Page 28 of Zain

He shrugged. “Tellin’ you now.”

She rolled her eyes with annoyance. “Men.” She’d let Brick tell Taschen about their flight because she really didn’t want to get on the phone with him again.

“When do we leave?” Zain asked.

“We’ll head out at eleven. It’s a two-hour drive to the airport.”

Dana glanced at the clock. It was ten o’clock. She could wait one more hour.

Zain nodded. His gaze held a weight she couldn’t put her finger on. Worry?

“Did you speak to Rami?” Brick asked, taking another sip of his coffee.

“Yeah. We talked last night.” He looked at Dana as if he wished he could boot Brick from the room so it was just the two of them.

Or maybe that’s just the impression Zain gave. He had the unique quality of holding her attention and also making her feel as though she were the only person in the world. He never broke eye contact when she spoke, never interrupted, and seemed to analyze her every reaction.

The effect was addicting.

He made her want to talk more, made her want to bare her heart. Things she rarely did—and certainly not with someone she’d known for about eighteen hours.

The chef entered the dining room and slid Zain’s plate beneath his nose. Zain thanked himand reached for his fork. “What about you, Dana? Did you speak to your brother?”

Her stomach knotted. “Yes, just before you got here.”

He cut off a chunk of runny egg, placed it on his toast, and bit into it. He wiped his mouth and spoke again. “And was he as angry as you’d expected?”

A warm fuzziness washed over her. She was surprised he remembered her brief mention of Taschen. “To say the least.”

He frowned as if the idea of her brother being short with her irritated him.

“He’ll be fine once I’m home.” Not necessarily true. She’d probably be put through the third degree when she saw Taschen in person, but that was something she could handle.

As a matter of fact, in a day or so, when she did have to face him, she’d have a little more energy and her trauma would be a little further behind her—so she could blast him for underestimating her capabilities.

She loved how protective Taschen was. It was his nature, not a quality he reserved just for her. He’d always been protective of women, including their mom and a couple of Dana’s close friends growing up. He carried groceries for his elderly neighbor, Zelda, and shoveled her driveway in the winter. Taschen cared. He just didn’t know how to tone that shit down.

She’d made it pretty damn far in her adult life without his protection. She wasn’t a piece of fine China. She could defend herself.

As the three of them continued talking, Dana tried to hide her fascination as Zain gobbled up his enormous plate of food then asked for seconds. Brick’s serving appeared small by comparison.

When was the last time he’d eaten a good home-cooked meal? Her heart grew heavy. He probably hadn’t cooked for himself often, and whatever Jaysh provided surely wasn’t much when they had so many men to feed. Though if Zain had been lacking food, his size didn’t show it.

Ali entered the room and rubbed his hands together. “Good morning, everyone.” He made eye contact with all of them, including Dana. They all greeted him.

He looked fresh and dapper in a navy-blue suit and silver tie, his brown hair combed back neatly and his green eyes bright. “I guess Brick’s given you the news?”

“Just,” Dana said, shooting her friend playful daggers.

Brick sighed. “You’re not gonna let me live that down, are ya?”

“Nope.”

“Your brother said you’re a hard ass.”

Ali blinked, seemingly uninterested in their exchange, but Zain’s mouth lifted at the corner.

“Well then,” Ali cut in. “I’ll arrange for yourtransportation to the airport.”

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