What I Fight For: A Bad Boy Military Romance (Easy Team Book 1) (16 page)

              I bit my lip, unsure what else to say.

              “Besides,” Brian said, turning back to his crate, “if there had been any trafficked girls, going to an orphanage wouldn’t have helped the matter anyway.”

              “What do you mean?” I asked, my heart sinking.

              “Any government resources left in this country are all being diverted towards relief efforts for towns that had been abandoned because of the refugee crisis. There’s no money for orphanages or anything like that. Putting kids in an orphanage these days is the same as putting kids outside on the street to be picked up by thugs and pimps.” He shook his head in disappointment and regret. “These days, it’s safer for kids to rely on their own wits than to depend on the government.”

              “I see,” I said softly.

              After the unloading was finished, Brian turned to me. “Now, could you show me where you’ve set up camp for the doctors here?”

              “Of course,” I said and gestured ahead of me. Brian nodded and walked on forward.

              I followed a few steps before turning towards the outskirts of town where I knew Cooper and his team were.

              I remembered sitting at base camp with Cooper just days ago.

             
“They went to the camp this morning. They were able to round up the girls and will be transporting them to capital today. There’s an orphanage there far from the border where they can be safe.”

              Cooper had spoken with such sincerity that I had believed him without question. And I remembered the cool relief I had felt in knowing that even if Sora hadn’t been saved, the rest of the girls had.

              But now I realized it had all been a lie.

              Immediately, I thought back to Doc Jones.

             
“He holds lives in the balance. A mercenary. You and I can only imagine the kind of dangerous and compromising positions that kind of job can put a man. Lying, fighting—those are just the tip of the iceberg. Killing, I imagine, would be the base.”

              And just like that, he had lied to me.

              I knew his reasoning. He had wanted to ease my conscious. He had wanted to give me strength to carry on. He had wanted to help my guilt. He knew that if I had found out that none of those girls had been saved, it would’ve absolutely destroyed me.

              And he was right. It would have.

              He had done what he could to spare me. To help me.

              But regardless of all of that…he had lied.

              He had lied to me about the fate of those little girls in order to protect me. Being with a mercenary, what else would he lie about to protect me?

              I had grown stronger in the weeks we had been in Qunar. I was not the same woman I had been upon arrival. I couldn’t handle always being lied to and kept in the dark.

              But the nature of Cooper’s work would sometimes require that.

              A mercenary had many secrets.

              Many lies.

              And he would be the one determining what I could and could not handle. I would have no say—no idea that I was being told anything less than the truth.

             
“But will you be able to handle what comes with being with a man like Captain Hawking?”

              Doc Jones’ words rang through my head.

              “Dr. Lyon?”

              I looked around and saw Brian waiting for me.

              “I’m coming!” I called out.

              Well,
would
I be able to handle it?
 

Chapter
Eighteen
Cooper

              “I have never been in more desperate need for a shower,” Emilia said as she made a face as she picked up the end of her ponytail. “I don’t even remember what color my hair was.”

              Everyone was basically a dark shade of dirt after three days of digging and treating.

              I put an arm around her and was gratified to feel her rest her head against my shoulder. Would I ever get enough of that—the feel of her within my arms?

              I kissed her forehead. “I think you’re beautiful,” I murmured.

              She lightly slapped my chest. “Sweet talker,” she said drowsily.

              We were packed into one of the two trucks that had made their way to the city to pick us up. We sat with Doc Jones and Bear as we headed back to base camp to finally clean up and get some much needed rest.

              A UN truck had reached the refugee camp a day earlier so the team there had already gotten a chance to come back to base camp to clean up and rest a little.

              Now it was our turn.

              I heard Emilia sigh as we came into sight of the camp.

              “Who would’ve ever thought I would think of this as home?” she thought aloud.

              I chuckled. “Trust me, it comes fast on the field.”

              She looked up at me, her eyes bright and luminous. “I guess that means I’m on the field then, eh?”

              I grinned down at her. “You’re definitely on the field. You’re as tough as any other Easy Team member.”

              A small furrow creased her brow. “Then…” she started hesitantly, “that would mean I’d be strong enough to handle any situation like an Easy Team member, right?”

              “What do you mean?” I asked confused.

              Emilia shrugged and looked down, playing with some dried dirt on my shirtfront. “I just meant, I could handle situations better now than I could when I first arrived. I’m stronger. I could handle the truth.”

