Duty Bound (Blackthorn Security Book 1)

Chapter 21

Blade headed toward the dark dwellings. He had no idea which, if any, was Stitch”s house but if his former teammate was there, he’d recognize their unit’s callsign and come to him.

He slipped behind the first house, a single-story stone rectangle with a small patio out front and whistled. The sound was designed to sound like a bird indigenous to the region, although the sun was already coming up, so there was a possibility Stitch might think it really was a tweeting bird.

At the seventh house, he heard someone moving inside, then a door creaked. Blade stood behind the dwelling, upright and in full sight. He didn’t want Stitch to be in any doubt as to who he was.

The next moment, a hand clamped over his mouth, and cold steel touched the base of his neck.

What the fuck?

Blade spun out of the person’s grasp, gun raised.

Stitch stood there, grinning.

He sighed and lowered his hands. “You nearly gave me a freakin’ heart attack.”

“I thought I was dreaming.” Stitch sheathed his knife.

It took a moment for Blade’s pulse to return to normal. Trust Stitch to pull that one on him. “Great to see you, buddy.”

The two men hugged.

“I see you haven’t lost your skills,” Blade said wryly.

Stitch chuckled, his teeth white against the darkness. “What the hell are you doing here? More importantly, how did you find me?”

“I remembered that girl you were soft on in the village,” said Blade. “It didn’t take a genius to figure you’d come back here.”

“I only hope the rest of ’em don’t figure that out, else my days here are numbered.”

“No chance. I didn’t tell anyone.”

He nodded his thanks.

Blade grinned. It was great seeing Stitch again. He was thinner—lost most of his bulk since he wasn’t pumping weights anymore. But he was the same old Stitch. “You look well.”

“Life here suits me.”

“Glad to hear it.” He put a hand on Stitch’s arm. “Listen, I wish I could say this was a social call, but it’s not. I need your help. I’ve got a hostage with me, and the Taliban are up our asses. I need to get her to Kabul. Can you help?”

“Christ, you don’t ask much, do you?”

Blade looked him in the eye. “This is a personal mission.”

Stitch frowned.

“For Spade. It’s his girlfriend who got kidnapped. I don’t know if you ever met Lily. She’s a hot-shot software designer working for the CIA.”

“The CIA. Wow.” He gave a thoughtful nod. “I think I remember her. Blonde hair, glasses, pretty smile.”

“That’s the one.” How come he’d never noticed her pretty smile?

Stitch peered behind Blade into the darkness. “Where is she now? Back there?”

It wasn’t a guess. He knew how Blade operated. He’d have her hide in the hills while he came down to scout out the landscape.

“Yeah, we need a place to lie low during the day and then safe passage out of here. Do you have a phone we can use?”

“Nah, buddy. No cell reception out here and not a sat phone in sight. I do have a car we can use, though. Why don’t you get Spade’s old lady and come inside? We can talk there.”

Spade’s old lady.

He tensed at the phrase but gave a grateful nod.

“Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”

Twenty minutes later,Blade and Lily sat on an intricately woven Afghan rug adorning the floor of Stitch’s living area. The house was traditionally decorated, which meant no western furniture, but it didn’t matter. The edges of the room were piled with big comfy cushions that were so inviting, he had to resist the urge to lie down on them and go to sleep.

Despite the chill outside, it was warm and cozy here. Elaborate tapestries hung over the windows to ward off the cold, and two gas lamps burned in the interior since there was no electricity. Heat lingered from the fireplace, though the flames had burned down during the night.

Simple living, but for a guy like Stitch who was used to roughing it outdoors, it was more than adequate.

“So, you’re married?” Blade smiled as Stitch walked in carrying a plate of sandwiches and tea. The question was merely to break the silence. No westerner would be allowed to live here with a local woman if he wasn’t.

“Yeah, Soraya’s asleep.”

Again, Blade suspected Soraya knew they had guests but wouldn’t make an appearance until she was dressed and ready to receive them properly.

Stitch handed Lily a cup of hot tea. “So, you’re Spade’s girlfriend? I think we met once or twice over the years.”

