“Yeah, little girl, I think I got that,” he replied on a huge smile aimed at his daughter and then stuck a hand out to Abel.

Abel let her go, she did the same, and he moved to take the man’s hand. But it was a surprise when he didn’t shake and instead grasped Abel’s forearm and gave it a powerful tug, forcing Abel forward so the side of his chest slammed into the side of Delilah’s father’s.

Both men leaned back, but Delilah’s father lifted his other hand and pounded Abel’s shoulder repeatedly, smiling up at him, before he lifted his hand again and slapped his cheek, again repeatedly, doing this lightly with fatherly affection.

At this, Abel tensed, feeling Delilah tense beside him, but the man stopped soon enough and let him go.

He looked to his daughter. “Trust you to find a warrior this good-lookin’. Fuck me, little girl, not a man I clapped eyes on in my life was a match for you, ’cept this motherfucker,” he stated, jerking a thumb at Abel.

Delilah giggled and moved into Abel again, saying through her laughter, “Totally.”

He let her wrap her arms around him and he returned the favor with one around her shoulders as her father turned his attention back to Abel.

“Hook,” he declared. “Hooker Johnson. My parents named me David, but that’s a stupid-ass name and if anyone ever called me that, I’d rip their throat out. So it’s Hook.”

“Hook,” Abel replied, and Delilah forged in.

“Have you met Jian-Li and the guys?” she asked.

Hooker shifted and turned his gaze to Abel’s family.

“We met this lovely lady. Hadn’t gotten around to her boys.”

“Right,” Delilah replied. “That’s Xun, Wei, and Chen. They’re awesome, Dad.”

“Yo,” Hooker called.

“Yo,” Xun said, and Abel looked to him to see his mouth twitching.

“Hey,” Wei said, his eyes moving from Hooker to Abel and Delilah. He took in their positions, knew immediately what their comfortable closeness meant, and grinned a knowing grin at his brother, his eyebrows waggling, his lips mouthing, “Right on.”

“Cool you’re here,” Chen said.

“And guys, this is my dad, Hook, and his boys, Poncho, Snake, Moose, and Jabber.”

Abel looked at the men behind Hook and he didn’t need to be informed which was which.

There was one who definitely had Hispanic in him and he was actually wearing a fringed, suede poncho, so he had to be Poncho.

Another was long and lean to the point of being coiled, thus the man had to be Snake.

Another had a mammoth gut, broad but sloped shoulders, was almost as tall as Abel, with shaggy brown-gray hair—in other words, Moose.

And the last was short, skinny, wiry, his eyes shifty and alert—clearly Jabber.

“I hope you gentlemen are hungry,” Jian-Li said at this point.