Page 55 of Duty Bound

A chill crawled up her spine. She trusted Blade’s instincts. “What should we do?”

“Get back into those trees and stay put. I’m going to take a look.” There was an urgency to his tone that scared her.

“But—”

“Don’t move, Lily. Hide in the leaves and wait for me.” Then he slunk off into the night.

Panic threatened to overwhelm her, so she mentally went through the commands on her computer program to keep her mind busy. It helped. The fear subsided.

Minutes ticked by.

How long had it been?

Her fear reared up.

She peered into the darkness but couldn’t see anything. Where the hell was Blade? Was he alright? Had something happened?

What if he never came back?

After what felt like an eternity, he reappeared like a specter. She hadn’t heard a sound. He raised a finger to his lips. “Keep your voice down.”

She nodded to show she understood.

“We can’t go this way. They’re planning an ambush up ahead. Twenty, thirty men. All armed.”

Her heart sank.

“An ambush?” What the hell? “How did they know we were here?”

Then she got it.

“The goat herder.”

He nodded. “Yeah, he must have seen us.”

Shit. That was her fault.

How many times could she be wrong in one day? She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I should have let you?—”

He cut her off. “No time to worry about that now. We’ve gotta get out of here.”

She looked around. “Where to?”

The only way was down to the river.

“Plan B.”

She gasped. “We’re going into one of the villages to ask for help. Around here?”

“Not around here. About twenty klicks over that hill, into the next province.”

She glanced up at the hill they’d just climbed down. “Twenty kilometers? You’re kidding?”

“Wish I was.”

“Why there?” Lily didn’t know if she could walk that far. Wasn’t there a closer village?

“They’re not as sympathetic to the Taliban, and I might have a contact who can help us.”

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