In a matter of seconds, one horseman on a bay Arabian turned away from the sheik’s men and aimed directly for Cali. Pete didn’t even think, but yanked his horse to a halt, shouldered his M16 and fired. The butt thumped repeatedly into his shoulder, ramming against it as he squeezed off several rounds.
The Taliban soldier was lifted off his horse, flipped over backward and slammed facedown onto the rock. He didn’t move.
Satisfaction thrummed through Pete. The sheik’s men grabbed the other two Taliban soldiers, who had thrown down their weapons, their hands held high in surrender.
With the danger over, Pete turned his attention back to Cali, who had halted a half mile above them and was watching the fray. As he galloped toward her, his gaze clung to hers. She slid weakly off the horse, fell to her knees and pressed her hands to her head. Oh God, how badly was she hurt?
As soon as he reached her, Pete flew out of the saddle, dismounting even before the animal had stopped. He bolted across the granite, fell to his knees and threw his arms around her hunched shoulders.
“Cali, tell me where you’re hurt.” His words came out in gasps. Breathing raggedly, he ached for any kind of response. Finally, Cali lifted her head. The left side of her temple was bloody and the flesh torn open. Her red hair was matted around a swollen, ugly wound. Flinching in horror, Pete gripped her sagging shoulders more securely. He noticed tears tracking down her dusty features. She had to be in horrible pain, and he felt helpless.
“Cali?”
“I—I’m going to be okay, Pete…” Cali’s words sounded hollow to her, as if she were a thousand miles away. Maybe it was the concussion, and her hearing was off. She wasn’t sure. But Pete’s strong arms gave her stability and solace. He had come for her, saved her in the final stretch. Dizzy, she reached out, her bloody hand touching the flak vest on his chest.
“I…have a concussion, Pete. A bad one. I’m dizzy but I’ll be okay. Just give me a minute…”
Pete gently cupped one side of her face. “You’re safe now, Cali. It’s all over.” When she lifted her head, her eyes were glassy with pain. “It’s okay now,” Pete said roughly as he held her in his arms. “You’re safe, Cali. God, I almost lost you and I can’t, I just can’t…” He gulped and blinked at tears stinging his own eyes and blurring his vision. Looking down at her wan, bloody face, he choked out, “I’ll call in a medevac from a forward base. One will land here and take us to a hospital. Just hold on, okay? I need you.”
Those were the last words Cali heard before she fainted in his arms. She was safe. She’d seen the terror banked in his stormy gray eyes, the way his mouth tensed with the pain he felt for her. The world had been spinning, and now, as she was sucked into an invisible tornado, his last words were a balm to her frightened soul.
“CALI’S SLEEPING JUST fine now,” Dr. Jason Wright assured Pete. The doctor quietly closed the door to Cali’s private room at the Kabul hospital. He took Pete by the arm and led him down the long, quiet hall. At the end was a large window and a set of stairs.
Pete was bone weary. After Cali had fainted in his arms, he’d called on the radio for a medevac helicopter. It had arrived an hour later, and they had finally been airlifted to Kabul. All the while, Cali was in and out of consciousness, and that scared the hell out of him. The nurse on board had told him that a doctor could determine the amount of damage Cali had sustained from the concussion. All Pete could do was sit next to her as she was blanketed and strapped to a cot. She was given an IV, and the nurse checked her vital signs every fifteen minutes.
The darkness of night stared back at Pete as he looked through the window. Dr. Wright, a U.S. Army physician, had taken Cali from the ER, through the X-ray process and then made her comfortable in the private room. Pete had told him he was Cali’s boss, so that he could know what was going on.
As soon as she was admitted to the hospital, he had called Cali’s father. Needless to say, Mr. Roland was upset, and Pete tried to allay some of his fears. The elder Roland had said he’d fly to Kabul right away, along with his oldest son, another engineer.
Wiping his gritty, dirty face, Pete asked the doctor now, “Aren’t you worried that Cali might die if she sleeps?”
