A shiver ran through her. The ferocity was no longer a touch but glittering sharp as a dagger in his face. Daniel Seifert was obviously a very dangerous man. For an instant she felt almost sorry for Hassan and his men. Then she realized just how ridiculous that thought was. He was only one man, for heaven’s sake. Clearly an extraordinary man, judging from his actions in the past half hour, but not invulnerable. “No,” she said quietly. “I’ve caused enough trouble. I don’t want you to put yourself in any more danger because of me.”

“My choice,” he said tersely. “You don’t have anything to say about it. I want them.”

“I do have something to say about it.” Her green eyes were suddenly sparking. “I’m very grateful for your help, but I won’t accept any more from you. I’ll handle everything from now on.”

“We’ll see about that,” Daniel muttered.

The glance she threw at him was exasperated. She felt as if she were beating her head against a stone wall. “I mean it, you know.”

He patted her knee affectionately. “I know you do.” His smile was so warm and gentle, she could almost forget the harshness that had been there before. “You seem to think you can handle the whole damn world.”

She lifted her chin. “I can.”

He chuckled, his dark blue eyes twinkling. “Maybe you can at that. It will be fun to stick around and at least see you try.”

She frowned. “How did you do it?”

His brow lifted inquiringly.

“My rescue. It was quite spectacular.” She shook her head in wonder. “Almost unbelievable.”

“I’m very good,” he said with a roguish grin. “I’ve been known to boggle the mind on occasion.”

“You’ve certainly succeeded in boggling mine. It was like something out of a James Bond movie.”

“The fireworks were a little theatrical, I admit. I have a tendency to be somewhat flamboyant, but it doesn’t make me any less effective. Clancy Donahue is also very fond of gadgets and indulges me.”