One look told her he was still angry. “I have just a few minutes. What happened?”
“I spent almost an hour today trying to figure out how I was going to get us both out of here alive without killing a whole lot of people.” There was a hard edge to his voice. “Thanks to Farzad, it all ended well.”
Derek told her how someone had reported what she’d done to a mullah and how the mullah had come with a small entourage to find out if what he’d heard was true.
“The mood in that room was pretty hostile. For a while, I thought it would end with them trying to drag you outside to flog you. I put our team in Mazar-e-Sharif on standby just in case. It worked out in the end, but only because Farzad knew exactly what to say—and because this mullah wasn’t an extremist.”
Jenna’s stomach rolled. “What did Farzad say?”
“He explained what had happened in detail. The Mullah agreed that you’d done something wrong but for good reasons. He decided you didn’t need to be punished.”
Jenna wanted to roll her eyes. “Wasn’t that merciful of him?”
“Actually, yes, it was—both merciful and wise.”
Derek’s rebuke left Jenna feeling like a selfish, stupid child. Thanks to her, he’d truly believed he might have to go into combat mode to keep her safe. “Please thank Farzad for me.”
“I already did.”
“I’m sorry to put you through this.” She hadn’t meant for this to happen. “What should I have done—let the girl and her baby die? What wouldyouhave done?”
“Hell, Jenna, I don’t know. This isn’t your country or your culture. Sometimes, it’s better just to let things take their course.”
“Oh, that’s rich coming from you, the guy who fought in a war here. By that standard, you should just have let them flog me. There would be no fighting, no killing, no dying. This isn’t your country or your culture, after all. Don’t interfere. Just let things take their course.”
His gaze bored into hers. “If you think I’d stand there and watch men beat you with rods until you were a bloody mess, you don’t know me very well.”
His description sent chills down Jenna’s spine, but she held her ground. “If you can’t stand by and do nothing, don’t expect me to. My job is to save lives.”
“My job is toendthem if necessary—to protectyou.” He cupped her cheek with a callused palm, his gaze going soft, his face inches from hers. “I admire and respect you, Jenna, but things here are precarious. I will back you up to my last breath no matter what for as long as I’m here. But please don’t do anything to push the boundaries, or I might not have any choice but to fight.”
Jenna’s pulse skipped, her gaze dropping to his lips. “I-I didn’t ask you to come to Afghanistan.”
“I know.” He leaned closer, brushed his lips over hers, once, twice.
Jenna sucked in a breath, the contact sending jolts of pleasure through her. Then his mouth closed over hers, and he kissed her. It was a gentle kiss, but it scorched her to her core, his lips exploring hers with deliberate tenderness.
God, yes.
He stiffened, drew back. “We can’t do this—not here.”
Jenna knew what he said was true. If they were caught…
Afghans kissed their close relatives, butnotlike that.
He put both hands on the steering wheel and held on, his knuckles white. “You should get back inside.”
She cleared her throat, clenched her trembling hands in her lap, her pulse thrumming, her lips still tingling. “You’re leaving tomorrow, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know.” He glanced over his shoulder as if to see whether anyone was watching. “Your father threatened to make trouble for us in the Senate Armed Services Committee if I don’t bring you back. He wanted me to bring you home by force if you didn’t come voluntarily.”
“What?” Jenna gaped at Derek, stunned. “That’s abduction. What did you say?”
“I told him that it was illegal and I wouldn’t do it.”
This was low, even for her father, and ithurt.
“I’m so sorry, Derek. My father is such an asshole. Please don’t let him hold you or your company hostage over this.”