CHAPTER 13
Suddenly, Nolan’s radio, which was connected to Kitra’s security network, blared to life.
“Nolan? This is Ayman. We have a situation. Will you please meet me at the main gate?”
Giving Teren a look of apology, he released her and pulled the radio out of his back pocket. Their intimacy for the evening was at an end.
“Copy that.” He looked over at her. “Stay here. Lock the door after me. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
“Okay,” she said, frowning. Standing in the kitchen, she watched Nolan quickly move to his duplex. When he returned, he was wearing his safari jacket, and she knew he was carrying his Glock in his belt. The look on his face was calm and focused, but it was the sense of quiet urgency that shook her. He quickly left and she locked the door behind him.
Teren walked over to the south window, pulling the curtain aside. It was still light, with the sun hovering near the western horizon. She saw the huge main gate, and it was closed. There were two guards inside the gate and two outside of it. She watched, her heart beating a little more strongly, as Nolan trotted down the slight incline toward the entrance to Kitra. What was going on?
Generally, she never knew about the security that Ayman had surrounding Kitra, nor was she educated about security measures. Had one of the guards seen something? Was someone driving down the highway toward their gates at this hour? Normally at this time of day, there was no traffic in or out of Kitra. They were very far off the beaten path.
She watched as Ayman arrived in his desert camouflage uniform. She was relieved that he was the one guarding Kitra. He and Nolan talked, and a guard came over, pointing east of them, across the flat grasslands. What had he seen or heard? Curiosity burned at her, but Teren wasn’t going to disobey Nolan’s order to remain in her duplex. She saw Ayman hand Nolan a pair of binoculars and he slowly scanned the east. She nibbled on her lower lip, feeling low-level anxiety mounting.
It was almost too much for her to absorb. For seven years she’d lived happily at Kitra and never felt threatened unless she had to drive into Khartoum. Was Uzan in the vicinity? Had he hired mercenary thugs from some gang in the slums of Khartoum, who were now out there scouting around?
Teren knew that Kitra was strategically situated on that slight knoll above the sea-level desert floor. She remembered Ayman once saying that no matter what direction, his soldiers would see man, beast, or vehicle coming from miles away. He emphasized that it was very well placed. Teren remembered teasing him about building a moat around Kitra to make sure it was really safe, like the European castles did during the Middle Ages. They’d gotten a good laugh out of that one. Ayman had studied at the military school and was intimately familiar with the art of war.
Feeling chilled, Teren saw two more soldiers arrive, both with their M4s on their shoulders. Normally they carried the rifles with the barrel pointed down to the earth. Now the barrels were pointing skyward. Teren didn’t know what that meant, but it didn’t feel good.
Tomorrow morning at nine a.m., all the department heads would be notified in a meeting of Sharan’s threat against Kitra and Teren. She knew everyone would be very upset by the news and a pall would come over this happy, carefree place—one that gave so many women and children help and support. Of course, Nolan had assured her that only the department heads would know.
Teren wasn’t sure that was wise, but Farida had wanted those in a supervisory capacity at Kitra to know about the situation. She didn’t want everyone at Kitra dipped in the terror, and Teren knew such information would stain the entire community. Still, it bothered her. What if one of their employees went into Khartoum not knowing what else was swirling around Kitra?
Teren knew she was a civilian. Now she wished she had more military knowledge and education so she could appreciate Farida’s decision-making process. Her husband, Ameer, was a civilian too, but she knew Ayman and Farida worked in close support of one another. After all, Kitra’s safety depended upon them. Teren was sure Farida knew a lot more about security, because Ayman would have educated her enough to grasp possibly dangerous situations.
Damn! She normally didn’t cuss, but it felt good to think the word under the circumstances. She saw Nolan and Ayman slip through the gates and walk off to one side where she could no longer see them. The other two guards were very alert, looking eastward. What on earth was out there?
*
Nolan knocked lightly on Teren’s door an hour later. It was dusk, and above him, he could see the first stars starting to glimmer in the coming night sky. When she threw open the door, he stepped inside.
“What’s going on?” she demanded nervously.
Nolan turned, shutting and locking the door. He shed his jacket and pulled the Glock out of his belt. “Let’s go the kitchen. I could use a bottle of water if you have one.” He was parched. Teren looked worried and upset, her mouth compressed. He joined her and she handed him a cold bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“Thanks,” he murmured, opening it. He took her hand in his. “Come on, sit down with me at the table, okay?”
Heartened that her long fingers were curving around his, he saw some of the worry lighten in her grim expression.
