Page 28 of Her Captivated Hero

“Come on, ‘fess up,” Susan pleaded. “I was out of the loop while Mike and I were in Cancun, and then I was stuck playing catch-up. I want all the dirt on you and Gray.”

“Didn’t you hear? Gray and I broke up after he and three of his team members came over and installed an alarm system without my permission.”

Miranda let out a big laugh.

Susan looked between the two of them, confused.

“Don’t let her bullshit you. That was a couple of weeks ago. She might have been pissed, but she continues to go out with Gray. I believe their latest date was last night,” Miranda said smugly.

“Anyway, Griff told me how unsecure your place was. He would have done the same thing if it had been me,” Miranda said.

“So this is getting serious?” Miranda asked gently. It was unlike her, usually she was the more in-you-face type of girl.

“Five,” Riya smiled.

“Have you done the deed?” Susan asked point blank.

“Last week he mentioned that he would really like to show me Northern California, maybe take me for a weekend up in Sonoma.” She squirmed in her seat just thinking about it.

“He sounds like Griff, he’s taking it slow because you matter.” Miranda gave a knowing nod.

Susan gave a long-suffering sigh. “Dammit, Mike was the same way. What is with these men?”

“I thought I was just giving off the vibe that I wasn’t all that experienced, so he was taking it slow.”

“Just how experienced are you? I thought you were a virgin.” Susan said.

“I’m not the most experienced girl in the world, but no, I’m not a virgin,” Riya defended herself. Dammit, she was blushing.

Susan opened her mouth to ask another question, but Miranda cut her off. “Enough, if she wanted to share, she’d share.” Miranda paused. “How do you feel about him?”

“I’ve never had someone so attentive. He opens doors. He always helps me into my coat. He even holds out the chair for me at dinner. He told me it was a Southern thing.”

“Oh no, it’s a Military thing,” Susan said. “But Mike doesn’t hold the chair out for me at dinner.”

“Neither does Griffin,” Miranda said. “But I never get to go down the stairs first. He always worries about my safety, so he wants to make sure that if I lose my footing he’ll be able to catch me.”

Riya’s eyes widened. “I noticed that Gray did that, but I never realized why.”

Miranda’s mobile phone chirped and she frowned. “It’s the director’s ringtone. Gotta go.” She took the additional napkins that Susan proffered and started out of Riya’s office as she answered her phone.

“So, are you going to go up to Sonoma with him?” Susan asked Riya.

Riya’s cell phone rang. She looked down at the display. She recognized it as a number from the Pentagon. “Susan, I need to take this. Let’s talk later, okay?”

“Understood,” her friend smiled as she left her office.

“Hello, this is Dr. Patel,” Riya answered.

“Dr. Patel, this is Colonel Lockhart. We have a situation. We need you in a briefing tomorrow morning here in Washington.”

* * *

The lights were offin the room and all of the members of Black Dawn were looking at the photograph of a young woman with clear hazel eyes and brown hair pulled tightly back from her face. Gray wondered what she would have looked like if she’d smiled.

“Brief us,” Gray commanded his youngest team member, Wyatt Leeds.

“This is Emily Hoag, she’s twenty-four and the youngest daughter of Leland Hoag, the American Ambassador to Oman. She’s been the tutor to two minor Saudi princes for the last nine months.”