Derek shook his head. “I think we can assume that Kazi keeps this place under surveillance. Any vehicle leaving the compound is likely to be followed, and he’ll have a pretty good idea where we’re going.”
Heads nodded.
“We’ve already had one close call on the road,” Cross said. “Let’s avoid another.”
“It’s a bloody long drive to Dushanbe,” McManus said. “A lot can go wrong.”
“I agree.” Shields looked up from her iPad. “The probability of success is lowest.”
Segal moved to Option B. “This is our preferred extraction method. We control the plane. We control the timing. We just need to get Ms. Hamilton to the airport. The safest way to do that might be to land our MH Little Bird on the roof and fly her there. The only drawback is that Kazi controls the airport. Option C bypasses that potential hazard by getting Ms. Hamilton to the airport in Kabul. The risk with this option is being shot down by random insurgents. We assess that risk to be small, but it is there.”
“How far do you think he’d be willing to go to abduct her?” O’Neal asked. “A confrontation with Cobra would have serious repercussions for his relationship with Washington. He must know that.”
Derek had spent no small amount of time thinking about this. “We don’t know how far he’ll go. He was willing to risk a firefight with me just a few days ago, but I’m only one guy. By working with Qassim and his militia, Kazi gains plausible deniability. He can claim that Qassim acted alone and that he knew nothing about it.”
“Do you have any idea why he might want you, Ms. Hamilton?” Cruz asked.
Jenna told them about the night she’d shouted into the waiting room and had been overheard by men. “That’s the only thing I’ve done since I got here to cause trouble.”
“You rabble-rouser,” McManus teased.
Shields held up her pen. “I have a theory. Maybe Kazi found out that you’re the daughter of a U.S. senator who sits on the Armed Services Committee. Maybe he thinks he’ll gain political leverage or financial reward by holding you hostage. Afghan presidential elections are coming up, and he has boundless ambition.”
“That would be a dangerous game for him to play.” Derek wasn’t sure how Kazi would have gotten his hands on that bit of intel. The Internet? It wasn’t something Jenna shared with people. “The risk of it blowing up in his face is extreme.”
“Maybe Qassim abducts her, and Kazi rescues her,” McManus suggested. “In that case, he ends up lookin’ like a bloody damned hero.”
And Jenna would be nothing more than a pawn.
* * *
Jenna splashedcold water on her face. She didn’t want Derek or anyone else to see she’d been crying. They were putting their lives on the line to keep her safe. The least she could do was hold it together.
She dried off, her reflection showing red, puffy eyes.
This isn’t what you expected.
That was an understatement.
She walked back to her bed, stretched out on her back, looked up at the ceiling.
Two weeks ago, she hadn’t yet met Derek. Her days had been all about cold showers, hot tea, teaching, and catching lots of babies. Now, she was hiding from a warlord in a paramilitary compound under Derek’s protection, waiting to be evacuated back to the U.S. It didn’t seem real.
They had chosen Option B—evacuating her via helicopter to the airport and flying her out on a chartered jet to Istanbul. She had left the meeting when they had started going over the tactical details, too overwhelmed by all of it to want to hear more. It ought to have comforted her to see their professionalism, but when they’d gotten down to talking about weapons and who would do what, it had made her stomach knot.
What if Derek or someone else were shot and killed trying to protect her?
She wouldn’t be able to live with that.
Why was this happening? It made no sense. Why would a man as powerful and ruthless as Kazi want anything to do with her?
Elizabeth had said she thought it might have to do with Jenna’s father being a senator and, perhaps, the upcoming Afghan elections. There was no way to know whether that was true, but it wouldn’t surprise Jenna. Her father had been interfering with her life since the moment she’d been born. But this time, it wouldn’t even be his fault.
She’d been strangely relieved when they told her she wouldn’t be leaving right away. Though she wanted to be safe and far from Qassim and Kazi, she didn’t want to say goodbye to Derek—not yet.
He was everything she’d ever wanted in a man—smart, kind, compassionate, courageous, good looking, and incredible in bed. But he wasn’t available, not really. His life was his work, and his work took him far from the U.S. for long stretches. Being in a relationship with him would mean going to bed alone most nights of her life and wondering whether he was safe.
He doesn’t do relationships, remember?