Irina nodded reluctantly. “I will wait. But no more than two days.”

“And then the nagging will commence?” Rafe asked with an affectionate smile.

“Yes.” Irina gave the stew in the pot a final stir. “Karl! Farrah! Dinner is ready.” She put the pot on the table. “We’ll start now. Mercy and Gideon can join us when they are finished talking.”

“I’m good with that.” Daisy ladled stew onto her plate. “I’m starving and this is one of my favorite meals.”

Karl and Farrah returned, Farrah making a show of shaking the pills in her medicine bottle. “Silly me. I had them in my purse all along.”

Karl patted her shoulder. “I think my daughter has spoken her piece, so now we can eat.”

“Oh, this is good,” Farrah said when they’d all been served. “I’d love the recipe for this, Irina.”

“Of course. It’s very simple, a bit of everything . . .” Irina trailed off as Gideon appeared in the doorway.

Alone. His eyes were red and he was visibly trembling. “Daisy . . .” He cleared his throat. “We need to go.”

Daisy’s eyes widened. “But I’m not finished yet and you haven’t eaten at all.”

“Wrap it up to take with you, then. Please.” His gaze landed on Rafe. “She’s not okay. You might want to talk to her. I need some time. Just a little time.”

Rafe was already pushing to his feet, gripping his cane hard. “What happened?”

“I can’t. Not right now.” Gideon’s expression was just short of begging. “Just don’t leave her alone, not for a minute.”

“You know I won’t.”

Gideon looked at Farrah, his mouth tightening in irritation. “Did you know? About our family?”

What family? Stunned, Rafe looked around the table, noting everyone looked as confused as he felt.

Farrah nodded, also shocked. “I knew. I didn’t know that you didn’t know, though. Her stress levels make sense now.” She rubbed her forehead wearily. “I thought she was dealing with PTSD from the abduction six weeks ago. I didn’t think to ask her about John and the others. I’m so sorry. Some best friend I am. I hope you didn’t get too angry with her,” she added. “She was so afraid that you’d hate her.”

“Why would you think to ask her if she’d told me that I have family in New Orleans?” Gideon asked, much more kindly, although his eyes still held devastation. “And I didn’t yell at her, I promise. But I wanted to, so that’s why I need some time.”

“I’m good to go,” Daisy said. With Irina’s help, she’d wrapped two plates of food, and Rafe hoped Gideon would actually eat his. His friend looked too thin.

“I’m going to take some time off,” Gideon announced. “I’ll be able to guard her soon.”

That really pissed Rafe off. “I can do it,” he growled.

Gideon stretched out his hand as if to calm him. “I know you can. I know you will. But I need to. We can figure out a strategy later. I promise. For now, I need to know she’s safe from Burton.” He swallowed hard, his eyes becoming suspiciously shiny. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”