Authors: Kaylea Cross
She gazed up at Ben through tear-blurred eyes and put her hand against his handsome, bearded face. This was the least romantic place she could think of, but she couldn't help how she felt and wanted to say it out loud in case she never got another chance. She blew out a ragged breath and took the plunge. “I really love you, Ben.”
Even in the dimness, she saw the shock on his face. She winced inwardly. Not the reaction she'd hoped for. “Sorry. I'm not trying to put you on the spot, but I didn't want to keep it to myself anymore. You know, in case something goes wrong out here.”
Ben took her face between his broad palms and held her gaze in the half-light. “Damn, honey, you sure know how to yank the rug out from under a guy's feet.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “You know I care about you, Sam.”
She couldn't take his rejection right now. “It's all right— I don't need you to explain. I just had to say it.” To spare them any more awkwardness, she leaned up and kissed him, showing him how she felt instead. He wrapped her even closer, opened her lips and stole into her mouth with his tongue. She melted.
At least he wanted her. That was something for her to hold on to.
He broke the kiss and pulled back, rubbing his hands over her arms. “You're freezing, aren't you? Come here.” He undid his jacket, lay beside her and pulled the sleeping bag over them. Then he tucked her into the warm curve of his body and closed his jacket around her. “Better?”
She wiggled closer with a sigh. “Much.”
The wind buffeted the flap and rattled the fasteners. She soaked up the comfort of his warmth and strength surrounding her, savoring every point of contact between them.
He kissed her forehead. “Sleep for a while, sweetheart.”
“Okay,” she said to placate him. No way was she going to be able to sleep. Not when she saw the knife sawing through that man's neck every time she shut her eyes. Pain lanced through her when she thought of Miller's question about who she would save. Would she have to decide between her cousin and Ben? Sam didn't know how she would live with herself if she was forced to make that choice.
The next day everyone was quiet and grim as they went about their business. Ben kept a watchful eye on Sam, who was working on less than four hours of interrupted sleep.
Through the night she'd woken up several times from nightmares, but being in the cave with his brother and Luke didn't give him the privacy to offer any other way to comfort her than curling around her in his sleeping bag. She'd turned into him without a word, and he hadn't spoken because he didn't want to embarrass her by drawing attention to the fact she was afraid, even though he knew Rhys would have pretended to be fast asleep. Instead, his twin had thoughtfully moved closer to her on the other side so she was sandwiched snug between them. Ben hoped that had given her some measure of comfort.
Watching her now, her face pale and pinched from the strain she was under, Ben was powerless to lessen the burden for her and he hated it. He crossed the cave and knelt beside her. She didn't look up at him, but he hadn't expected her to while she was in work mode. “See anything?”
He raised a hand to stroke the back of her head. Her hair was shiny and clean from the dry shampoo she'd brought along, her need for cleanliness and order just as strong out here in the field.
“Nothing.” Her voice rang with frustration. “Davis is sending in all these coordinates, and not one of them has turned up anything.”
Yeah, well, the odds of finding the hostages in these mountains were nil without some kind of tip from the locals. “If anyone can find them, Luke and Davis can.”
Sam pressed her lips together, still staring at her screen. After a moment she said, “But will it be in time?”
That was the kicker, wasn't it?
“Ben.”
He looked over his shoulder at Luke, standing in the entrance.
“We're meeting Karim at eleven hundred.”
He gave Sam's shoulder a squeeze and climbed to his feet. “Be back in a few.”
Her eyes swung up to his, shadowed with worry. “Be careful.”
“I will.” He gathered his gear and followed Luke.
They hiked down to the edge of the valley where Karim's village lay and waited in the shade of a small copse of trees for the kid to appear. He showed up alone within ten minutes of their arrival and spoke with Luke for a few minutes in Pashto while Ben kept watch, then took his payment of chocolate and medicine and left for home. He scampered down the trail into the valley with the sure-footedness of one of his goats. Ben watched him go, wondering how reliable the intel they got from him was. Kid seemed earnest enough, but his village couldn't want him helping Americans, even with Luke's ties to one of its elders. When Karim reached the valley floor, he and Luke started back to the command post.