              She looked up at me. “Don’t you think?”

              I looked down at her, unsure what point she was trying to lead me to but willing to follow regardless.

              “I think that you are incredibly strong,” I said quietly so that our conversation remained as private as possible in a truck. “But I also hope you know I’d want to keep you as safe as possible. I wouldn’t want to put you in a harmful situation you weren’t equipped to handle. Just like you wouldn’t put me in a medical emergency where I wasn’t equipped to respond.”

              She pressed her lips together as if debating whether to say more but before she could decide, the truck pulled to a quick and abrupt stop. We had arrived at camp.

              “I think I could shower for three days straight and still not be clean,” Doc Jones grumbled as he hopped out of the truck.

              “How many people you trying to impress with your cleanliness here?” Bear teased as he stepped down.

              “Just you, General. Just you,” Doc Jones replied without missing a beat or a wink.

              Bear laughed and walked off towards the Easy Team barracks.

              I jumped down and picked Emilia up by her waist and helped her down.

              I put an arm around her and squeezed, pressing her breasts tantalizingly close against my chest.

              “Grab a quick shower then get that ass to bed,” I said, smiling down at her. “You look like a raccoon with those dark circles.”

              She punched my arm. “Sweet talker,” she said in annoyance this time. But I saw the smile playing at her lips.

              I stole another kiss from her, not ever ready to give up her company, before I nudged her towards her own barracks. I watched her go reluctantly but knew she needed some rest. Her whole body had been stiff as board during the ride back to camp.

              I watched her leave before turning towards my own barracks. But before I headed towards a shower and a clean bed, I headed towards the large meeting tent. Inside, I found the satellite phone and dialed the commander.

              “Commander Wolffe,” I said, as soon as I heard him pick up.

              “Good to hear you reporting in, Captain,” the older man said with sincerity. “I was worried about my men after hearing about the earthquake. Is everyone accounted for?”

              “Yes,” I said. “We were very lucky.”

              “Good, good,” he said. “I’m glad to hear it.”

              “Sir, I’m actually calling for a specific reason besides the earthquake,” I said.

              Commander Wolffe sighed, as if in resignation. “Randall, I’m gathering,” he said.

              “Yes,” I said in surprise. “We’ve had chatter about him in these parts.”

              “Here as well,” Commander Wolffe said. “That fool has been playing in waters much too deep for him. The Middle East is an entirely different beast from South America and now he’s gotten himself into some real trouble.”

              “We heard he’s been in arms dealing,” I reported.

              “Arms dealing, sex trafficking, slave labor, and his favorite, drugs,” Commander Wolffe said. “You name it, that slimey bastard is probably doing it. But the boys he’s playing with there are of a different caliber than the boys from good old South America. And now he’s in some danger.”

              “Danger?” I asked.

              I was not surprised at all to hear this. Seems like his time had finally come. There was no way to live a life like that and not get caught in the crossfires.

              “Seems he’s been doing some double dealings with competing cells,” Commander Wolffe explained, his voice clearly exhausted and annoyed by Randall’s continued foray into dangerous crimes. “And now they want his head for it.”

              “What are our orders?” I asked.

              “Stand down,” Commander Wolffe replied immediately. “And standby. There might be some internal battles between certain terrorist cells to bring down Randall themselves for his crooked dealings. That could make the area unstable. I’ll be in contact with Carew and talk to him about a possible evacuation for the medical volunteers. If that happens, we’ll need Easy Team to escort them safely to the airstrip.”

              My chest tightened a little at the thought of losing Emilia so soon but this was better. It would be safer for her and for the medical team. And then once we were relieved from Qunar, I’d see her again in L.A. and we could pick up right where we left off.

              “Very good, sir,” I said. “We’ll be on alert.”

              “Good man,” Commander Wolffe said before hanging up.

              I sighed as I lowered the phone. Hopefully this meant the end of Randall and the shady reign of terror he had inflicted on so many helpless people.

              Finally I found my way to the showers and immediately stripped myself to wash off the dirt and sweat from the last few days. The waters ran dark as it sluiced through my hair, stiff with the rubble of the city.

              Coming out of the showers, I saw Bear sitting by the edge of the tent with a book in his hand, his hair damp from his own shower.

              “Who’s on guard?” I asked, trying and failing at holding back a yawn.

