nothing serious.” Pause. “Yes, it was awful. I’ve seen death, but never anything like that. Nobody here knows for sure what killed that poor woman, but it was probably a grizzly.”
An outright lie. Immediately, remorse flowed to him through their bond. She hated lying to her dad, but what was she supposed to say?
Right.
“So, other than the poor hiker, why were you trying to reach me? Has something happened?”
This time, Daria’s pause was longer, and after a few seconds of listening to her dad, her gasp of shock and
