The kindness almost undid her. If Quan hadn’t been standing in the room, she would’ve burst into tears. “Not as bad as the other guy,” she tried to quip, but considering she had a death grip on the dog, it probably fell flat. “What happened to you?”

Quan cleared his voice. “Excuse me?”

Angus didn’t even look his way. “Tell me everything about the attacker and what happened.”

Nari gaped. Nobody ignored Quan. She bit her lip. “Um, Angus Force, please meet my, um father, Quan Zhang.”

Angus started. “I thought your father lived in Los Angeles.”

“He does.” Nari pushed hair away from her face. “This is my biological father. It’s a long story.”

Angus’s eyebrows rose. “Oh.” He turned and held out a bruised hand. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”

Quan ignored the outstretched hand. “I know all about you, Angus Force. You’ve been let go, and I suggest you be on your way.”

Angus’s left eyebrow rose in a look Nari knew well. Anxiety rippled through her. “Um—” she started.

“I think I’ll stay here,” Angus said. “How do you know about me?”

“Until the other day, I was your boss. Unfortunately,” Quan said, his voice filled with authority. “I’m the deputy administrator of the HDD.”

Angus straightened. “Is that a fact?” he drawled, turning again to focus on Nari. “You forgot to mention that little detail, now didn’t you?”

* * *

Angus’s ears rang. Yet another smash in the face. Nari’s father was the fucking second in command of the HDD? Why hadn’t she said anything? Well, he kind of understood that. More importantly, why had she ended up with his team in that dismal basement?

The woman just stared at him, her eyes deep pools of hurt.

He sighed. Now wasn’t the time to be mad at her, even if he had the right to be. The idea that a serial killer had touched her nearly made him lose his mind. “You know, Deputy Administrator, you’d think your identity wouldn’t be a secret to the folks working under you. Maybe it’s time the HDD came out of the darkness and into the light.” Something that would never happen in a secret government agency, but it was still nice to mess with the higher-ups once in a while.

“Is that a threat?” Zhang asked, his voice vibrating.

Angus chuckled, so far from real laughter he couldn’t even imagine being amused. Nari had been in danger. Serious danger. “Of course not. It was merely a statement.” He turned to study this man who’d created Nari, instinctively edging closer to her and putting his body slightly between them. “I find it odd you sent your daughter to my team.” Just who was this man?