His Duty to Protect

by Lindsay McKenna

  Ty was grateful the Khan’s men escorted them. Far above, he could see people from the village gathering and watching them approach. They must have seen the battle. Closing his eyes for a moment, he savored Rachel’s back resting against him. He could feel the sway and rhythm of the horse beneath them. The sunlight was warm and comforting, the sky a peaceful blue color. So much had happened so quickly. As he studied the sky above them, Ty swore that as soon as things settled down, he had to have private time with Rachel. He had to find out the truth…one way or another.

  Chapter 15

  As the group of horsemen entered the village of Samarigam, Rachel watched people crowd around them and cheer. She turned and grinned at Ty, who sat behind her. He gave her an exhausted smile and nod of his head. Emma and Kahlid were at the edge of the crowd, gesturing for them to ride over. Behind them sat their Chinook helicopter, the crew nearby.

  Rachel turned their horse and edged through the crowd. The people smiled, waved and stepped aside so that they could ride toward Emma and Kahlid. When they finally arrived, Rachel dismounted first.

  “Rachel!” Emma cried, running up and gripping her shoulders. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she wearily assured her anxious cousin. She couldn’t help looking over at Ty and, turning, she noticed how tired he appeared. A dark splotch of blood where he’d been injured before was bleeding again. “Help me?” she asked Emma and walked over to their horse.

  “Ty, let me help you down.” Rachel offered her hand up to him.

  “Thanks. I’m feeling a little light-headed,” Ty admitted. Gripping her hand, he dismounted. If not for her arm going around his waist, he’d have fallen. As he threw his arm around Rachel’s shoulders, she steadied him. Kahlid quickly came up.

  “Let me help,” Kahlid offered, putting his arm around him, as well. Together, they walked him into the bay of the helicopter.

  They sat down on the nylon netting that served as a seat. “I’m okay,” Ty told Rachel. “Just weak.”

  Emma said, “We have two doctors and nurses with us. They’re in the village today. I’ll go get one of them.” She trotted out of the helo and disappeared.

  Kahlid stood in front of him. “You two almost got killed down there.”

  “Yeah,” Ty muttered, “tell me about it.”

  “There was nothing we could do except watch. We thought about flying the Chinook down there, but we could have been shot out of the air.”

  “I know,” Ty told the captain. “You couldn’t do anything. We needed Apache support, but there was none to be had.” He saw the worry in the Afghan officer’s eyes. “We got lucky with Lord Khan being in the area.”

  Nodding, Kahlid murmured, “Yes. I called BJS at Camp Bravo and informed the major that he was on his way here. He has some health problems and was going to meet with the docs here today.”

  “Good timing,” Ty said. He closed his eyes. “I’ve ripped open that wound on my left arm again. I’m bleeding like a stuck pig.…” And that was the last thing Ty remembered.

  When Ty regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was Rachel at his side. He felt her warm hand on his gowned shoulder. Slowly the room came into focus before his blurred vision. The room was surrounded by olive-green curtains. There was an IV in his right arm.

  “You’re okay, Ty,” Rachel soothed, leaning over him and seeing if he recognized her. “You passed out from loss of blood. Kahlid and Emma flew you straight to Bagram Air Base outside of Kabul. You got a transfusion, and a surgeon fixed up your left arm. How are you feeling?” Rachel gently squeezed his shoulder. As he slowly moved his head and looked up at her, she gave him a wobbly smile of welcome.

  “B-bagram?” His throat was dry, parched.

  “Yes, you’re safe. We’re home, Ty. You’re going to be okay. Are you thirsty?”

  She must be a mind reader, Ty thought. Giving a slight nod, he tried to lick his dry lips without success.

  Rachel took a glass that had water and a glass straw in it from the bed stand. She guided the straw between his cracked lips. “Drink…” she quietly urged.

  The water tasted wonderful. He drank two glasses before he was sated. The water cleared his sluggish mind. Other sounds filtered into his consciousness. Men and women talked in quiet voices outside his curtained cubicle. The smell of anesthesia was everywhere, along with bleach and alcohol odors. Looking down at himself, he saw that he was dressed in a blue gown. His dirty flight uniform was gone. As Rachel came and sat down at his bedside, he asked, “How long have I been here? What happened?”

