Free Dangerous Attraction: Part Two (Aegis Group) by Sidney Bristol

glancing at the three agents.
    Connor, Benjamin, and Dmitri, if her memory was to be trusted. Granted, it wasn’t hard to pick them out of the crowd. Connor had the accent, Benjamin was often the only black man in the room, and she hadn’t quite figured out Dmitri’s ethnicity, but she was pretty sure it included both Russian and Latin heritage. The trio was pretty funny after-hours. She’d enjoyed their banter after dinner last night, though the nightmares had returned later. At least then she’d had Travis.
    “Thought you’d like to put in a call to your family.” Dmitri handed her the cordless house phone, his kind smile putting her at ease.
    She glanced at the pre-dialed screen and back at him.
    “Seriously?” She’d accepted that wasn’t going to happen.
    “Go for it. Keep it short, okay?” Connor patted her shoulder, and the three men moved out of the kitchen, giving her a bit of privacy.
    She hit dial and pressed the phone to her face.
    It rang once, twice—
    “Hello?”
    Bliss clapped her hand over her mouth. Her mother’s voice was the best thing ever.
    “Bliss? Is that you?”
    “Yes, Mom, it’s me,” she managed to get out.
    “Oh honey, it’s so good to hear your voice.”
    “Hello? She there?” Her father’s voice was distant, which probably meant he’d picked up another phone, and now she’d have to strain to hear them both. She didn’t care. She got to hear their voices.
    “Hi, Dad. Merry Christmas.”
    “Oh, Bliss, baby, we wish you were here.”
    “Me, too, Dad.” She put her back to the fridge and squeezed her eyes shut.
    “Are you okay? They wouldn’t say a lot about what happened.” That was her mother. Always the worrier.
    “I’m fine. Just some bruises, a few scratches. I’m okay.” It wasn’t the outward injuries she was concerned about. “Are Wendy and the baby okay? Grayson with them?”
    Her dad blew out a breath. She could imagine him sitting down and squinting at the ceiling. He always did that whenever someone asked him a question. “Last we heard from them, yes. The officers won’t let us talk to them much, but we had a check-in last night. They were good. Worried about you.”
    “When can you come home?” her mother asked.
    “I don’t know. No one’s told me much of anything.”
    The front door opened, and she glanced at the entry. Travis stepped through the door. She held her breath as he scanned the room and spotted her. Her heart did a little flip and she waved.
    “They’re telling us we need to get off the phone.” Her mother harrumphed.
    “I’m being taken care of, Mom. Love you guys.”
    “We love you,” her parents said in unison.
    Their words were an auditory hug, something she needed so very badly. Bliss hung up the phone and swiped her hands across her cheeks. Being away from her family on Christmas sucked. Given the circumstances, it was even worse.
    “Hey.” Travis filled her vision, blocking off the rest of the room.
    “Christ, make some noise, would you?” She chuckled. It was good to have him near again. He wouldn’t always be there, but for now she needed him.
    “Sorry. Eaten yet?”
    “No.”
    “I grabbed some stuff. There wasn’t a lot open.”
    “Thanks. How’s Ethan?”
    “Grouchy, so that means he’s good.”
    “Good. They want me to talk about Daniel.”
    “Are you ready for that?”
    She shrugged.
    “If you aren’t, they’ll understand.”
    “But if I don’t, we might not find him.”
    “They might not find him even with your input.”
    “I know they want you to go out and help with the search, but do you think you could stick around for a little while and...I don’t know, just be here for that?” She wrapped her arms around herself.
    Travis wrapped her in a hug and kissed her brow.
    “I’m not going anywhere.”
    She could face the nightmares with him by her side. She knew she could. But what would happen when he was gone?
    Travis grabbed a soda at random and a chocolate bar one of the