Angus lowered his chin. “Well now, I guess that’s up for interpretation. You’re the one who sent your daughter to work with a dangerous band of PTSD-riddled ex-soldiers and cops. One has to wonder why you allowed that.”
Zhang’s features flushed a dark red. No doubt the man wasn’t used to anybody challenging his authority. “You had better watch yourself.”
“Angus—” Nari started.
“I don’t work for you any longer,” Angus said, letting the predator inside himself show. It had been a shitshow of a day, and he was done. Just fucking done. “I don’t like how you’ve treated your own daughter, and I really don’t like how useless you’ve been in protecting her as an HDD agent.”
Nari gasped.
Instead of resorting to threats, as expected, Zhang narrowed his eyes. “You’re sounding rather possessive.” He swung his gaze to his daughter. “Please tell me you haven’t made yet another mistake with a coworker.” The derision in his tone was going to get him punched square in the nose.
Angus growled and his hand clenched into a fist. His temper rose from the abyss to front and center.
Heels clipped down the hallway and a woman entered the room. “Quan? I heard Nari was attacked.”
Everyone in the room stood taller, including Angus. It was the administrator of the HDD. Though Angus had never met Zhang, he’d met Opal Clemonte a couple of times.
The woman took in the room, her gaze landing on Nari. “Are you all right?”
Nari nodded, holding the dog closer.
Clemonte then turned toward Angus. “What happened to you?”
Angus studied her. She wore a shiny matching top and skirt in a silver argyle pattern and her gray hair was up in a fancy twist. Obviously she’d been out for the evening.
Roscoe growled.
Angus started. “Roscoe—”
It was too late. The dog leapt for the woman, his teeth sinking into the neckline of her top. Gravity took over and he dropped, taking the material with him. The shimmery shirt ripped right off and Roscoe jumped into the corner, tearing at it. Maybe eating a lot of it.
“Roscoe!” Nari snapped.
The administrator gasped and backed away, her light-pink bra clearly revealed. She watched the dog go to town on her top and tilted her head.
“Shit.” Zhang ripped off his jacket and hurriedly pressed it around the woman’s torso. “Opal? Honey? Are you okay?”
Honey? Angus studied the woman, who slipped her hands in the coat sleeves but didn’t seem overly bothered with covering herself. He had to give it to her. She definitely had presence and confidence.
“I’m fine. He didn’t even scratch my skin,” she said. “Why is that dog eating my tunic?”
Roscoe finished with the material, which was now a mangled mess. Then he turned and eyed her skirt.
“Oh, no.” Angus intercepted the dog, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck. “Sit. Now!” He put enough bite into his command that the dog’s butt instantly hit the ground. Then Roscoe whined.
The administrator looked down at her skirt. “He doesn’t like silver?” She sounded more perplexed than angry.
“He has issues,” Nari hastened to say. “He was involved in a bombing a long time ago, and somebody nearby probably wore a vest with some sort of argyle pattern like your clothing. He still goes a little crazy when he sees that pattern.”
Roscoe whined again, his muscles straining as he fought to obey Angus’s command and stay in place.
Zhang put an arm around the administrator’s shoulders. “Let’s get you out of here and away from that attack dog. He should be put down. I can make it happen if you wish.”
“Try it,” Angus said, letting the threat hang heavy in the air.
The administrator shook her head. “I’m fine. Agent Force, I’m assuming there has been a report filed on why you’re bleeding and obviously injured?”
He nodded. “I gave an interview to the local cops and am meeting HDD agents tomorrow. Everything is covered.” So far, Angus liked her a hell of a lot more than he did Nari’s dad.