  Rachel looked at her watch. “After you passed out, it took us an hour to fly to Bagram. Kahlid had called ahead. When we got here, there was a team waiting. You took over two pints of blood. The doctor who worked on your arm said you probably tore an artery during our firefight and said you were bleeding to death.” Mouth quirking, Rachel managed a pained smile. “You went into cardiac arrest after arriving here. They had to revive you with the paddles twice before you started breathing again.”

  “I almost died?”

  “Yes, from blood loss.” Rachel leaned forward and kissed his sweaty brow. “I almost lost you, Ty, before I’d found you.” Tears welled in her eyes and she seemed embarrassed. Sniffing, she wiped them away.

  Nothing shattered Ty so much as a woman crying. He could barely contain his own emotional reaction to her tears. When her lips met his brow, Ty felt such life and warmth in her grazing touch. For a moment, he closed his eyes and wrestled with his own feelings. He’d nearly died. Oh, God… Ty opened his eyes and gazed up at her. She was still in her dirty flight uniform, her hair mussed with bits of grass and dust. Her face was smudged. She was the most beautiful sight to him.

  “I didn’t know.…” he managed hoarsely.

  “It was touch and go for a while,” Rachel shakily assured him. She moved her hand gently across his broad shoulder. “But you’re going to be fine now. The E.R. doc said the reason your heart cavitated was because there wasn’t enough blood in the chambers. As soon as they got the transfusion into you, your heart was fine.”

  “And you were there and saw it?”

  “Yes. They ordered me out, but I refused to go. I…wanted to be with you, Ty. We’d gone through so much together. We fought for our lives down in that valley, and we were vastly outnumbered. The least I could do was be at your side.” Rachel blinked back more tears. “I—I love you, Ty. I know we said it to one another in the heat of battle, but I meant it.”

  Holding her tearful golden gaze, Ty saw how her lower lip trembled. How badly he wanted to hold her. Love her. Right now, he felt so weak that it was tough just to raise his good arm. His left arm was swathed in a bandage and in a sling across his chest. He moved his hand. It was painful, but he didn’t care. His fingers covered her other hand resting on the side of his bed.

  “Listen,” he told her, his voice rough with emotion, “I meant it, too, Rachel. I don’t know when or how it happened. All I know is that it did.” Searching her teary gaze, Ty added, “We’ve just gone through hell and we’ve survived it. We need time to get to know one another. Time to heal up from what we just experienced together.”

  Rachel gently enclosed his fingers, which were cold to the touch. Ty’s face was no longer pasty, but he didn’t look terribly healthy, either. The doctor who had saved his life had warned her he’d be dazed for at least another twenty-four hours. “I want time with you, Ty. Our past is gone. I’m glad to release it.” She smiled softly, searching his blue eyes. “There’s just so much about you that is heroic and good.”

  His heart swelled with a fierce love for her. “I’m no hero,” Ty muttered. “I was a villain of the worst kind in the past. I have a lot to make up for, Rachel. I’m grateful you’ll let me try.”

  “You are a hero, Ty,” Rachel whispered. “In my eyes. My heart.” Standing up, her hand still holding his, she leaned over and gently placed her lips against his. Ty’s mouth was strong against hers. Drowning in the mom
ent she’d long dreamed of, Rachel lifted her other hand and caressed his stubbled cheek. He might be feeling weak due to all his trials, but his mouth was cherishing against hers. She absorbed the warmth of his moist breath, the joy shared between them in finding one another. Slowly, regretfully, Rachel eased her lips away. She smiled into Ty’s darkened blue eyes. “I need to go get cleaned up. There are shower facilities here. When I come back, Emma and Kahlid will be here.”

  Nodding, Ty gripped her fingers. The pain of the needle in his arm was erased by his fierce love after her wonderful kiss. “Okay, get cleaned up. I’ll be waiting.”

  Rachel straightened and carefully unwound her fingers from his. “I’ll be back in an hour,” she promised.

