Page 39 of The Angel and the Agent

“Good. Tell him to get the gas, and I’ll give him the money. Also see if he can get some sort of cover for you.” She turned to the man, said more words, motioned to her body and hair, and he disappeared. “Knowing you’re fluent in French might have been handy information, chicklet.” He poked her waist.

“It’s the middle of Africa. How was I to know they spoke French here? I thought it would be Swahili.”

“This used to be a French colony, and so was Cameroon,” he said, feeling much more cheerful over their prospects. The language barrier had been one of his biggest concerns, and now that was gone.

The man returned with the gas and a robe and scarf for Amelia, and they paid him the money. “Ask him if he knows a good, safe place to stay the night, west.” He pointed to the west. Amelia asked him the question and relayed the answer.

“He said to get off the main road before you hit the border. The gangs keep a lookout for cars and trucks and there are often raiders. Going by foot is a safer bet. He said anywhere the terrorists haven’t invaded would be a good idea for lodging.”

They thanked the man. Amelia donned the robe and green flowered headscarf that, in true Amelia fashion, was quite becoming. “You’re not supposed to look even better in that getup,” Ethan groused.

“I’m sorry, but headscarves are kind of in right now. I wear them a lot, actually. This one’s super cute. I wonder where I could get some more.”

“I can’t believe we’re trying to escape this country with our lives and you’re contemplating where to shop,” he said.

“You don’t hear me complaining and trying to get you to stop being a commando, do you? You be you, and I’ll be me,” she said, frowning.

“That wasn’t a complaint, it was more of an observation. I like you exactly as you are, you know that.”

“Better than your dry cleaner?” she asked.

“I don’t know, Mr. Kim is pretty sweet,” he said. He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I already told you I was sorry.”

“I know, but you hurt my feelings.”

“I was trying to; I wanted to push you away,” he said.

“Why?” she asked.

He shrugged. “To see if you’d come back. It’s a thing I do, but I’m working on it. I’m trying not to with you.”

“Ethan,” she said.

“Hmm,” he replied.

“I’m still here,” she said, giving his hand a hard squeeze.

“Hey, Amelia.”

“Yes?”

“I’m still here, too. And I’m usually long gone by now.”

“I know,” she said. He liked that she didn’t ask anything of him, didn’t broach the future, didn’t press him for more. She just smiled and gave him the look, the tender one that said she thought he was worthy, a man to be admired.

Chapter 14

They made it a few hundred more miles until the gas gave out again. By that time they were close enough to the border to give up on the Jeep entirely and go by foot.

Ethan could have made it across the border, but Amelia was exhausted. She’d been through an ordeal, physically and emotionally traumatized, and she’d had one power bar in the last thirty-six hours. And yet she didn’t complain.

“I think you could have made it as a SEAL,” he told her, putting his arm around her shoulders and drawing her close so he could kiss her temple.

“I’m not the strongest swimmer,” she said. “But if I understand the SEALs correctly, it’s not necessary to be good in the water.”

“Spot on. There was very little water training involved, as long as you don’t count pretty much everything we did.”

“I knew I was right,” she said, squeezing his waist. “Is Africa where you go when you pretend to go to Canada?”

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