Page 70 of Duty Bound

They might even get killed.

Except what was the alternative? An ambush? Dying on a dusty mountain path, like Joe. Lily swallowed and held back her fear as she said goodbye to Soraya.

“Thank you for helping us,” she whispered. “I’ll never forget it.”

“It’s important. We have to get you out of Afghanistan and make sure your system is safe.”

Lily hugged her hard. “We’ll send Stitch home to you in one piece, I promise.”

“Inshallah,” Soraya whispered.

God willing.

CHAPTER 25

Goddamn it.

This was bad.

His stomach was knotted so tight, it felt like a fuse wired to an unexploded bomb, each second ticking toward an inevitable detonation.

“Checkpoint is ten klicks south,” Stitch called as they took the bumpy dirt road out of the village. The Land Rover bounced along, kicking up a cloud of dust behind them.

The only thing that mattered was getting Lily across undetected. He had to admit, she didn’t look like a western woman. Soraya had done a fantastic job hiding her blonde hair. Add the veil, and she’d be unrecognizable.

He met her gaze in the rearview mirror. The eyeliner made her brown eyes seem enormous and brought out the gold flecks in her irises. He knew she was scared, saw it in the way she looked at him—a silent plea, like she wanted to fly straight into his arms.

If only.

Shit. She was tearing him apart.

Normally, he kept a professional distance from hostages. They did what he said, and he helped as best he could. But with her… He heaved a silent sigh.

Lily was different.

Breaking eye contact, he tried to focus on the operation ahead. If anything, he was the more vulnerable party. Stitch, in his traditional clothes, blended right in, while he, with his army fatigues, gear and rifle, looked exactly like what he was.

The enemy.

Still, he wasn't prepared to abandon his gear for the sake of a disguise that probably wouldn't work anyway. He didn't have the dark, bearded looks of the Afghan men, and his physique practically screamed military. If they were stopped and searched, he'd much rather be ready for it than not.

The Land Rover featured a spacious backseat, and a glass partition separated it from the front, where Stitch and Lily sat side by side. Initially, they kept the divider open for easy conversation, but as they neared the checkpoint, Stitch slid it shut, concealing their hidden passenger in the back to avoid raising the guards' suspicions.

Lily pulled up her face veil and glanced once more in the mirror. He shook his head. No one must know he was there.

She turned her gaze forward, took a deep breath, and stiffened her shoulders.

How fucking brave was she? After all she’d been through.

A real trooper.

Having evaded the Taliban for so long, they were now heading straight for them. It seemed counter-intuitive, but it was the quickest way to get Lily to Kabul, where they’d be able to fly her out.

Blade hunkered down and pulled a dark blanket over himself. His backpack was stored in the spare tire well in the trunk area, and his rifle was on his lap, ready to fire. It was virtually invisible without a thorough search.

Plan A was for them to get through the checkpoint unnoticed. If not and Blade was discovered, Plan B was for them to claim he’d hijacked them and they were transporting him under duress.

He’d be arrested, but they might make it through.

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