Bella thought she’d prepared herself. After all, it wasn’t like she hadn’t seen plenty of men paralyzed before. Hell, half of them were at her hands. But they were terrorists, and murderers who raped and massacred, with no regard for human life.

Not an honorable man who stepped into the role of father when she lost hers. A strong, funny man, who volunteered as a firefighter, coached a little league team, taught English to immigrants at night at the community center.

A heaviness settled over her shoulders, weighing down into her chest as she approached the big man lying in the bed.

“Look who I ran into today, Dad,” Matteo said, standing next to her.

Bella wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it wasn’t to see Angelo Santarelli looking…normal? The fifty-five-year-old appeared just as fit and imposing as ever. His face wasn’t twisted, nor was any part of his body. The only evidence of something off was the scar in the salt-n-pepper hairline near his right temple.

But then he tried to talk. “B-ba…B-ba…” He threw his body back and forth, as if trying to sit up. His frustrated growl echoed through the room.

“It’s all right, Dad. Calm down. I’ll help you sit up,” Matteo stated, doing just that, with her help.

Once they raised the bed, and her godfather was settled into a sitting position, she studied him carefully, watching the muscles in his face as he tried to speak again.

“N-n-na…n-n-na…” Color flooded his cheeks, and his dark eyes flashed his impatience. “N-n-ne...”

An inkling of an idea manifested in her head, too crazy to be real. And yet… “Matteo, tell me exactly what the doctor said. Is there evidence of a stroke? A bleed on the brain? Both?”

“Subdural hematoma from the head injury, and ischemic stroke caused by a blood clot,” he replied. “But he got to the hospital within the first three hours, so they were able to treat him quickly and prevent it from getting worse.”

“Was the clot caused by the injury?”

“No one knows.”

She studied her godfather, noting his flared nostrils and several grunts.

“N-n-na…n-n-ne,” he muttered again, rocking sideways slightly.

That inkling turned into a gnawing. He should’ve made better progress by now. She turned and headed for the door. “Close the blinds,” she told Matteo, and shut the door before flicking off the lights.

“What the hell?” he grumbled in the darkened room.

Her lips twitched. He never was crazy about the dark.

“Bear with me.” She pulled the phone from her pocket and tapped the flashlight app on her way back to the bed, and a soft glow filled the room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she aimed the light at her godfather’s face, then moved it off to the side to observe his pupils.

Shit. Her heart dropped to her stomach. They dilated. Both times. She knew why he wasn’t improving. Hell, she should…she worked with toxins enough to recognize the symptoms.

Angelo Santarelli was poisoned.

**

Matteo scratched his temple as he leaned against the wall and watched Bella flick light into his father’s eyes. Why was she checking his dilation? What was she looking for? She wasn’t a doctor. How did she even know to check…whatever the hell she was checking?

Her back stiffened.

“What is it?” he asked, straightening from the wall.

She jumped to her feet. “You can open the blinds,” she said, heading for the door, flicking the lights on as she passed. “I’ll be right back.”

Before he could question her further she was gone. He glanced at his dad, and could swear he saw a ghost of a smile tugging his lips. “Never could get a straight answer from her,” he muttered. “Why should today be any different?”

“Any different for what?” she asked, breezing back in, clutching something in her hand as she re-approached the bed.

Stepping close, he frowned. “Mind telling me what’s going on?”

“Don’t need to. Your dad will. Sort of.”

She was way too cryptic and mysterious for his liking. “Bella, what the hell’s going on?”

Ignoring him, she stared at his dad and sat on the edge of the bed again. “I noticed you can blink your eyes. So, I need you to blink once for yes, and twice for no. Okay?”

His dad blinked once.

A rock, the size of his fist, felt like it settled in the pit of his stomach. Fuck. He’d never thought to try that to communicate with his dad. All this time…

“Good. Now, is this what you’re trying to say?” She uncurled her fist to reveal a syringe in the palm of her hand.

“N-n-na…n-n-ne,” his dad uttered as he blinked. Once.

What the hell?

That rock in Matteo’s gut grew three sizes. He stepped right to the bed. “Someone stuck you with a needle?”

Again, his father blinked once.

“Did you see who it was?” Bella asked, because she at least had some brain function.

Blame it on the shock muddling his brain, or the anger heating his blood—which sucked all the oxygen from said muddled brain—either way, he wasn’t thinking clearly.

Two blinks.

Damn. His dad hadn’t seen the culprit. “What the hell could they have stuck in him? And why didn’t the doctors catch it?”

