Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
A gentleman he was not.
Still, Dana’s tears affected him. Hurt his chest a bit for some reason. Being around a woman brought back a lot of feelings and shit he hadn’t experienced in years. A softness, maybe. Yet there was more to her than met the eye.
He wasn’t stupid. She might have a slight stature and a porcelain face, but he’d seen the way she fought. And he’d question her about it as soon as he didn’t need to be on his toes every second. He might be seeing only the tip of the iceberg when it came to her, but she wouldn’t hurt him. Of that he was positive.
They bumped over the road Zain knew like the back of his hand. He’d asked her to return to the back seat to be safe. Not just to keep her safe from shooters but to keep himself away from her alluring presence.
In a few minutes they’d reach his cave. More like an alcove compared to the Jaysh compound he’d just left. But next to the cave was a car, hidden in the trees. In it, he’d stashed a satellite phone, clothes, emergency food, cash, and a passport.
He’d swap vehicles. No one would be looking for the small sedan he’d use to take them across the border into Pakistan.
As angry as he was that everything he’d worked for over the last three years had been obliterated by Dana’s pretty blue eyes, it wasn’t her fault.
But goddammit. The days and months he’d spent among people he wanted to kill hadn’t been easy. Watching innocent lives taken. Knowing he could’ve done something to prevent the killings but having his hands tied because of a bigger cause.
Almost three years of lying to Jaysh’s members and leaders. Almost three years of sneaking off to his hideaway, where he could call his CIA contact, Maxine. Every time, he’d risked being caught. Every time, he’d managed to evade suspicion.
But now. Christ.
Maxine would be pissed. She didn’t have an understanding bone in her body. She was bloodthirsty for Jabar, and rightfully so. Zain had been the one in the field risking his life, but the CIA had taken risks too. They’d worked toward finding Jabar day in and day out, and he’d gotten closer and closer.
So close that if little miss trouble had shown up less than a week later, he wouldn’t have to worry about talking with Maxine. Because he’d have already handed Jabar over on a silver platter.
Isaad had trusted Zain. He’d already started pulling him into the inner workings, confiding in him about Jaysh’s plans. He’d been scheduled to go on a four-day trip with Isaad next week, and he was almost certain he would’ve met Jabar.
Now that plan was fucking pixie dust. The moment Jaysh’s men found Rakesh’s and Isaad’s bodies and Zain and Dana missing, they’d known what he’d done.
The headlights illuminated the huge pothole that indicated his turn was coming up. Not even half a mile later, he steered left and drove through the bushes and branches that led them deeper into the forest. He stopped the truck. “Hop out.”
He opened his door and waited for her to crawl into the front seat and jump out next to him.
“I can’t see anything.” Her fingers gripped the sleeve of his tunic as he walked around the vehicle.
He didn’t need a flashlight. He’d been here so many times he was familiar with every divot in the earth and every branch that clawed at his skin. He led her to the face of the mountain and searched around for the wall of vines. Pushing them away, he crouched to get inside the hole.
Dana followed. And damn if he wasn’t a little stunned by her bravery—or naivety. He couldn’t decide which. Either way, she’d held up after a traumatic day .
Finding the ledge where he kept his pack, he snagged the canvas and then pulled down the bag. It landed at his feet with a thunk .
He reached inside and pulled out a flashlight. Its bright-yellow glow lit the shallow cave, highlighting every weary line and uneasy crease on Dana’s face. Her eyes were red-rimmed—from more crying? Had he caused that?
Scratches and a bruise marred her smooth skin, and his fingers itched to touch her. Not a good idea. She pulled her hair to the side, and once again, her femininity struck him.
He passed her a change of clothes and took out a pair for himself. Their descriptions would be word on the street, so the best thing they could do was change their appearances.
She took the bundle, and glanced around the cave. “Thanks.”
“I’ll turn around.” He spun to face the wall and pulled off his tunic then shucked off his pants. A moment later he heard her clothes hitting the solid ground. Knowing she was naked and close made a channel of need spread to his cock.
Despite the fact that he’d been deprived of female companionship—in any form—there was no denying Dana was a beauty. Striking.
To be fair, a cave woman would probably turn him on right now, so maybe he wasn’t a good judge of attractiveness.
“Okay,” she called, sounding a little winded .
He rotated to face her as she wrapped a turban around her hair. But she wasn’t doing it properly and wouldn’t have a long-enough end. “Here.” He stepped forward and took the turban from her.
