Page 64 of Duty Bound

“Maybe it will work out for you and your soldier man too.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Soraya gave one of her enigmatic smiles. “Don’t lose hope. Perhaps he just needs to get used to the idea.”

Lily didn’t know when last she’d had such a nice time. It seemed surreal, considering their situation, but Blade and Stitch’s joking comradery made her forget, just for a moment, her life was in danger.

“I first met Blade when I joined the army,” Stitch told them at lunch. “I’d come straight from med school and didn’t know the first thing about soldiering.”

“You weren’t so bad.” Blade smiled.

“I was a complete rookie.” He rolled his eyes.

Blade chuckled. “Luckily for you, you were a fast learner.”

“Still, I always preferred patching guys up to killing them.” Soraya put her hand over her husband’s.

Not only was Stitch as gorgeous as Blade, but he was a decent guy too. Moralistic and kind. It was hard to imagine him killing people.

“When we lost Spade,” his voice dropped. “I was messed up. He bled out on that mountain pass, and I was powerless to save him.”

“That makes two of us,” Blade murmured.

“I knew I had to get out of there,” he said. “Away from the stench of death. So I came here. To the village. To Soraya.”

She flushed, but her eyes were shining. “You were lost, and we took you in.”

He nodded, his gaze dropping to her baby bump. “And now we’re starting a family. Strange how life works out. If it hadn’t been for the ambush?—”

“I’m glad something good came out of it.” Lily glanced at Blade. The look of utter devastation in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. An urge to make him see it wasn’t his fault swept over her. He wasn’t responsible for what happened. Wasn’t to blame for the guide selling them out.

She wanted to eradicate his guilt and unhappiness. Replace it with something else. Something good and wholesome and pure.

He met her gaze. The pain in his eyes vanished, exchanged for a brief flash of longing. But then it was gone, so quickly she’d wondered if she’d imagined it. He looked down at his plate and went back to eating his meal.

CHAPTER 23

After helping Soraya clean up, Lily returned to the living area. “Where’s Stitch?”

Blade looked up from the map and fixed his deep blue eyes on her. “He had patients to check up on. He’ll be gone for a couple of hours.”

“Oh.” She hovered, unsure what to do. There were some books in the corner, so she went to take a closer look, but they were all in Pashto.

“Lily, I think we should talk.”

“What about?” She sank to her knees and perched on the cushion next to him. “How we’re going to get out of here?”

“Among other things.”

A surge of something she couldn’t quite explain erupted from inside her.

“Tomorrow is going to be extremely dangerous,” he said.

“I know.” The river crossing was fraught with danger. It was a natural checkpoint, so they had decided to drive across, even though they’d be fully exposed, at risk of being recognized. “Soraya’s given me a full-length robe, so they won’t see my face.”

“That’s good.” He fell silent, his gaze penetrating.

She swallowed. “Is something wrong?”

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