Page 55 of Chasing the Past

“What? No parting words?” Carter smirked. “You two were inseparable in Afghanistan. Don’t you remember?”

“Help is coming.”

She barely caught Eli’s words. Prayed Carter didn’t. “You had Rafiq kidnap me and take me to the building in Kunduz.”

Carter chuckled. “You want a confession? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“Keep your mouth shut, Carter,” Gavin warned, holding his shoulder with a hand covered in blood.

“They’re not telling anyone.” Carter faced her again. “Yes, Rafiq needed what was on the thumb drive he’d seen Tahir take. He knew it could incriminate our organization. He was supposed to get you safely out of the building, only you broke away. You almost died. We had to keep you alive and so we moved you to the building near Kabul until you were able to talk, only you didn’t remember anything. That’s when we made up the Asal identity to use to get this guy to cough up the drive.”

“Why kill Fatima?” She glanced down at Eli, her heart breaking.Not like this. Please God, not like this. His eyes were closed. He’d lost consciousness.

“We couldn’t be sure she didn’t have the drive.”

“Stop talking,” Gavin yelled. “Kill her and him and let’s get out of here.”

Carter stepped closer, inches from her. “You heard the man, Sashi, time for you both to die. I guess the rest of the questions you have will have to die with you.” He laughed as if he’d said something funny.

Sashi slipped her hand into her sweater pocket and felt the handle of the Glock. She had seconds . . . she yanked the weapon from her pocket and fired once. The shot hit Carter between the eyes. He didn’t have time to get off a round himself but dropped to the floor dead.

“You killed him.” Gavin charged for her. Sashi shot again. Gavin joined his partner in this deadly game on the floor.

She quickly leapt to her feet and gathered their weapons before returning to Eli. She felt a pulse. He was alive.

Sashi removed her sweater and applied pressure while reaching inside Eli’s pocket for his phone. She hit redial and called the last number he had used.

“Everything okay?” Declan.

“No, this is Sashi. We need help. There are three men shot. Eli’s hurt badly.” Her voice cracked over those words. “Send ambulances.” She explained what happened.

“We’re on our way. Wait, did you say your name is Sashi?”

“Yes, I did. I’m Sashi. I’ll explain everything when you get here. Please hurry.” She ended the call.

“Hold on Eli. Help is coming.” She held back tears while she kept pressure on the wound.

His eyes opened. “You’re Sashi. I knew—I thought I felt that same old connection—but they said you were dead.”

The past she’d been chasing for so long came flooding back, only it wasn’t her past. She wasn’t Asal—she was only an illusion.

Sashi remembered the terror she’d experienced when she woke up in that building and realized she was badly hurt. She had fallen back on the medical training she didn’t even realize she had to protect herself. If she hadn’t had the knowledge, she had no doubt she’d be dead.

He covered her hand holding the pressure in place. “I love you, Sashi. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Sirens screamed in the distance coming their way. Help was coming. She told herself this time was going to be different. This time nothing was going to separate her and Eli again.

???

Multiple strobe lights lit up the darkness outside. Soon the house was flooded with police and emergency services.

“I’ve got him.” One of the paramedics gently removed Sashi’s hands. He immediately relayed what he saw before him to his partner.

“Stay with me,” Eli said, his words slurred.

“I’m not going anywhere.” And she wasn’t ever again.

Will stopped next to her and knelt while Sashi never let go of Eli’s hand.

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