Keeping his gaze on her hair as he swept the cloth around her head for the second time that day, he tried to ignore the faint scent of cherry blossoms that wafted from her silky strands. The aroma filled his nostrils and went straight to his head like intoxicating fumes.
The memory of the cherry blossom trees on his mom’s property filled his mind. In seconds he was thrown back in time, running through her yard and climbing trees. He and Rami always competed to see who could climb the highest.
Usually Rami because he was older. Zain would always stop to pull cherry blossoms off the tree to give to his mom, who’d beam when he came in covered in dirt with the partially crushed flowers in his hand.
“There.” He dropped his arms.
Dana picked up the long tail and draped it over the opposite shoulder. “Thank you. I’d try harder to get the hang of that, but I hope it’s not something I have to practice for much longer.”
He grunted and scooped up his backpack, fishing the set of keys from the inside pocket. “Wish I could promise you safety, but I can’t.”
She chewed her bottom lip, her eyes downcast. She’d been more hesitant since he told her about the CIA operation. Clearly she blamed herself. And hell, she was at fault in a way. But only because she hadn’t known.
She bent and picked up the knife. “Here.”
He glanced down but didn’t take it. Instead, he reached into his duffel and took out a sheath. “This clips onto your pants.”
She accepted the leather and peeled up the shirt she swam in. Her fingers worked to pry apart the clip at the back, but she struggled to do so with the knife still in her hand.
“Let me see.” He took the sheath and extended the waistband of her pants. Creamy skin peeked out from the gap in her clothing. His knuckles brushed her soft flesh, and he had to fight the urge to stroke her skin. Biting his tongue so he wouldn’t do anything stupid, he slid on the clip. Then he took the knife from her and fit it into its new home. “There.”
He moved toward the entrance of the cave. “Look,” he said, stopping and turning. He fought for words, for a vocabulary full of decency and understanding he’d lost years ago. “You didn’t know about my mission. You were only trying to help Rami.”
Her eyes found his. They were so bright and bottomless he could lose himself in them for hours—days.
“Thank you.”
He lifted the corner of his mouth. “Don’t thank me. We might not live another hour.”
She brought her fingers to his elbow. “I mean it. Thank you. Rakesh would have—” Her throat moved on a swallow. “Even if I die tonight, I’m grateful you spared me that trauma.”
Fresh anger bunched his muscles. If he could bring Rakesh back from the dead and slit his throat all over again, he’d do it in a heartbeat. Shoving down those words because they’d probably scare the shit out of her, he gave a brisk nod. “As long as I’m here, no one will hurt you.” Normally he didn’t make promises. Not to himself and sure as hell not to anyone else.
But this wasn’t a promise. It was a guarantee. He barely knew this woman, but he wouldn’t let anyone touch a hair on her delicate head, let alone violate her.
The lines of tension on her face softened, and the corners of her lips turned down. “Thank you.”
“You said that.”
She sniffed.
Ah, hell . Don’t cry .
“Yeah. I know. I just—It’s been a rough day. You know?” Her voice grew impossibly small. His war-hardened heart melted a bit but Jesus. How could he comfort her when he didn’t have an ounce of compassion left in him?
Well, maybe that wasn’t true. Because whatever he felt for Dana’s pain was something. Without dropping his bag, he brought his free hand to wrap around her shoulders. Her slight frame clicked against his like a magnet to stainless steel.
She rested her cheek against his chest, her hand gripping his shirt. Her shoulders shook and he mumbled comforting sounds that probably didn’t make any sense. He might not have the right words, but he could give her a moment to process shit. He rubbed his fingers in small circles between her shoulder blades as her raspy little cries twisted his insides.
She was a lot smaller than him. Tiny even. Which only made him more furious with Rakesh. He hadn’t witnessed Rakesh’s assaults on women, but he’d heard about them. Knew that she’d have been unrecognizable if he’d had even ten minutes alone with her.
The possibility blurred his vision. He took a slow, deep breath to lower his heart rate before the strained organ beat out of his chest.
“Sorry. I don’t know what’s come over me.”
“You’re fine.” His tone was gruffer than he wanted it to be.
She chortled and pulled away, wiping her tears with her knuckles. “I got your shirt all wet.”
His hand stayed rooted to her back as if it had a mind of its own. “Come on. We’ve got a long drive ahead.”
