Page 56 of Duty Bound

Lily stared at him in amazement. “And you only thought to mention this now?”

“It’s a long shot.” He shrugged. “I’m not even sure he’s still there.”

She gritted her teeth. “So we might walk twenty kilometers for nothing?”

He took a glug from the water bottle, readjusted his rifle, then looked at her. “Not for nothing. Someone there might be able to help us.”

At least it was away from the soldiers waiting to ambush them.

Lily took a deep breath. This seemed to be their only option.

“You ready?” he asked.

She gave a firm nod. “Let’s go.”

Lily was beyond exhausted. They walked most of the night with very few breaks. The sky was lightning in the east, and soon they’d lose the protective cover of darkness. They had to get out of sight soon. Even now, lights flickered in some of the windows in the sleepy hollow. She collapsed on the ground behind a copse of trees on the outskirts of a small village.

It was more of a hamlet than a village, with about a dozen brick houses scattered about in no apparent pattern. There was a dry, picked-over field for livestock and, on the far side, a dirt road leading away from the village.

She had no idea where they were, other than miles from their intended path, far from both the river and the road that led to Kabul.

Part of her felt like crying, she was so tired. But another trusted Blade. He’d get her out. Somehow. She had to stay strong.

“Who’s your contact?”

Blade slid off his pack then sat next to her. The lines clawing at his eyes and the tension in his jaw showed his exhaustion too. They both needed rest and sustenance to continue.

“Stitch. The guy that went AWOL after our last op.”

She knew that name. “The medic?”

“That’s him.”

Lily frowned. “What makes you think he lives out here?”

“I tracked him down after he went AWOL. I was his Commanding Officer, after all.”

She tilted her head to look at him. “Yet you didn’t tell anyone where he was?”

He shrugged. “I figured he needed time, just like the rest of us.”

Joe had told her what happened to people who went AWOL. They were considered deserters. She supposed they were deserters. If Blade had given up Stitch’s location, he would have faced court martial and if found guilty may have been dishonorably discharged, fined, or even imprisoned. After what had happened to the unit, any of those options felt like undue punishment.

“Why did Stitch come here?” she whispered. “Why not go home and get help?”

“He met a local girl on a fact-finding mission a few months before our last op. I was with him, actually. So were Spade and Blaster. We went in as a four-man team. I knew he was soft on her, so I guessed he might come back here.”

Lily leaned her head back against the tree. “Great. That’s all you’ve got to go on. A girl he was soft on?”

“It’s not like we have a lot of options.”

She closed her eyes, trying not to give in to the urge to cry.

“Lily, look at me.”

With a superhuman effort, she opened her eyes and turned to face him.

“I’ve been to this village. The elder will remember me. Even if Stitch isn’t here, there’s a strong possibility they’ll help us.”

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