Page 79 of Fighting for Family

“I saw the man. I can describe him. He attends the market and makes the deals,” she confessed and then gave them Sergeant Ford’s description.

Saint grabbed a bucket of water and dumped it on Sparky, pretending to wake her. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her from the cave while she screamed. Apollo followed them.

“Where did he take her?” Maryam demanded.

Shadow smiled wickedly, letting the woman’s imagination run wild. After all, didn’t she deserve a bit of torture?

Saint loosened his grip on Sparky’s arm and stopped. “What do you think?”

“She knows more than she’s telling. A doctor in these parts would be scarce. With the restrictions of the Taliban, it’s rare. They mainly have midwives,” Sparky explained. “If they managed to hide a physician underground, the other villages not only want the doctor, they’d want the protection of an underground village.”

“We’ll give her a few minutes,” Saint said. “You did a good job back there.”

She gave him a cheeky grin. “I didn’t have to act part of it. When you drag me out, I can’t see where I’m going.”

Saint started to apologize, then realized she teased him. “You definitely belong on Team Hawk. You’re a smartass like the rest of them,” he muttered.

“You bet your ass, boss. I gotta keep you on your toes,” she replied, nudging him.

“Will you do me a favor? Call me Saint. The men and I called Leo boss. This forced me to take his place, but I’m not ready for the title.”

Nodding her head, she said, “Sure. As long as you remember Leo wouldn’t have made you second if he didn’t believe you can lead us.”

“Thanks for the reminder. You know if the guys ever hear us talking all this feely touchy shit, they’ll never let us hear the end of it,” Saint reminded her.

“Don’t worry, dumbass. We can hear you through the comms,” Ragu interrupted them. “We’re giving you shit later. It’s still too raw for us, too.”

“What do you say when we go in, you trip his ass as you walk by?” Saint told Sparky. “I’ll get you as close as I can.”

“Don’t worry, Saint. I didn’t see anything,” she replied.

Saint chuckled and waited until she adjusted her dirty garb.

“Shall we make it more convincing?” Sparky asked.

“What do you have in mind?” he asked.

“Tear this thing. Make it appear real. Let her mind wander.”

Saint took out his knife and cut the seams. “We’ll rip it when we get closer. Shadow may take a turn. See if he heard anything while you and I stayed out here.”

“You got it, bo- Saint.”

“All right, let’s hear you scream,” he said quietly.

Sparky begged as Saint ripped her clothes and rubbed dirt on her skin. She screamed in terror, letting it echo through the cave.

“Damn Sparky, you nearly blew out my eardrums,” Ragu said.

Saint jerked her in front of Shadow. Shadow switched to the dialect and spoke to Saint as if he understood him. He grabbed Sparky, and she pleaded for him to let her go until they made it out of the cave.

“Did she say anything else?” she asked.

“She’s trying to bribe me with American money. She claims to have more than one person can spend. I imagine she has it in a bank in the Caymans. If she slipped past the military, she’s smart enough to hide it,” Shadow said. “How long must I keep you out here to do vile and disgusting things to you? It kinda goes against my grain to do this.”

“Nope,” Sparky said firmly. “If I were a man, you’d have no problem torturing me to get the information. Women can be as evil as men. Don’t let her crocodile tears fool you. If I could see, I’d have no problem burning the bitch with the poker. She hurt my friend and our soldiers. She’s no sister of mine.”

“Fair point,” Shadow conceded. “We’ll need to nab Ford at the market. I’ll need you to find out what time he’s planning to make the deal.”