He snorted softly. “Be careful what you ask for. Right?”
A faint smile tugged at one corner of her mouth. “I’m not sorry this happened, Beau. I always thought you were an incredible man. I felt your warrior side was pretty much hidden from me.”
“Oh? That I came off like some type B office pogue?” he jested.
She smiled. “I loved the gentle side of you I saw at the orphanage. I knew you couldn’t be Delta Force if you weren’t a badass warrior.”
Beau stroked her hand. “Well, now you’ve seen me, warts and all, gal. I hope this doesn’t mean we’re going to separate once we get back to Bagram.”
Callie heard the teasing in his voice, his hand so warm and dry compared to hers. “If anything,” she whispered, suddenly emotional, “you’re such a hero in my eyes and heart. I just hope you don’t think less of me and walk away from me if we make it back to Bagram.” His hand tightened around hers.
“Not a chance of that happening, gal, so don’t ever go that direction. You’re just as courageous as I am. You’re not a quitter. You’re the fighter I always thought you would be if you were in a desperate situation. I was proved right.” He released her hand and even in the darkness, he found her thick hair, stroking it gently. “If anything, I can’t see my life without you in it after we make it back to Bagram. Okay?”
B
y the time
dawn was rising on the horizon, Callie was exhausted. She had no idea how far they’d traveled. The rain had, thankfully, stopped a few hours ago, but her fingers were still wet and numb. Beau went around a hill; she was always amazed that he remembered where caves were located. He led her into one that required them to crawl in on their hands and knees, making her bite back a groan.
Once inside, the bare light revealed what she was beginning to call a “comfy cave.” She heard water running, and with her NVGs on she could see water dripping from above into a small pool. She waited by the entrance as Beau cleared the place. There wasn’t much to clear because it was oval shaped with rocky walls and fine silt for a floor. It smelled musty and humid from the outside air.
Beau came over, allowing his rifle to lie against his chest harness. He gripped her soggy, gloved hand and gave a gentle tug for her to follow him. Every step was agony, her knees feeling as if they would crack and fall off. She knew he was doing his best to keep them safe, and her heart swelled with love for him. He was at greater risk because she couldn’t keep up a killing pace for hours on end like he could. She was painfully aware that she was no match for his ability to endure hardship.
She followed him to the rear of the cave, where it was darker. Callie had faithfully hydrated every half hour, and so far, there were no more of those horrible leg cramp events.
Beau brought her closer to him and whispered, “There’s a tunnel here. It twists and winds, but at the end of it, there’s another cave that has an exit point in case we need to leave in a hurry. Just follow me. Watch your step, because there are lots of rocks jutting out of the floor, and they can trip you up.”
She nodded, saying nothing and trying to catch her breath. In another minute, Callie found herself in a second cave, which had another entrance-exit point covered with thick brush. Here, the cave floor was smooth, without silt or sand in it.
Even better, she saw another small pool of water. The cave wasn’t high, perhaps seven feet tall, and was rounded, in comparison to the other one, which was more oval-shaped.
Beau shrugged out of his ruck near the pool, opened it, and laid out some items. He turned and pushed up his NVGs. “We can talk quietly in here,” he told her. “You won’t need your goggles anymore.” He pointed to his ruck. “There’s a washcloth, a bar of soap, and a dry towel I’ve laid out for you. There’s also that water so you can clean up a bit.”
Nodding, Callie pulled the goggles down around her neck. She rubbed her face and grinned weakly. “That sounds wonderful. Thanks . . .”
“I need to go back into the other cave and sweep it clean of our footprints,” he told her. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Nodding, Callie watched him move like the silent ghost he was. Beau had to be as tired as she was. Getting used to the rhythm of black ops, she knew he was preparing to rest during the daylight hours, when they would hide and sleep. They walked at night because they could roam unseen by nearby enemy troops. How far were they from Bagram?
Her stomach growled and she realized she was starving! Getting out of her raincoat, she hung it on a rocky outcropping and pulled off her gloves, all soaked and muddy. She placed each of them on a rock near her wet jacket. The idea of getting fed was very appealing to her.