“Someone in the village had heard about captives being held high up in the mountains in an abandoned fort used during the war with the Russians,” Luke said. “He gave a fairly detailed description of the area from the warlord, so we'll see what Sam can find using the satellite.”
Ben prayed this was the break they'd been waiting for. Time was running out, and they had nothing to go on yet. It frustrated the hell out of him, not only because he wanted to get the hostages out and nail Tehrazzi, but because each day that passed without finding the location was killing Sam.
He paused to let Luke climb up a steep incline, and didn't like what he was seeing. His boss was moving unusually slowly. When he stopped at the top to rest, Ben ran his medic's eye over him and noted the lines of pain bracketing his mouth under the beard. “You okay, man?”
“Fine.”
He wasn't fine. “Head bothering you?”
“I'm good.”
He wished they weren't wearing shades so he could see Luke's eyes. They would tell him things their owner wasn't willing to. “If it keeps up, let me know so I can give you something.” Like an assessment and something to combat the symptoms so he could function at an optimal level.
Luke ignored the comment and pushed past. Ben withheld his sigh and followed, knowing damned well the guy was hurting from the diminished pace he kept. By the time they reached the cave in mid-afternoon, only a few hours remained until the next deadline. Sam was still at her station, but Rhys was hunkered beside her with an arm around her shoulders. He looked up when they entered, and Ben's heart sank at the grave expression on his twin's face.
“What's happened?” he demanded, going straight to her and pulling her into his chest.
She pushed away and turned the screen so he could see it. “Tehrazzi just sent me this.”
The name started a slow burn on Ben's temper. He read the encrypted e-mail file she'd opened.
Time grows short. You alone can save the others. Give me your teammates and I will release the hostages. Their lives are in your hands.
“Bastard,” he snarled and motioned to Luke. He came over and read it, his expression inscrutable.
“Want me to ignore it?” Sam asked in a ragged voice. Ben rubbed her back. She couldn't take this much longer. He was surprised she'd held out this long after everything she'd gone through.
“Yeah,” Luke answered. “Don't let him mess with your head.”
Too late for that, Ben thought with a pang of dread as Luke walked away. Sam had to be right on the edge. Tehrazzi piling that kind of responsibility on her was beyond cruel. Ben would have done anything to take that weight from her shoulders.
“Got some new intel from the village,” Luke said, and gave her the coordinates.
If he'd meant it as a distraction, it worked. In the blink of an eye she was back in work mode, but Ben worried about how much longer she was going to be able to bury all the stress and fear before it shut her down. Or gave her an ulcer. He stayed next to her while she diligently searched the area, but nothing came up. Another dead end, and the clock was ticking.
The remaining time passed without any new intelligence on the hostages’ location, and as the second deadline approached, the tension in the cave mounted perceptibly. He and Rhys were fiddling with a couple of headsets when Sam started getting twitchy. She left her computer and emptied her backpack, folding and re-organizing its contents to kill time. Then she got up and started pacing. Ben tried to think of something to say that might take her mind off what they all knew was coming.
“Sam— ”
A sharp shake of her head told him she wanted to be left alone. He did, but only because he didn't know what else to do for her. And when the laptop sitting next to him chimed with an incoming e-mail, everyone's gaze flew to it. Ben's whole body clenched as he read the sender's name. The hostage takers. He turned his head to look at Sam, and the instant their eyes met she whirled and left the cave.
He didn't go after her. He was glad she wasn't going to see what was on the video. Once was more than anyone should have to witness.
Rhys nudged his shoulder. “As soon as we're done here, Luke and I'll leave so you two can have some privacy,” he said quietly. “I think she's gonna need some after this.”
They both were. “Thanks, man.”
Luke came up beside them. “Let's get this over with,” he muttered.
Ben didn't want to see the second hostage get hacked to death, but it had to be done. Sick to his stomach, he opened the video file and hit play.
Hostage location, late evening
The air was clear and cold as the snow began to fall. Like a natural purification, which was fitting considering what had just happened on this desolate mountaintop.
