by Kaylea Cross
“I’m doing everything I can,” he said helplessly. For a man like him, so accustomed to command and control over everything, this was unbearable. Not being able to protect the one person who needed his protection the most. “I’ve found a surgeon, but locating a donor…could take a while.”
She pushed away and wiped at her face angrily. “He doesn’t have a while left, Fahim. It might already be too late.”
He blanched and stared at her while blood pulsed in his ears.
She pulled in an unsteady breath and pushed to her feet, leaving him kneeling there on the floor. “I don’t know what you’ve arranged, or with whom. And I don’t care. I don’t care what you’ve been up to or how you’ve raised the money. All I care is that our son gets the chance to be healthy again and live a normal life.”
He nodded. “He will get that chance. I swear it.”
She looked away, her sadness wrapped around her like a fog. And Fahim would do anything, anything at all, to take away the terrible fear pervading them both, to make their son healthy again.
He pushed to his feet. “You’re exhausted. Let me drive you home so you can rest.”
She shook her head tightly. “No. I’ve already left him alone too long.”
“He’s not alone. And I’ll go straight to the hospital to stay with him.” When she hesitated, he took her hand and pulled her into another hug, then kissed her forehead. He loved this woman. She was his other half and he couldn’t stand to see her hurting like this. “Come with me.”
He drove her home personally. They didn’t speak, and he could tell from her hollow-eyed stare out the window that she was way past exhaustion.
At their home he took her upstairs and tucked her into bed, pausing to kiss her softly before returning to the vehicle. As soon as he fired up the engine, he pulled out his phone and dialed the number he’d memorized.
“Fahim! Are you calling with good news?”
“My son is dying. I don’t know how much longer he has left. We can’t wait any longer, we have to act now. Do whatever it is you have to do, I don’t care how much it costs. But do it now.” His voice shook.
“That’s going to cost you, amigo. Maybe another hundred thousand.”
“I don’t care.”
“Have you got the money?”
“I have another shipment ready to go for tomorrow night.” It was foolhardy, practically suicidal after how close it had been last night, but he had no choice. “Once that crosses the border, I’ll have enough. In the meantime, I want to get him over there immediately. So that the surgery can happen as soon as a donor becomes available.”
“Have you got a plane?”
“I’ll get one.”
“No need. I can take care of that for you, for an extra cost, of course.”
Of course. “Fine, I’ll wire you the money today. When?”
“Noon.”
He blinked. “Today?”
“You want to wait longer?”
“No.”
“Take him and your wife to this airport.” He named a private airstrip north of the city. “I’ll have a medical team on board. They’ll accompany your family here, where they will stay as my personal guests until the surgery can take place.”
“Do I have your word that that they will both be protected?”
“Yes. They’ll be treated as honored guests while they’re here, and will lack for nothing. They’ll be safe. I swear it on my mother’s life.”
The promise carried weight, because it was rumored that the man revered his family, and especially his mother.
It was a huge gamble, to trust the two most precious people on earth to a man with as ruthless a reputation as El Escorpion. But with the alternative being watching Beena die in a Kabul hospital bed, what choice did he have?
“All right. I’ll have them at the airport at noon. Text me the amount you want me to wire you.”
“Good. And try not to worry. I’ll look after them both as if they were my own blood.”
His throat tightened. “Thank you.”
He ended the call and put the phone away, his mind churning furiously as he turned onto his street and drove to the hospital. His wife would argue at first when he told her the plan. But she would do it, because she loved their son more than anything.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he drove through the waking city, the outline of the boxy hospital building coming into view in the distance. He thought of Beena lying in one of its beds, hooked up to tubes and monitors while they fought to keep oxygen flowing through his tiny body.
It couldn’t be too late. Not after everything he’d risked to get this far.
Not when he was prepared to sacrifice himself to ensure that his son lived.
Chapter Fifteen
Jaliya knocked on the door to her boss’s new office in Kabul before cracking it open and poking her head in. David was at his desk going over some files. “Hey. Can I talk to you for a minute? It’s important.”
He closed the file. “Sure.”
“Not here.”
David gave her a puzzled look for a moment but when she gestured for him to follow her, he got up and crossed the room. “Where are we going?”
“If anyone asks, we’ll just say we’re going to grab some lunch.”
He walked with her down to the lobby of the building the DEA had set them up in. But she didn’t stop there, choosing instead to exit the building and walk half a block down the street to a tiny park before sitting on the wooden bench there.
“What’s going on?” he asked as he sank down next to her.
She didn’t care if it seemed like she was being overly paranoid. “I didn’t feel comfortable talking about this in there.” She nodded back toward the building. “I’ve long suspected that someone on the inside is interfering with our efforts to find The Jackal, and as of this morning I’m more convinced than ever.”
“All right, I’m listening.”
