“Wow,” Ice said, “this situation is insane.”
“It is, isn’t it? I had no idea that coming to this corner of the world would get me attacked.”
“We feel so bad about that,” Ice said fervently. “That’s not what we want to happen at all.”
“And not just to me, I know,” she said.
“No, none of us want to see anybody attacked,” Ice said. “And, in this case, we’re still really unclear as to what’s going on. So we do have some questions for you,” she said apologetically.
“Oh, I understand the questions thing,” she said, reaching up a hand to her sore head. “Any chance of a coffee while we’re doing that?”
“Of course,” she said, “and food. How’s the stomach?”
“It’s up and down,” Di said. It felt so damn good to be in a place where she was safe and with friends. Ice led her into the huge kitchen that Di had heard so much about, and then Ice promptly disappeared. Dianne was immediately engulfed in gentle hugs from an older man. She accepted them gratefully.
“You must be Alfred,” she said, studying the wispy hair around his face and the sheer gentleness of his countenance. She knew that he was an old military friend of Levi’s, and, while she wasn’t exactly sure how it all worked, it was obvious that he was happy here.
He beamed at her. “Indeed, I am,” he said. He patted her back and said, “Come sit down. Sit down.”
She allowed herself to be led to a large comfy chair at the table. This chair was different from the others, but it was one good to snuggle into. She sank into it gratefully and was quickly presented with a cup of coffee and a tray of goodies. She looked at the tray in astonishment.
“Where on earth did you get these from?” she murmured, as her hand hovered over the tray, while she made her selection. When she appeared to be taking too long, Alfred immediately grabbed the tongs and put three on a plate for her.
She laughed. “How did you know I was deciding between those three?”
“Because that’s where your hand kept going,” he said, with a bright smile. “Now you just sit and rest. You’ve had a terrible experience,” he said. “Nobody should go through that.”
“Well, it seems like that’s just my day today.” She looked up, and there was Noah, leaning against the doorjamb, grinning at her. She rolled her eyes. “How do you guys stay skinny here?” she whispered, as she motioned at the plate in front of her.
“We don’t even try,” he said, patting his stomach. “At least some of us are busy enough that it doesn’t make a difference.”
“At the moment,” she said, “but wait until you try to stop being busy sometime.”
He chuckled, sat down beside her, and said, “How are you feeling?”
“Like shit,” she said cheerfully. “But this is helping an awful lot. I’m fortifying myself right now,” she said, “for the questions to come.” She picked up a big croissant, took a bite, and then closed her eyes with a happy sigh.
“Wow, that look on your face …”
Her eyes flew open, finding Noah studying her. She flushed. “A little too much, huh?”
“Nope,” he said, “passion is everything. Whether it’s for food or other things.”
She rolled her eyes at him.
“No, not like that. I just meant, like career, children, whatever it is, do it with all your heart,” he said. “It’s nice when I have somebody like Alfred and Bailey who can cook like they can.” He added, “We all enjoy the benefits, and I do something I really enjoy outside of this.”
She smiled. “And what is it that you enjoy?”
“All kinds of stuff,” he said, with a cheeky grin. “But I really enjoy action and putting the bad guys in jail.”
“Good,” she said. “Sounds to me like there’s no end of bad guys.”
“Nope, sure isn’t,” he murmured. He looked at the plate and then got up and walked over and picked up a couple treats of his own.
She snorted. “See? That’s what I mean. How can you not eat constantly around here?”
“I wouldn’t want to overeat,” he said, “but this is pretty spectacular.”
Bailey walked into the room, pushing a cart carrying a big water jug with lemon slices in it, alongside some scones and lemon curd. She placed the cart near the table for everyone to help themselves.
Noah looked at her and asked, “How do you guys just keep bringing out all this good stuff?”
She smiled at him. “Well, if we told you guys our secret recipes, we wouldn’t have a job.”
“Nope, nope, nope,” Noah said. “I have no intention of that. I’m way too happy to have you around, keeping us all fed.”
“You mean, fat and fed,” Bailey said cheekily.
Noah looked at her in mock horror. “Surely I’m not getting fat.”
“No,” she said, “not yet.” And, with that singsong answer, she walked back into the kitchen.
Noah looked over to find Di grinning at him. “Oh, you enjoyed that, did you?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I kind of did.”
“Glad to see you stocking up yourself,” he said.
“I’ll need it,” she moaned, as she picked up another piece.
“They won’t grill you,” he said softly. “They’ll just ask you questions.”
“Yeah, but just asking questions means reliving all that horror.”
“Speaking of which,” a voice said from the doorway.
Dianne looked up to see Levi. Immediately she put down the croissant in her hand, got up, walked around to him, and they shared a big, careful hug.
He held her gently, then pushed her back a bit to get a look at her. “How are you feeling?” His gaze was searching, looking for the truth that she didn’t want to tell anybody.
She bolstered up a bright smile and said, “Honest, I’m doing much better.”
“Well, good,” he said. “And thank you for not lying and telling me that you’re doing fine.”
She snorted. “Since when did you ever let me get away with a lie?”
“Not lately,” he said. With an arm around her shoulders, he led her back to the table. “I see Bailey and Alfred have already found you,” he said, motioning at the plate of treats.
“My God,” she said, “how the devil do you possibly keep them here? I’m surprised they haven’t been stolen from you.”
“It’s all about love,” he said in that same gentle tone.
She smiled and nodded. “That’s what you keep telling me. I’ve just never experienced it to the level that you seem to have perfected here.”
“Well, we’re working on it,” he said. Levi looked at Noah and raised his eyebrows in a comical gesture and said, “Some of our guys are still holding out.”
“Hey, I’m probably one of what? Three single guys left in this place?” Noah shook his head and muttered, “Don’t go looking at me.”
“You’re afraid of falling in love,” Di teased.
“Nope, not afraid of it at all,” he said. “I’m afraid of falling into what looks like love and is not.”