Dr. Wright smiled briefly and clapped Pete on the shoulder. “No, Major, I’m not. Cali has a concussion, for sure, but her vitals are stable and improving. We have her on a medication mix that is going to reduce the swelling in the area where she was struck. From what she told us, she’s very sleep deprived. We’ll wake her up from time to time just to be on the safe side, so don’t worry. The nurses are packing dry ice around that head wound every thirty minutes, and monitoring her vitals. Cali’s in the best of hands. Why don’t you go get cleaned up? We have a men’s shower and locker area down in the basement. I could loan you a pair of scrubs if you don’t have anything else to wear.”
Touched by the doctor’s concern, Pete nodded and dropped his hand from his face. He desperately needed a shower. “Thanks, Doctor. I think I’ll take you up on your offer.”
“Good, come with me,” Dr. Wright said, gesturing toward the stairs. “Then you can go to the cafeteria, get something to eat and catch some shut-eye in the interns’ room. Cali isn’t going to wake up for probably eight hours. She has to sleep off her trauma, Major. An ordeal like this would exhaust the strongest person. We’ll come get you when she awakens. So you can rest easy, get some sleep.”
Nodding, Pete could feel hope flooding back into his heart. Relief made him light-headed. “Sounds good, Dr. Wright. Thank you.”
A minute later, that joy was followed by exhaustion. Cali is safe. She’s going to live.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
WHEN CALI AWAKENED, her father was at her bedside, along with her oldest brother, Logan. Each was holding one of her hands. Their faces were grim and anxious.
“Dad?” Cali’s voice cracked. She desperately wanted some water. “What are you doing here?”
“Why else? To make sure you’re okay.” Frank Roland smiled down at her. “Logan and I arrived an hour ago. The doctor says you suffered a nasty concussion, but you’re going to be fine, thank God.”
As if reading her mind, Logan went to get her a glass of water. He eased his arm beneath her shoulders and lifted Cali just enough so that she could thirstily slurp the cool liquid.
“Welcome back, Sis,” he said warmly.
“Thanks, Logan. It’s good to see you.”
“We’re glad you’re among the living. More?” he asked, gently supporting her head and shoulders.
“Please.” Cali looked around, her vision not quite normal. After she finished the water, she focused once more on her father. “Dad? That damned Ahmed, the translator, was behind this. I saw him in the cave.” Her voice dropped to a frustrated whisper. “He put a gun in my face. He was going to pull the trigger. I thought I was going to die.”
“He’s dead now, Cali. Major Pete Trayhern told us everything earlier. There was a big shootout below the cave after you escaped. One of Sheik Hesam’s men took him down,” her father said. He patted her hand. “When you feel up to it, the Military Police want to take a full statement from you. But not right now, Cali. You need to rest and regain your strength.”
“Kabir…one of the Afghan workers…hit me on the head.”
“Pete told us he found a sledgehammer handle in the hopper shack. It had blood and strands of your hair on it. That’s how he knew you were in trouble. I’ll make sure the MPs know all this.”
“Where’s Pete?” Cali whispered.
“He had an emergency back at the site.” Squeezing her hand gently, Frank Roland said, “He didn’t want to leave, but we told him you would be in good hands with us.”
Frowning, Cali realized her mind wasn’t functioning very well. “What kind of trouble?”
“Cali, just rest,” Logan soothed as he gave her another refill of water. “Don’t worry about the site right now.”
“Thanks, Logan.” Cali lifted her hand and wiped her
mouth. She felt very weak. Bit by bit, in flashes and pieces, the kidnapping trauma started coming back to her, terrifying her all over again. “I’m in Kabul?”
“Yes,” Logan murmured, shifting the chair and sitting back down. “Pete said you escaped the Taliban, rode like hell until they met you on the trail. You fainted after they found you. Pete called for a medevac to pick you up, and they brought you here.”
As she studied her brother, Cali noted he hadn’t shaved. His dark brown hair was short and neatly cut in a military style. Logan had been in the Marine Corps for six years before he came to work with their father in the construction company. The military had rubbed off on all three of her brothers, that was for sure. How handsome Logan looked despite the toll the flight had taken on him. Too bad he’d just recently gone through a nasty divorce. It had left him gaunt, without the usual glimmer of joy in his blue eyes.