  Shortly afterward, her heated kiss lingering on his mouth, Ty dropped off into a deep, healing sleep. He had closed his eyes, simply feeling Rachel’s soft lips grazing his. He had silently promised her as he spiraled downward that somehow, he’d make it all up to this heroic, courageous woman. She deserved his love, respect and admiration. And then Ty had known no more.

  When Ty awakened, Emma and Kahlid were sitting on either side of his bed. He slowly sat up, feeling stronger. Emma stood and placed extra pillows behind his back.

  “Welcome back to the land of the living,” Kahlid told him with a grin.

  “Thanks,” Ty said. He looked around his enclosed cubical. “Where’s Rachel?”

  “She’ll be here in a minute,” Emma assured him, sitting back down.

  Emma’s red hair was shoulder length and framed her face. Ty saw that she was in her NGO, non-government organization, blue flight suit. “What time is it?” he asked.

  “It’s 1700,” Kahlid told him. “We got here about fifteen minutes ago.” He smiled over at his wife. “I had some tactics and strategies to discuss with your doctor first.”

  Emma grinned and touched Ty’s hand. “Kahlid knows the generals,” she told him. “And sometimes, that’s a plus.”

  Confused, Ty looked at them. He was about to speak when Rachel slipped through the curtains. The change in her was shocking. Instead of her dark green flight suit, she was dressed in a pair of white slacks, a dark blue top with a white jacket over it. Her hair had been washed and dried. It hung straight and shining around her shoulders.

  “How are you feeling?” Rachel asked, coming over and pressing a kiss to his brow.

  “Better, now that you’re here,” Ty told her, managing a slight smile. Rachel’s face shone and her cheeks were flushed, her gold eyes gleaming with love toward him. Ty had never felt such love before in his life. And like a beggar, he greedily lapped it up. “How are you?”

  “Clean.” Rachel laughed.

  Emma and Kahlid joined her.

  “You look beautiful in civilian clothes,” Ty said. Indeed, he’d never seen Rachel in them before. Her cheeks turned a bright red, which only enhanced her natural beauty.

  “Thanks,” she said shyly. Standing at his bedside, Rachel placed her hand on his right shoulder. “You must have just woke up?” she guessed.

  Rubbing his face, Hamilton muttered, “Yes. How long was I out?”

  “An hour,” she told him. Rachel looked at her cousin. “Did you tell him what Kahlid managed to wrangle from the general?”

  Shaking her head, Emma said, “No, we thought you’d like to tell Ty.”

  Frowning, Ty looked at them. They were all grinning like cats that had some secret shared among them. “Okay,” he said, looking up at Rachel, “what’s going down?”

  “How would you like to come with me to their home in Kabul?” Rachel asked. “It’s a huge villa up on a hill, and it’s guarded 24/7. Emma and Kahlid are giving us the wing that has two suites with adjoining doors. We’re going to be their guests for the next three days. Kahlid managed to get the days off from the general. They’re good friends. Plus, your doctor said you couldn’t go back to flight duty for at least two weeks. And he’s signed off on three days off base for you because of your injury.”

  “And,” Emma said in a conspiratorial whisper, “the general authorized the two of you to stay at our home. Isn’t that great?”

  Rachel laid her hand on Ty’s shoulder. “What do you think about this?” She didn’t want him to feel pressured. Judging from the relief in his eyes, she knew Ty was fine with the decision.

  “It’s important you’re okay with this,” he said to Rachel.

  “I’m fine,” she murmured. Her heart opened, and she felt such an incredible rush of warmth toward Ty.

  “We need the time,” he agreed. Looking over at the couple, Ty said, “Thanks a lot.”

  Emma smiled and slid her arm around her tall, lean husband. He drew her near. “In a war zone, you don’t get a lot of uninterrupted quality time just to talk.”

  “And that’s exactly what we need,” Ty said, giving Rachel a hopeful look. He didn’t know where the three days would lead them, but that wasn’t important.

  Rachel squeezed his shoulder. “I’ve already called my parents and contacted my sisters. They know I’m okay.”

  “Good,” Emma said, leaning her head against Kahlid’s broad shoulder. “Because at the first opportunity, I’d called them myself.”

  “I know and I’m glad you did. My mom was beside herself. You saved her a couple of hours of waiting for my phone call.”

