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Chapter Forty Nine
Wyoming
Three weeks later
Ray huffed out a snore as she rolled over to her side on the wooden porch. Scratching her velvety neck with his foot, Johnny took a swig of beer. The setting sun provided the perfect backdrop to Lizzy’s sweet profile as she strummed softly on her guitar.
She paused, then swore. “Gosh, dang it.”
“The finger again?”
“Or lack thereof.”
“Don’t push it. Give it time.”
Lizzy stuck out her tongue, and Johnny grinned. She made a pretty picture, sitting cross-legged on the rocking chair with her hair twisted in a cute bun at the nape of her neck. Not quite long enough, tendrils fell around her face, dancing in the autumn breeze. Back to her normal weight with flushed cheeks—an outside observer would never guess at the trauma she’d experienced just a couple of months before. Dragging his chair closer, Johnny leaned i
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The rickshaw dropped them off in Clock Tower Square. Brianna scurried into the first rug stall and the other girls followed. The locals seemed friendly, and the store owner immediately offered them a traditional green tea. Lizzy loved the sweet tea native to Pakistan so she gladly accepted. Suzie turned her nose up and Lizzy quickly drank it to ease her companion’s faux pas. Lizzy had brought her digital Canon along and snapped photos along the way. The expensive camera had been a gift from her father on her last birthday and she loved it, thinking maybe someday she’d write a travel book.The narrow streets crammed with wares were an overload on the senses. Donkeys clattered among bearded men in turbans selling their textiles. A pakol hat maker tried to sell her a hat as she dodged a moped bike. The decaying Sikh architecture littering the gray and brown streets was fascinating. Unstable wooden buildings were stacked together in grimy colors. Wires, phone lines an
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Cold seeped up from the rough cement floor, and Lizzy wiggled her toes, trying to warm up the ice blocks that were now her feet. She shivered like a tuning fork, and her body thrummed as a cold breeze shifted the air. The sun had set hours ago, and the shouts outside the barred window had finally fallen silent.The women were placed in separate rooms. Lizzy hadn’t seen anyone since the phone call to John. That seemed like hours ago. Lizzy ignored the scuffling in a dark corner of the room—not wanting to know which critters crept in the shadows. Instead she focused on the grimy wall in front of her. Aside from smaller scrapes, her thigh throbbed in time with her racing heart. A well-placed kick from one of the attackers would result in a bruise the size of a plate.She’d allowed them to call him, and if he came, he’d see her like this—weak and dirty. That was not how she’d imagined their next meeting. Instead, she’d imagined run
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Not much got to Johnny. He liked to think he was a balanced soldier who’d seen a lot in his military career. Any challenging experiences in the field usually got resolved by physical work when Johnny returned home to his Wyoming cabin. The empty solitude had a way of flushing away the blackness of war from one’s soul.Looking into those troubled blue eyes and the sound of Lizzy’s sobs echoing in that dingy room had him wanting to put a fist through the wall. Johnny paced the hallway, waiting for the local men to liberate her from their obsolete confinement.Javid Ibrahim watched him carefully from down the hall. Johnny paused, then approached him. “Thank you for rescuing them.” He swallowed before continuing. “Without your help, they would’ve been stoned or beaten to death.”Javid nodded once. Johnny reached into his back pocket. “If you ever need any—”“I need you to look after Miss
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Standing awkwardly, Lizzy tried to ignore the larger-than-life operator and concentrated on drying her hair. That steamy water had felt like heaven—she’d never felt so grateful for a warm shower. She considered herself the luckiest person in Pakistan that night. Which made her think of Brianna and Suzie. They were the unluckiest. She should’ve stayed with them, but Max was right. She’d have just gotten in the way. Worry for their safety sat heavy on her heart.“Do you want me to leave?”Lizzy shook her head. “I’ll probably be asleep in five.” She pulled damp locks over her shoulder and dried them with a towel.“I’ll bring you some food. It’s all local—”“I like local. Thanks.”John turned to leave.“I knew you were watching me,” she said.He paused, and she climbed on the bed and continued.“You were at a market in
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At six in the morning the streets were quiet. Two vehicles pulled out; Lizzy sat in the back of the truck next to Johnny, and Max sat up front as Ryker drove. The rest of the MIT3 team trailed behind in a black SUV. Their plans had shifted. Lizzy would be flying back on the MIT2 transport with Johnny and Max.They’d take off from a private airstrip, land in Mogadishu to drop Max off to meet up with the rest of the team and, once refueled, Johnny would head on to Nairobi with Lizzy.She’d snuggled up beside him, and dainty snores filled the subdued space as her head lolled against his arm. Itching to wrap that arm around the tiny blonde, Johnny turned instead to stare into the dawning light.Peshawar and its neighboring war zone wasn’t Johnny’s favorite place. Too many violent memories, losing team members over his earlier years in Afghanistan. He hated that Lizzy was here. He wanted them gone.“Thanks for the escort.” M
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