After disposing of the headless body and changing his bloodstained clothes, Tehrazzi's bodyguard knelt on his prayer mat next to him for evening prayers. In unison, they leaned forward to touch their foreheads to the soft nap of the carpet to give proper respect. Thanking Allah for His grace and mercy, Tehrazzi rose and returned to the relative warmth of the hut. Inside, Assoud strode past him. Tehrazzi hid a sneer of contempt, knowing Assoud wanted to see the remaining two hostages and witness their terror of him and his knife before he ate his supper. Assoud pushed open the door at the rear of the hut and Tehrazzi braced himself against the stench of foul waste coming from inside.
The hostages sat still against the far wall, blinking their squinted eyes as the light hit them. The place smelled worse than a sewer, far worse than the hellhole Assoud had been thrown into at Guantanamo could ever have.
From his position outside the door, Tehrazzi studied the interaction between Assoud and the hostages carefully. The American man kept his head down, afraid to look upon him, but not the woman. Her eyes met Assoud's squarely, and her bravery surprised Tehrazzi. She
wanted
Assoud to see the hatred and rage burning there.
“Take that bucket outside,” Assoud snapped to her. Her defiant expression remained. Assoud let his hand settle on the hilt of his knife. Her eyes followed, and Tehrazzi caught her involuntary swallow.
“Now.”
She got up and did as Assoud had told her, and when she returned he gave her a shove that sent her sprawling before slamming the door shut.
Returning to his place with the others, Assoud resumed his evening meal, and set his plate of rice and mutton down when Tehrazzi stared at him. “What?”
Tehrazzi glanced past him to the others, then back. Assoud's light brown eyes regarded him shrewdly. “I see you still have your appetite.”
His bodyguard grinned as though he'd just received the highest compliment. “Less than eighteen hours until the next deadline. Shall I kill the man or the woman next?”
Tehrazzi's mouth thinned in distaste. “Are you so eager to destroy the only currency we have to bargain with the Americans?”
Assoud's lip curled. “We do not bargain with unbelievers.”
No, they did not. But using the hostages as a ruse to attract his teacher was their goal. If things kept going as they were, Assoud would ruin everything. Over the past few years his bodyguard had built a reputation of ruthlessness that sent shivers down people's backbones. He'd already become a rich man because Tehrazzi paid him well for his services. No one dared to cross them because they feared reprisal from Assoud's knife.
“You have fed them?” Tehrazzi asked.
“Of course. We need them alive for me to kill them.”
For the time being. Within a day one of them would be dead anyway. A kindness, really. They were both ill with a foul bowel disorder, their weak American bodies unable to tolerate the food and water they were given. Left alive, the sickness would eventually kill them both. Either way, they were both going to die. It was Allah's will. A punishment for their wickedness. Still, something had to be done about Assoud's unquenchable bloodlust.
“The woman will be the last, and not harmed until I give the order. Now, walk with me.”
Assoud paused at the unusual request. “Now?”
“Now.”
Assoud glanced at his knife sheath, sitting on the table where he'd left it after honing the edge.
Tehrazzi gestured to the other around his waist. “Leave that here.”
Assoud's hands tightened into fists. After a moment, he unstrapped the sheath from his belt and laid it on the table. He gave him a hard smile. “Better?”
Much. “Let's go.”
Assoud followed him outside into the darkness.
Tehrazzi thought of that favorite knife back on the table. Not that Assoud needed it to kill him if he wished. He could do it easily enough with his bare hands.
“Where are we going?”
The note of suspicion in his voice pleased Tehrazzi. “I wish to speak with you where no one else can hear.”
Their feet made swishing sounds in the thin layer of snow as they moved away from the hut at the edge of the deserted village and up the slope of the ridge overlooking the valley. Assoud kept glancing around them and behind them as though he expected to find snipers hidden amongst the boulders. He might be a danger to the operation, but he was not stupid.
Not a sound broke the stillness as they ascended the hillside. Halfway up, Tehrazzi slipped on some loose gravel and lurched down to steady himself with his hands. When he glanced back, Assoud's gaze had fixed on his ankle, positioned inches in front of his hand. Tehrazzi read the intention there. One tug. That's all it would take. One hard pull, and Assoud could send him down the rocky slope to smash against the boulders below.