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After a beat, Laila said, “Bahram had some interesting things to say.” She repeated to Mel what he’d said, almost word for word. “I told him I was staying, but I’m wondering what’s going on.”
“Me, too,” Mel said, her voice grim. “The Taliban are growing stronger. We’ve seen it all over the north, not far from Al Kamen. Is your go-bag packed and ready?”
“It is,” Laila said. “It’s buried in my bedroom. I can retrieve it in a few minutes.”
“Keep your eyes and ears open. If you do have to run, let me know. I’ll send a team out to retrieve you.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks for your report,” Mel said after a moment. “You’ve given me good information. Send the pictures to me tonight, then delete them from your phone. I don’t want anyone getting a look at them.”
“I’ll do that before I go to bed,” Laila promised.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow night at the usual time. Keep your ears and eyes open.”
“Always do,” Laila answered. She texted the pictures to Mel, waiting until she got Mel’s confirmation that she’d received them, then clicked delete. Afterward, she lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering what Bahram was playing at.
Finally, she fell into a restless sleep.
* * *
Mel stared at the grainy, indistinct photos of the man from Laila’s pictures. With the dim light and the turban hiding his forehead, it was impossible to get a good idea of his identity. She’d use a program that helped define blurry, indistinct or dark photos and play with the pictures, but she was pretty sure they wouldn’t help. Interesting that Laila thought there was something off about him.
She drummed her fingers on her desktop as she stared at the photos. There was something... familiar in these photos. She didn’t recognize the man, and the enhancements probably wouldn’t give her any answers. But something -- his body shape? His blurry profile? Pinged in her gut.
After staring at them for fifteen minutes, she locked them in her hidden desk drawer and stood up. Time for bed. With Devlin.
Arousal, simmering on low ever since he’d stopped by her office, dialed up to high. She couldn’t resist the former SEAL, and the cocky son of a bitch knew it.
Just as she knew he couldn’t resist her.
Smiling, she stepped out of her office, locked the door and hurried toward the living quarters. Dev would still be awake.
If he wasn’t? It was always fun to wake up a cocky man.
