Chapter 20
She’d been wrong about everything.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized Blade was right. Joe had always been well-behaved at home, always polite and attentive like he was playing a part.
He never let his hair down—not with her, anyway.
When they went out, it was usually with her friends, which meant he had to maintain his perfect boyfriend facade. It was only with his Special Forces buddies, his true friends, that he’d allowed himself to let loose.
How the hell had she missed that? Ten years, and she felt like she hadn’t known him at all.
Yet that wasn’t the only mistake she’d made.
Her stupid notion that Blade had forced him to sign up. That Blade had led him astray. It was all bogus.
The real Joe probably wanted to break free from his preordained, orderly life. He”d have been itching for a thrill like the Green Berets offered, for the brotherhood of a tight-knit unit, for the chance to truly be himself.
She shook her head as she traipsed along behind Blade.
How had she been so blind?
It was too late now, that’s what sucked about it. She couldn’t tell Joe how sorry she was.
They’d been little more than kids when they’d gotten together, and since they’d lived under the same roof since she was just sixteen, he’d never had a chance to go wild and have fun. He’d stepped up and done the right thing, taking her on and looking after her.
A pang caused her to catch her breath.
Had he been happy?
The change in the terrain was more noticeable now. The path they were on wound through a field of wildflowers, their dark heads bobbing in the breeze. Blade had become tenser, more vigilant. He stalked ahead, his gun in the ready position, his finger flat against the trigger guard.
“Let’s aim for those trees.” His voice was a low growl.
They were moving into the danger zone. Any security she’d felt up in the mountains vanished, and the tight knot of anxiety in her stomach was back. She pushed all thoughts of Joe out of her head and concentrated on what was happening around her.
Lily followed Blade into the wooded area. This was where the narrow band of forest started and would give them some cover. She was hoping they’d be able to stay camouflaged all the way to the river.
Suddenly, Blade stopped walking and raised his hand, signaling to her to stop.
She froze.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“Something doesn’t feel right.”
A chill crawled up her spine. She trusted Blade’s instincts. “What should we do?”
“Get back into those trees and stay put. I’m going to take a look.” There was an urgency to his tone that scared her.
“But—”
“Don’t move, Lily. Hide in the leaves and wait for me.” Then he slunk off into the night.
Panic threatened to overwhelm her, so she mentally went through the commands on her computer program to keep her mind busy. It helped. The fear subsided.
Minutes ticked by.
How long had it been?
Her fear reared up.
She peered into the darkness but couldn’t see anything. Where the hell was Blade? Was he alright? Had something happened?
What if he never came back?
After what felt like an eternity, he reappeared like a specter. She hadn’t heard a sound. He raised a finger to his lips. “Keep your voice down.”
She nodded to show she understood.
“We can’t go this way. They’re planning an ambush up ahead. Twenty, thirty men. All armed.”
Her heart sank.
“An ambush?” What the hell? “How did they know we were here?”
Then she got it.
“The goat herder.”
He nodded. “Yeah, he must have seen us.”
Shit. That was her fault.
How many times could she be wrong in one day? She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I should have let you?—”
He cut her off. “No time to worry about that now. We’ve gotta get out of here.”
She looked around. “Where to?”
The only way was down to the river.
“Plan B.”
She gasped. “We’re going into one of the villages to ask for help. Around here?”
“Not around here. About twenty klicks over that hill, into the next province.”
She glanced up at the hill they’d just climbed down. “Twenty kilometers? You’re kidding?”
“Wish I was.”
“Why there?” Lily didn’t know if she could walk that far. Wasn’t there a closer village?
“They’re not as sympathetic to the Taliban, and I might have a contact who can help us.”
Lily stared at him in amazement. “And you only thought to mention this now?”
“It’s a long shot.” He shrugged. “I’m not even sure he’s still there.”
She gritted her teeth. “So we might walk twenty kilometers for nothing?”
He took a glug from the water bottle, readjusted his rifle, then looked at her. “Not for nothing. Someone there might be able to help us.”
At least it was away from the soldiers waiting to ambush them.
Lily took a deep breath. This seemed to be their only option.
“You ready?” he asked.
She gave a firm nod. “Let’s go.”
Lily was beyond exhausted.They walked most of the night with very few breaks. The sky was lightning in the east, and soon they’d lose the protective cover of darkness. They had to get out of sight soon. Even now, lights flickered in some of the windows in the sleepy hollow. She collapsed on the ground behind a copse of trees on the outskirts of a small village.
It was more of a hamlet than a village, with about a dozen brick houses scattered about in no apparent pattern. There was a dry, picked-over field for livestock and, on the far side, a dirt road leading away from the village.
She had no idea where they were, other than miles from their intended path, far from both the river and the road that led to Kabul.
Part of her felt like crying, she was so tired. But another trusted Blade. He’d get her out. Somehow. She had to stay strong.
“Who’s your contact?”
Blade slid off his pack then sat next to her. The lines clawing at his eyes and the tension in his jaw showed his exhaustion too. They both needed rest and sustenance to continue.
“Stitch. The guy that went AWOL after our last op.”
She knew that name. “The medic?”
“That’s him.”
Lily frowned. “What makes you think he lives out here?”
“I tracked him down after he went AWOL. I was his Commanding Officer, after all.”
She tilted her head to look at him. “Yet you didn’t tell anyone where he was?”
He shrugged. “I figured he needed time, just like the rest of us.”
Joe had told her what happened to people who went AWOL. They were considered deserters. She supposed they were deserters. If Blade had given up Stitch’s location, he would have faced court martial and if found guilty may have been dishonorably discharged, fined, or even imprisoned. After what had happened to the unit, any of those options felt like undue punishment.
“Why did Stitch come here?” she whispered. “Why not go home and get help?”
“He met a local girl on a fact-finding mission a few months before our last op. I was with him, actually. So were Spade and Blaster. We went in as a four-man team. I knew he was soft on her, so I guessed he might come back here.”
Lily leaned her head back against the tree. “Great. That’s all you’ve got to go on. A girl he was soft on?”
“It’s not like we have a lot of options.”
She closed her eyes, trying not to give in to the urge to cry.
“Lily, look at me.”
With a superhuman effort, she opened her eyes and turned to face him.
“I’ve been to this village. The elder will remember me. Even if Stitch isn’t here, there’s a strong possibility they’ll help us.”
She perked up. That was promising. “So what do we do now? We can’t go around knocking on doors.”
“I’ll take a look around.”
“Okay. Yeah, I know. Wait here.”
He threw her a rare grin then, leaving his pack on the ground beside her, melted into the shadows.