GhostWalkers 10 - Samurai Game

uncles.
    “Do you think you’re making enough noise?” Ryland demanded. “It’s the middle of the night, in case no one’s noticed.”
    “Did we wake Daniel?” Ian asked, instantly concerned. He held out his arms to the boy. “Come here, my little man.”
    Daniel looked past Ian, his gaze clearly settling on Azami. He broke into a smile and instantly took his index fingers and hooked them together, signing “friend.” He heldout his arms toward her and nearly launched himself from Ryland’s arms.
    Azami took the boy and hugged him to her. “Hello, my little friend. Did we wake you up? Your uncles were just telling me some exciting stories about things they’ve done.” She spoke to him as if he were an adult, not a toddler, looking into his eyes as she held him close.
    Sam could imagine her with their child, a protective mother for certain, he could see it in the way she held Daniel.
    “You’ve met?” Ryland asked.
    His tone put Sam on edge. He sat up straighter and swung his legs over the edge of the bed in preparation—for what, he wasn’t certain. Ryland had sounded more than suspicious—he’d sounded accusing as well. More so, his team had gone onto alert. This was Daniel—the most protected member of their family—and a stranger had gotten to him right in their midst.
    “Daniel has been telling us all about his new friend. We thought he had made up an imaginary friend to play with.” Ryland’s gaze shifted to Ian’s face. Ian—Azami’s guard. If she’d met Daniel, where had that meeting taken place, and how?
    Ian squirmed uncomfortably. It didn’t matter that they’d all been laughing with Azami moments earlier; every man was looking at her as if she was the enemy. Sam slid to his feet, steadying himself against the bed for a brief moment before he found his footing again.
    This time there was no mistaking Ryland’s accusation, and Sam understood. Lily had been upset over the idea that Daniel would have to have an imaginary playmate. More than that, Daniel was to be protected at all times from outsiders and yet the child had greeted Azami as an old friend, which implied multiple meetings. He was always naturally suspicious of strangers.
    “He’s a wonderful boy, and so very bright,” Azami said, as Daniel snuggled against her. She rocked him gently. “Hecame into my room on the first night. I heard a small noise in the fan and a screw dropped out onto the floor. I looked up and he was looking down at me, laughing. He was quite curious that you had company and didn’t introduce him. I explained that not all strangers were good people and some could be dangerous to him and that you were protecting him. He signs quite well.”
    Azami never raised her voice, or appeared in any way as if she recognized the heightened tension in the room. She seemed relaxed, her attention focused on the toddler, but Sam wasn’t deceived in the least. She was a force to be reckoned with and for some reason, his teammates didn’t feel her energy as he did. That continued to worry him.
    There was a long silence. No one expected that explanation, but they shouldn’t have been surprised. Daniel was definitely an escape artist. He liked small spaces and already he was using tools like a pro.
    Ryland glared at his son. “You went to our guest’s
bedroom
, Daniel? Do you think that’s appropriate behavior?” He signed as he spoke.
    Daniel shook his head and pressed closer to Azami. He signed back to his father.
    “I don’t care if she didn’t mind,” Ryland sounded gruff. “She is our guest. Her bedroom is a sacred place, a sanctuary for her. We don’t intrude. Do you understand?”
    Daniel nodded his head.
    “More than that, it isn’t safe for you to go meet a stranger without our knowledge. You have to have time-out for that.” Now Ryland sounded sterner than ever and Daniel’s face began to crumble, tears swimming in his eyes.
    The men exchanged uneasy glances. None of them liked it when Daniel cried and he definitely knew it, playing them easily when he sat in his little chair sobbing.
    Azami’s subtle move put her under the shelter of Sam’s arm. Daniel looked up at him, his lip quivering. Sam leaned down and brushed a kiss over the boy’s mop of hair.
    “What does one do on time-out?” Azami asked. Hervoice was softer than ever, but Sam felt the hair on the back of his neck raise. Clearly she didn’t like the idea of the boy being punished.
    “Daniel sits in a chair for two