Having a tea party. What does it look like I’m doing?” Emil took another sip from his cup.

Kimmy giggled.

“I like your friend, Mommy! How come you don’t like him?”

I stared at my daughter, unsure of how I should respond. “I…”

“Go on, tell her,” Emil prompted, a smug look on his face.

Kimmy looked up at me with bright green eyes, her face innocent and pure. “It’s nothing, baby, but it’s almost your bedtime. Why don’t you get into your pajamas, brush your teeth, and then I’ll read you a bedtime story?”

“But…”

“No buts, missy.”

She pouted, looking up at me, hoping I would succumb to her puppy dog look. I didn’t.

“That was rather mean, wouldn’t you say?” Emil got up and placed his crown on the table. “She obviously wanted to spend some more time with me.”

“You stay away from her,” I warned.

“What? Are you afraid I’m going to corrupt her or something?”

“As a matter of fact.” Without another word, I turned on my heels and headed for the kitchen, putting the kettle on to boil.

Emil didn’t follow me but slumped onto the couch, flicking through the channels. To my surprise, he settled on the cartoon network, looking enthralled by all of the colorful characters.

It was hard to believe, but it seemed like this man had a soft side. There was definitely much more to him than met the eye.

I watched him for a moment, unsure about how I felt.

“You know, if you’re going to keep staring at me like that, you might as well join me. I’m pretty good at cuddling.”

“Shut up,” I snapped, turning my back to him and busying myself by toasting a couple pieces of bread. As I waited on the toaster, I looked out of the kitchen window, admiring the night’s beauty. The stars were twinkling. The moon shone with a brilliant light, painting everything in a soft silver sheen.

Pop!

Grabbing the toast, I buttered them and sat at the table by myself, my thoughts wandering.

I thought about Kimmy’s father. I had no idea where he was. He was probably dead by now. Hell, I didn’t even know his name. I had gotten drunk one night and found myself naked the following morning. About a month later, my period had never come. I was pregnant. They’d discharged me from the service, so here I was, babysitting a criminal instead of running through the jungle, gun in hand.

What a life.

I sighed.

What would my parents think if they could see me? I honestly didn’t know.

Knowing I would only drive myself insane if I kept thinking about these things, I got up and headed for Kimmy’s bedroom. But as I passed the living room, I couldn’t help but sneak a peek in Emil’s direction.

To my surprise, Kimmy was snuggled up to him, fast asleep, her teddy bear in hand.

“Well, hello,” he whispered, looking up at me.

“What are you doing?”

“Watching TV.”

“No, I mean, what are you doing with my daughter?”

“She said she wanted to watch cartoons with me. I let her. But it seems she fell asleep.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but it needs to stop.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You left Stacey because you didn’t want to raise her baby and yet you come in here acting like you’re great with kids.”

His jaw tensed at my words. “Look. That was different.”

“How?”

“I didn’t want to be a dad because I knew I’d be horrible at it. What kid needs a fuck-up for a dad?” His voice was gravely, his hands tightening into fists. “I’m just being nice to Kimmy. It’s not like I’m her dad or anything. There’s a huge difference.”

“Whatever,” I said, grabbing my daughter and carrying her to bed. Gently, I laid her down, pulled up the covers, and tucked her in.

“You love her, huh?” Emil whispered from the doorway.

“Of course I do. She’s my daughter.”

He nodded.

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Goodnight, Kimmy.”

She rolled over, hugging her teddy close to her chest.

I smiled, looking at her for a little while longer before I left the room, turning off the lights.

“Anyway, let me show you to your room.”

“I get my own room? I was half expecting you to throw a blanket and a pillow at me and tell me to sleep on the couch.”

“No. You have your own bed, don’t worry.”

“Will you be sharing that bed with me?”

“Fuck off,” I said, punching his arm.

“Ow. Has anyone ever told you that you’re extremely violent? Like, jeez, woman.”

I smirked. “Well, all the more reason for you to hold your tongue.”

“We both know that’s not going to happen. It’s hard to resist a beautiful woman when she’s standing right in front of you.”

I ignored his comment, heading for the guest bedroom. “It’s not much, but it’ll be enough. Now, get some sleep. We will be leaving early tomorrow morning, just as soon as Kimmy goes to school.”

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“There’s a bit more training we need to do. Cruz has a couple of missions lined up, but we need to make sure that you’re ready for them.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, I’m tired. Goodnight.”

“’Night.”

“If you need anything, I’m across the hall.”

“Anything?” He smirked.

“Don’t get any bright ideas.”

“You suck the fun out of everything.”

“You’d better get used to it then because you’re stuck with me for a while.”

“Great,” he answered, his tone sarcastic. “I look forward to every minute of it.”

“At least we can agree on one thing,” I returned cheekily.