Page 3 of Bryson's Treasure

Chapter 1

“It feels like a building hit me,”Bryson whispered as he scanned the one-room mud house. His six-foot-four body was stretched out across a dirt floor.

Antonio Ross stood at the door with his arms crossed. “A building fell on you, and if it weren’t for Azadeh, we wouldn’t have found you.”

Bryson groaned as he turned his head to see her sitting cross-legged on the dirt floor next to him, clutching his hand. The young girl’s black hair was pulled back, and dirt marred her face.

“That was rhetorical. I didn’t need you to actually remind me about the building collapsing.” The last thing Bryson remembered was the rocket launcher hitting the building he and Azadeh were in. He’d thrown his body over her to try to protect her from the falling debris. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“You’ve been in and out of consciousness.” Antonio looked over his shoulder for a second. “Two days.”

“I need to get back to base and tell them what I saw and figure out a way to get Azadeh out of Jalalabad and back to the US with me.”

Antonio opened his mouth to answer when someone shoved him out of the way.

Asher, Antonio’s twin brother, walked in. “About time you got up. We have incoming ten clicks out.”

“Did you not hear me? I need to report back to base.” Bryson frowned.

“I heard you, but as of yesterday, you are officially released from the military. President Tucker sped up your release papers.”

“Last I heard, it was going to take a few more weeks for the paperwork to go through.”

Antonio shrugged. “The president owes your brother a lot of favors.”

“Because he’s in the CIA.”

“He’s no longer an agent either. You’re behind on all your current events. We can sit here all day and get caught up, or we can take off before the enemy gets closer.” Antonio ran his hand through his hair. “Personally, I want to get back to Fort Lauderdale to see my wife. We were supposed to be on a quick mission when Noah called and asked for us to swing by and pick you up.”

Azadeh gripped Bryson’s hand. “Don’t leave me.”

Glancing from the two large men at the door to the young girl, Bryson shook his head. “I’m not leaving you. I will do everything in my power to get you back to the US.”

“Bryson…” Antonio ground out. “That won’t—”

Bryson held up his hands. “I don’t care what it takes. I’m not leaving without her.” He glared at his longtime friend.

Antonio looked at the young girl. “We figured you would want to take her, but it’s difficult. We’ll have to smuggle her out of the country. You have a bounty on your head. Ricky isn’t happy you escaped.”

Bryson let out a frustrated breath. Azadeh had saved him. He still didn’t know how she got him to safety, but he owed her his life. Now she’d saved him twice, once from his cell and again by getting help after the building collapsed on them. “You got my discharge papers through in one day, and you’re telling me you can’t get her out of the country. Hell, I don’t even have a passport.”

“We got your stuff, and Noah had a fake passport made for you. It’s getting her out of this country that’s tricky. I have people who owe me favors, so getting her into the US won’t be a problem.”

Bryson had saved every cent he’d earned over the years for when he decided to get out. Four months ago, when his dad passed, he figured he’d already missed too much time with his family. The decision to not reenlist had been easy. He was heading home to the family ranch to spend time with his brothers. “I have money.”

Asher laughed out loud. “Unless you were doing something illegal for some pocket money, you don’t have enough to get her out.”

“Well, I’m not leaving without her, so you guys can take off. Thanks for getting me this far. I don’t care what you say. I owe her my life, and I’m not leaving without her.” Bryson slowly stood. Every muscle in his body hurt, but he was determined to figure out a way to save Azadeh.

“You can barely stand.” Asher elbowed his brother. “Lucky for you, your friends have more money than most people in the world.”

Bryson frowned. “I can’t accept your money.” He reached out to help Azadeh stand. “Thanks for helping us this far. We can take it from here.” Azadeh wrapped her fingers in his. There was no way he could let her down.

“Don’t worry about it. We can take care of the funds.” Asher pulled the wood door back and motioned for them to head outside. “We figured you wouldn’t leave her, so we worked something out, but we need to leave now.”

Bryson glared at Asher and Antonio. “Then why were you giving me grief about taking her?”

“Even with the plan, getting her out of the country won’t be easy, and you might not like what we have in mind,” Asher muttered.

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