“I remember you.” She smiled and accepted the tea.

Blade noticed how her gaze flickered over Stitch. He was a handsome man, even with the beard, and was a hell of a lot more charming and sociable than he was. He was a good guy, too. Had fixed him up more damn times than he could count.

“Sorry for your loss. Spade was a good man and a great friend.”

“Thank you.”

A flash of sadness crossed her face, but her eyes were still glittering. A stupid, territorial part of him caused him to tense. He needed a change of subject.

“How’s married life treating you?”

Stitch chuckled. “It’s good. We live simply, but I’m happy here. The people are warm and accepting, and they like having someone with my skills around.”

Lily frowned. “A soldier?”

“A doctor. I joined the army straight out of med school.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot.” Genuine interest laced her tone. “What made you do that?”

“My father was in the military, and after he was shot and killed while overseas, I decided I wanted to use my skills to help people like him.”

“I’m sorry.” She flushed. “It’s a noble goal, though.”

Stitch shrugged. “Don’t be. It’s our past experiences that make us who we are.”

Good old Stitch, still philosophizing about life. No surprise he’d settled here so comfortably. “I’m glad it’s worked out for you,” Blade said, and he meant it. “I was worried when you took off.”

“Adapt and overcome, isn’t that what they taught us?” But there was an edge to his voice.

After the tea and sandwiches, Stitch got up. “Why don’t you get some shut eye, you both look shattered. We’ll pick this up in a couple of hours and figure out how to get you home.” He smiled at Lily.

She nodded gratefully, her eyelids heavy.

“Alright if we sleep here?” Blade nodded at the cushions.

“Sure, man. Make yourself at home. Mi casa, su casa.”

For the first time since he’d arrived back in Afghanistan, Blade felt like he didn’t have to sleep with one eye open. After making sure Lily was comfortable, he sighed, leaned back onto the soft cushions, then drifted into blissful oblivion.

Blade woketo the sound of a kettle whistling over a gas stove. A woman dressed in a flowing robe and wearing a teal scarf on her head was working in the kitchen. From her profile, and the small bump of her belly, it was obvious she was newly pregnant.

Now that was something Stitch hadn’t mentioned.

He sat then smoothing down his wayward hair. After three days of hiking, there wasn’t much hope. “Hello, you must be Soraya.”

He heard Lily stir.

The woman turned and smiled. She was very beautiful, with smooth, olive skin and eyes the color of her headscarf. He could see why Stitch was smitten.

“Yes, you’re Blade?”

He nodded and got to his feet. “Can I help you with that?”

Stitch came in and immediately went to her side. “Soraya, love, I told you not to come down.”

“I know.” She looped an arm around her husband. “But it’s not often we have guests, particularly friends of yours. I wanted to meet them.”

With a roll of his eyes, Stitch introduced them.

Lily rose and rubbed her eyes. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Soraya.”

“I’ll take that.” Blade grinned at his buddy as he took the tray with the teapot and cups from her.

Soraya had just the right amount of curiosity and feistiness to keep her American husband on his toes. She was exactly what Stitch needed in his life.

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry for the intrusion,” Lily said as Blade put down the tray. “It”s my fault we’re here.”

Blade wasn’t sure if she meant because she’d been abducted or because she’d prevented him from killing the goat herder.

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Soraya knelt and began pouring the tea. “I’ve always been curious about Stitch’s past, and of course he’s told me all about his friends in the unit.”

“Has he now?” Blade raised an eyebrow.

Stitch laughed. “Soraya knows everything about me, including my time in the Green Berets, but it goes no further. The rest of the village think I’m an army doctor.”

“Which you are.” Soraya smiled up at her husband. It was clear she adored him.

He winked at her. “Amongst other things.”

They were very much in love.

Blade stole a glance at Lily. She had a sad, wistful expression on her face that made his gut tighten. Was she thinking about Joe? What they might have had?

“Why the long face?” Stitch asked, glancing at him.

Damn. Was he that obvious?

“Thinking about how we’re going to get Lily out of Afghanistan.”

