He did, briefly. Softly. And she let him, hanging there, her lips attached to his, but not moving against his.
He pulled back, stepping away from the car. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
She nodded, mute, but her eyes were asking questions he didn’t want to answer right then.
Soon he would, but not right now.
“Okay, what’s going on?” he asked after sliding into the driver’s seat.
She stared at him.
“Your dad, Josie.”
She gasped, her cheeks turning cherry red, and then she burst into speech. “They moved Dad a little over an hour ago. He asked for some privacy to get cleaned up, and I gave it to him. He’s wounded, confused, I thought weak. It never occurred to me he’d just disappear.”
“Tyler has his own reasons for doing the things he does, and they aren’t always comprehensible to others, but it’s a safe bet he wasn’t nearly as weak as he let on.”
“You’re right.” She rubbed her eyes. “When no one came to get me after half an hour, I went looking on my own. His room was empty.”
“Did anyone see anything?”
“No.”
“Did he leave of his own volition?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. He took the jeep and he left this.” She handed him a note.
He read it. “Do you know where this footlocker is?”
“Dad keeps it in an underground storage unit that only he and I know about.”
Of course. Some people might say Tyler McCall was on the paranoid side, but he was a damn good soldier and trainer of men. “Would it have survived the explosion?”
“I think so, but until we get up the mountain, we won’t know.”
“Are there any other leads to follow up on here?”
“No. He left nothing.” She sounded dispirited.
“Don’t blame yourself, Josie. Your dad is one of the best. He can take care of himself.” Daniel started the car.
“But why would he leave?”
“I don’t know. That’s a mystery he may have to solve for us, but right now we’ve got other things to attend to.” He pulled the big black SUV out of the hospital parking lot, noting with pleasure the dearth of cars on the road.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to the mountain.”
She needed rest, but the longer they took to get back to the compound, the better chance whoever set the explosions would have to hide or destroy evidence, not to mention maybe finding the journal Tyler wanted his daughter to read.
“What caused the explosion?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t been back.”
“I didn’t think you had.” But she had a damn uncanny ability when it came to identifying bombs. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d known the type and volume of explosives used simply from the explosion itself.
She seemed to realize that and explained. “I was out walking when I felt the ground shake. By the time I made it to his room, half of the wall had fallen on him, and the place was in flames.”
“Any chance it was an accident?”
“My gut says no.”
He’d pretty much expected that answer, and he believed her. He trusted few people’s instincts as much as his own, but she was one of them. Josie was a darn good soldier. He’d implied otherwise on their last mission, and maybe he owed her an apology.
From what she’d said before, she hadn’t forgotten his frustration-induced words, but the apology would have to come later.
“Any ideas on who did it?” he asked.
“No, but I’m going to find out.”
“I’m going to help.”
“It’s not your problem.”
“It is. I’m half owner of the school now.”
She sighed. “I’d forgotten. I’m sure Dad will understand if you want your investment back.”
“I don’t. I want to help you find out who tried to kill you and your dad and who blew up my new business venture.”
“No one knew I was at the compound.”
“I knew.”
“You didn’t set the bombs.”
“Of course not.”
“What I meant was, if no one knew I was there, then whoever did set the bombs wasn’t trying to harm me.”
“Just Tyler.”
“Right. We can’t overlook the fact it happened during a hiatus between training camps.”
“Meaning?”
“Whoever it was didn’t want unnecessary deaths on their conscience.”
“Or the chance of having witnesses.”
“It could be antiwar protestors, but the fact Dad was so clearly targeted pretty much rules that out.”
“You think they’d blow up some buildings, but stop at killing?”
“Yes.”
“With a few exceptions, I think you’re right.”
“Since it happened when no one else was at camp, I also don’t think it was targeted at the school in general.”
“It’s got a personal feel to it.”
“Exactly.”
“So, you think it’s linked directly to your dad?”
“I do, which makes his disappearance all the more worrisome.”
“Josie, if you can’t find him, you can bet his enemies can’t either.”
“But how will I know?”
“You’ll just have to trust.”
It was early light by the time they reached the compound.
It had been a quiet drive. Nitro didn’t talk much anyway, and Josie got tongue-tied around him. The kiss hadn’t helped any. Why had he done it?
He’d said he was glad she wasn’t hurt. Was it like a kiss of relief? Whatever his motives, he’d turned her inside out and hadn’t even seemed to notice. He must be used to kissing lots of women, only that didn’t ring true. Nitro was too private to sleep around indiscriminately, but even if he’d been with only one woman, and that scenario was more unlikely than the first one, he was ahead of her in experience.
However, despite that lack of experience and all that had happened in the last few hours, her first reaction to him—before he’d ever kissed her—had been violent physical need. Being next to him in the close confines of the SUV for over an hour had her senses on complete overload. It wasn’t a good situation.
She was tired and likely to betray her feelings to a man who despised her.
She wished she could think of some way to get him to let her conduct the investigation alone, but he took his responsibilities seriously. And the minute her dad had become Nitro’s partner, the Mercenary Training School and Tyler McCall had become two more things Nitro