He led her from the cave with the flashlight illuminating their path. He might have canceled his contract with the CIA, but it wasn’t for nothing.
** *
Dana sat in the front seat of the small sedan, both the bottle of water and the protein bar Zain had given her half gone.
She was grateful the prisoner’s scent—of urine and god knew what else—was off her skin. In the cave, she’d removed both the other man’s garments and her own.
Now, only Zain’s heady scent surrounded her. The aroma of pine and spice was all him, and she didn’t mind one bit. It would beat artificial fragrance any day.
They’d ridden in silence for the last fifteen minutes. Zain seemed on edge, and he routinely checked his rearview mirror, but no one followed them.
She didn’t want to break his concentration, but the need to locate Brick strummed through her. The last thing she wanted was for him to ambush the compound they’d just left and be attacked. “Can I use your phone now?”
Zain slid his gaze her way. “Yeah, but we’ll be in Pakistan in an hour. Can it wait? I’d feel better with more distance between us and Jaysh.”
“I got separated from my colleague at the protest. I’m worried he didn’t make it.”
His jaw clenched, and he seemed to be struggling to make a decision. Slowly he nodded. “Yeah, I guess you should call him. I’m assuming that’s the guy who tried to run after you?”
Regret pulled at her heart. “Yes. He was hit in the head.”
“I saw.” He stretched toward the back seat, rummaged through his duffel bag, then passed her a device. “It’s a satellite phone. Works the same as any other, though. Just more reliable without the need for cell towers.”
She held the smooth, bulky plastic. “Will the CIA be angry about your mission?” Stupid question. Of course they would. She couldn’t stand the thought of him going through any more turmoil, but what was done was done.
“I’ll deal with it. Call your friend.”
She hit the buttons on the keypad—no flimsy glass screens for this military-grade phone—and pressed the device to her ear. The line rang and she closed her eyes. Please pick up. Please pick up.
“Hello?”
The sound of the husky, cautious male voice made Dana choke out a laugh.
“Brick? Is that you?”
“ Dana? Holy hell. Where are you? What happened?”
“That’s a long story. We’re almost in Pakistan. About an hour away. Where are you?”
“I’m at Ali’s. After they took you from the protest, I came here for cover so I could arrange a team and plan an extraction strategy. But—Wait, who’re you with? ”
She didn’t hold back the smile that pulled at her lips because as wild as this mission was, she’d succeeded. “Zain.”
A beat passed. “Dana, I think you’re in the wrong line of work. Rami’s crazy to keep you behind a desk.”
She chuckled. “I think that’s my brother’s doing.”
Brick scoffed. “Yeah, he’s pretty pissed right now.”
Dana winced. In all the chaos, it hadn’t crossed her mind that Brick would alert Taschen to her being in Afghanistan and captured by Jaysh. To say he was pissed was probably a mega understatement. Not something she could handle right now. As soon as they had their footing, she’d call her brother. And not a minute sooner. “Let him know I’m okay. But we need to find you. I want to make sure we all get out together.”
“Absolutely. Put Zain on and we can arrange to meet you as soon as you cross into Pakistan.”
She hit the speaker button and held the phone between them. Brick introduced himself to Zain, and they spoke briefly about their locations and made a plan. Brick, Ali, and Ali’s men would be waiting when they crossed the border.
After ending the call, Zain asked, “How well do you know these people?”
“I work with Brick and so does your brother. I met Ali, but I really don’t know much about him. ”
Zain grunted. “And what does Ali think you’re doing in Afghanistan? Does he know you came for me?”
“Brick told him it was a secret rescue mission. He doesn’t know anything else and I think Ali is smart enough not to pry. Why do you ask?”
He tucked in the corner of his mouth, and his face clouded with distrust. He was so dark and dangerous, just looking at him made anticipation heat her skin. Mystery surrounded Zain, and she’d always been a sucker for a good case. That had to be the cause of her quickening pulse.
“Because I’m leery of people with money in these parts. By the sounds of it, Ali has a good-sized team. Which is expensive. And in this area of the world, you don’t really get into a position of power without Jaysh knowing about it.”
Anxiety tugged at the muscles in her neck. She just wanted this to be over. She was exhausted, running on nothing but fumes, and at any minute a missile could strike their car and wipe them both out. It wasn’t just a matter of tomorrow not being promised—she didn’t even have a survival guarantee minute to minute.
And if what Zain had said was true, they were entering the lion’s den. And Brick was caught in the middle.