She shook her head, her cheeks flushing pink. “I’m not wearing any makeup.”
“You don’t need it.” He truly meant that.
Her skin was nearly translucent, her eyelashes dark and long, her lips full and…
Hell, he shouldnotbe thinking about her lips. If anyone caught them kissing, they would both end up very dead. Not that anyone would wander in just now. The women were shut in the hospital wing, and Farzad was likely too afraid to set foot in this place.
Don’t take chances.
He wouldn’t, not where Jenna was concerned.
Besides, kissing her wasn’t his mission.
“I wish you would come with me back to the U.S.” He rested his hands on her shoulders. “There are men not far from here who would tear you apart if they could.”
“Are you trying to scare me? It won’t work.”
“No, I’m just telling you the truth. I’ve seen the aftermath of more than one Taliban massacre—women and girls raped to death or shot in the head, entire families slaughtered.”
She took a step backward. “I know it’s dangerous to be here, but it’s more dangerous for these mothers. If I bail out of my contract and go home because I’m afraid, where does that leave them? Where does it leave Marie, Delara, and the students? The world can’t just abandon these women. I know that what I’m doing is a drop in the bucket compared to what’s needed, but at least I’m doing something.”
Derek could tell she meant every word, and he respected her. That didn’t change the fact that he had a job to do. “At least think about it.”
“I should get back to work.” She reached for her headscarf.
“Let me.” He draped it over her hair, tucking it beneath her chin and drawing it around her so that the ends fell over her chest to cover the gentle curves of her breasts. “That should do it. Not a single strand is showing.”
She adjusted it, smoothing her hands over her covered head. “Thank you.”
He followed her up the stairs, climbed out into the kitchen, closed the door, and pushed the refrigerator back into place. “I’ll be on duty in the waiting room tonight.”
“Was that Farzad’s idea, too, like the security cameras?” The tone of her voice told him she already knew the answer.
“I need his good will.”
“Thanks for the help. Have a good day.”
“You, too.” It took no small amount of effort for Derek to turn and walk away.
He found Farzad waiting outside. “The barrels are in the safe room. I carried the boxes of meals and water down, too. The stairs are steep, and the boxes were too heavy for my sister.”
Farzad’s expression told Derek that he’d wondered why it had taken him so long. “That is good. It is right to be prepared.”
“I tried again to persuade her to come home with me, but she is determined to fulfill her agreement with the hospital.”
“Your sister has honor.”
“She does.” Derek just hoped it wouldn’t get her killed.
* * *
“There isno way Behar’s baby can be born.” Jenna spoke to Behar’s mother-in-law quietly so the girl wouldn’t hear. “She is young, and the opening in her pelvis is smaller than her baby’s head. If we can’t do surgery, she and the baby will both die.”
Behar, who was only twelve, had arrived with her husband and mother-in-law an hour ago after a long day of hard labor. Her cervix was fully dilated, but her contractions weren’t bringing the baby down. They’d done everything they could to facilitate delivery—squatting, being on her hands and knees. But after three hours of pushing, the baby was as high in Behar’s pelvis as it had been when she’d arrived.
Marie and Jenna had reached the same conclusion—cephalopelvic disproportion. The opening in her pelvis was just too small for her baby’s head.
“I will speak to my son.” The mother-in-law pulled her burqa over her face and left the room, just as Behar’s eyes opened.