Page 79 of Stand Fast

“You can make it up to me later.” He tipped her head back with one hand and ran an assessing gaze over her face, gently wiping at her tears. Then he smiled and her heart rolled over in her chest. “Come on. Let’s get out of the cold.”

She nodded, leaned into him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her back to the main building. Now that the torrent of emotion was behind her, she cringed inside as Taggart and the others all stopped what they were doing to stare at her and Zaid when they walked in.

She stiffened but Zaid kept his arm firmly around her, and she had to admit she liked the proprietary gesture, the feeling that he was claiming her in front of the others. Not that there was any doubt in anyone’s mind how she felt about him, after that display outside.

Taggart seemed to fight a grin before he brought the team’s attention back to him. Her boss, however, had a different reaction.

David walked straight over and stopped in front of them with his hands on his hips, wearing an annoyed expression. “If you’re done here, we have to get Nasar back to Bagram.”

Her whole face heated up. “Yes, of course.” She pulled away from Zaid, glanced up into his face and gave a tiny smile before following David into a back room. Feeling awkward, she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I thought he was in that first body bag.”

He shot her an irritated look and kept walking. “Just do your job, okay? We’ve been working for months to find this sonofabitch, and there’s no time for an emotional crisis right now.”

Ouch. But she supposed she deserved that after the scene she’d just made. “Yes, sir.”

In a tiny holding cell in the back room, Nasar was bound hand and foot and had a hood over his head. Jaliya wanted to punch him.

“We’ll take him back to base and interrogate him there. I want everyone there. Set it up,” David told her.

Jaliya immediately pulled out her phone and began making calls to alert the team. This was going to be a long night and she was already beyond exhausted. That crying jag had taken the stuffing out of her.

Another helo arrived with more prisoners, from the rogue NIU agents who had attacked the others. It was going to be a hell of a mess trying to figure out who was dirty or not. Crews were still out there retrieving the dead and wounded.

Forty minutes later, Jaliya headed outside with David, Nasar and the two armed soldiers tasked with guarding him. One of the Blackhawks already had its rotors turning, ready to fly them back to Bagram.

She glanced around, searching for FAST Bravo, but didn’t see any sign of them. They’d probably been called out to assist with the cleanup effort, or had been taken to a meeting somewhere.

With a heavy heart she climbed aboard the chopper and took her seat. The crew took off with the right side door still open. As the crew chief moved to close it, Jaliya spotted a lone figure standing below them.

Zaid.

He raised a hand in farewell even though she was certain he couldn’t see her, and pain sliced through her.

She loved him, but she couldn’t have him yet, and God only knew if or when they’d see each other again. It was why she’d fought so hard not to give into her feelings for him; she’d known this moment would come, whether now or in a few weeks.

But he’d said he loved her, so she was going to fight for her man.

****

Exhausted and lucky to be alive after the harrowing, fucked-up night they’d had, Reid Prentiss walked out of the main building at the FOB to find Zaid standing alone, staring up at the dark sky. Watching the Blackhawk carrying Jaliya and Nasar back to Bagram.

Reid felt bad for the guy. Jaliya’s reaction when she’d seen him carrying the body bag earlier, and then the way she’d run to Zaid when she’d realized he was alive had touched even Reid’s cold, jaded heart. He’d known something was going on between the two of them, but he’d never guessed it was anything that serious. Clearly she and Zaid had formed a stronger attachment than anyone had realized. He hoped it worked out for them.

Reid walked up next to him and stood there while the Blackhawk disappeared into the darkness. “You okay?” he asked without looking at Zaid, feeling the need to ask.

“Yeah. You?”

He grunted. “I want to hear my little girl’s voice.” Wanted it so bad his chest felt tight. That had been way too fucking close tonight. If he’d been killed, would Autumn know how much she meant to him? How much he loved her?

It sliced him up inside to even wonder about that, or to think that she might forget him in time. As soon as he got back to their barracks, he was calling her. He didn’t care what time it was back in D.C., or whether he woke up his ex to do it. He just needed to hear Autumn’s voice and tell her he loved her.

“I bet you do.” Zaid was quiet a moment. “How the hell am I gonna make this work, though? We’ll be back in D.C. in a few weeks.”

Beats me.Relationships were fucking hard enough without adding in a geographical separation of that magnitude. But, maybe that was the key. Only seeing each other for a few months a year. Could be the secret to making it work long-term. “I suck at relationships, so I’m not really the guy to ask.”

Zaid huffed out a laugh. “Right. Forgot.”

He felt the need to say something comforting. “Talk to Rodriguez. Or Colebrook or Granger. They seem to have it figured out.”

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