Page 72 of Deadly Betrayal
Khalid’s lip curled. “You should have takencare of her yourself. He should never have been allowed to touchher.”
Shahram’s eyes blazed in the thin light fromthe trunk. “Blood was gushing everywhere. IthoughtI waslosing my sister. I’d have let Satan himself help her at thatpoint.”
Khalid almost felt a smidgeon of respect forhis future brother-in-law. It was the first time the man had evershown any real backbone. Still… “Well, congratulations. You prettymuch did.” He sneered and returned to Azita’s side. “Your bag isnot in the trunk, Azitajan. It must have remained behind atthe guesthouse.”
“G-go back?”
Never. “Do you have medicine at home?”
She started to shake her head, but grabbed itwith both hands instead. “G-getting worse.”
He helped her to lie down on the seat, thenwent to soak one of his shirts with a bottle of water. When heplaced the cold cloth on her forehead, she sighed. “Tashakor,agha.”
He smiled. “Khalid, remember?”
“How could I forget?” She closed her eyes,shutting him out.
As Khalid regained the driver’s seat, therewas an unpleasant churning in his belly. Had Azita’s regard for himchanged? For all he knew, this plan to save Laila might have beenan extravagant ploy to get away fromhim. To keep him frommarrying Azita. He’d thought she favored him, that they’d suit eachother as husband and wife. Now, he wasn’t so sure.
He couldn’t let her go though. He wanted herfor himself, whether she wanted him or not. She’d grow to care forhim, just as his other wives had. He was a good father and a goodprovider. Over time, she’d learn to appreciate that. Appreciatehim.
A dark thought slammed into his mind like athousand-pound bomb, wreaking destruction and havoc. Had somethinghappened between Azita and the American? Had he done more thanbandage her head? He went over the details of the guesthouse roomwhere he’d found her. There’d been three men, her, and one bed. Twopillows had lain on the floor: one on the mattress and one on asleeping bag. Side by side.
His eyes searched the rearview mirror as hetried to ignore the obvious. Headlights appeared in the distance.Was it the American following them? He slammed his fist on thesteering wheel. Azita washis. Why could the man notunderstand?
A startled Shahram turned to him, browsraised, but Khalid ignored him. It was dark, and the roads empty.Perspiration dripped down the side of his cheek. There was nothinghe could do but outrun the man. By his calculations, they’d reachthe next village in about a half hour. He could turn off there.Find a local ANP station.
After several kilometers, the knot inKhalid’s gut grew. The vehicle was getting closer. Khalid steppedon the gas. The road was mountainous with curves, rises, andinclines. It was dangerous to drive so fast in the dark, but whatchoice did he have?
The vehicle continued to close the distance.Only a half kilometer away now. Oh Allah! It was not the Corolla.The lights were too high off the ground. He should not have triedto drive all the way from Kunduz to Kabul at night. Not with Azita.Now, because of him, because of his own fears and insecurities,he’d put her in danger.
Shahram fidgeted beside him. His headswiveled from Khalid to the side mirror. “What’s going on?”
Khalid had to force the words past theconstriction in his throat. He would protect Azita until there wasno breath left in his body. “Could be just another late-nighttraveler.” He reached under the seat and pulled out his pistol. “Orit could be—”
“Bandits!” Shahram’s face paled. “We aredead.”
Chapter 17
“Goddamn!” Kaden swore and slammed thebrakes, narrowly avoiding a truck that turned onto the road a fewyards in front of him. At this time of night, few people werestupid enough to travel, unless they were in a caravan of severalcars and were well-armed. He had the arms, but not the extra handsto shoot with.
The truck hadn’t seen him. Kaden had turnedoff his headlights when he’d spotted Khalid’s SUV a couple milesback—something he’d confirmed with his night-vision binoculars.
Picking up his binoculars again, Kadenfocused on the truck in front of him. His blood ran cold. The truckwas an older Toyota Hilux, a model favored by bandits andinsurgents in Afghanistan. Bandits would be easier to take on thana group of battle-hardened insurgents. Regardless of theiraffiliation though, these guys were up to no good. They’d probablybeen lying in wait for an unsuspecting vehicle to happen by.
Keeping his eyes on the pickup, he reachedblindly in the passenger footwell for his duffel bag. Whether theywere bandits or insurgents or even the militia of a local warlord,they would outnumber Kaden. The weapons in his bag would helpbolster his odds.
He unzipped the bag and rooted around for agrenade, slipping it into the pocket of hisshalwarbeforeshoving a pistol in the pocket of his vest. The AK, he left on theseat. There was a village up ahead, in about twenty miles. CouldKhalid hold them off long enough to reach it? Or did these men havea group of friends waiting at the crossroads, ready to hijack theSUV, even if it meant killing those inside? He’d heard of entirefamilies being gunned down over beat-up Corollas. A shiny new SUVlike Khalid’s would be a prize well worth killing for.
Kaden focused on the road in front of him.His best chance was to intervene before they reached the village.If he got close enough to the Hilux, he could toss the grenade intothe bed of the truck. Khalid’s SUV was far enough ahead not to getcaught in the blast. And that was priority number one—making sureAzita was safe.
Pressing on the accelerator, he neared thetruck, but still kept enough distance to avoid being seen. A halfmile ahead, if he recalled correctly, the road straightened out.That’s when he’d make his move. As Nic had reminded him and Jake,timing was crucial.
All three vehicles were moving much fasterthan was prudent given the twists and turns, the poor condition ofthe road, and the darkness. Kaden swore when the Corolla hit acrater-sized pothole. The car pitched to the side, and for amoment, he worried the axle had broken. But after a tense jarringthat rattled his teeth, the car pulled out of the hole. He jerkedthe wheel to the right to keep the rear tires from landing himright back in the hole.
The car swerved all over the road. Shit! Eventhough the axle was still intact, it was clearly bent. Since thecar kept pulling to the left, Kaden compensated by angling thewheel to the right. Throwing the grenade into the truck whilemaintaining a straight line was going to be tricky, especially whenthe only illumination came from the Hilux’s headlights.
Suddenly, the truck raced ahead. Kaden sawthe SUV pick up speed as well. Cold fear filled his veins as thepickup gained on the SUV. In his mind, he saw it being run off theroad, flipping over and over.