  “I’m sure the Army notified my father,” Ty commented sourly.

  Rachel patted his shoulder gently. “At least he knows you’re alive.” The stubbornness in his eyes gave away just how resistant he was to talking with his estranged father. She hoped that someday Ty could get past his anger for what his father had done to him. His jaw clenched. Forgiveness was a long road.

  Emma said, “There’s a wonderful housekeeper who will be there if you need anything. Kahlid’s driver, Nabi, will take you home.”

  Kahlid pressed a kiss to his wife’s red hair. “And we’ll be there shortly. My housekeeper doesn’t speak English, but we’ll be around.”

  “And you’re welcome to join us at dinner,” Emma told them. “Or if you want to take your dinner in your suites, that’s fine, too. Whatever is comfortable for you.”

  Rachel said, “Cousin, you rock. Thank you.”

  Ty grinned. “I’d like to get out of this gown, get into some civilian clothes and leave all this behind.” He held up his arm that had the IV taped to it.

  Laughing, Rachel said, “I’ll get the nurse. You’ve already been signed out.”

  “You and I are about the same height,” Kahlid said, releasing his wife. “I put some of my clothes in the locker down the hall. They’ll probably fit.”

  “Thanks. I’ll make them fit.” Ty gave the gown a distasteful look. “I’m not happy running around in this thing.”

  Chuckling, Emma took Kahlid’s hand and tugged him toward the curtains. “Come on, Kahlid. We still have work to do.”

  “Nabi will come here to your cubicle in about twenty minutes,” Kahlid said.

  “I’ll wait for him,” Rachel said. She felt giddy inwardly, as if floating on air. She and Ty would have some quiet downtime to talk. That’s what was needed now more than anything. Good, deep talks. Who knew where it would lead?

  Ty couldn’t believe the luxury of his suite. The driver had delivered them to the hilltop estate. It was completely surrounded by a ten-foot fence with concertina wire on top. Plus, four guards constantly patrolled the area. It was, according to chatty Nabi, one of the few homes that the Taliban had not destroyed. Ty felt safe knowing the security measures that Kahlid had taken. His arm was still in a sling. And he was grateful that Kahlid’s jeans, a dark blue polo shirt and socks all fit. He was still wearing his flight boots. A fashion plate, he was not.

  The suite consisted of three rooms. The first was a living room, the second a massive bathroom. On the other side of it was a room with a king-size bed with a colorful quilt thrown across. Everywhere he looked, he saw Americana. He knew Kahlid had gotten his degree at Princeton University and was s
teeped in American culture. As he stood looking at the overstuffed couches and chairs, Ty felt at home.

  There was a light tap on his door. Turning, he called, “Come in.…”

  Rachel poked her head around the door. “Hey, this is like a five-star hotel! I wanted to see your digs. Do you mind?”

  Smiling, Ty said, “No, not at all.” Just seeing the tension easing from Rachel’s face made his heart expand with joy. “What’s your place like?”

  “Kahlid loves quilts,” Rachel said as she entered his suite. “And my whole place is decorated with quilts, framed or otherwise. Yours reminds me more of a 1930s decor you’d find in the Midwest.” She went over and touched the cherry rocker that had a small quilt hanging over the back.

  “I’m not that up on decorations,” Ty said, frowning. He saw that there was hot tea and two cups sitting on the coffee table. “Want some tea?” he asked.

  Rachel brightened. “I’d love some!” It felt wonderful to just share time and space with Ty. She saw him struggling to do the right thing. After their past, he was trying desperately to make her feel welcome. She walked over and said, “Why don’t you take a seat in that overstuffed chair. I’ll pour.”

  Grateful, Ty sat down. “It feels good to sit,” he admitted.

  Rachel noted his face was pale. His eyes were shadowed. Pouring the fragrant tea into the delicate china cups, she said, “The nurse said you’re going to need a solid, uninterrupted night’s sleep to feel like your old self again.”

  Ty took the cup and saucer from her. There was nothing but grace about Rachel. Her hair was now washed, dried and shone like an ebony frame around her beautiful face. “I feel like I’m in some kind of dream,” he murmured, tasting the tea.