“Some kind of neurotoxin,” she replied. “And no one would catch it unless they were looking for it. I doubt poison is part of a stroke screening.”

True. But…damn. This was just nuts.

More questions filled his mind. Like, what kind of poison was it? How was the toxin still in his father’s system? Who administered it? And just how the hell did Bella know so much about neurotoxins?

But before he could ask, a knock sounded as the door opened and Jameson Knight entered, with a woman similar in height, coloring, and attitude as Bella.

“Commander Knight.” Matteo walked forward to shake his former commander’s hand. “It’s been a long time, sir. Glad you could make it on such short notice.”

Now, more than ever, he was relieved to have protection for his father, especially someone as capable and trustworthy as Knight. After earning his Budweiser, by completing BUDs, Army Airborne School, SEAL AOT, and a probationary period, Matteo was assigned to Knight’s team—per Knight’s request.

For two years, he served under the commander, until the CIA lured Knight into their elite Special Operations Group. He’d heard the guy did several years there, before leaving to start his own agency. The one Lambert had mentioned on the phone earlier.

“Good to see you, too, Reaper,” Knight replied, cupping his shoulder as he shook his hand. “Sorry it’s for these reasons.”

“And what reasons would that be?” Bella asked, stepping close enough that he was forced to release Knight’s hand and move out of the way, so she could…hug the commander?

What the fuck?

“Ah, Bella. Always a pleasure.” Knight grinned, as she kissed his cheek. “You ready to come work for me yet?”

“Photojournalist my ass,” he muttered, and received three snickers.

It all made sense. The backpack. Satellite phone. Her trips out of the country. The way she carried herself with a capable, lethal grace.

Holy shit. Bella worked for Knight.

She drew back and smiled at the commander. “Not sure your agency could handle both me and Brooke.”

Or…maybe not.

Knight introduced him to Brooke, the woman Bella was releasing from a hug, then nodded to his dad. “Gunny, I promise you we’ll get things cleared up.”

It didn’t surprise Matteo that Knight knew his father was a Marine Gunnery Sergeant in the Gulf War. But it did surprise him that he’d arrived so fast. “Did you fly up, sir?”

Knight nodded. “Yes. Brooke is always eager to fly instead of drive.”

Bella muttered something and shared a grin with the woman. He didn’t even bother to try to dissect the meaning.

“So, how about you fill us in?” Knight leaned against the wall and folding his arms across his chest. “You looked alarmed and Bella looked disturbed when we walked in. Did you find evidence that your dad was attacked?”

“Yes,” he replied, anger washing through him in another wave of heat. He swiped the needle from the table and waved it at them. “From this, not a blow to the head, as I originally suspected. Dad just confirmed someone used a needle on him.”

Brooke frowned, stepping closer. “That one?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Bella brought it in to question my dad.”

Who the hell knew where she got it.

Bella’s shoulders dropped with her sigh. “Nothing goes that easy.” She went on to explain what she did with the lights, and her findings. “I don’t have a reverse agent. The toxins I’ve worked with don’t impair speech.”

Knight pushed from the wall and moved close. “I’ll have our guy test Gunny’s blood to detect exactly what was used, and determine the correct reverse agent.”

Matteo hoped to God it wasn’t too late.

“Any chance your guy can trace it back the manufacturer so I can pay him, or her, a visit?” He was already visualizing his hands around the bastard’s neck…after he got the name and location of the person who ordered the toxin.

“A damn good chance.” Knight grinned. “Our guy’s good. I’ll let you know what we find out. In the meantime, Brooke and I will move your dad somewhere safe, so you can concentrate on other things.” The commander gave him a pointed look.

Yeah. Like Rasheed.

Although he tried not to, Matteo couldn’t stop his damn gaze from shifting to Bella. She quirked a brow, but said nothing.

For once.

Her odd behavior niggled at him, but he didn’t have time to ponder it. “Thank you, sir,” he said instead. “Before you move my dad, there are a few things I need to ask him. He’s been communicating with blinks. One for yes, two for no.” Matteo moved to stand by his father’s shoulder and held his gaze. “Were there people in the shop when it happened?”

One blink.

Now the hard question. “Omar?”

Two blinks.

Relief disintegrated the tightness gripping his chest, but after naming several more names of workers and regulars, and continuing to get two blinks, the tightness returned. Dammit. Who the hell had been in there?

Bella walked close. “Were there three people?”

Two blinks.

“Two people?” he asked.

One blink.

Finally. Now they were getting somewhere.

Bella shifted her feet. “Do you know them?”

One…no, two…wait, three blinks?

