His gaze rammed into hers. “You will not be reunited with anyone until we have a name. You ready to hand that over?”
Tired, body aching, shewasready to give it. Be done with it all. Hand him the name of Taweel’s boss and there would be no need to ensure she made it to the other location. Considering the amount of disdain he spat at her, she would need every reason she could get.
Kasra went to her knees, crawled into the tube-like tent, and felt its immediate warmth—the top end protected from the elements. A sleeping bag was unrolled, and she slid into it, knowing the nights this time of year could be very cold. Curled on her side, she peered down the length of her body. Saw Rage moving toward the opening. Was he leaving?
He parked himself against the wall nearest the door and angled toward the hut’s opening. To stand watch. While she slept. Why would he do that?
Do not overthink it; he is only doing his job.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
Just a few more hours andhe’d be rid of her. Hook up with Omen at the Secondary and turn the madam over to DIA with that name. Then he could walk away knowing he’d saved thousands of women and children.
He tucked himself into a position that gave him a semblance of comfort, kept the wind from his face, and afforded a bird’s-eye view of the road.
Disgusted with himself for losing her on the street. How had he missed that she’d stopped? By the time he backtracked, he saw the gunman. Knew if he was out in the open, the gunman would target him. He used the man’s distraction with the madam to close in. His heart had nearly collided with that first bullet.
“She’s our savior!”
It was a sad state of affairs in this country when one thought of Kasra Jazani as a savior. How …? How could that woman think the madam saved them from anything? Sheranthat brothel. Made them have sex with men. Pocketed the money.
Or did all of that go to Taweel?
Nah, couldn’t be. Why would she stay if he hadn’t given her some of the money? She was pretty well dressed, all things considering. Had a healthy vigor to her face and body, which was not lacking in any respect.
Disgusted with himself for even noticing that, he shifted and pried his thoughts back to the hut. Noted her breathing had evened out. He slapped down his NVGs and peered into the tent, verifying she slept. NVGs back up, he tugged out his phone—set not to light up on use—and found a text from Pike asking for an update.
He tapped out a reply:All clear. Sheltered. Rendezvous at 0400 at Secondary.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. The safehouse getting hit was unexpected. Pike had planned an elaborate ruse to draw out the madam, but that attack by her owners did the trick. Maybe.
She’s soft on you.
With a quiet groan, he shook his head. Last thing he wanted or needed. His phone thumped. Another message from Pike.
Negative. Plan changed. Hold.
Hold?What the actual heck? He leaned forward, eyeing the words that warned some serious stuff must’ve hit the fan for Pike to delay him.
How long?
Supplies weren’t the problem—he was trained to live off the land and blend into local populations, but this woman was too well-known around here. And he didn’t want to spend any more time with her than was absolutely necessary.
Another text.Unknown.
Son of—Range bit back a curse. Thumped his head against the wall. What was God trying to do to him? Of all the freakin’ women to get weighed down with … It nauseated him, thinking what she had done. How manymenshe had done. How many girls she’d forced—
He punched to his feet. Huffed. This wasn’t going to work. Alone on watch with nothing but his revulsion of this woman as company? What had he done to deserve this? Hadn’t he dedicated his life to helping the helpless after—
No. He wouldn’t go there.
Clearly he wasn’t good enough. Never had been. Not for Dad or Mom. Not for Mariah. Not for Dani. Not for God.
“You know better than that, Range Lincoln Metcalfe!”Mom’s words thumped the back of his head from across the pond. That sweet, sage voice always saw through his moodiest, angriest moments. Never gave slack on the lead with which she’d kept her six kids under control.
He did know better. Problem was, he didn’t care. God hadn’t intervened to help him out any other time. Why should he wait on Him this time?
