He was right, she would counsel another woman to do the same thing. “You’re right. I promise to do that next time. Now come and eat, the food is getting cold.”
She sat down in the same place she had been and was happy when Leo took his same spot, even though it was clear she was past the point of needing comforting.
“I ordered four different dishes so we could serve ourselves family-style.”
“Who else are you inviting over?”
“You need to eat a decent amount of food. Plus there’s me. I’m a growing boy.” He winked at her.
There was something about that wink. That humor. That man.
Daisy smiled. A real smile. Not a sex-satisfied smile, not that those hadn’t been tremendously wonderful. Nope, this was a smile that said maybe time with this man, and believing in him, in his capabilities, might just work out.
“Why aren’t you filling your plate? I thought you said you liked what I’d ordered.”
“I do. I was thinking how much I like you.”
Leo coughed on the kebab he was eating. “Daisy, I sure as hell hope you kind of liked me before we hit the sheets.”
“There you go again, that’s another reason I like you, you have a great sense of humor. I do, I really do like you.” She looked at the stubble on his face, and the white gleam of his smile, and felt like she’d hit the proverbial jackpot.
“Are you going to pass me a note? Should I be careful that my lieutenant doesn’t see it?”
“You goofball.”
He pulled the empty plate out of her hand and started to fill it up.
“I could have done that.”
“But you weren’t.”
She noticed how he filled it with primarily vegetarian items. “Do you want any of the meat dishes?” he finally asked.
“Chicken,” she nodded.
He spooned some of the narenj palaw onto her plate. He seriously chose some good dishes. When her dish was full, she sat back and started to eat.
“You don’t have to watch me,” she complained. “I will finish my meal.”
“Maybe I just enjoy watching you eat.”
Daisy watched as he took a bite of his lamb dumplings. He was right, there was something sensual about watching a person eat. Just seeing how his lips closed around the tongs of his fork made her want to kiss him. Or better yet, have him take a bite out of her.
Cool it. I’m eating dinner, not getting ready to jump the man!
“I thought about what you said, but I can’t figure out any sort of angle where it would behoove Rayi to show me that video out of spite. He knows who I am, what I do. He realized I could handle it, and Leo? I should have. I can’t believe I broke down like that.”
He gave her a sideways look. “Are you in the habit of lying to yourself? I’m just curious.”
She took another bite of her chicken dish and noticed that this time it tasted like sawdust. She put down her plate. “In all reality, I didn’t think it would affect me. So no, I’m not lying to myself. I didn’t know that seeing my biological dad in so much pain…realizing that he’s going to be executed, was going to…” She gulped in a deep breath, then continued. “Well, I just didn’t know it would affect me so strongly. I didn’t realize how deep a connection I had to him. Part of the reason I wanted to be the one to come over here, instead of my brothers and sister, is I could handle it if something bad were to happen because I would be less attached. This sure blew my thought process all to hell, huh?”
“You do realize it only proves you’re a deeply compassionate and loving woman.”
“Who probably should have listened to her mother when she was fifteen.” Daisy waved her hand in the air. “Okay, enough about my Daddy issues. What did you and your teammate talk about? I know you can’t tell me much of anything, but can you tell me something?”
“I have to go back to Bagram Air Base early this evening, I can tell you that. I can also tell you that my teammate is checking into Rayi, but other than that, nothing.”
“And Jim’s Russian connection?”
“I brought that to Tom’s attention yesterday. That should be the end of things.”
Daisy felt a big sense of relief. At least that was done.
“And how early is early?”
Leo looked at his watch. “I probably have to leave here in the next forty-five minutes.”
“I’m done eating, what about you?”
“Depends,” Leo smiled at her. “Do you have an activity that is more enticing than eating in mind?”
“I think I do. I really think I do.”
13
This time the Blackhawk couldn’t land anywhere close to the cave; there just wasn’t the kind of terrain coverage to hide behind. As well as not having the mountainous area for coverage, there was not going to be any high ground for Leo and Ezio to set up good sniper positions. Which sucked—really, really sucked.
Hell, Leo didn’t mind the twenty-klick hike from the Blackhawk to the cave with the sixty pounds of gear. That was a cakewalk, but not having a good position to cover his teammates? Yeah, that really chapped his hide. That’s not to say he and Ezio hadn’t come up with a plan. The drone footage had shown some rock groupings and formations that looked promising, but they wouldn’t know until they got closer.
“Hold up,” Max said over their comm system.
They could see the cliff in the distance. Max had his night-vision binoculars out, and soon everybody else did as well.
“I’m seeing three perfect hidey-holes on that cliff above the cave for