“You mentioned the Taliban were on your tail,” said Stitch. “Could you be more specific? How long have we got?”

Blade smiled at the use of “we.” Old habits died hard.

Lily flashed him a nervous look then glanced at Soraya.

“None of the people here like the Taliban.” Stitch, as intuitive as ever, guessed what she was thinking. “We try not to get involved in politics.”

“We have no poppies, you see,” Soraya explained mostly for Lily’s benefit. “So there is little to bring them to our village.”

“We narrowly avoided walking into an ambush about twenty klicks over the mountain.” Blade nodded in the general direction of the hills. “They’ll be looking for us, for certain. They know we were there. It won’t take long for them to figure out which way we came.”

Lily gnawed on her lower lip. Blade knew she was thinking about the goat herder.

He reached over and squeezed her hand. “It’s not your fault.”

She gave him a watery smile.

Stitch shot Blade an inquisitive look, which he pointedly ignored.

Soraya just smiled at Lily. “Why don’t I show you where the bathroom is, and you can get cleaned up while we let the men talk. I’m sure they’ve got some planning to do.”

Blade smiled his thanks as Stitch’s wife guided Lily out of the room.

“She’s great,” Blade said, nodding after them.

“What’s going on, Blade?” Stitch came right out with it.

“Nothing.”

Damn. He hated that defensive tone of his.

“You sure?” There was a pause, where Stitch studied him. “Tell me you’re not sleeping with Spade’s girl.”

“Fucking hell. Of course not,” blurted out Blade. That much was true, at least. During their time in the unit, they’d never lied to each other because trust was everything.

“You like her, though.”

“Yeah, she’s a nice person.” Smart, spirited, motivated, sexy as hell. He coiled his hand into a fist.

“If you really dig her, that’s one thing, but don’t mess her around.” His army buddy knew only too well his ‘no strings’ policy.

“Stitch, there’s nothing going on.” He’d made sure of that. He knew not to disrespect the bond they had. He’d never “mess her around” as Stitch put it.

Stitch didn’t push it, but Blade could tell he wasn’t convinced.

“Why does she think it’s her fault?” he asked, changing the topic.

Blade told him what had happened at the ruins.

Stitch shook his head. “That’s a tough call. I’d have done the same thing. Better not to take a chance. Remember those Iraqi kids back in 2011? We let them go—almost cost us our lives.”

Blade nodded. That had been a close shave. The kids had run straight to the Iraqi soldiers. Minutes later, the team had a full-on firefight on their hands. Ricky had taken a bullet in the shoulder, and they only just managed to get the upper hand and get to the emergency rendezvous point on time.

Kids were different, though. He couldn’t kill a kid. None of them could, even if it meant getting shot up.

“Did you know Spade was suffering from PTSD?”

Stitch looked shifty. “I suspected something was up, but I figured if it was bad enough, he’d get help.”

Blade shook his head. “He didn’t. Lily said he was having nightmares—bad ones.” He left out the strangling incident. Spade wouldn’t want anyone knowing about that.

“I had no idea it was so bad. He kept that under wraps, didn’t he?”

They talked about Lily, and how she’d come to be captured. Stitch was interested in her work on Hawkeye.

“Excellent.” Respect tinged his voice. “It at least gives the Afghans a fighting chance. The Taliban wreak havoc on these rural communities. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve helped pick up the pieces.”

They discussed the situation in Afghanistan for a while longer, then Stitch downed the last of his tea. “Okay, buddy. Time to work. Let’s talk about logistics.”

“You mentioned a vehicle?”

“Yeah, I’ve got an old Land Rover—ex-US army, as luck would have it—bought at a sale in Kabul last month. I can drive you to Kabul, if you want.”

“You sure?” Stitch had gone AWOL to get away from the violence. The last thing he wanted to do was drag him back into it.

The sides of his eyes crinkled. “I’m sure. Not much excitement around here.”

He had a pregnant wife. Blade could never live with himself if anything happened to Stitch. “I don’t want to put you in the shit. We can manage. You don’t have to get involved.”

“I want to. For Spade.”

Blade nodded.

It was how he’d felt too.