Page 109 of Deadly Betrayal
Kaden unzipped the bag and strapped the KABARto one leg, the pistol to the other, and threw the strap of the AKover his shoulder. Then he dug out the grenades and offered one toHassan. With a grin, his friend pocketed it.
“All set?” Hassan asked.
“Yep. Meet point in fifteen minutes?”
“Done.”
As silently as two men loaded with weaponscould, they entered the main building. Hassan took a right and wasimmediately swallowed up by the gloom. Kaden edged his way alongthe wall, overlaying what he saw with his recollection of wherehe’d seen the window to Khalid’s room. He turned a corner, thenanother.
It was still early and the building wasquiet, but his body buzzed with adrenaline. Missions like this werehis thing. Him alone with a trustworthy buddy, deep behind enemylines. Except this time, the goal wasn’t to kill, but to escape.Peering down a long passageway, he counted the doors until hereached the third. If he’d gotten it right, that was Khalid’sroom.
Suddenly, a harried-looking guard appeared atthe end of the hall. Kaden jumped back around the corner and madehimself one with the wall. When he checked again, he saw the guardrun to Khalid’s door, take a big breath, then knock. The dooropened. The guard spoke softly to someone, then hurried off in theopposite direction. Kaden’s eyebrows spiked. He’d expected Khalidto be guarded. With the hall clear, Kaden approached, pistol inhand, and pressed his ear to the door. Not hearing any voices, heturned the knob, wincing at the click that seemed to echo in theempty hallway.
When no one started shouting, he nudged thedoor open, and keeping the wall between him and the room, he lookedinside. Khalid sat at a table, drinking tea. Unfortunately, thedoor and Kaden’s position blocked his view of rest of the room.
Khalid appeared tired, his features haggardand drawn. His hands shook as he raised the glass to his mouth. Howwould he react when he spotted Kaden? After last night, the manprobably wanted to castrate him. Christ, had Kaden really fooledaround with another man’s fiancée? Azita didn’t see the situationthat way, but Khalid certainly did. If Azita were his fiancée,Kaden would kill any man who dared touch her. He doubted Khalidfelt differently. The prickles at the back of his neck returnedwith a vengeance.
Stay or go?
After sending a last prayer to the universe,Kaden abandoned the relative safety of the doorway and movedfarther into the room.
Tariq stepped away from the wall and pointedan AK-47 at Kaden.
Fuck. The prickle was never wrong. He shouldhave listened to it. He should have gone with his intuition.
He should have run like hell.
Hunched behind the rocks, Azita huddled withLaila and Freba under the blanket Mustafa had provided. Thetemperature had dropped as storm clouds had moved in, bringing achill wind that whipped through their thin clothing. None of thewomen wore more than a tunic or nightdress. Laila wasn’t evenwearing pants, although, luckily she was wearing shoes.
In the dark, Azita squinted at her watch. Itwas five past five. Kaden had said he’d be back in fifteen minutes.It had already been far longer. The camp would soon be stirring, aspeople awakened and began preparations for the wedding. How muchlonger would it be before Laila was discovered missing?
Should she take the women and run? But towhere? No one would help them. All the neighbors would recognizeLaila and would be happy to incur Tariq’s favor by returning hisrunaway fiancée. Besides, the three of them had no money, noidentification, and no clothing other than what was on their backs.At least she still had her medical bag. She scoffed at the thought.What good would it do her? She hugged Laila closer and rested herhand on Freba’s shoulder. “Let’s pray,” she said in a hushedvoice.
Laila nodded. “The Americanaghamayneed help. I will pray to Allah to give it to him.”
Suddenly, a loud explosion rent the air,nearly stopping Azita’s heart. All three women gasped in shock.Motioning for Laila and Freba to stay put, Azita crept onto therocks, pressing herself against them to avoid detection.
On the far side of the camp, black smoke roseand flames erupted. Hearing screams, Azita had the insane urge totunnel back under the fence with her black bag and run to help thevictims of the blast.
Where was Kaden? Her body trembled. This wasnot the kind of help she’d prayed for. Something tickled her foot.A second later, Laila plopped down beside her. “I told you to staywith your mother,” Azita scolded her, though secretly, she waspleased to have the girl’s company.
Laila looked out over the camp, her eyesglowing. “Allah answered our prayers.”
“What?” Azita did not see how. “Kaden couldbe in that building.”
“No. That is the garage. Kaden is overthere.” She pointed to a large building with high windows. “That’sthe main house where Tariq receives people. It’s where westayed.”
Understanding made Azita’s shoulders sag.Kaden had gone to get Afrooz and Khalid. He’d be far from the fire.But was it really a coincidence? In her mind, she saw Kaden beingchased through the camp by Tariq’s men, Kaden running into thegarage to hide, and Tariq’s men setting it on fire to drive him outwith the smoke. She began to shudder as pressure built in herchest.
Laila’s small warm hand took hers. “He willbe all right.”
“How do you know?” Azita asked, swallowingback her tears. She couldn’t afford to break down. Their lives wereon the line.
“Your man is good. Allah will keep himsafe.”
“Inshallah,” Azita intoned with thereverence of a prayer. As she stared at the child, amazed andastounded by her illogical, idealistic response, several moreexplosions tore through a number of buildings around the camp.Behind the crackle of flames, the shouts of men, and the cries ofwomen, Azita heard the distinct sound of automatic gunfire.
What on earth was going on? Had theassistance Kaden promised finally arrived? He’d been so certainthey’d be rescued today. The fighting intensified. Tariq’s men ranbetween the buildings, firing their weapons, but Azita couldn’t seewhat they were shooting at. She could, however, see that they weregetting closer to the fence, to the tunnel Kaden, Khalid, andAfrooz would need to use to leave the camp.
