Page 5 of Her Sensual Protector

She picked up her teacup and smiled. “Good to know. So you’ll answer what questions you can, and pass on the questions you can’t, is that it?”

Leo nodded.

“I see you’re not drinking your tea,” she said as she nodded toward his cup.

“I figured out a third option. If I just leave it full, they can’t pour more into my cup.”

She grinned. “You’re right.” She took a long sip of her tea, then turned her cup over. “Are you hungry?” she asked.

“Always.” Anytime he had a chance to eat something other than an MRE, he was in.

“A meal or a snack?” she asked.

Leo considered. He still had to report back to Max and meet with the team. “Have you had lunch yet?”

Daisy shook her head.

“Let’s order food.” He lifted his hand and the waiter came over. “Can you bring menus?” Leo asked in Dari. The waiter nodded and immediately came back with menus. He explained the specials in English.

Leo went with the cinnamon lamb kebabs and Daisy chose the eggplant dish. The waiter said he would be back out with some spicy chickpeas to start.

“You grew up in an embassy, huh?” Leo said. “What was that like?”

“Mom married Alistair when I was six, and he was the ambassador to Tajikistan at that point. His appointment lasted for twelve years.”

“No wonder you’re so comfortable with the Dari language. Tajikistan’s national language is Tajik, so learning Dari was pretty easy, huh?”

“Exactly. I learned Russian while I lived there too. When I went to the International School, everything was in English but Tajik and Russian were the two compulsory second languages.”

“Do all of your siblings speak as many different languages?” Leo asked.

“Pretty much. My older siblings spent a lot of time with my parents in Africa while the esteemed doctor was chasing everything from HIV to Ebola. They speak a lot of different African languages, while I grew up speaking more Middle Eastern languages.”

Leo heard the bitterness in her voice, but her countenance didn’t seem ready to share, so he didn’t ask about it. Instead, he decided to stay on safer topics.

“But you do speak African languages according to your file.”

Daisy grinned as she grabbed some chickpeas. “That must be one hell of a dossier you have on me. It couldn’t have been the CIA who put it together, otherwise, the two CIA guys in the embassy would have known who I was. I didn’t realize that special forces were investigators.”

Leo smiled and helped himself to some chickpeas, happy that they had brought a bottle of mineral water to go with it. Spicy, crunchy nuts and sweet tea together sounded awful. He poured the water into both of their glasses.

“Yep, they definitely pegged you right in that thick dossier when they said you were smart. Which guys did you have figured as CIA?”

“There was the prick who kept trying to bully me. He was playing bad cop. I’d say this was his first field assignment. Then there was the one in the blue suit who didn’t say a word, but he winced when the dumbass snarled at me. He must have been his superior. I’d say dick-boy is going to get an earful today.”

Leo let out a laugh. “Yep, that’s how I read it too. The blue suit is Tom Ludlum; he’s a good guy. I would be surprised if he doesn’t send that young guy back to the States. I don’t think he’s salvageable.” Leo stopped talking as the waiter set down their food in front of them. It looked fantastic and smelled even better.

Daisy smirked.

“What?” Leo asked.

“Mine’s better than yours. Check it out, I got a side of braised pumpkin with yogurt.”

Leo looked. “You might be right. Are you a vegetarian?”

“Nope, just in the mood for eggplant.” She started in on her food, and Leo followed suit. It gave him a chance to figure out what he wanted to ask next. He needed to find out exactly why Dr. Squires might have been targeted by the Haqqani Network. Any additional information he and his team could find out would really help before starting a mission to get him the hell out of their hands.

“You’re looking at me funny,” she said as she started in on the pumpkin side dish. “Just spit out whatever you have to say.”