“She sent herself there,” Zhang said, glancing at his wristwatch. He was about five-foot-nine, compactly muscled, with black hair peppered with gray and an annoying air of superiority. “I have a meeting with the administrator in half an hour and she’s going to want a full accounting.” He looked at Angus’s disheveled appearance. “What happened to you, and did it involve the HDD?”

It seemed the man had moved on from his daughter, who was looking bruised and hurt on the examination table and probably needed more comfort than slobbering from a dog. Irritation grabbed Angus around the throat and dug in. He had to rein in his temper with two hands, and it wasn’t easy. “I don’t know, but it seems likely. We’ve successfully concluded several cases and put some bad people away. It’s not impossible that we’ve made enemies.”

“Enemies you’ve now exposed my daughter to,” Zhang retorted.

Angus lowered his chin. “Well now, I guess that’s up for interpretation. You’re the one who sent your daughter to work with a dangerous band of PTSD-riddled ex-soldiers and cops. One has to wonder why you allowed that.”

Zhang’s features flushed a dark red. No doubt the man wasn’t used to anybody challenging his authority. “You had better watch yourself.”

“Angus—” Nari started.

“I don’t work for you any longer,” Angus said, letting the predator inside himself show. It had been a shitshow of a day, and he was done. Just fucking done. “I don’t like how you’ve treated your own daughter, and I really don’t like how useless you’ve been in protecting her as an HDD agent.”

Nari gasped.

Instead of resorting to threats, as expected, Zhang narrowed his eyes. “You’re sounding rather possessive.” He swung his gaze to his daughter. “Please tell me you haven’t made yet another mistake with a coworker.” The derision in his tone was going to get him punched square in the nose.

Angus growled and his hand clenched into a fist. His temper rose from the abyss to front and center.

Heels clipped down the hallway and a woman entered the room. “Quan? I heard Nari was attacked.”

Everyone in the room stood taller, including Angus. It was the administrator of the HDD. Though Angus had never met Zhang, he’d met Opal Clemonte a couple of times.

The woman took in the room, her gaze landing on Nari. “Are you all right?”

Nari nodded, holding the dog closer.

Clemonte then turned toward Angus. “What happened to you?”

Angus studied her. She wore a shiny matching top and skirt in a silver argyle pattern and her gray hair was up in a fancy twist. Obviously she’d been out for the evening.

Roscoe growled.

Angus started. “Roscoe—”