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She nodded. “Yeah. Go. I’ll be right behind you.”
Jase shoved both packs and his carbine past the slot, then angled his body around the narrow space. As he pulled his legs through into the main tunnel, he sensed Laila right behind him.
He angled past the bend, then moved forward enough to give her space to turn her body. He heard her grunt as she wriggled past it, then her fingers brushed his leg. Lingered for a moment, then vanished.
As he crawled toward the dim light at the end of the tunnel, Laila was right behind him. Touching him often. It was every few seconds rather than every minute, but he wouldn’t complain. Touching him would keep her grounded. Keep her from thinking about where she was, and how tight and narrow this tunnel really was.
The light got brighter as he got closer to the outer cave. Finally he was close enough to get a good look at the small space. It was empty.
He stopped and Laila bumped into his feet. She backed off immediately, and he missed the contact with her.
Jase lay in the tunnel, listening intently. Heard nothing but the wind whistling through the outer cave. He lifted his head and sniffed the air. The Afghans ate spicy, pungent food. If anyone was in the outer cave, he should be able to smell them.
He smelled nothing but rocks and dirt.
Finally he began crawling again, emerging moments later into the inner cave. Light trickled in from the slit in the wall that allowed access to this small chamber, but the space was dimly lit. All shadows and barely illuminated stone walls.
He stood up and slung his gun over his chest, then turned and offered Laila a hand as she stood up. She curled her fingers around his and he pulled her to her feet.
She stretched her back, and her breasts pressed against the front of her black tunic. When he realized he was staring, he turned away.
“I’m going to check the outer cave,” he said. “See where they are.”
“Okay,” she said. “Be careful.”
“Careful’s my middle name,” he said. “Stand here and don’t move. If there’s no one close, we’ll eat something, drink some water and let the guys know where we are. When we’re planning on leaving. You can text Mel and let her know you’re safe.”
He turned away, grabbed his gun and headed for the opening into the outer cave. If he continued to look at her, he wouldn’t want to leave her alone. So without waiting for her to respond, he slid into the narrow crevice and edged his way into the outer cave.
* * *
Laila watched Jase wriggle through the crevice in the rock and disappear into the outer cave. She held her breath, expecting to hear voices shouting. Threats in Pashto. Gunfire.
But the cave was silent. So far, so good.
Jase was safe. At least for now. And so was she.
He’d been angry when she asked him to take her back to Al Kamen, and if she was being fair, she’d acknowledge that he had a right to be. It would be dangerous. Risky. He thought it was foolish.
But she couldn’t leave her girls or their families to the mercy of the Taliban. And Jase, Dev and Cody were her only hope of getting them out of the village.
Had she destroyed the attraction that was growing between them? An attraction that had started, if she were honest, when he trained her.
She hoped not. But she couldn’t sacrifice her girls, even for a chance with Jase. And if he resented her enough to turn his back on her, it wasn’t meant to be anyway.
There were no sounds from the outer cave. That had to be good, right? If the Taliban had spotted him, there would be noise. Shouting. Gunfire.
The silence was unnerving. For a big man, Jase was light on his feet. Silent when he moved. Still she should have heard something. The scrape of his boot on the rocks. The rasp of his shirt or pants against the wall.
As the minutes ticked away and she heard nothing but the wind, agitation rippled through Laila. Her heart battered against her chest. Her breathing grew shallow. A vise squeezed her chest, and she wanted to slide through that slot in the wall and find Jase.
Something had happened. Jase had been captured. Hurt.
Her rational side told her she would know if that had happened. Jase had his gun. He wouldn’t go down without a fight.
But her foot jittered on the floor. She wanted to pace, but Jase had told her not to move. Knowing she was close to bolting for the opening in the cave, Laila lowered herself to the stone floor. Took a deep breath and swiveled toward her pack. She pulled a water bottle out of the pocket on the side of the pack and unscrewed the plastic top. Once she started drinking, she realized how thirsty she was. She drank half the bottle without stopping, then forced herself to set the water aside and give all those greedy gulps a chance to settle in her stomach.
A few minutes later, she drank the rest of the bottle. Drained the last drop, then shoved the empty bottle into her pack. She wanted to reach inside and pull out an MRE, but she curled her fingers into her palms. That would make a lot more noise than drinking some water. She’d wait until Jase was back before she tried to eat. They’d eat together. Be civilized.
