Page 76 of Her Sensual Protector

He’d called and left a message on Max’s phone so that he’d have more than a minute to digest the news before showing up in his office on Monday.

“Come in.” Max’s voice sounded ominous.

Leo went into the small office and found Max and Kane waiting for him. Max was glowering and if Leo had to guess, Kane was smothering a bit of a smile.

“I want to hear every little detail of how in the hell it came about that you spent your leave in Yemen of all fucking places. What’s more, how in the hell did you end up saving Dr. Ethan Squires’ daughter’s life? Would you mind telling me this? Because this picture is not in focus for me, and I don’t like it when things aren’t in focus.”

“I told you, Max—” Kane started

“Shut it, McNamara, I want to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Now tell me.”

“Maybe he should sit down, seeing as how he was shot in the leg and all,” Kane said.

Yep, Kane was enjoying the hell out of this.

“If he were gut shot, I’d think about letting him sit down. Think about it. Now, in nice, small-syllable words, explain yourself, Perez.”

“There’s a humanitarian crisis in Yemen. I went there to help.”

“Humanitarian is not a small word,” Kane said.

“Shut up, Kane,” Max growled.

“What made you decide they needed your help?” Max demanded to know.

Leo hated this. He didn’t know what answer Max wanted; did he need him to give him cover for the brass, or did he want the truth?

“I want the truth,” Max shot out.

Great, now my boss can read my mind.

“I got to know Daisy while we were in Afghanistan. I followed her to Yemen. I offered my skills as a security consultant for the internally displaced person camp in Aden, it has over a million people.”

“I’m aware,” Max nodded.

“Daisy was there trying to figure out how her Women’s Charity could be of benefit, and she had come up with a very needed and ingenious way to help.”

“Go on.”

“Unfortunately, there were some men in Yemen who were taking offense and felt like she was trying to elevate women, when all she was doing was giving them a fighting chance in the camp.”

“That still doesn’t explain how you got shot.”

“Apparently, with all the talk going on some dipshit got it in his head that Daisy needed to be killed. I saw him in the crowd and got Daisy and the kid to the ground before he could shoot her. I just took a slight graze.”

Max’s lip twitched. “Now you can sit down.”

“I told you another one would fall on a mission,” Kane said.

“What the hell is up with that?” Max groaned. “Seriously, no more women on missions. This is getting to be ridiculous. So, what are the next steps?”

Kane snorted. “Max, this isn’t a deployment.”

“Bullshit. He wants her, he goes after her. Therefore there are next steps involved. You’ve followed her to Yemen. You’ve gotten shot saving her life. Are you going to close this deal, or what?”

Leo’s eyes widened—was this really Max Hogan asking him this question?

Max must have seen his incredulity. “Look, Leo, I’ve already seen it before when one of you has your attention focused elsewhere. It is bad for my team. So, are you cutting her loose, or sealing the deal?”