Page 31 of Dangerous Protocol

“Even then.” He tapped his fork to the edge of her plate. “Now finish your chicken.”

Rather than bristle at his bossiness, she reminded herself it came from a place of concern for her. For the next several minutes, she shared stories about Isla.

“She’s extremely intelligent and quite inquisitive. Which, as you can imagine, can be a very troublesome combination.” Her daughter was a well-mannered child, but she still managed to keep her mother on her toes.

“Sounds like someone else I know.” One corner of his mouth lifted.

“Yes, well, perhaps.” She rolled her eyes and gave a partial shrug of her shoulders. “Anyway, one day, out of the blue, she walked into our cottage holding a very long, very scary-looking black snake.”

“A live snake?” Interest piqued, he sat forward and crossed his forearms on the table.

“Yes, the snake was very much alive. Fortunately, it was harmless.” Maya shivered. “Except to my sanity. But I must say, I was quite proud of myself for not screaming. I simply pointed toward the door and said, ‘Out.’”

Isla had been reading about snakes and had spent hours looking for one in their small garden. Unfortunately for Maya, her daughter’s search had been successful.

“She whined and protested, said she wanted to keep it as a pet.” Her hand went to her chest. “A pet! Can you even imagine?”

Jeffrey laughed, and it was magnificent.

“I’m looking forward to meeting her.” His smile was rich with affection for the daughter he had yet to meet.

“About that.” Maya shifted in her seat.

He tensed, as if prepared to protest whatever she might say, and she set her hand on his wrist.

“I absolutely want you to meet her, and for her to know that you are her father.” Her hand slid away from his warmth. “But I am concerned that dropping that kind of news on her after this whole nightmare will be too much for her to deal with all at once.”

“That’s just it, Maya.” He reached across and took hold of her hand. “I want to help her deal with what’s happened. I want to be a part of that process with you—as her father.”

“There is a very good chance she’ll be angry with me for keeping the truth from her.” And rightfully so. “And I worry she’ll say something hurtful to you. Even though you had no part in keeping the truth from her.” Something she would make abundantly clear when she spoke to Isla.

“You really don’t give me much credit, do you?” He released her hand and sat back. “I want to know my daughter. Whether she’s angry, sad, happy, hurt, I want to be there for all of it.”

He turned his chair, reached over and grabbed hers with both hands and dragged her to him until her knees were trapped between his.

“I want to be in Isla’s life and not just as some guy her mom knew a long time ago.” He propped his elbows on his knees and leaned in close to her. “Now I want you to listen to me and listen well.” His blue gaze held her captive. “Like I said, I want you two here with me—as a family.”

Her entire body relaxed, and her forehead fell to his shoulder.

His hand stroked up and down her back, and his cell phone vibrated on the table. She lifted her head, and he snatched the phone up and tapped the screen.

“Burke.” He watched her. “Hang on. She’s right here.” He tapped the speaker icon and set the phone on the table. “Go ahead, Beck.”

“Andi and Mason are in the corporate jet, enroute to our private airstrip in Virginia. She looked over the variousembassy building blueprints and is confident she knows where they’re holding Isla. Let’s just hope they haven’t moved your daughter before the team gets there.” He let them know that Jonathan would be monitoring the mission from the ops center at the Pac NW facility. “He knew how important this was to Andi. It’s not like anyone could’ve stopped her anyway. My sister-in-law can be quite determined.”

“That’s an understatement.” Jeffrey looked at Maya. “Don’t worry, Andi is one of the best operators I’ve ever known.”

“Mason and Andi’s ETA is twenty-one fifteen hours. Wolf, Viking, and Calliope will be there when they touch down. That should give you time to blow the dust off your gear and meet them at the airfield.” Beck was obviously teasing Jeffrey.

Anyone who spent even the shortest amount of time with Jeffrey Burke would sense his discipline and tactical preparedness. They were ingrained in the man’s psyche.

“My gear is just fine, smart-ass.” A small smile lifted the corner of Jeffrey’s mouth.

“Good.” Beck chuckled and began to lay out the op plan. “There is a tunnel that leads from an old boiler room beneath the embassy to a small building close to the Soapstone Valley Trail. It gives power company workers access without having to go through the embassy.” Papers shuffled in the background. “According to the blueprints,all of the buildings were converted to electricity years ago, before the Qadirans ever moved in. The previous residents no longer needed the boiler room, and it appears as if it has just been closed off and unused ever since. That is our way in.”

Maya remembered Jeffrey telling her that people would be surprised by how many old tunnels there were beneath the capital city.

“Do we know if that tunnel is secured?” Jeffrey asked.

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