7

By the time they reached the Ministry of Education building, nerves were

once again jumping in her belly. Hunter escorted her upstairs to the appointed office without a word. “I’ll be in the lobby when you’re done,” was all he said before leaving.

Khalia went into the meeting, relieved to have Ray there with her. The minister—a portly man somewhere in his fifties, dressed in a business suit— stood and shook their hands, then offered Khalia his condolences about her father while an appointed photographer took some shots of them. She put on a smile.

This one’s for you, Dad.

He’d be proud of her for doing this. Knowing that helped a lot and kept her centered. Even though he was gone forever, his approval still meant a lot to her. She could be brave for him, for his memory and legacy.

Together, she and Ray laid out the purpose for their trip, Fair Start’s intentions for the new girls’ school in the Swat Valley, and their belief that girls deserved the right to a quality education, no matter where they lived. Ray took his turn, carefully addressing concerns that the Pakistani government had outlined about working with Fair Start, doing his best to allay them.

Next, Khalia gave her presentation, gaining confidence with each point she raised. Hell, she’d come all the way to Pakistan in spite of everything, hadn’t she? She believed in what she was doing, enough to set aside her fears and leave her old life behind for this mission. They needed the Ministry’s blessing and funding for future operations in the country, and she intended to see that they got both.

When the balding minister smiled and agreed to support their cause, a ripple of goose bumps broke out beneath her light weight black sweater. They’d done it. Ray shot her a grin and reached over to squeeze her hand.

Forty minutes later Ray slung an arm across her shoulders on the way down to the lobby. “If your old man could see you now…” He gave her an affectionate squeeze. “You knocked ‘em dead, kiddo. Proud of you.”

“Thanks.” She was thrilled, ecstatic, electrified by a rush of endorphins. And glad she’d come here despite her worries. “Ready for the next one?” Ray was headed to a meeting with the team of lawyers the Pakistani government had assembled to discuss funding, while she was meeting the female Dean of Education of a local university.

“You bet. I’ll meet you for dinner at the hotel once I get back from my meeting with the US ambassador, and you can tell me how it went with the university folks.”

“Sounds good.”

As he’d promised, Hunter was waiting for her in the lobby along with Ray’s

head of security. The two men escorted them back to the waiting SUVs and the drivers turned out of the parking lot in opposite directions.

“So, how’d it go?” Gage asked as he stopped at the first traffic light.

“Great. No, better than great.” She couldn’t stop smiling. God, they’d done it. The rest was essentially just a formality now.

“Glad to hear it.” He reached across the console and thumped a fist into Hunter’s shoulder. “Aren’t we?”

“We are,” Hunter answered dryly, staring straight ahead.

“Don’t mind him, he really is happy for you. I can tell because he’s not scowling.”

She hid a smile, liking Gage already. Too bad Hunter couldn’t let his guard down a little with her as well, but she understood why he wouldn’t.

“You hungry?” Gage continued. “I picked us up some lunch, which was no mean feat considering pretty much every food place is closed until sundown.”

She thought she’d smelled something good when she climbed into the vehicle. “Great, because I’m starving. Thanks,” she said when he handed a Styrofoam container back to her. The scent of cinnamon and cloves and something else sweet tickled her nose. She was so hungry she wanted to devour it all.

“Hunt said you’re not a vegetarian—thank God—so I figured a salad with chicken was a safe bet until I get to know you better.”

“Sounds perfect, thanks.” She popped the lid open to find a sliced chicken breast drizzled with spices and honey on a bed of greens and pieces of ripe mango on top. Oh, yum. It tasted even better than it looked, too. “So good,” she moaned around a bite of chicken.

“Right? Stick with me, lady. I know all the good food joints around here.”

Hunter shot him a bland look and started in on his own lunch but didn’t say anything. Khalia stuffed her face all the way across town and was just closing the container when Gage suddenly turned up the radio. Since the broadcast was in Urdu she couldn’t understand what the announcer was saying, but Gage quickly shoulder checked and changed lanes, moving them across to the far right side of the highway.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

“Just have to re-route, is all. Accident up ahead is clogging everything up. I’m going to try a couple tricks to get around it.” His tone and demeanor were calm, as though he’d anticipated the possibility long before they began the drive. And he probably had. He certainly knew his way around the city.