“My team has been analyzing all our data and intel for the past two days. We’re getting close to identifying who he is.”
He frowned at her. “Okay…”
She took a deep breath and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, showing the pictures of three men. One was the deputy chief of police. One was a suspected lieutenant of The Jackal’s.
And one was a military commander linked to the Afghan army. Colonel Shah.
David looked up at her in astonishment. “Are you serious?”
“It has to be one of them. And as of right now, my gut’s leaning toward him.” She tapped Shah’s photo. And she was listening to her gut on this one because the successful seizure last night had bolstered both her confidence and self-esteem. She was feeling good and more determined than ever to nail The Jackal.
“But that doesn’t make any sense. It’s his men we’ve been sending out to assist with the various teams. He’s been helping coordinate the missions personally—”
“Exactly.”
David fell silent, his shocked expression mirroring exactly how she’d felt when she’d finally realized what had been right under her nose all the time. “But his record is impeccable. Beyond reproach. I vetted him personally after the agency did the initial background check prior to bringing him on board, and when we looked at everything again last week due to this leak, he still checked out.”
“I know. We think something drastic must have changed in his personal life over the past few months.”
David shook his head. “Shit, if it turns out to be him…”
“Yeah.” Hence her wanting to talk about this outside of the office.
He ran a hand over his face. “Okay. You’re still investigating the other two?”
“Yes.”
“So where is the colonel now?”
“Missing.”
He looked at her sharply. “Since when?”
“Since yesterday afternoon. No one’s seen or heard from him since he left Bagram after the noon briefing. I’ve go
t people trying to find him right now.” Three of her best analysts, working all their technological wizardry tracking phone signals and satellite feeds.
Her phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket, a jolt of energy running through her when she saw the number.
“Barakat. Where are you?” she asked in Dari. Desperation had apparently made him overcome his aversion to working with a woman. He’d contacted her early that morning with a message saying he had information about The Jackal’s whereabouts. They had agreed to meet to discuss it in person but he hadn’t shown up. Probably to save his own skin, since she could offer him protection by bringing him to Bagram where he’d be safe.
“They’re after me.”
She stood, the panic in his voice slicing through her. “Who?”
“The Jackal and his men. They know who I am, and what I’ve done.” He sounded panicked and out of breath, as though he’d been running.
“All right, slow down. Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”
“No, they could be following you.”
She needed to calm him down. “Barakat, listen to me. I need you to calm down—”
“No! I’m not dying for you or anyone else. I want out. I’m finished with this.”
Think Jaliya, think. “You’re not going to die, Barakat. Not if you let me bring you in. I can protect you.”
“No you can’t,” he spat.
“Then why did you call me?”
“Because I don’t have anyone else. The elders found out I’ve been working with your agency and they banished me from the village last night. I think they’re the ones who told The Jackal where I am.”
Goosebumps broke out over her skin. She pushed Barakat because she was so close to finding the answer, and desperate enough to risk asking. “Do you know who he is? Is it Colonel Shah?”
“I…don’t know. But it could be. I heard his name mentioned last night before I was banished.”
Jaliya closed her eyes, a rush of adrenaline surging through her veins. Yes. “We found evidence against him this morning.” But that wasn’t important now. “You said you had a location. Tell me where it is at least. Tell me so I can get him and make this all go away. Once he’s captured, you’ll be safe.”
Barakat didn’t answer for a long moment. In the silence she made out the sounds of heavy traffic moving in the background. Horns and different kinds of engines. He had to be in Kabul somewhere. Why wouldn’t he let her help him?
“He’s overseeing a shipment tonight,” he said finally. “I heard he’s going to smuggle it over the border north of the Khyber Pass.”
Her heart beat faster. “When?”
“After midnight.”
“Do you know where—”
“I’ve told you everything I know,” he snapped. “Now just leave me alone and don’t contact me ever again.”
The line went dead.
David was beside her, watching her intently. “It’s Shah,” she said, only a tiny part of her questioning whether Barakat was telling the truth. The fear in his voice had been all too real, as was his reluctance in telling her. And all their evidence backed it up.
He cursed under his breath. “No one else can know outside of our agency team. It’s too risky—we can’t afford anyone to leak it. I’m not going to lose Shah now.”
Before she could respond, her phone rang again. This time it was one of her analysts. “Tell me you’ve got something on Shah,” she said.
“Got a ping from a security feed at an airstrip north of the city.”
Shit. The bastard must have figured out that they were onto him and escaped the city. “Where did he fly to?”
“He didn’t.”
“What?”
“He dropped a woman and kid off. Loaded them onto a private jet at noon, then drove away.”
That didn’t make any sense. Shah was unmarried, and had no close relatives that they knew of. “Who were the woman and child?”
“We’re working on it.”
“Where’s the plane heading?”
“Turkey to refuel, then Portugal and on to Mexico.”
Mexico? “Where?”
