Page 26 of Duty Bound

I needed to get away from the memories. Everything at home reminded me of him.

His heart twisted painfully.

Everything still did.

Blade pushed thoughts of Spade aside and spread the topographical map out over the worn, wooden table. It had a wonky leg and kept listing over, but it was good enough for their purposes.

“What if they find us here?” she whispered.

He saw real fear in her eyes and his heart twisted again. Now he wanted to protect her. Tell her everything was going to be alright. Wipe that fear from her eyes.

Except she wasn’t safe. Not yet.

They had a long way to go still before they were in the clear.

“They won’t have expected us to have gotten this far.”

She gave an uncertain nod, her gaze turning to the map. “Where are we?”

“Here.” He pointed to a vast green space—a nameless area in the valley region.

“I had no idea we were so close to the river.” She traced the blue, squiggly line with her finger. It was a cute, child-like gesture, but then he realized she was working out how long it was. “Pity we don’t have a boat.”

“The river is in full flow right now thanks to the spring thaw. We don’t want to cross it unless we have to.”

“How wide is it?”

“As wide as a basketball court. Wider in parts.”

“Where are we headed?” She scanned the topography with experienced eyes. As a military software designer, she’d be used to reading maps.

“Here.”

She glanced up at him. “Kabul?”

“Yeah, it’s our best chance of getting you out of Afghanistan now that Bagram is controlled by Taliban forces.” The U.S. air base north of Kabul in Parwan Province would have been his preferred option, but since U.S. and NATO troops had withdrawn from the country, that was now a no-go zone.

She frowned. “But it’s over a hundred miles away. Impossible by foot.”

For her, maybe. He’d rucked farther than that before. Still, he was blown away by how quickly she’d worked out the distance. “I know, but hear me out.”

She rested her gaze on him.

“Plan A. Find some sort of transport to get to the city undetected. Don't forget we're deep in Taliban territory here, so the villagers will be sympathizers. Two westerners like us will stick out like burning flares.”

“Especially with you dressed like you're going into battle.” She cast a pointed look at his camo trousers, khaki long-sleeved shirt, and rifle.

He grunted. “We’ll stick to the off-road areas and skirt the villages.”

She was still studying his gun. “Don't you ever take that thing off?”

“No.”

He'd have thought she'd known that, after living with a soldier for ten years. One of the first things you were taught in the armed forces was to never let go of your weapon. Even when he slept, he kept one hand on the comforting cold barrel. It was his version of a safety blanket.

She sighed. “What's Plan B?”

“We head to the nearest village and call for an emergency extraction. There are people in neighboring countries I can contact to fly us out.”

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