Standing in front of him in her lacy black bra and matching thong, Mena shivered as goosebumps peppered her skin. She loved him completely. What they shared was the purest of unconditional love, bridging the good times to the bad and strong enough to withstand anything that tried to tear them apart. How could she have ever thought she wasn’t ready to commit to this man? He was everything she’d ever wanted and all the things she never knew she needed.
“Let’s get you in the shower,” Julian said, then stepped away from her toward the showerhead. Fiddling with the knobs, he turned them back and forth. Satisfied that he had the water temperature right, Julian sat on the edge of the bathtub and reached his hand toward her. Mena placed her hand in his grasp and walked over to him, stopping in between his open legs. Julian leaned his face against her abdomen. The damp wetness of his tears against her skin startled her as his arms pulled her closer to him.
Leaning down, Mena kissed the top of Julian’s head and whispered, “I love you.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Minutes later, Julian stepped out of the bathroom, giving Mena time to wash up.
The home had been empty when he’d arrived. Its inhabitants nowhere to be found. The location was along the route of two dirt roads in a town called Giriftu. Zale had highlighted the home as a place to shelter in case things went sideways during the rescue at the CSL, noting that satellite imagery hadn’t detected any movement at the house in several weeks. The owners were unknown.
Julian figured it was the best place for him to set up base while he tried to determine where to look for Mena.
He never expected to see Mena running full speed toward the house, chased by two gunmen. Another gunman was helping her, holding off the fire so she could make it to safety. Julian burst through the front door in time to see the gunman falling in a hail of bullets. In his descent, he’d shot the head off of another gunman and there was only one left. One man stalking Mena over the dry baked earth for Julian to take out.
Lifting his M16 rifle, he’d stumbled upon his comms as it fell from his hip. Focusing on the danger unfolding in front of him, Julian locked onto the militant pointing a gun at Mena’s face. Pressing the trigger, he’d unleashed a series of shots to the chest of the assailant.
Watching Mena fall backward, he’d been momentarily stunned. Fear that he’d been too late threatened to overcome him. But he’d seen no sign of blood on the front of her shirt. She was in shock, looking dazed as he’d urged her to get inside the house.
While Mena was inside, Julian had rushed across the rocky landscape to drag the three dead bodies into a ravine with crackled, water-thirsted beds.
It was only a matter of time before another contingent of Tubeec’s militia would discover the bodies. The small blue house was like a sitting duck in a sea of danger. They couldn’t stay here for long and survive. He needed to get them back to Wajir County.
Julian fiddled with the comms, desperate to get it working again. Twisting the wires and testing the buttons, he managed to get the device to come back to life.
Making contact with someone at TIDES was the only chance he’d have to save Mena and himself. Outside the window, the sun was slowly rising in the sky. A sunray flashed against a broken bottle, sparkling in the desolate terrain. The beeps continued from the comms as Julian tapped his fingers against his thigh, willing a connection to be made.
“Julian. Where the hell are you?” Hakeem asked.
Relief coursed through Julian. Stepping away from the window, he sank down onto the couch and sighed heavily.
“I’m at the house in Giriftu, the backup point in case things went wrong with the rescue,” Julian said, remembering the map of the area he’d memorized as they’d planned the attack on the compound. “How close are Sunny and the other guys to here?”
“Not close at all. Kemp was hurt real bad,” Hakeem responded. “Bullet nicked a major artery and he was bleeding out. Wangari was in a catatonic state. Timothy Irungu told Sunny to fly them to the hospital in Garissa and not to leave until his private jet could get him there.”
“Is Kemp okay?”
“Still in surgery.”
“When is Timothy Irungu supposed to arrive in Garissa?”
“Should be there within the hour,” Hakeem said. “I take it you didn’t find Mena …”
“If you were a betting man, you would have lost all your money,” Julian responded.
“You found her? She’s with you now?” Hakeem asked.
“Yeah, she’s with me at the house. I got three dead men from Tubeec’s militia about to stink up the area. Can you reach Sunny?”
“Look, you need to get out of there soon. Stick to the brush and trees along the main road between Giriftu and Wajir. Don’t use your comms pack anymore. We’ll need to conserve the battery to track you once Sunny is in the area,” Hakeem instructed.
“Got it. How long do you think we have?” Julian asked
“Probably two to three hours. Rest up, eat, then leave before then. I’ll call Sunny now,” Hakeem said.
Julian turned in time to see Mena walking out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a skimpy towel around her body, wet and glistening from the shower. Julian felt his erection become rock hard.
“Will do. Thanks, Hakeem,” Julian said, then dropped the phone to the floor. Two to three hours. That was more than enough time.
