Page 20 of Zain

She chuckled. “I think that’s my brother’s doing.”

Brick scoffed. “Yeah, he’s pretty pissed right now.”

Dana winced. In all the chaos, it hadn’t crossed her mind that Brick would alert Taschen to her being in Afghanistan and captured by Jaysh. To say he was pissed was probably a mega understatement. Not something she could handle right now. As soon as they had their footing, she’d call her brother. And not a minute sooner. “Let him know I’m okay. But we need to find you. I want to make sure we all get out together.”

“Absolutely. Put Zain on and we can arrange to meet you as soon as you cross into Pakistan.”

She hit the speaker button and held the phone between them. Brick introduced himself to Zain, and they spoke briefly about their locations and made a plan. Brick, Ali, and Ali’s men would be waiting when they crossed the border.

After ending the call, Zain asked, “How well do you know these people?”

“I work with Brick and so does your brother. I met Ali, but I really don’t know much about him.”

Zain grunted. “And what does Ali think you’re doing in Afghanistan? Does he know you came for me?”

“Brick told him it was a secret rescue mission. He doesn’t know anything else and I think Ali is smart enough not to pry. Why do you ask?”

He tucked in the corner of his mouth, and his face clouded with distrust. He was so dark and dangerous, just looking at him made anticipation heat her skin. Mystery surrounded Zain, and she’d always been a sucker for a good case. That had to be the cause of her quickening pulse.

“Because I’m leery of people with money in these parts. By the sounds of it, Ali has a good-sized team. Which is expensive. And in this area of the world, you don’t really get into a position of power without Jaysh knowing about it.”

Anxiety tugged at the muscles in her neck. She just wanted this to be over. She was exhausted, running on nothing but fumes, and at any minute a missile could strike their car and wipe them both out. It wasn’t just a matter of tomorrow not being promised—she didn’t even have a survival guarantee minute to minute.

And if what Zain had said was true, they were entering the lion’s den. And Brick was caught in the middle.

CHAPTER 7

Zain fought theurge to place his hand on Dana’s jumping knee. Instead, he kept his eyes on the road and his palms on the steering wheel.

By now, Jaysh would’ve alerted any contacts at the border. He’d changed his clothes and had new identification, so that was a good start. Dana would be caught in a second, though. She’d left her ID at his hideout, but she was easily identifiable as an American.

He’d deliberately chosen the smallest border crossing, which was a little farther out of the way, but that didn’t offer much guarantee. Not when there was plenty of air and land patrol on both sides. He slowed the car and pulled to the side of the road.

Dana straightened in her seat. “Why are you stopping?”

He braced his hand on her headrest and zeroed in on her smooth, panicked, pink lips. “You needto hide again. People could be looking for us at the border.”

Her face paled.

“Their organization spreads far and wide. We might sail through without a problem, but my bet is there will be moles looking for us.”

She compressed her lips.

“You’ll need to go in the trunk. I’ve got blankets back there you can hide under. I promise I won’t keep you in there a minute longer than necessary, but they’re looking for a male and female. I have a false identity. You’ll raise suspicions without a passport. Not to mention your appearance will give you away.”

“Okay,” she said, her big eyes wide. “Now?”

He nodded. She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out. He did the same and met her at the back of the car. Popping the trunk, he pushed aside an emergency medical bag and then lifted a folded blanket. “Go ahead.”

As he watched her climb into the trunk, irritation rattled through him. Goddammit, he hated making her get in there. Hated that she’d be afraid. But there was no help for it. If they got caught, he’d be too outnumbered, and he couldn’t let them capture her again.

She curled into a ball, her arms bundled tightly to her chest. Her wary eyes stared up at him. His chest spasmed. He spread the blanket over her. The trunk light illuminated the purple coloring onher cheekbone, a stabbing reminder of why he had to do this.

He reached out and brushed his knuckle over the bruise, wishing he could erase it from her delicate features. She blinked, her gaze curious.

Balling his hand, he pulled away. “Cover your face when I slow down. We’ll be at the border crossing then.” A beat passed. He couldn’t seem to tear himself away. “Won’t be long.” With that, he shut the lid with a sharpclank.

He hoped to hell the last thing he’d said to her hadn’t been a lie.

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