She never heard Beau reenter the cave until he knelt down next to her at the pool. The light was increasing, and she saw the gleam of sweat across his face, seeing more clearly the toll their run was taking on him. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” he murmured, washing his hands in the water. “It feels nice to get clean,” he said, giving her a warm look. “How are you doing? I need a report from you.”
She tried for a light smile. “Till today, I’ve never had my knees feel like they were going to crack and shatter on me.”
“That comes from the rough country we’re traversing. It’s hard on all the body’s joints, but especially our knees,” he said. “How about that left calf?”
“It’s still tender,” she admitted, soaping the cloth, eager to wash her face and neck. “But it’s not cramping, thank God.”
He smiled a little. “Yeah, makes you a little gun-shy once a charley horse bites you.”
For the next five minutes, they didn’t speak. Once Callie cleaned off her face, neck, and hands, she handed the soap and washcloth to Beau. It felt wonderful to have a dry towel to pat off her face and neck.
Callie swore she would never take for granted the small, everyday pleasures in her life. Beau was on his knees, resting on the heels of his boots, and she could see the fatigue in his bloodshot eyes.
“If I wasn’t with you, where would you be by now?” she surprised him by asking.
Beau smiled a little and hung the damp towel over a rock. He knew where that question was going. “We’re making good time, Callie. In fact, by my estimate, we covered about ten miles. We’ve already turned on the south leg of our journey and we’re roughly twenty-five miles from Bagram. Add on that seven miles we had to walk to the river first, and you’ve covered seventeen miles.”
He saw her eyes widen with a pleased sense of shock. As weary as he was, his lower body stirred because she was so damned beautiful to him. “So see?” he teased. “We’re doing fine.”
“That’s such good news,” she whispered, then felt her eyes filling with tears. “I didn’t realize how far we’d come.”
“We’re making progress, gal.” Beau sensed her guilt over being slow and saw it clearly in her eyes. He’d gone through all the scenarios Callie was probably beating herself up over. She’d been out to this particular village four times a year, and she’d talked her big sister, who hadn’t wanted to go outside the wire, into going with her to the village. Now she was guilt-ridden for placing Dara in this kind of danger. And even Beau didn’t know what was happening with Matt and Dara. He wished he did, because then he could try to alleviate the terror he saw banked deep in Callie’s eyes. He knew the doctor had no training or knowledge of this kind of situation, but she was with Matt and couldn’t have been in better hands.
Callie, at least, was in decent shape, thanks to her belly dancing and gym routine. She was more physically fit than most other civilians, including her older sister. Beau was glad he had Callie with him, because she was a stubborn fighter who didn’t give up. He was grateful for her strong Montana ranch upbringing, and he hoped Dara would dig deep and find that same strength. Otherwise, she and Matt were in a shitload of trouble up in those unforgiving mountains.
“Hungry?” he asked, rooting around in his rucksack.
“I’m starving,” Callie admitted.
“Hmm, I like a woman with a good appetite.” His eyes sparkled. “And who enjoys her food,” he added, hauling out two more MREs. “Let’s go over there and I’ll spread out the sleeping bag and blanket for us.”
“Let me help, okay?” Callie offered, needing to contribute something to their comfort level.
Beau nodded. “Okay,” he said, pointing to the blanket rolled up in his ruck. “Why don’t you take that over there and get our bed laid out?” He instantly saw gratitude in her eyes. Her hair was thick, mussed, and needed desperately to be combed. He might be able to find that small comb he carried in his ruck. Callie would be more than appreciative, but first things first. Food was their priority now.
Later, after they’d eaten and were leaning up against a part of the wall that was less rocky, Beau picked through his ruck. He found what he was looking for and presented Callie with a gift that made her gasp.
“A comb!” she whispered as she reached for it. “What else do you have in there?”
“Just some necessities,” Beau chuckled, watching her quickly pull out the small black plastic comb, looking as if she’d been handed pure gold.
“How about a hot bath?” she suggested with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Yeah, I wish. I bet you’re having fantasies about one right now.”
“That’s all I can think about!” she said, grinning. “A hot bath and getting the ache out of my knees and ankles.”
He watched her begin to comb the damp strands of hair. “You have beautiful hair,” he told her. It wasn’t the first time he’d said so, but she grew warm with pleasure.