“We’ll get you there on time, don’t worry,” Hunter added, crumpling up the paper napkin he’d just wiped his mouth with and tucking it into the takeout

container.

When they’d tried three different routes without success and came to yet another standstill on the last one, Hunter unbuckled his seatbelt and swiveled to face her. He looked down at her feet. “Can you walk a while in those heels?”

“Sure.” She set her container on the seat beside her and undid her own seatbelt, assailed by nervousness. In light of the possible threat against her, walking around out there in broad daylight even with a bodyguard didn’t thrill her. Especially in shoes that would leave blisters after a few blocks.

“Let us off at the next intersection,” Hunter directed Gage.

Gage pulled over and half straddled the sidewalk as he bypassed traffic amid the annoyed horns blaring at them. At the traffic light he stopped. “Where do you want me to pick you up?”

Hunter already had his door open. “I’ll let you know when we’re done.” He opened her door and helped her down from the truck, his grip gentle on her arm despite his obvious strength. More tingles raced over her skin and she mentally scolded herself for her body’s reaction.

“It’s only a few blocks from here,” he said to her. “You good with that?” Though his eyes were shielded by his dark sunglasses, she knew he was studying her reaction. The man didn’t miss anything, she’d seen that much already.

“Yes.” She wasn’t going to complain over a few blisters, if that’s what he was worried about. Outside the air conditioned vehicle the heat was like a slap. The sun was almost directly overhead and it radiated off the baking pavement like an oven. It didn’t matter that it was a dry heat, she felt as though someone had aimed a blow dryer at her face and turned it on full blast.

She followed closely in Hunter’s wake across the street through the snarled lanes of traffic, stretching out her strides to keep up with him. He kept careful tabs on her, checking on her position every few seconds.

On the far side of the four lane road they hit the sidewalk and headed east toward the government buildings a few blocks away. Here it was less crowded, the pedestrians moving in opposite directions on the thin strip of pavement without any problem. She noticed Hunter’s head moving constantly and knew he was cataloguing everything going on around them. Hired security or not, he was out here guarding her back. She found that sexy as hell.

By the time they were a block away from their destination, sweat had gathered beneath her arms and breasts and across her face. She couldn’t wait to get inside the building and cool off, maybe duck into the ladies room to take off her thin sweater and scarf. They passed groups of business people talking on cell phones and throngs of others who’d abandoned their stranded buses and taxis in favor of walking. She stayed directly behind Hunter, who acted like a human

icebreaker, his wide shoulders opening up a path through the sea of bodies.

Someone jostled her from behind. She bounced off a man in a business suit on her right and reached out blindly for Hunter to catch her balance, snagging the back of his shirt. Her fingers hit something hard beneath it and she realized he had a weapon hidden in the back of his waistband. Without a hitch in his stride he reached behind him and took her hand. His grip was strong but gentle, bolstering her courage and calming her at the same time. Whatever happened, she knew he would be there to take care of her if she needed him.

“Almost there,” he said over his shoulder, pulling her along in his wake.

The sudden loud blare of horns made them both snap their heads to their right.

A white delivery-style truck was barreling up the first available unclogged street, right toward the tall buildings on the opposite side of the intersection a half block away. Hunter stopped walking so fast that Khalia bumped into his back. Before she could retreat a step she felt the unnatural stillness in him, a silent tension that made her jerk her head around to stare at the truck.

It was moving too fast and showed no sign of slowing down. Everyone else was staring now too. The street dead ended at the tall rows of buildings lining it, and there was no way the truck could turn the corner given its speed. Horns were still blaring as the vehicle whizzed past other traffic at breakneck speed. She watched in astonishment as it blew through the stop light and hurtled straight toward the building across the dead end intersection.

Hunter whirled and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her toward the ground. “Get down!” he yelled.