Izzy nodded once and looked around. Tristan knew what she was thinking. She wanted to collect their dead, but they didn’t have the manpower.

“No time,” Tristan said. “All that gunfire will bring more Patrols.”

“You’re right.” Izzy looked at the colonel. “Tristan, I want you to meet my father, Colonel Darrow. Daddy, this is my friend, Tristan.”

The colonel extended his hand. “A pleasure. I wish we could’ve met under more pleasant circumstances.”

Tristan shook his hand. “Likewise, sir.” He looked at Izzy. “We must go. Now.”

The four of them ran back to their safehouse in the country, and Izzy was a long time inside with her father. Tristan sat on the porch and waited for her to explain everything, and, in due course, Izzy appeared, leaning on the outer door.

“What’s the verdict?” Tristan asked.

Izzy nodded. “He’s going to talk to the Jocks, but he’s not making any promises.”

Tristan’s heart sank, and Izzy must have seen his expression fall, for she came over and squatted before him. “Hey, I know my father. Where he leads, his brigade follows. King Arthur will get his army.” She reached out and touched his face.

Tristan looked into her sparkling eyes. Her full lips were so near his all he had to do was lean in. He could smell her freshly washed hair, and the floral scents sent his head spinning.

“My father is keen on this plan,” Izzy said softly. “He’s a colonel, so it only makes sense that he should be in charge of the whole operation.”

Tristan was confused.

“I mean I’ve given him command of the Wallace Brigade, too. Seems only right to consolidate.” Her smile and her dancing eyes beckoned him. “That’s right. I’m just a common enlisted man now.”

Tristan laughed. How well they understood each other, not only in the heat of battle but also in this. He leaned forward and kissed her lips. The taste of apples on them reminded him of home. “Unattached, then? And unspoken for?”

Izzy nodded and moaned into Tristan’s mouth as he dove in for a deeper kiss. Their moment was abruptly cut off, though, when they heard the screen door open. Tristan sat back in his chair and played it cool, and Izzy acted like she was inspecting some wound on his leg.

The colonel stood near the porch steps. “Well, Isolde, I’m off.”

Isolde was the most perfect name Tristan had ever heard before.

Izzy jumped to her feet and ran over to hug her father. “Good luck, Daddy, and be careful.” She kissed him on the cheek.

“I’ll see you when I get back.” Then the Colonel looked over at Tristan. “Take care of my little girl while I’m gone.”

Tristan stood and put his hand flat against his chest. “On my life, sir.”

Izzy smiled at both of them, and then the unsuspecting colonel, after checking the ammunition in his pistol, walked off into the night.

“Isolde, huh?” Tristan said.

“Only my father calls me that.”

“All right, Izzy.”

Izzy smiled. “No, I think I’d like if you called me that, too.”

Tristan pulled Isolde down into his lap and wrapped his strong arms around her. He tucked her red hair back behind her ear and kissed her lips, and his cock responded to the curve of her tight ass.

“Wanna come inside? My father’s not home tonight.”