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They would have to hold him for the rest of his life.
* * *
As they ate breakfast the following morning, Laila said, “I asked Mel to see if she could get the Al Kamen people assigned to a processing center close to Madison. I’m hoping we’ll all be on the same plane.”
“You will be.” Jase swirled a piece of pancake through syrup. “At least for the flight out of Kabul. I chartered a jet to fly all of you out of Afghanistan. Booked you on a commercial flight to the States. I’m not sure what Mel has planned for her SpecOps guys, but my guess is we won’t be far behind you. It’s not safe for any Americans in this country. Especially anyone associated with the CIA.”
Laila stared at him, shocked at how casually he mentioned the plane. “You chartered a plane? That had to cost a fortune!”
He shook his head and took another bite of pancake. Like chartered planes were normal for him. “It’s not taking you all the way home. It’ll stop in Dubai, probably, where you’ll catch a commercial jet. The people from Al Kamen will be put on a military transport plane.”
Laila leaned back in her chair and studied him. “How does a SEAL slash CIA SpecOps guy get the money to charter a plane?”
“My grandparents had money, and they left a good chunk of it to me. They knew I didn’t get along with my parents.” He pressed his lips together, as if mentioning his parents left a bad taste in his mouth. “I haven’t touched it, but it came in handy for this.” He reached across the table and twined their fingers together. “I want you to be safe. And I want you to stay with the people from Al Kamen as long as possible. They’ll need your help making the transfer to the military plane. I figured this was the easiest way to assure that.”
“Is Mel okay with your plan?” Laila asked. “Are the families cleared to leave?”
“Mel is fine with the chartered plane. She told me to check in with her after we finish eating. She should have information about their clearances.”
“When’s the plane supposed to get here?” she asked, holding her breath. She wanted as long with Jase as she could get.
“Late today,” he said. “If all goes well.”
“So we don’t even have one more night together.”
“No. But we should have some time together later.” He smiled. “I know you want to check on your families. You do that while I talk to Mel. Then I’ll meet you in my room.”
It wasn’t enough. It’d never be enough. But she’d take what she could get. Leaning toward him, she said, “What happens when you and the rest of your team are evacuated? What do you do then?”
He shrugged. “Not up to me. They’ll send me to a different country, but I’ll do the same things I’ve done in Afghanistan. Protect the CIA agents.”
“Will you... will you ever be in the States?”
“No idea, Laila. Not even sure we’ll be evacuated to the States.” He slid his hand over hers. Squeezed it. “That’s my life. I’m a nomad. I go where they send me, usually on short notice.”
She pushed her phone toward him. “Will you give me your phone number? Call me when you can?”
He nudged the phone back to her. “That wouldn’t be fair to you. I can’t make any promises.”
She spotted his phone, sitting on the table, and grabbed it. Jase reached for it, but she held it away from him while she typed her name and number into his contacts. Then she pushed it back to him.
“In case you do end up in the states,” she said, holding his gaze. “Call me.”
He shook his head. “I can’t promise that, Laila,” he said gently. “It’s not who I am.”
Laila choked back the tears that threatened to fall. Swallowed the ball of loss and pain in her throat. Forcing a smile, she said, “Let’s go do those errands. Since we have an expiration date, I want as much time with you as I can get.”
* * *
At the sharp rap on her door, Mel looked up from the papers she was reading. “It’s open,” she called.
Jase stepped into the room and closed the door.
“Lock it,” she said, then added, “please. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
He twisted the small lever, then threw himself into one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. “What’s going on, Mel? What do you need?”
Mel studied Jase for a moment. He didn’t look rested, exactly, but he looked very laid-back. Stress free. She had a pretty good idea what he and Laila had been up to last night, and she suppressed a smile. She’d assigned Jase to be Laila’s training officer because she’d sensed they’d make a good team. She hadn’t thought about them hooking up, but she wasn’t surprised that they had.
