Page 3 of Her Sensual Protector

“I can’t get used to the fact that they dump a cup of sugar in the tea.”

“The more sugar, the more honor they’re bestowing on you. If they didn’t like you, you wouldn’t get any.” The hot beverage was making her warm, so she took off her jacket. “So how did you get to my hotel so fast?”

“Motorcycle. That way I could weave in and out of traffic.”

She nodded, it made sense. “You must not value your life, or have a daredevil gene. You could have gotten killed out there.”

Leo laughed. The sound ricocheted through her body, bringing senses alive that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Daisy couldn’t help but smile with him.

“Ms. Squires, that was just an appetizer of what my normal day is like. Would you have come down from your room to meet me if I’d arrived after you?”

“Yes.”

Leo’s eyes widened just a little. “Huh, what do you know? I believe you.”

“Everyone should. I don’t lie. If someone had bothered to ask me something relevant I would have told them the truth.”

They both took sips of their tea as they considered one another.

“So, what is relevant to your father’s kidnapping?”

“Like usual, he’s managed to piss off just about everybody he shouldn’t. He pissed off Dr. Williams so much that he sent him packing to Afghanistan.”

“Why?”

“Most people think polio has been eradicated worldwide. It hasn’t been. It’s still endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

“Endemic?” Leo asked. “I’m pretty sure I know what the word means, but define it for me, just to make sure I’m clear.”

“It denotes an area where a disease is commonly found. It’s a tribute to the hard work of dedicated men and women that it’s been clamped down in almost every other country. This is where people are likely to have and spread it, while other places might get it from unsanitary water. Therefore Dr. Williams and his team were working to vaccinate the final couple of villages in Pakistan and then they were going to move to Afghanistan. They were running into the regular obstacles, but with the right kind of diplomacy, they could have worked through it. Of course, my father went behind people’s backs and stirred up the cleric elders. It was a mess.”

“The imams? What did he do?” Leo asked.

“He went to the kids’ schools and vaccinated them, totally against the wishes of their parents. It was unacceptable. But if you ask my father, he was doing the right thing. Dr. Williams was working with the women in the village whose children had gotten sick with polio. His campaign was working, but oh no, my father just had to stomp all over their beliefs.”

Leo took another sip of his tea. “You sound very angry.”

“Only because I am. This is my father’s way of doing things. It would be one thing if it only put himself in danger, but it puts everyone around him in danger, too. Don’t get me wrong, I think what he’s doing is noble work, trying to make sure kids stay healthy, but he still could have gotten that done without putting himself and all the rest of the doctors’ and nurses’ lives in jeopardy. That’s what he does, he just forges ahead, damn the consequences.”

Leo gave her an intent look. “Did you and your family ever go with him? Did it put you in danger?”

Her next sip of the sweet tea almost made her gag; suddenly it was too sweet as her mind filled with memories. “Yes.”

“Yes to both questions?” he asked gently.

She nodded.

“That must have been hard for you growing up.”

“Not really. My mother divorced him when I was four years old. By the time I was six my mom had married Alistair Barret. For all intents and purposes, he’s my dad.”

Leo nodded.

Daisy might not ever lie, but she didn’t like the way Leo seemed to read between the lines of her story. Most people didn’t ask such pertinent questions. It made her uneasy.

Leo looked down at his phone for a moment, then back up at her “You have two brothers and a sister. Do they consider Ambassador Barret to be their father as well?”

Daisy had her first real laugh of the day.