“Veracruz.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. My God. The Venenos. Shah must be working with them directly somehow. “Who is the plane registered to?”
“A private company based out of London.”
“Alert our people in Veracruz. Have them intercept the plane when it lands. I want to know what the woman and kid are doing there.”
“Will do.”
She hung up and told David the latest. “I need to contact Commander Taggart,” she said, dialing his number. He was the only one who could green light a mission based on this intel. “Barakat said there’s a shipment going through near the Khyber Pass tonight, and Shah is supposedly going to be there in person.”
“Taggart.”
Just hearing his voice on the other end of the line made her feel better. She quickly relayed the update and conversation with Barakat and started back toward the office building, her mind whirling.
David was right beside her on a call of his own when she finished with Taggart. “We’re meeting him at Bagram in two hours. FAST Bravo is being placed on alert right now,” she told him.
He nodded and covered the bottom of his phone with one hand. “Then let’s get a move on.”
Yes. They were finally going to nail this sonofabitch.
****
In the frigid darkness Zaid gripped his weapon and waited for the command to disembark as they descended toward the LZ. Cold air rushed in through the helo’s open starboard side door as they neared the ground. Seconds later the Blackhawk went into a low hover. The door gunner and crew chief verified that the area was clear, then the chief tossed the fast rope out the door.
Everyone knew the mission. They all knew the terrain and the topography through this part of the Spin Ghar Mountains, along with possible hiding spots for enemy fighters and likely ambush sites.
But as he waited for the order to insert, Zaid thought about Jaliya.
He hadn’t seen her in a few days but she’d been on his mind constantly. Her smile, the way her eyes sparkled or flashed, and those sweet sounds she’d made as she’d come against his tongue and fingers.
Though he’d sworn to avoid any romantic entanglements while he was over here, she’d gotten to him, and the thought of letting her go now was unbearable on every level. He’d been trying to figure out a way to convince her to take a stab at a long-distance relationship with him, but in all honestly he wasn’t sure how it could ever work long-term, with him only coming to Afghanistan once a year for four months.
He had no idea how many more years she was going to serve over here, but she was young and had a long career ahead of her. And when he was here with his team, they were bounced around from place to place, often not staying for more than a few days in one spot.
Sometimes she had business in D.C., though. That was better than nothing, and worth a shot because God knew no other woman he’d met could compare with Jaliya. She was a woman worth fighting for.
Good thing he was a warrior at heart, as well as a lover.
“Radio check,” Hamilton said through Zaid’s earpiece, pulling him back to the present.
The team checked their equipment and checked in with Taggart back at the TOC at Bagram. Jaliya was there watching. She and her team had been working on intel for this op all day and feeding it to them at the FOB.
He liked knowing she had eyes on him and the others for the duration of the op. He just hoped there wouldn’t be a repeat of the disastrous op by the SF team.
Zaid didn’t want to die. He wasn’t some reckless cowboy who took stupid risks during a mission. He wanted to live a long, full life, and he wanted Jaliya by his side throughout the rest of it.
But if for some reason the worst occurred and his number came up tonight, he didn’t want her to see it happen.
Chapter Sixteen
In the back
of the helicopter he was riding in, Fahim ended the call and leaned his head back against the wall of the aircraft with a deep sigh. The first truck had made it across the Pakistani border, thanks be to God.
“Sir, eighteen minutes to target,” the crew chief told him.
Fahim nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t respond verbally, his mind busy reviewing the logistics of the coming op. One major hurdle had been overcome with that truck making it across. But he needed all four to get across if he was going to have a prayer of coming up with the remainder of the money to pay for Beena’s surgery. If he had to sell his own soul or die to do it, he’d get the damn money.
He motioned his lieutenant over to review contingency plans. If he should be captured or killed tonight, every last one of his men had been instructed to do whatever was necessary to ensure the drugs made it to their final destination.
The only reason he was overseeing this operation personally was because the stakes were too high to leave anything to chance. Guilt needled him at what he was about to do, but he ignored it.
It was too late to stop this now. Things had already been set into motion. He was way beyond the point of no return, and second-guessing himself now was pointless.
This final shipment would allow him to escape the region and join his family in Mexico. It would give Beena the chance of living past his sixth birthday. And it was also part of the deal he’d made with El Escorpion. Going back on his word would mean his death, and likely that of his innocent wife and child. At least this way, he had a chance of surviving. And if he didn’t, his wife would do everything in her power to take care of their son.
He’d waited until Shah had dropped her and Beena off at the airstrip north of Kabul. Then he’d returned to Bagram, sat in on the mission briefing before going dark and making his own arrangements for tonight. Just before boarding the helo he’d received word that his family had arrived safely in Veracruz a few hours ago.
Now he was on high alert, flying through the darkness toward the Spin Ghar Mountains, ready to launch the fight of his life.
