Page 24 of Dangerous Protocol

“Appeared as if?”Maya asked.

“Al-Mansoori arrived in a black limousine with his family, but Adnan Bashar, his right-hand dude, was in a black passenger van behind him. When he stepped out of the van, he was carrying someone small who appeared to be asleep. I’m guessing it was your daughter, Maya.” Keys clicked in the background. “She was wrapped in a blanket, so I couldn’t get a look at her face. But I was able to see some long blond hair hanging over Bashar’s arm.”

“That’s her.” She turned to Jeffrey. “That is definitely Isla.”

“They entered the main embassy building, and I lost sight of them.” More clicking. “I’m still working on accessing their interior cameras. They’ve created a firewall, but it’s pretty lame, so I should be in within the next fifteen or twenty minutes.”

“That’s incredible, Sammy.” Maya could understand why Casey was impressed with her.

“Great work, Sammy.” Jeffrey slowed down as he approached a cluster of trees. “Keep me informed.”

“Will do,” she said.

He tapped the screen to end the call. The SUV bounced over the rough gravel road and wound its way around some large trees until they came to a small clearing. His headlights shone on a large cabin nestled in the trees ahead of them.

“This is where you live?” She stared through the trees, surprised by what she saw.

“Yep.” He pulled up in front of the cabin and shut off the engine. “What did you expect?”

“Quite frankly, I wasn’t sure what to expect.” But she certainly hadn’t envisioned a log cabin tucked back in the woods. Hell, she’d never actually seen a real log cabin before.

He slid from behind the wheel and walked around to her door, but she’d already pushed it open and was climbing out.

“Nice and isolated.” She turned around to take in what she could see of the property.

“Just the way I like it,” he said.

The cabin appeared to be pretty large and had a massive stone fireplace rising up one side. Off to the left sat what looked like a garage or workshop built in the same style as the cabin.

Deep in the woods, the darkness had already begun to settle over everything, and the temperature was dropping fast. Maya looked up, and large flakes of snow stung her face and caught on her eyelashes. She shivered and swiped them away, then pulled the front of her coat together and drew her shoulders up to her ears.

“You’re freezing.” He lifted her backpack from the back seat and looped it over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

Jeffrey placed his hand at the small of her back, and a powerful heat permeated the fabric of her coat and surged through her body. The overwhelming sensation caused her to stumble, and lightning-quick, he was in front of her, catching her with his hands on her waist. Which only heightened the tingling sensation prickling across her skin.

“You okay?” He crouched, bringing them eye to eye.

“I’m …” She cleared her throat. “Yes, I’m fine.”

Overheating with lust but otherwise, fine.

“I’m sorry, it’s a bit dark out here.” The security lights chose that moment to flash on, and they lit the entire driveway area. “Better late than never, I suppose.”

Maybe it was stress or lack of sleep, but she couldn’t prevent the chuckle that bubbled up and burst free.

“Yeah, you need some sleep.” He looked down at her. “But first, I want you to eat something.”

“Funny, I don’t remember you being this bossy.” She’d known he liked to be in control in the bedroom, but this was a side of him he’d never shown her before.

“Things were different back then.” His grip was gentle on her elbow as he led her up the wooden steps to the front door.

What exactly had he meant by that statement? Maybe once she had some food in her belly, she’d have the guts to ask him.

Jeffrey unlocked two deadbolts, slid a plastic card from his wallet, and tapped a sensor pad. There was a loudca-thunkbefore he turned the knob and swung the door open. He secured the door, flipped a switch, and a lamp in the far corner clicked on.

“Welcome to my humble abode.” He hung her backpack on a hook next to the door. “Make yourself at home.”

If only.

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