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need to know about?”
    “No.” She hadn’t touched the sedatives and sleeping pills the doctor had prescribed her between the funeral and this trip and didn’t plan to take any of them now. From here on out she had to stay sharp, and that meant not having her mind dulled by anything, even prescribed medications. The sharpest edge of grief had faded to the point where she only got teary about her dad once in a while.
    Hunter leaned back, and she couldn’t help but admire all the muscles shifting beneath that black collared shirt, ground rules and clearly stated boundaries notwithstanding. “Now, not to scare you, but in case there’s a threat or things go sideways, you need to know about our emergency contingencies. Everyone on this team is charged with protecting you if the need arises. If something happens to me, Gage will take over, then the others. Ray’s team will even step in if necessary. If something happens to all of us, you need to find a way to get to the American embassy and contact Tom immediately. He’ll take care of things from there. All right?”
    All right ? Not really, but she nodded anyway, swallowing past the sudden restriction in her throat. She squeezed her fingers together in her lap. “What about security at the school? How will you—”
    “Both teams have already been going over that. No offense to you, but it’s better that you don’t know what we’ve got planned. I know it’s not easy, especially after what happened to your father, but trust me when I say I’m not leaving anything to chance.”
    Staring into his eyes, seeing the rock-steady confidence there, she believed him. A shocking prospect, considering she’d only met him a day ago. “Thank you.” Her voice came out a bit rough.
    Hunter shook his head. “Nothing to thank me for. I take my job seriously.”
    The subtle reminder that she was just a job to him didn’t escape her notice. She’d best remember that and not make an idiot of herself by trying to be friendly with him. Since she was a people person and she was grateful for him taking her on, that wasn’t going to be easy for her.
    “Any questions?”
    None that she could think of, so she shook her head.
    Hunter stood, sweeping that intent gaze over her from face to bare feet and back again, its touch making her belly flutter in feminine awareness. “I’d like to stay while you and Ray go over everything and get up to speed on what’s happening with Fair Start Foundation and the school.”
    It surprised her that he seemed genuinely interested in what they did. She smiled. “Sure, that’s fine.” She began digging out papers to show him and Ray knocked on the door a few minutes later. Together they spent three hours reviewing documents, lists, contracts and plans of attack for how they might counter any resistance to their program within the local political machine.
    Occasionally Hunter asked a thoughtful question but otherwise he absorbed everything in silence, filing it all away into what Khalia could tell was a very quick mind. By the time they finished, she felt certain she was as prepared as she could be, and that Hunter had a much better understanding of how Fair Start worked. It was almost one o’clock, and she was starving as she and Ray hadn’t eaten since early morning. Eating at the hotel was one thing because it catered to tourists, but since it was still Ramadan, the restaurants in the city were closed until after sunset.
    Hunter glanced at his watch as she tidied up the desk, and stood. “If you’re ready, I’ll take you down to the truck and we’ll get going to your meeting.”
    “Sure.”
    In the lobby he stayed at her side to the revolving doors at the front. He went through first and waited for her on the sidewalk. Seconds after she stepped up beside him, a black SUV with tinted windows pulled up in front of them. Hunter opened the back left door for her as he visually scanned the area, she assumed for threats. She climbed inside