Page 139 of Pucker Factor

“I mean, sure…we were about to be eaten by a shark, or so we thought, but that doesn’t mean he should spout about love.”

“I don’t have a last name. Just run the name and check anyone that’s been in the Chicago area in the last week.”

“Although, if I’m being honest, it really was very moving. Not many men would so easily talk about that stuff.”

“Then get Jameson on it. I don’t care what you have to do. I want to know who this guy is.”

I remembered the way his body fit against mine and how quickly I fell for the man. Not that it was love, but man, did I love his muscles. And his warmth. And his body. And his gorgeous eyes. And his biceps. And his body.

“Sybil,” my father said, pulling me out of my daydream of Eli’s gorgeous body.

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t tell me about how much you want another man’s body ever again.”

Oops.

* * *

I pushed the door open to my apartment, only to be shoved aside as my father strode ahead of me to check out the place. I rolled my eyes and plopped down on a stool, leaning on my hand. My father didn’t have to go far to check out the place. It was just a small one bedroom apartment.

Horatio jumped up on the counter, meowing at me and rushing over to be petted.

“Oh, who’s a good boy? Who needs momma’s lovin’? You are a good boy. Yes, you are. Yes, you are!” I grinned, rubbing him down. The poor thing missed me terribly. And who could blame him after being left alone for a week. After my dad left, I’d have to check the litter box. It was probably disgusting. And poor Leonidas. I hope no one overfed him. I didn’t need to see him face up in the fish bowl.

“Everything’s clear,” my father said as he walked out of my bedroom.

“I knew it would be.”

“So, what’s your plan?”

He stood in that fatherly pose—not the gentle one, but the one where he was about to interrogate me.

“Um…well, I guess I need to check in with work and—”

He was already shaking his head at me. Clearly, that wasn’t the answer he was looking for. “You’re not going back to work there, Sybil.”

He didn’t know everything that happened. All I told him was that Eli had rescued me after someone attacked us at work.

“Dad, it was just—”

“A bomb. Do you think I don’t have ways of finding out these things? The minute I heard a bomb exploded in Chicago, I was on it. The problem was, you took off and I didn’t know who you were with. I was going out of my mind trying to find you.”

“I was with OPS the whole time. And since when do you have time to drop everything to come see me?” I asked, hopping off the stool. “The last time you came for a visit was three years ago.”

“I call you every week.”

“To interrogate me,” I said over my shoulder, walking into the small laundry room where the litter box was. To my surprise, it was perfectly clean. That was odd. I started walking around in search of cat poop or pee, but I’d smell it if it was around here.

“Sybil, after your mom died…”

“Yeah, I know. It was too painful to see me.”

“I thought you’d be safer away from me,” he corrected. “You have no idea what it’s like to watch the woman you love—” He stopped and I turned around to face him.

“But you divorced Mom.”

“Only because I had no choice. It was too dangerous. There were threats and…I had a new baby to think about. If it was just your mom, I could have stashed her away somewhere. As it was, even that wouldn’t have worked.”

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