Page 28 of Duty Bound

“It’s time,” Blade said.

For the last few hours, he’d stared at the map, planning their route. Then he’d planned their backup route, and finally their backup-backup route, God forbid they had to use it. She couldn’t imagine hiking over the Khyber Pass.

He’d also studied the towns and villages in the region. When she asked him why, as they didn’t intend to visit any of them, he’d muttered something about a possible contact in one of them.

Blade heaved on his backpack, obviously expecting her to do the same. And she’d have complied already if she could have figured out how. She stared at the complicated array of straps, different partitions, and assortment of survival paraphernalia that went inside.

Seriously?

Not to mention the darn thing was bigger than she was.

He guessed her predicament, as the corners of his mouth turned up. “Here, let me help.”

She scowled at his amusement.

Blade picked up the pack as if it weighed nothing more than a child’s rucksack. She turned her back to him, then he slid it up over her shoulders. “Turn around.”

Lily faced him, irritated she had to ask for help.

He adjusted the padded straps over her shoulders so it was more comfortable then fastened the stabilizing strap across her breasts. She tried not to flinch when his hand grazed her nipple.

“How's that?” His rough, growling voice softened.

She cleared her throat. “Fine, I think.”

They set off, Blade taking the lead. Unnerved by the dark and the cacophony of unfamiliar sounds, Lily stayed close to his heels. She didn’t want to think about the men out there, hunting them.

He moved like a big cat, silently prowling over the entangled terrain, while she stomped and stumbled and crunched her way along the invisible trail he was taking. Unlike her, he was dressed in full combat gear, thanks to the supplies his team had left for them, including lightweight body armor and belt-kit over his camouflage fatigues, his rifle in the ready position like he was expecting an attack.

He’d given her a vest too, which she wore over her khaki T-shirt. It added a level of warmth, although in the valley, it wasn’t too cold. Not like it had been in the mountains.

Although he’d turned off his head light, presumably so they didn’t attract unwanted attention, the night-vision scope he’d worn in the cave was still positioned over one eye, so he could safely lead them through the undergrowth. As before, he turned every few minutes to make sure she was still behind him.

“You okay?” he asked after they'd walked about a mile.

“Yeah.” Complaining wouldn’t get her anywhere, and she didn’t want to slow them down. According to the map, the road leading out of the valley toward Kabul was over ten miles away, which meant they still had a long way to go.

She’d have to conserve her energy.

One step at a time. She fixed her gaze on Blade’s sculpted shoulders, which supported his heavy pack with ease. After a while, she focused on his sturdy, resilient waist, then that oh-so-firm butt. She couldn’t help but stare as the fabric of his pants hugged his glutes with enviable precision.

He turned to check on her.

Lily glanced up, heat flooding her cheeks. Had he just caught her ogling his butt? “Not much of a moon tonight,” she murmured, raising her flaming face skyward. A scattering of clouds blotted the dark canvas with gray.

“The cloud cover is good for us,” he replied. “This is the most dangerous part of our journey. The enemy will be in the valley now, looking for us. They’ll guess which way we’re heading.”

“Maybe we should’ve taken another route.” She peered into the bushes. “Confused them.”

He shrugged as if they were discussing nothing more than which diner to go to for coffee. “We still could, but it would mean crossing the river, and then crossing it again to get back to the road. But if the shit hits the fan, we will.”

She didn’t like the sound of that.

Please, God, don’t let the shit hit the fan.

Lily glanced around. In the darkness, the trees looked like soldiers, their branches like rifles pointing at them. Low bushes evoked images of crouching Taliban fighters.

“Relax, it’ll be okay.”

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