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She was right. That didn’t sound good. Ian surreptitiously tested the ropes binding him. The Boy Scout who’d tied himup had done a great job of it. He wasn’t going anywhere until someone untied or cut the ropes.

Brothers left the building with several of his men, and Ian took the opportunity to ask one of the other men, “Is tying us up really necessary? She’s the guy’s daughter for God’s sake. He’s my father-in-law. It’s not like we mean you guys any harm.”

The random foot soldier he’d chosen just shrugged back at Ian. But it was clear the other two guys with guns were listening.

Ian continued, “Piper has this bug up her ass to prove that she can do stuff as well as you guys. Obviously, she can’t, but I figured I would never hear the end of it unless I let her try and the get the idea out of her system once and for all. Gawd. You know how a woman can fixate one thing and refuse to let it go. Dog with a bone, I’m telling ya.”

More commiserating looks from all the guys this time. He glanced over at her sitting beside him. “I love you Piper, but once you sink your teeth into something, you just will not let go.”

She stared at him in shock. Blinked once slowly. Stared some more. What was wrong with her?—

--Oh. The I-love-you bit. Huh. That had slipped out without him really thinking it through. It had just come out of his mouth. Did he actually love her a little and not even realize it until now?

Nah. Not possible. He didn’t do emotions like love.

Right?

Huh.

18

It was a damned good thing she was tied in her chair, or Piper would have fallen out of it on the spot.I love you, Piper?

She never, in a million years, expected to hear those words tumble out of Ian McCloud’s mouth. And he said them so naturally, too. Like they were second nature to him.

A craving to hear them again washed over her. Maybe when he had his arms around her. Or over a romantic, candlelit dinner for two. Or…heck, any time when she knew he actually meant it.

“Yeah, well, I love you too, you big galoot,” she threw back at him.

It was all part of their newlywed act, right? But crap, those words felt good coming out of her mouth. Like confessing a guilty secret she’d been carrying around for a long time and finally unburdened herself of.

Hah. His gaze shot to hers for an unguarded instant. And then the mask fell over his expressive eyes and he grinned lopsidedly at her. “Glad to hear it, darlin’. Once your dad’s done punishing us for trying to sneak up on him, I’m gonna show you just how glad I am.”

She gulped. Dang, that man could give as good as he got.

“Speaking of which, how long does your father usually hold a grudge? Before long, I’m gonna have to return some of that water he gave us to nature. If you catch my drift.”

She allowed a brief glint of humor to enter her expression. Ian acting as dim as a bulb without a filament was quite an experience. “I catch your drift,” she retorted dryly. “I dunno. Dad can stay mad a good long time. But usually reason prevails in a few hours. Can your bladder hang on that long, hon?”

He winced theatrically. “I’ll try.”

Was he angling to get their captors to untie him? To mount an escape attempt? With all these armed guys standing around in broad daylight, that seemed like a foolish plan. But at this point, she didn’t question his judgment. He’d proven over and over that he knew his stuff in special ops.

“Don’t worry, buddy,” one of the gunmen commented. “We’ll be out of here pretty soon.”

Piper’s gaze met Ian’s momentarily. Soon, huh? What was up with that? She craned to look out the window toward the airfield. It looked like the helicopter was being pre-flighted. But not by her father. The dark-bearded guy—the chopper pilot with the Section 8 whose name she didn’t remember at the moment—was doing the inspection on the helicopter. Where was her father?

She looked over at one of the guys she’d known since she was a child. “Hey, Granville. Any chance my dad has a minute to come in here and talk with me?”

“Naw, punkin. He’s busy right now.”

“Doing what?”

“Getting ready for the big show. I’m sure he’ll come in to say good-bye to you before he takes off, though.”

“Takes off as in flies away or takes off as in gets in his truck and leaves the airport?” she asked curiously

Too much. The guy shrugged apologetically and didn’t answer. She smiled politely and settled back to wait for thePHP’s big show to unfold. They didn’t have long to wait. In about five minutes, the radio behind the FBO’s counter crackled to life.