Page 80 of Deadly Betrayal
“Khan Tariq’s camp is located five miles eastof Fayzabad city in the foothills of the mountains.”
It was Jake. Kaden felt a million timesbetter just hearing the voice of someone he trusted implicitly.
“At best count, he has fifty men with him,mostly family, but some have been active fighters for decades.”Jake gave him detailed instructions on how to find the enclave.“They’re equipped with the usual: RPG-7s and AK-47s.”
“Great.” Two men against fifty.
“Tariq’s brother Ishaq is his right-hand man.I’ll send you photos of the top brass so you know who you have inyour sights.”
“Thanks, man. I couldn’t do this withoutyou.” Christ, he sounded like a girl.
“Fuck. Youaredoing this without me.A few hours, that’s all I need to fly out there.”
Kaden understood completely. Were their rolesreversed, he’d be champing at the bit to get into the action. “AndI appreciate that. But right now, Nic needs you more than I do.”And he hoped to God it stayed that way. This had all the makings ofa major FUBAR situation.
After ending the call, Kaden dialed Hassanand relayed the information Jake had given him. They agreed to meetat 0400 hours the morning of the wedding at a location a mile fromTariq’s camp. That would give Kaden enough time to drive toFayzabad and get Azita and Shahram settled somewhere. She’d put upan argument, but he didn’t care. Whether she’d been behind theambush or not, he didn’t want her within miles of Tariq and hismen.
A few minutes after hanging up, Kaden spotteda roadblock a half mile ahead.Shit.He smacked his palm onthe steering wheel. The heat from the explosion the previous nighthad melted off most of the foundation he’d put on his face. Thesoot would help with his sore-throat ruse, but at the same time,the guards would probably interrogate him, and he wasn’t up toplaying sixty questions with the ANA, ANP, Taliban, orwhoever-the-fuck-else was manning the checkpoint. They werebasically tollbooths, but if the guards got suspicious, theywouldn’t hesitate to shoot. Since Shahram had wormed his way intothe SUV, it was probably better if Kaden let the guy get them pastthe barricades.
As soon as he spotted a side road, he tookit, bringing them into a small village. The streets were empty atthis early hour. He hoped they’d stay that way for a while so hecould get some shut-eye. Between the bad dreams and having Azita inhis arms the night before last, her luscious ass pressed against avery strategic spot, he’d spent most of that night trying to keephis mind and his hands off her instead of sleeping. By hiscalculations, he’d been awake for most of the past forty-eighthours. If he didn’t get some sleep soon, he’d be no good toanyone.
Unfortunately, as soon as Kaden stopped theSUV in some shade, his passenger in the back seat began to stir.Azita sat up, yawning and rubbing her tired eyes. “Where arewe?”
Her headscarf was askew and some long brownstrands had slipped out. His fingers twitched with his need to feelher hair. He dragged his eyes away. She was off-limits until hefigured out if Khalid’s hints had been true or just red herrings toget Kaden off his back.
After consulting the map where he’d tracedboth the northern and southern routes before leaving Kabul, hetapped a spot. “Here.”
“We should be in Fayzabad beforenightfall.”
“Yep.” He folded the map with exaggeratedprecision, wishing he could snap it shut like a book. Just havingher so close, hearing her sleep-roughened voice, had him wanting togive in, to abandon his resolve to dig deeper. After the nightthey’d spent alone at the guesthouse, he knew she liked him, and hedamn well knew he liked her. She set his body on fire.
Shit.
Space, that’s what he needed. Before he brokedown and fucked her while her brother snored a few feet away fromthem. Shoving open the door, he practically threw himself out ofthe car. Cool morning air wrapped around him, and a gentle breezebrought with it the scent of freshly turned soil. Not far away, astream gurgled. He walked toward the sound, stopping only when hereached the crest of a rise. At the bottom of a gentle slope, clearblue water meandered over glistening black rocks. The tranquilscene contrasted sharply with his inner turmoil.
Across the narrow waterway, tall conifers,probably cedar and fir, waved hello to him. Seeing them, herealized how few trees there’d been in Kabul and the surroundingprovince. But as they travelled north and east, the land becameless barren, less desolate.
A rustling behind him and the gentle fall offootsteps had his body tingling with renewed awareness. Azitastopped beside him and inhaled deeply. “It’s so beautiful here, theair so crisp and pure.”
“The trees help,” he muttered.
“True. When I was a girl, before the Talibantook power and my father sent me away, Kabul still had trees, andwe could see the forests on the surrounding mountains.” She toed asmall stone, pushing it over the crest. They watched it roll downthe hill and land in the water with a small plop. “Now most ofAfghanistan is but dust and dirt.”
He sneaked a glance at her. She was sofucking beautiful, he almost forgot to breathe. With the sunshining on her, making her skin glow and her eyes sparkle, it washard to imagine a devious nature beneath the open and honestexterior. Everything he’d seen so far screamed that she was honest.She could have let him die in a pool of his own blood the day ofthe ambush. It wouldn’t have taken long, and no one would haveblamed her for hiding from soldiers and militants in an armedconflict. If she’d had an ulterior motive in helping him, he had noidea what it could have been. Of course, hewashere now,risking himself and his friends for her. Just the thought that shemight be using him pissed him off.
She dug into her pocket and held out a bag ofnuts. “It’s not much of a breakfast, but until we find an openstore or market…”
He didn’t say a word and ignored heroutstretched hand. Her face colored, and she looked away. “Are youangry with me?”
Crossing his arms, he pretended to have adeep interest in the water below. Most people hated silence andwould do anything to fill it. She didn’t disappoint.
“I-I was going to tell you about Agha Khalid,about our… marriage.” The last word came out with force as thoughby spitting it out of her mouth, she could get rid of it.
“Oh yeah? Before or after I was arrested foradultery?”
The bag of nuts fell from her hand, spillingon the ground. “I am not that man’s wife,” she said, her words ascutting as a bayonet.
Kaden laughed bitterly. “Does that reallymatter?” Everything was so loose in this fucked-up place. AllKhalid had to do was say they were married and they would be. Noone would question or argue. The man was her guardian, and hisdominion over her was total.