“It’s all starting to come back.” Cali pointed to her bandaged brow. “I’m having flashbacks.” She turned her head toward her father and gazed into his dark blue eyes. She didn’t want to concentrate on her trauma. Pete… Cali felt a clawing sensation in her chest. She needed him as never before, even though having her family with her was comforting.
Her thinking was slow and spongy. She felt nearly incoherent. “Dad…you said Pete had an emergency back at the site? What happened?”
“There was an earthquake in that province—4.5 on the Richter scale. The hoppers came down.”
“Oh, no,” Cali murmured. It hurt to frown. Her headache intensified and she pressed her fingers against the bandaged area. “Not the hoppers.”
“Now, don’t fret,” Frank told her gruffly. “He’ll handle it.”
“Hoppers can be rebuilt,” Logan reminded her.
“I should be there to help him. The concrete plant is Roland’s responsibility.”
“You aren’t going anywhere for at least three days,” Frank told his daughter firmly. “Dr. Wright said you need that time to recover here at the hospital.” He smoothed the gown across her shoulder. “Your mother nearly came with us but we had an emergency at the house and she couldn’t make it. I told her you would speak with her once you woke up so she wouldn’t worry so much.”
“Sure, Dad, I’ll talk to Mom.”
“Good, good.”
Logan smiled down at Cali. “You slept through the quake. Things were rocking a little around Kabul, too.”
“Where was the epicenter?” Cali asked. She struggled to sit up, with her father’s help. Logan rearranged the pillows behind her back.
“About ten miles west of Dar-i-Suf,” Frank told her.
“Oh, dear,” Cali whispered worriedly. “That’s Sheik Hesam’s territory. Were there casualties?”
Logan handed her a fresh glass of water. She felt weak but capable of holding it, an improvement from minutes earlier.
“Nothing serious. Just a lot of abode huts losing a wall. Small stuff,” Logan assured her. “There’s no word of casualties, just scared a lot of people, sheep, camels and goats.”
Frank glanced over at his son. “Why don’t you go back to the hotel and get some sleep? We haven’t had much of late.”
Logan ran his long fingers through his hair. “I think I will, Dad.” He gave Cali a quick look. “We’re staying at the hotel next door.”
“Great. Thanks for coming, Logan. This is a nice surprise.” And Cali watched him flush slightly. Logan was such an ice castle, so remote from normal human emotions. She hurt for her big brother, because the divorce had been hell on him. She’d watched him suffer, but he never cried. He never confided in anyone, not even her, and she was the closest of all his siblings.
“Yeah, I’ll bet it is,” Logan teased. Going to the door, he said, “Dad? Are you coming?”
“I’ll be along soon,” Frank replied.
Cali watched Logan leave, then turned to her father. The light from the window made his gray-streaked hair look nearly luminous. Frank Roland was the stuff of legends. He’d built dams in the Amazon jungle, pushed roads through Laos, Thailand and nearly every country in the Far East. He was like Indiana Jones, and Cali loved him fiercely. He constantly let his children know how much they meant to him.
“I can see you’re disappointed Pete isn’t here,” Frank said.
“I am,” she admitted, holding the glass tentatively between her hands. Its coolness felt good in the warm, stuffy room.
“He didn’t want to leave, Cali. I thought he was going to cry after he got that emergency call.” Frank looked at her intently. “He was very shaken by your kidnapping.”
A ragged sigh tore from Cali’s lips. “Oh, Dad. Everything is so complicated.”
“Life usually is.”
Her eyes narrowing, she whispered, “After that mess with Russ at the other site, I swore off men.”
Frank gripped his daughter’s hand. “I know how much that relationship hurt you, honey. And I know you saw this project as a way to vindicate yourself. You have, so relax, all right?”
Cali felt shaky and uncertain. “I crouched in that cave after I was told they were going to kill me.” She sent her father an anguished look. “And who did I think of? I thought of Pete and how much I needed him, Dad.” Gulping unsteadily, she closed her eyes. “I just feel so torn up, so unsure of myself right now, of my life.”
