Dana wasn’t sure what a line was, but she hugged her new friend back anyway.

The slider opened and Malcolm, looking ripped and dangerous, paused outside. “Um, what’s the hugging about?”

Pippa released Dana and turned, actually hopping once. “Dana’s sister is a buyer for Neiman’s, and she can bring the next season’s samples here sometime. Can you believe it?”

Mal’s strong eyebrows rose. “I, ah, I don’t know what that means.”

“Shoes, boots, sandals,” Pippa said, moving excitedly toward him. “All here, all new. All mine.”

Mal’s eyes softened and he reached out to touch her face. “That sounds great. Although, isn’t there a limit to how many pairs of boots one set of feet can wear?”

“No,” Pippa and Dana said in unison.

Mal chuckled. “I’ll trust you on that.” He tugged Pippa outside, the obvious gentleness in contrast with his dangerous appearance. He drew Pippa close and pressed a kiss to her temple, while unobtrusively scouting the area to each side of the house, no doubt looking for problems.

Dana could just sigh in happiness at the love between the two. They’d certainly earned it after Malcolm had been shot while undercover and Pippa had escaped from a dangerous cult. It was nice to see them relaxed and not looking over their shoulders constantly.

Well, except when they were watching for Gary Rockcliff. He was a threat to the entire team. Thank goodness everyone was involved in the case now. The unit members had some definite quirks, but they got things done when they worked together. The intervention with Wolfe had been a little tense, but there had been something sweet and caring about it.

Mal turned serious, zeroing his focus in on her. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay with us? We have a guest room, and both animals are welcome, too.”

“I’m sure,” Dana said. She’d probably be up all night writing and worrying about Wolfe, anyway. “Thanks for dinner, and the goodies. I’ll see you two tomorrow morning before we head in to work.” They still had to discuss the interviews with HDD, but she just couldn’t worry about one more thing right now.

Mal nodded. “Okay, but lock the door and set the alarm right after we leave. The sensors and cameras aren’t up around the properties yet, because Agent Frost had to special order all of it. Got it?”

“Yep.” Most of the Deep Ops guys were pretty bossy, weren’t they? In fact, so was Nari when it came to her meetings and Brigid when it came to her computer room or anything to do with the Internet. They should rename themselves the Bossy Bunch instead of Deep Ops. Dana chuckled and moved to shut and lock the door.