“I don’t think so.”
He tried to reverse positions, and while she was able to avoid landing underneath him, she wasn’t able to maintain her position of superiority either. She moved, and he counter-moved, never once letting her have the upper hand, but he didn’t go in for the kill like he could have. They ended up rolling around in the grass, their laughter mixed as she engaged in her first ever noncombative tussle with a man.
Finally, she was laughing so hard, she just gave up and lay on her back in surrender. It was a totally new experience for her, but she didn’t mind. She’d decided a nanosecond into the kiss that she wanted to try a lot of firsts with him.
He came over her, his mouth creased in that smile she so rarely saw. “I’m the better soldier. Admit it.”
Now, that was taking it a step too far.
“No way.”
“I’m on top.”
“Only because you sucked all my strength from my body with that devil’s kiss you plastered on my mouth.”
“Are you saying I fight dirty?”
She felt her own lips curved in a goofy grin. “Yes.”
“So do you; you said so. The fact you’re still under me must mean I’m the better fighter.”
“In your dreams.” Then, reaching up, she did something she’d never done before—she tickled his ribs, and Nitro’s body contorted as if she’d touched him with a live wire.
The tickling match that ensued could only have one outcome because she had absolutely no desire to hurt him. He ended up on top again, but this time he didn’t give her a whole bunch of victory machismo. Instead he leaned down and kissed her again.
He kept his mouth closed and the kiss short, but by the time he raised his head, she was panting with something more than exertion.
“Are you going to let me make love to you, Josette, my small warrior?”
As they walked back into the house, Daniel was still reeling from Josie’s yes. She hadn’t stalled for time, or given him a song and dance about not getting involved. She hadn’t even asked for any promises or declarations. She’d simply said, “Yes.”
A word he discovered he liked very much on her lips.
“Why don’t you read through your dad’s journals while I call Wolf and check in with Hotwire?”
“But I thought…”
“If I make love to you right now, nothing else is going to happen until tomorrow at the earliest. We’ve got too much to do today to let that happen.”
“You’re right.” She smiled shyly at him, looking about as feminine as a woman could look. “But I wish we didn’t.”
“Me, too.”
“I think I’ll read in my bedroom. Less distraction.”
“Good idea.”
As soon as he heard her door close, he picked up the phone and started making calls.
He began with a search in the Yellow Pages for a local florist. He discovered that for enough money, they delivered pretty much anywhere and anytime. The owner was also kind enough to suggest a shop that might deliver another item he wanted as well as a historic hotel in the city to deliver it to. Reservations made, he put a call through to the hotel concierge, who agreed to take care of the delicate matter of having a box of condoms available in the nightstand drawer beside the bed.
Once his preparations for the night ahead were completed, he went into the kitchen and made a pitcher of brewed iced tea. He put it and a glass on a tray for Josie and took it to her.
She was lying on her stomach on her bed, her ankles crossed and up in the air.
He put the tray on the small table beside the bed. “Drink something.”
She looked up, her expression endearingly vague from reading her dad’s most private thoughts. “You made me tea?”
She didn’t have to sound so shocked.
Daniel might not be the cook Wolf was, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t take care of his woman. “I thought the caffeine might help. You didn’t get all that much sleep even with your nap.”
Her grin made his chest tighten. “Our exercise in the park did more for me than caffeine ever could.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I wouldn’t want you falling asleep on me tonight.”
“That’s not going to be a problem.”
He was still smiling when he dialed Hotwire’s private line, but he got off the phone more determined than ever to cement his claim on Josie that night.
Hotwire had insisted on flying out to help with the investigation. Knowing it would be best for Josie if he let his friend help, Daniel hadn’t even tried to talk Hotwire out of coming, but he hadn’t forgotten the fact that Josie had kept in touch with the other merc while keeping a wide berth around Daniel.
The doorbell rang as he dialed Wolf and Lise’s number. He disconnected and, figuring Josie was still engrossed in the journals, got up to answer it.
When he opened the door, there was a state policeman standing on the small porch, his expression serious. “I’m Officer Ryan Johnson. Is Miss Josette McCall available please?”
Daniel’s gaze flicked to the patrol car parked on the curb, then back to the officer.
“What’s this about?”
“I’ll have to speak to Miss McCall, if you don’t mind, sir.”
Daniel nodded. “I’ll get her. Wait here.”
He closed the door, locked it and went to Josie’s room.
“You’ve got a visitor, honey.”
She scrubbed at her cheeks and rolled over and came to her feet all in one graceful movement. “I do?”
She must have been “not crying” again. He only hoped the tears were good ones, not grief.
“It’s a state patrolman.”
Her pretty brow wrinkled. “I was expecting the Forest Service, but I hoped they’d take longer to find me than this. I suppose with Dad MIA, they want some answers.”
“Don’t give them any. There’s no way they could know you were up there when the bombs went off, and you have no more idea where your dad is than they do.”
She nodded and squared her shoulders. “You’re right.”
Josie followed Nitro to the door, glad she wasn’t alone. She’d been trained to be a heck of a soldier, but she didn’t lie worth beans.
He had to unlock the door before he opened it, and she looked at him askance. “You locked the officer out?”
“Of course. He’s not exactly a long lost relative.”
“You’re as paranoid as my dad.” She said it jokingly, but Nitro tensed.
He didn’t say anything else, though, but pulled the door open, his body language anything but welcoming.
The state policeman waiting on her porch stood at attention, his face set in unreadable lines. “Miss McCall?”
“Yes. How can I help you, Officer?”
“Are you Josette McCall, daughter of Tyler McCall?”
“Yes.”
He moved into the classic at-ease position, his feet eight inches apart, his hands clasped behind his back. “Miss McCall, we need some information if you have it.”
Her stomach clenched in anticipation of fielding a bunch of questions. “Yes?”
“Can you verify the whereabouts of your father last night?”
“Why?”
“There’s no easy way to say this, Miss McCall, but there’s been an accident.”
“Dad?” Josie could barely get the one word out.
“Apparently, he didn’t make it, Miss McCall. I’m sorry.”
Josie sagged, and Nitro grabbed her, pulling her against him. Her father had survived an explosion to die in a car accident, an accident he wouldn’t have been in if he’d stayed with her instead of disappearing. And she’d let him walk away, not even suspecting his intention to bolt.
Bile rose in her throat, and she gagged it back down, her muscles painfully tight with tension.
“What happened?” Daniel asked.