“Thanks,” she said, sending him a grateful look. “I’ll be so glad to get back to Bagram, where I can wash my hair, get this awful sweat off me, and the grit all over my skin . . .”
“The grit is the worst,” he agreed, pushing the ruck aside. Callie had opened up the sleeping bag and put it on the floor. There was a dry wool blanket to put over them, and with the temperature in the cave in the high sixties, it would probably do the job.
“And you guys go through this all the time?”
“Well, on long-range missions, yes. A lot of the time we’re dropped by helo into a particular place, far enough away so we aren’t heard by locals. Then we steal into an area to perform our mission, after which we’re picked up.”
“And this is all because you have radio contact?”
He grinned. “Yeah. We always carry two sat phones on us. If one gets banged up and inoperable, we always have a backup. It’s not a good thing out in the badlands to have a nonworking sat phone on us.”
“I’d never have known what you really do out here if this hadn’t happened to us.”
“Well,” he murmured wryly, “it’s not something I think you’ll want to repeat.”
“Isn’t that the truth!” Callie grumped. She gave her hair a pleased look, the strands shining in the low light, free of snags and knots. “Just getting my hair combed makes me feel better. Thank you.”
“Looks pretty.” Beau knew how much it meant to Callie to at least get cleaned up a little. Different things made women feel better. For him? He’d have given anything to have the hottest shower he could stand and just wash the damned grit chafing his skin raw. He couldn’t have cared less about his hair.
“It feels so nice to get slightly cleaned up,” Callie admitted. “Are we staying here for the day?”
“Yes, we are. It’s stopped raining and it’s probably going to start clearing up. We can’t afford to be out in the daylight because the Taliban would spot us sooner or later. We need to hole up here, and we’ll take off at dusk.”
“It will be so nice just to rest,” she murmured, continuing to comb her hair.
“I know. I’m ready to stretch out,” he agreed.
“Are you staying awake?”
“I’ve got to,” he said. “You know I’ve got to stay awake for both of us.”
Frowning, Callie said, “That doesn’t sound fair. What if we took turns? I could stay awake for two hours and then wake you up in two hours. That way, we’d both get sleep, Beau.”
“Sounds good,” he agreed readily. “You take the first two hours of sleep, okay?”
She gave him a sharp look. “No, Beau, you need to get some sleep first.”
He tried not to smile. Callie wasn’t dumb. “What? You don’t trust me, gal? Think I wouldn’t wake you in two hours?”
“No, I don’t trust you on that, Beau. You’re looking really tired. You haven’t slept in forty-eight hours.”
“I’ll catnap,” he assured her, smoothing out the sleeping bag. “Come on, you need to lie down. You can use my closed ruck as a pillow and I’ll cover you up with the wool blanket. You’ll be toasty, dry, and warm.”
She gave him a wary look. “What kind of ‘catnap’?”
He chuckled. “I can see I can’t fool you.”
“You look exhausted, Beau. I’m worried about you.”
He reached out, caressing her cheek. “Sweet woman’, I do this all the time. I’m used to it, and so is my team.”
“Yes, but you usually
have
a team. Each man can take a watch and the rest can sleep. Instead, you’ve got to babysit me, Beau.”
“Okay,” he said more firmly, “lie down on your side here.” He pointed to one side of the sleeping bag. “What I’ll do is lie with you.” He saw her eyes grow teary for a moment. Callie obviously needed some special care. Their escape from the Taliban was emotionally stretching her in ways she’d never experienced, and Beau sensed the toll it was taking on her.
“You’d actually sleep with me?”
“I’ll catnap,” he said, correcting her. “But I’ll hold you, okay?” That was easy—nothing would ever feel so damned right to him for all the right reasons.
“I’d like that.”
“Lie on your side and I’ll join you,” Beau offered, bringing the blanket up over her. Then Beau spooned beside her, using his arm as a pillow for his head. He wrapped his other one around her waist, bringing her against him.
Callie groaned. “Oh, Beau, this feels so good.”
Beau couldn’t have agreed more. “It does, and there’s more of this to come once we get back to base.” He wanted to keep Callie’s hopes up. For now, he was enjoying the pure, raw pleasure of feeling her small body tucked alongside his longer one. Beau could give her warmth, a sense of security, and he knew that just lying beside him, she’d quickly drop off into sleep.