              “Not you,” Bear said simply, not even looking up from his book. He turned a page. “Get some sleep, Cap. I’ll wake you when it’s your turn.”

              “Can’t argue with an order like that,” I mumbled before collapsing onto my cot and falling into a deep, dark sleep that sank into my body like an anchor.

              I fell asleep with Emilia’s luminous eyes shining in my mind.

***

              “Hawk! Hawk, wake up.”

              Instantly, I jerked up. No matter how deep a sleep I was in, no matter how exhausted my body was, I never had a problem waking up the instant I was beckoned or alerted.

              “What? What is it?” I asked, my voice still husky with sleep. I rubbed the heel of my hands into my eyes and looked up and saw Tweety standing in front of me. “Where’s Bear?”

              “He’s helping the med team pack up some supplies,” Tweety replied.

              “Pack up supplies? For wha—”

              “Hawk, you should come out,” Tweety said, his face carrying an odd expression. “There’s someone here to see you.”

              I was brought up short by this statement. Someone was here to see me? That seemed high unlikely considering we were in the middle of nowhere and all the people who knew me by name were in this camp.

              “Alright,” I said and got up and followed him out.

              I blinked in the harsh daylight. Even though I was just waking up, I could tell the light was late afternoon light. Still, it pierced my eyes like a white hot needle.

              Getting my vision back, I saw with some surprise my guest.

              A thin, ragged little boy stood before the Easy Team barracks and was holding, for some mysterious reason, a sleek black briefcase with both hands.

              He looked up at me with large almond shaped eyes, his cheeks still round but slightly sunken from hunger.

              “What can I help you with?” I asked the boy in Qunari.

When the boy stared at me blankly, I asked the question again in Pakreshi. This time, he understood.

              The boy held up the briefcase. “This is for you,” he said quietly.

              It was one surprise after the other, it looked like. Tweety raised a brow, clearly taken aback.

              “The boy wouldn’t let me take the briefcase,” Tweety explained in English to me. “He said he had been ordered to give it directly to the Captain of the Americans.”

              “Ordered?” I said. “Ordered by whom?”

              Tweety shrugged. “The million dollar question. He won’t say.”

              “Who gave you the briefcase?” I asked the boy.

              The boy said nothing but stared at me with those large solemn eyes.

              “I was told to give this to you, sir,” he simply said.

              I eyed the boy carefully but clearly, whoever had ordered him had put the fear of god in him.

              “Are you from the refugee camp?” I asked.

              The boy nodded.

              I sighed. “Then you must be hungry,” I said. Turning to Tweety, I said, “Why don’t you take the boy in and give him some food?” I put out my hand for the briefcase. The boy quietly handed it over. “I’ll take a look at this.”

              Tweety hesitated. “But don’t you think we should get Dozer or Bear to look at the case before you open it?”

              Bear and Dozer were our explosive experts. But I waved away Tweety’s concerns. I might not have as much expertise as Bear and Dozer but I wasn’t a complete idiot as well.

              I could tell by the weight of the case and the latchings that this held no explosives.

              “It’s fine,” I said. “Take the boy in and feed him. Maybe after some food, he’ll be more talkative for us.”

              Tweety finally gave in and took the boy away.

              Sitting down on a stool, I pulled another stool forward and placed the briefcase on it. Carefully, I unlatched it and opened it a half an inch. I ran my fingers carefully through the edges. No trip wires. No pressure points.

              Although I believed that the case held no explosives, no harm in being careful.

              I opened the case fully and looked down in surprise at the small black phone it held.

              The phone was an older model but was in nearly brand new condition. It sat cushioned on gray foam.

              I picked up the phone and flipped it open. A tiny piece of paper fell out.

              I picked up the paper and unfolded it.

             
Dial 1.

              That was all that was written.

             
What the fuck is all this?

              But I couldn’t help feeling a tingle run down the back of my neck. And I was never one to ignore my gut feelings. Something was wrong and I was about to find out just how wrong it was.

              I punched the 1 button and pressed ‘call.’

              I heard the phone ring twice before a familiar voice answered.

              “Ah, Captain,” Randall said in pleasant greeting. “So nice to hear from you!”

              I sighed in frustration as my body tensed at just the mere sound of the traitor’s voice. Every time I heard his name, let alone his voice, the image of dozens of dead bodies came instantly to mind. And now, thanks to the mission in Qunar, I could add the image of dozens of lost little girls as well.