Page 58 of Stand Fast

“Whatever happened, it wasnotyour fault, and you can’t let this setback stand in your way. You’re stronger than that. Regroup, take a deep breath and get back in there. Put one foot in front of the other and don’t you dare give into doubt.”

Her mouth was hanging open now. She had no idea how to respond, but this was the last thing she’d ever expected to hear from her father. Other than the three little words he couldn’t utter.

“You’ve got what—twelve more weeks left in this posting? Finish it off, give it everything you have, and when you come home, you can think about what else you might want to do instead.”

Aaaand, there it was. Her real father was back. She closed her mouth, squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for patience.

“There are plenty of other agencies or companies who would fight to have you on their payroll. You could find one that valued you that let you stay closer to home, and then you would have time to have a social life. You might even meet the right kind of man to settle down with.”

Oh, God.“Dad. Stop.”

“Well, you might. There’s more to life than work, Jaliya. Take it from me, the reformed workaholic. You’re young, and beautiful and talented. I don’t want you to let life pass you by and regret it later. Life is too short for regrets like that.”

He was right about the regret part. “I’ve met someone,” she said, mostly to change the subject.

A startled pause answered her. “Is he Muslim?”

She laughed softly at the hope in his voice. “Ah, Dad, I love you.”

He grunted. “I’ll take that as a no.”

No reciprocal “I love you too” from him, of course. “I’m not telling you anything else about him, except that he was a complete surprise.”And I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do about him.“Actually, I think you’d like him. A lot.”

Another grunt. “So. You feel better now?”

“Strangely, yes. Thank you.” She paused, wistfulness twining inside her. “It’s good to hear your voice.”

“Good to hear yours. I’m just sorry you’re so upset.”

“I’ll be okay. Like you said, I’m strong.”

“Like father, like daughter, eh?”

She smiled, her heart already lighter than it had been five minutes ago. After this call she was going straight back to the war room. She still had a lot to offer her team. And they were going to nail The Jackal. “Yes. Exactly like that.”

****

Yes. Finally.

A wide grin stretched across Zaid’s face as he shone his high-powered flashlight at the steel door he’d found hidden in a pit dug into the floor of one of the village’s houses.

There’d been a brief firefight when they’d entered the village, but the resistance had been small compared to what they’d been bracing for. So far they’d captured several trucks and prisoners, and the search of the village had led to this.

“Check this out,” he called over his shoulder.

Prentiss and Colebrook walked over to peer down at him from above. “Now that looks promising,” Prentiss said, and got on his radio. “Khan’s found something you gotta see,” he said to Hamilton.

The team leader and the rest of the guys all entered the tiny house and crowded around the pit as Zaid leaned back to give them a better look. Hamilton whistled. “Awesome.”

Yeah, it kinda was. They’d been searching various villages throughout the last couple of weeks with little to show for it. At the pre-mission briefing earlier Jaliya and her team had told them about a hidden tunnel system located in the vicinity.

One of the SEALs appeared in the open doorway behind Zaid’s teammates. “You boys need a hand in here?”

“Nope,” Hamilton answered without looking at him. “Let your LT know we may have found the tunnel entrance, though.” He nodded at Freeman. “Do your thing.”

The former SEAL hopped down next to Zaid and took a closer look at the door.

“Don’t see any wires,” Zaid said. “Probably didn’t have time to rig anything before they took off.” But some of the drug smugglers might be lying in wait behind the door.

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