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targets in a row, and he broke my arm.” The commander tapped his keyboard and studied his computer screen. “I have a meeting, Piper.”
    Her hands shook while she forced herself to stand. Nausea filled her stomach. God. The poor little boy who’d grown into such a hard man. Her heart hurt for him. “Your uncle didn’t have the right to harm you.”
    The commander’s eyebrows drew down, and he pursed his lips. “He trained me, not hurt me. Soldiers need training.”
    Wow. Okay. Serious minefield there. Even so, for the first time, she could see beyond the soldier’s image. Had her father never experienced love? Maybe she could help him. She cleared her throat. “I wondered if you’d like to come over for dinner sometime soon.” She’d been issuing the invitation for months, hoping they could form a relationship outside the concrete walls, but he’d always refused.
    He paused. “Your mother wouldn’t mind?”
    Hell, yes. Her mother was sketchier than a raccoon stealing dog food whenever the topic of the commander came up. But even though it was silly, the child in Piper wanted her family in one place just for once. Perhaps they could find some sort of peace. “My mother would be happy to see you.”
    The commander chuckled. “I’m sure. Well, I wouldn’t mind checking in on her. I’m free tomorrow night.”
    Piper’s head jerked back. Goose bumps rose along her neck. “Ah, okay. Great. I’ll make something nice.”
    The commander nodded. “Very well. What did you think of Jory?”
    She kept her face blank. “He’s a traitor, and he betrayed you. What is there to think?”
    Approval lifted the commander’s upper lip. She warmed instantly. When in his presence, she couldn’t think of him as her father. He’d always been the commander. Maybe she could transition into calling him by his first name, Franklin.
    He nodded. “So true. Jory didn’t try to convince you he was the victim here?”
    A quick smile tickled Piper’s mouth. “No. That guy is no victim.” She leaned forward. “Although he did hint that Russians hadn’t planted the chip and that you’re the enemy.”
    “I’m not
his
enemy.” The commander exhaled, a flash of emotion lightening his eyes. “I see the greatness in that boy, and I wish to help him.”
    Piper stared. What was that emotion? She couldn’t read him. “How long have you known the prisoner?”
    “A long time.” The commander pushed back from his desk and stood. “I’ve put a tremendous amount of training and energy into him, and he will live to work for me again. Whether he wants to or not.”
    Piper stood, and a chill slithered down her back. “I’m sorry he betrayed you.”
    Hard black eyes stared back at her. “He’ll be sorry as well. For now, go write my new program.”
    Piper drove through the quaint neighborhood, passing actual white picket fences, the mountains rising with jagged peaks all around her. She loved Utah. Loved the slow pace, the brutal mountains, the distinct seasons. Well, so far she’d only felt the bite of fall, but white already dusted the mountaintops, so winter would arrive soon.
    She pulled the SUV into the garage of a two-story yellow house, right next to a compact and weathered two-door car. Older than dirt. She had to buy her mother a new car. With a sigh, she tramped up the steps and into the kitchen, instantly smiling as the aromatic scent of lasagna filled her senses.
    Her mother bustled around the granite counter, her black hair piled high on her head, reading glasses perched on her slim nose. “Perfect timing, snooks.”
    Piper dropped her laptop bag onto a chair and washed her hands before sliding onto a seat at the round oak table. “This smells so good.”
    A wet nose instantly pressed against her leg, and she smiled down at the German shepherd, yellow Lab, and who knows what else mix of dog. “Hi, Riley.”
    He wagged his bushy tail and barked out a welcome. She’d taken him from the pound upon moving into the