“You’re traumatized, Cali,” Frank said gently. Rubbing her shoulder, he added, “And you’ve worked a year with Pete. I don’t think it’s strange you’d need him in a crisis. You’ve been a team there at the project. Seems like a pretty natural and normal reaction to have.”
“Okay.” Cali bit down on her lower lip, afraid to look her father in the eye. “Dad, you know we can’t mix business with pleasure in our world. You don’t fall in love with your boss. Especially the one who holds the purse strings to Roland paychecks. I did that once and look how it hurt all of us, our reputation, my reputation.”
“We all make mistakes, honey. You weren’t the first to fall in love with a hard hat. Right now, from what Dr. Wright said, you’re suffering from PTSD, posttraumatic-stress disorder, because of the kidnapping. He warned us that you might be a lot more emotional than usual for a while.” Frank gave her a brief hug and released her. “Dr. Wright said it may take months for you to recover from this life-and-death incident. Pete may be central to your healing. There’s nothing wrong with that. He cares for you, Cali.”
“I—I’m just so confused, Dad.” Cali stared down at the glass in her hands. “I can’t want Pete. Not in that way.” She glanced up into her father’s dark, worried eyes. “Do you know what I mean? I’ve got Brad Parker, the structural engineer, chasing me like I’m a piece of meat. I’m running scared, Dad. I keep Parker at arm’s length, but I have to work with him. I don’t want Pete thinking I’m causing problems because I’m a woman.”
“So you haven’t gone to Pete about Parker’s actions toward you?”
“No. I’m afraid Pete will hear about the mess I made with Russ at the other project. I live in terror of that happening. I don’t want to stir up muddy waters here at this site. I just deal with Parker by keeping him at bay. It’s not the best solution, but it has to do for now.” Cali winced and blew out a long, unsteady breath. After drinking the last of the water, she turned and placed the glass on the bed stand.
Her father’s face was composed but tired looking. She saw a glint in his blue eyes and knew he wasn’t going to let her off the hook. In a way, despite her roiling emotions, it felt good to confide in someone about her angst.
“Judging from what I’ve seen of Major Trayhern, I think you can trust him, Cali. I would ask him to transfer Parker. Get this guy off your back and out of your sights for now. You don’t need that extra pressure, plus trying to handle this project for us.”
Hearing resolve in her father’s gruff tone, she murmured, “Trust…” Frowning, Cali stroked the side of her aching, bandaged head. “That’s the real issue, isn’t it, Dad? Russ destroyed my trust in me
n. Completely.”
“Cali, you have to learn how to trust all over again. The major doesn’t strike me as another Russ. Do you agree with that?”
Slowly, Cali whispered, “Yes. Pete’s always been there for me. Any problems we’ve had, we hammer out. He’s not a liar or a cheat, like Russ was. I’ve spent a year working with him and he’s never tried to be anything less than honest and straightforward with me, Dad.”
Leaning back in the chair, Frank crossed his jean-clad legs and put his hands in his lap. He smiled slightly and looked up at the ceiling in contemplation. “Is there more to this, Cali?”
“What do you mean?” Her heart plunged as she felt her father watching for a reaction. The man knew her too well. Feeling raw and vulnerable, she just didn’t have the energy to ward off her father’s gentle, persistent probing.
“Pete was upset over your being injured. More than I would expect a site superintendent to be toward his second-in-command. Is there…” Frank opened his hands and looked at Cali “…something more between the two of you that you aren’t telling me about?”
A shudder worked through Cali, and her head began to ache even more. “I—I don’t know, Dad. I’m afraid…afraid to look at it, at us, because of my past with Russ.”
“Well, you know the story of how I met your mother. One kiss did it for us. We knew after that that we loved one another.”
“I’ve never let him know how I feel, Dad.”
“Have you wanted to?” he asked quietly.
Terror sizzled through Cali. It felt as if something inside her was screaming in agony. “It’s silly, I know. He’s the diametric opposite of Russ and Parker. Pete has such honor and integrity, Dad.”
“You sound unsure. And the best antidote for that is just to wait and see. Answers come with time.”
Beyond The Limit Page 20
