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She frowned at his words. “Why would she do that? The three of you managed to save me from the Taliban and save thirteen Afghanis, as well. What’s not to celebrate about that?”
“Don’t worry. We’ll celebrate our success. The whole staff will celebrate your escape from a dangerous situation. But there are always things that could have been done better. Mistakes made. The four of us will go over every minute of what happened after I began climbing up to the caves last night.”
As she stared at him, pink spread over her cheek. “Everything?”
His mouth curled up in a smile, as if he knew exactly what she was asking. The memory of the kisses they’d shared burned through him.
“‘Not everything,” he said softly. “Some things are private. You don’t have to share anything private.”
“What about you?” she asked. “Do you have to tell Mel all the details?”
“I probably should,” he answered in a barely audible voice. “But what happened between us isn’t relevant now. We didn’t sleep together while the Taliban were searching for you. We never endangered the op. But Mel...” He sighed and shoved his fingers through his hair. “She’s one of the most perceptive people I know. My guess? She’ll figure out pretty quickly that something happened between us.”
She frowned at him. “Will you get in trouble?”
He shrugged. “No idea. I’ve never done anything like that on an op before.”
Laila stared at him. “Never? You weren’t attracted to any of the women you helped on an op?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “I met some very attractive women on ops, but I was focused on my job. Had no trouble keeping it impersonal.” He held her gaze. “Not until you, Laila. You made it very personal.”
She sucked in a tiny breath, remembering the tender way he’d held her. Treated her. “Then tell Mel what happened,” Laila said. “And I’ll be very clear that you were comforting me because I was terrified.”
He shifted in his seat to study her. “That wouldn’t be the truth,” he finally said. “You weren’t terrified. That’s what impressed me the most. You didn’t fall apart. You figured out what those two kids were doing and escaped. Kept yourself safe. Don’t sell yourself short. Especially not to save my ass.”
Laila glanced at Jase, saw his clenched jaw. “I won’t let you take the rap for something that was consensual,” she murmured. “I’ll tell Mel everything. And I’ll be clear that I was a willing participant.”
“Don’t do that,” he said immediately. “Let it go. Stick to the facts when you tell Mel what happened.”
“What happened between us is a fact, Jase.”
“It was a reaction to a dangerous, unstable situation,” he shot back. “Your life was in danger. We were trapped in a cave. You were scared. Nervous. I tried to reassure you. Comfort you.”
She studied him for a long time, her heart shriveling in her chest. Did he really believe that? Or was it his way of disentangling himself from what had become an awkward, uncomfortable situation?
“Is that all it was, Jase?” She turned to face him, looking for a reaction in his expression. “Not real? Just part of your job?”
He took a deep breath. Held her gaze. Opened his mouth. Closed it again and looked away. “It was damn real, Laila, and I think you know that. But I think you also know that it will end when you leave Afghanistan.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I know,” she said softly. “You’ve told me Mel will send me home, and I know you’ll stay here. But we’ll have at least a couple of days together, right?”
“At least,” he said immediately. He waved at the tumultuous scenes around them. People running in the road. Trying to flag down rides. Mobs of people moving through Kabul like a river, wide and unstoppable.
“Everyone knows the Taliban are closing in on Kabul, and the people who remember the last time they were in charge want to get out of the country. Mel will get you home, but it might take a few days.”
“I’m good with that,” she whispered.
Jase looked over at her, his expression drenched with want. Need. “I am, too, bae.” His mouth crooked into a grin. “But first we have to get our passengers settled, then talk to Mel.”
“Yeah. I know she’ll need to debrief me.” Laila frowned. “I need to ask her who else knew I was in Al Kamen. I’ve been thinking about Bahram and Feroz. Do you think Feroz knew I was a CIA agent? Because if he didn’t, why did he set me up to be captured by the Taliban? There are women in other villages teaching girls. Why pick me?”
“A good question,” Jase said slowly. “You need to talk to Mel about that. See if she knows anything. She’s running lots of agents. Maybe one of the others has heard rumors.”
Jase shook his head. “I can guarantee that very few people knew you were in Al Kamen. Mel holds her cards very close to her chest. All the information she gives out is on a ‘need to know’ basis. And there aren’t many people on that list.”
“But if the Taliban didn’t know I was an agent, why would they have used so many men to find one woman? It doesn’t make sense, unless someone betrayed me.”
“Yeah,” Jase said, his voice clipped. “You need to talk to Mel about this. I agree that something’s off. Tell her your suspicions, and she’ll take it from there.”
