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“Then we move to the side, farther into this tunnel.” He edged her backward, shuffling with her as she felt for purchase with her feet. When they were about six feet from the tunnel opening, he drew her down to the ground.
Crouching beside her, he said, “Stay right here. You won’t see me, but I’ll only be a few feet away. If you listen, you’ll hear me breathing. I’m going to make sure there’s nothing at the end of the tunnel for them to see.”
He put his hand on her face and felt her nod agreement. “I’ll be right back. Just need to make sure nothing will signal that we’re hiding in here.”
Running his hand along the wall until he felt the opening that led to the outer cave, he squatted down and ran his hands over the stones until he found his gun. He slung that over his shoulder, then continued searching. Finally he found Laila’s backpack and his own.
Depositing them close to Laila, he used the wall to guide himself back to the opening. Only the faintest of light showed him where it was.
He ran his hands over the floor, several feet in each direction, and felt nothing. No water bottles or weapons would betray their presence if someone shone a light down that tunnel.
Staying close to the wall, he made his way back to Laila. First he removed his gun and set it on the stone, then slid down the wall and sat beside her. He slung one arm over her shoulder and snugged her up beside him.
Her shaky breath fluttered over him, and she relaxed into his side. Groped for his hand and twined their fingers together. “Not sure what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up this morning,” she whispered.
“You would have done exactly the same thing we did,” he said immediately. “You would have gone down this tunnel and hidden in here until they were past your cave. Then you would have crawled back out and called Mel to check in.”
She wouldn’t have had a choice. The tunnel would have been her only option to avoid capture, and Laila was smart enough to realize that.
A rock bounced, the sound muffled, and Jase tightened his grip on her hand. Close. Maybe outside their cave.
He heard the hitch of her breath and felt her tension, even in the inky blackness. “We’ll be fine,” he breathed into her ear. “Just stay still. Do you understand Pashto?”
He felt her nod. “Good. Then listen hard. See if you can make out anything they say.”
“Yes,” she said, so softly he barely heard it. “Should we move closer to the entrance?”
He’d have thought she’d want to move as far as possible from that hole in the wall. And she probably did. But she knew they needed to hear the men speaking when they reached the inner cave where she’d slept last night.
“Yeah,” he said, equally quietly. “It’ll be easier to hear.”
He edged toward the hole in the wall, drawing Laila along with him. When he reached the opening, he stopped. Pulled Laila so close that his lips brushed her ear. “I’ll stay on the other side of the opening.” His voice was a mere exhalation of air. “So we’ll both have a better chance to hear them.”
She hesitated for a long moment, then nodded. “Good. Two sets of ears are better than one.”
He wanted her beside him, not sitting alone. But they’d both be able to hear better if they were close to the opening. “I’m not going far. Just a few feet away,” he finally said.
She nodded. “I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’ve got this.”
She sure as hell did. He was pretty sure Laila could do anything she set her mind to do. He started to move past the opening. Stopped. Bent and kissed her briefly, savoring her taste. The feel of her lips against his. Her sharp inhalation.
He wanted hours to explore their connection, but he shoved his desire down deep. Broke away from Laila’s mouth, but he squeezed her hand one last time, pressed his mouth to her palm, then let her go.
Every cell in his body screamed to feel Laila against him, but he ignored the need as he ran his fingers along the edge of the tunnel. Followed it around to the other side, where he eased himself against the wall. Adjusting his gun so it would be ready if he needed it, he settled in to wait.
“You okay?” he said, barely speaking.
“I’m good,” Laila answered. “You?”
“A OK. Waiting’s the hardest part.”
He wanted to press the button that illuminated his watch face but knew he couldn’t do it. Didn’t matter anyway. They had to stay here until the Taliban were past their cave.
It felt like hours but was probably only minutes before the scuffle of a pebble kicked over stone echoed down the tunnel. He wanted to see Laila’s face but knew he couldn’t turn on the light. She would have heard it, anyway. She was the kind of woman who paid attention.
The low growl of men’s voices drifted down the tunnel. Jase couldn’t hear every word, but he heard enough to know the men were tired of looking. Pissed off at having to climb over the loose, unstable scree. Impatient to finish their assignment of checking all the caves.
Suddenly, a shout.
Jase strained to hear but couldn’t make out the words. Moments later, dim light glowed in the tunnel past the bend at the end of the passage. The beam couldn’t reach them. But the men at the other end could see the size of the passage. Realize it was big enough to crawl through.
One of the men shouted an order. “Check it out.” Minutes later, the scrape of fabric over rock drifted to Jase.
They’d sent someone crawling down the passageway.
