Page 31 of Zain

He’d sacrificed three years of his life for the mission.

And it had gone to hell.

But what was he supposed to do? If Maxine had any say in how he’d handled the situation, she’d have told him to leave Dana with Rakesh. Or kill her. Maybe not in so many words, but her shock regarding the fact that he’d sacrificed everything to keep a woman alive screamed volumes.

With his bag packed, he had nothing left to do except wait for Brick to tell them it was time to leave. He opened his bedroom door, crossed the hall to Dana’s room, and rapped his knuckles softly on the wood.

She opened the door, her brow rippled with trepidation and her face pinched. Her gaze quickly took him in and she relaxed. Standing back, she let him enter then closed the door. “How was your phone call?”

He sat on her bed and laced his fingers together. “About as good as I anticipated.”

She wrinkled her nose. The action made him want to stroke the cute slope that turned up a bit at the end. Too damn cute.

“I’m sorry.” She wore long bone-colored linen pants and a navy tunic that reached her knees. In the time that he’d been gone, she’d braided her long ebony locks over one shoulder. She looked so soft and pretty it took every ounce of effort not to draw her back into his arms like he had last night.

Like he’d dreamed about. But in his dream, she’d been naked.

“S’not your fault.” He shifted his attention to the polished marble floor at their feet.

Dana sighed and sat next to him. “It is and you know it. But that doesn’t matter right now. What did she say?”

He flicked his gaze to the camera before swiveling to face her. “We’ll talk more later,” he said on a breath.

Sharing details with Dana was one thing. Sharing them in this house was another. There were probably audio bugs and cameras everywhere. Brick might be confident Ali wasn’t a threat, but the information was highly confidential, and if Ali knew Zain was CIA, well, that could pose a big problem. A thought struck him. “Did you mention anything to Brick about me?”

Worry flickered in her eyes. “No, of course not.”

“Good.”

Dana pressed her lips together then reached forward and covered his hand. “We’ll all feel so much better when we get home.”

Home. Right. What was that?

Knock,knock

Zain was on his feet before the knuckles stopped hitting the door. He crossed the room and cranked open the wood. Brick stood there with a bag slung over his shoulder. “Ready?”

Dana was already at the door with her small backpack in hand. “Let’s get this show on theroad,” she announced.

He couldn’t agree more. “I’ll need my weapons back.”

Brick smiled. “Of course. I’ll see to it they’re ready.”

***

Dana stood outsidenext to Brick and Zain. Two extended SUVs had pulled up in the circular driveway. The drivers stood near the passenger doors with their hands crossed in front of them, waiting for their cue to assist their travelers. The whole situation seemed unreal.

They were almost out of here. It was hard to believe.

In a couple of hours they’d be on a plane, putting Afghanistan even farther behind them. She wouldn’t fully be at ease until she set foot on her own soil, but she’d breathe a hell of a lot easier thirty-thousand feet above the terrorist group that wanted them dead.

Ali came out of the house, his footsteps quick on the stone stairs. Reaching Brick, he extended his arms out to his sides and then embraced him. “It’s been a pleasure having you all.”

“Thanks for your hospitality.” Brick pulled away and gave Ali a handshake.

Ali smiled at the three of them. “I have business in Peshawar, so I’m going to accompany you to the airport if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Brick said quickly.

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