“So, you know one but not the other?” he asked, and received an affirmative, with one blink. He glanced at Bella. “Who haven’t we asked about?”

She lifted a shoulder. “I’m not sure. Maybe someone new showed up while I was gone.”

One blink.

“How about family?” Brooke asked from behind, and his dad blinked once.

Matteo reeled back, his heart diving into his gut. “Our family?”

No way. His sister and Joe would never do anything like this.

His dad grunted. “N-n-n…” And blinked twice.

“Someone else’s family member.” Knight’s suggestion garnered a solo blink.

He stiffened as a sudden certainty washed over him. “Paresh?”

One blink.

“Damn.” Omar’s oldest son. He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath, already dreading what he knew it meant he had to do.

“Did he hit you? Did anyone hit you?” Bella fired off two questions, and received two single blinks. “So the person with Paresh gave you the injection?”

Another affirmative blink.

“His brother, Jalil?” Matteo closed his eyes and sighed after he received two blinks for a no.

Thank God, because he was still having a hard time accepting the fact either of Omar’s sons could be involved.

Hell, his dad coached both of them for years. Held birthday parties in the shop for them. Invited them over for barbeques. It was insane.

What the hell could cause someone you knew his whole life to turn on you?

“Was it a young male around Paresh’s age?” Bella asked.

He opened his eyes in time to see his dad blink once. No doubt, the kid was one of the sympathizers Commander Lambert mentioned. Exactly the person he needed to talk to.

Time for a body snatch.

But first, he needed to make sure his dad was safe. As Bella and Brooke continued to question his father, Matteo walked over to Knight, who was just shoving his phone back in his pocket. “You said you had someone who could help figure out what they injected into my dad?”

“Yes,” Knight replied. “But we’re going to need to fly him down to D.C.”

“When?”

“Today. I’ve already got my people on it.” Knight patted his pocket. “They started the transfer paperwork. Should have it within the hour. It’ll require your signature.”

“Then what?”

“Brooke and I will fly your dad down to a secure complex where a team of specialists are standing by to get this sorted out,” Knight said. “Once he’s settled in, Brooke and I will fly back to assist with…your other problem.”

Even though he and the commander were speaking in hushed tones, Matteo glanced over at the bed to see if the others caught that last part—mainly Bella—but he needn’t worry, because she was gone.

“Where’s Bella?” He frowned at Brooke.

The woman shrugged. “She left a minute ago. Said something about putting money in a meter so her car wasn’t towed.”

Shit. Alarm ricocheted through his chest. “She came here with me. In my car.”

Knight’s lips twitched. “You’re not parked by a meter, are you?”

“No.”

“Does she know this Paresh kid?” Brooke asked.

Fuck. He headed for the door. “I’ll be back to sign those papers.”

Matteo rushed through the building, with Brooke hot on his six, and together they burst out into the parking lot. He surveyed the area for signs of the impulsive woman, but saw none.

Until he approached his car. “Son-of-a-bitch.”

The window of the driver side door was smashed in. Shards of glass littered the front seat, along with a hastily scribbled note.

Needed to pop the trunk to get my bag. Sorry for the mess. I’ll pay for it. P.S. Careful you don’t cut yourself on the glass.

“Dammit.” He was too late.

A soft chuckle sounded behind him. He turned to find Brooke standing with a smile on her lips.

“She likes you.”

His brows crashed together. What the hell did that have to do with anything? Even though it was irrelevant to the mission, he couldn’t stop his mouth from voicing a non-mission related question. “How can you tell?”

“By the very fact she left you a note.” Brooke’s grin grew lopsided. “Trust me. That’s not her style.”

Matteo didn’t even want to know how this woman knew what Bella’s style was. “A note?” He wrenched open the door and pointed to the mess inside. “Did you see what she did to my car?”

“Yeah. You’re lucky,” she said.

This woman was as crazy as Bella. “Why am I lucky?”

“Because she left you the car.”

True.

Hope flickered through his chest and turned into a rush of adrenaline. She couldn’t have gotten far. He popped the trunk to grab a mini dustpan and brush, and quickly cleared the glass from his seat. Why the hell didn’t she wait for him? Christ, he hoped the impetuous woman didn’t screw things up.

Some things never changed. Grunting, he tossed the glass-filled pan and brush on the passenger floor, before getting in. Apparently, the Marine Corps didn’t squash her impulsiveness.

He glanced at Brooke as he started the engine. “Tell Knight I’ll be back to sign those papers.”

She stepped back and nodded. “Good luck.”

What he needed was restraint, because Bella deserved a good spanking and he was just the person to give her one.