Teren sat down. He pulled out another chair, sitting at her elbow. Finishing off the pint of water, he wiped his mouth. “The guards spotted movement east of Kitra,” he told her. “At first, they thought it might be a herd of feral camels. Ayman makes sure each guardhouse has a good set of binoculars. The head of the detachment checked it out. There was dust rising in the east, which was unusual for this time of day.” He saw Teren tensing. “It wasn’t a herd of camels, and it wasn’t a caravan coming into Khartoum. The lead sentry saw three haflas with men riding on the flatbed, armed.”
A breath stole out of her. “Oh no…”
He placed his hand over hers. “That was when the guard called Ayman, alerting him to the situation. And then Ayman called me. We met down at the gate. I looked at the group of haflas and they were about two miles away. There are a lot of shadows on the desert this time of day, so all I could make out were three of them with six men on each flatbed with AK-47s. I gave Ayman the binoculars and he confirmed my siting.”
“Was it Uzan?” she demanded, strangling on the name.
“We don’t know. Ayman was telling me that sometimes the Sudanese Army has warfare games in given areas. This could have been one of them.”
“But there are only dirt roads out in that area.”
“Those are good for war games,” Nolan assured her.
“Was Ayman worried?”
“Concerned was more like it. He’s calling a general in Khartoum whom he knows right now to find out.”
“What if it wasn’t war games, Nolan?”
He had thought the same thing. “The men were dressed in Sudanese Army uniforms. What was out of place is that they were carrying AK-47s. Terrorists are well known to favor that particular weapon. The Sudanese Army has some, but their main rifle is an M4.”
“What do you make of this?”
“Nothing yet. I’m just taking in all the information,” he told her bluntly, squeezing her icy fingers. “It may be a false alarm, Teren. Nothing more.” He could see her worry by the way she was tucking her lower lip between her teeth, brow furrowed. At least he could be here with her, give her a sense of safety.
“Is this what it’s going to be like from now on, Nolan?”
Hearing the apprehension in her tone, he grimaced. “I’m afraid so.”
“Has Ayman heard from his undercover men in the slums yet?”
Shaking his head, he said, “That’s a delicate operation, Teren. It’s going to take time. Those men have to be extra careful. If they appear to stand out compared to those who live there, they could be killed.”
“Yes, they are paranoid in the slums. They trust no one but their own gangs.”
He knew Teren usually went to bed between nine and ten p.m. because she was up at four thirty every morning. “Why don’t you get a bath to help you relax?”
“Good idea,” she grumped, releasing his hand. Teren gave him a softened look. “I worry about you too, Nolan.”
“I know you do, but I’m the one you should worry about least, okay? And don’t let that wild imagination of yours take flight. We’ve got everything handled.” He wanted to sound confident for her sake and saw some of the tension ease from her face.
Rolling her eyes, Teren managed a sliver of a sour smile. “Guilty as charged. I’ll try not to. That bath sounds like a good idea.”
Nolan watched her walk down the hall toward her bedroom. Growling to himself, he wished Ayman would call him. His gut told him it was probably a war games group. Ayman had been neutral about it, but Nolan had a hunch he was actually very concerned. However, until Nolan heard from him, he wasn’t going to let his imagination take over. His world was hard facts and logic, backed up with a helluva lot of experience.
*
Teren padded out on her bare feet into her living room, expecting to find Nolan there, but he was gone. She toweled off her damp hair, moving to the opened inner door.
“Nolan? Are you in there?” she called. Teren searched the empty living room and kitchen.
“Yeah, I’m here…”
She saw him come out of the other end of the duplex, having been in the bedroom. He was naked from the waist up, a towel around his hips and one across his shoulders. His hair was wet, and his flesh gleamed from the shower he’d just taken as he padded toward her. Swallowing, she stopped dead still, her heart rate soaring. Nolan was so powerful-looking without clothing. His chest was sprinkled with dark hair, emphasizing the deep muscling, and accentuating the lithe movement of his upper body. He wasn’t bulky but taut and hard. And he was simply beautiful to Teren.
Forcing herself to look at his eyes, she asked, “I’m sorry…did Ayman call you yet?”
Nolan came to a stop about six feet away from Teren. He’d seen her eyes widen and he felt her appreciation of his body. “Yes. It was a training exercise, was all.” He held on to the ends of the white towel around his shoulders. “You can sleep well tonight, Teren.”
“That’s such good news!” she whispered, her hand against her throat. There was a dangerous sensation around Nolan and the dark blue of his gaze was locked with hers. She felt so much, unable to sort it all out. Uppermost, he was so sexy that male charisma dripped off him, and she could feel her lower body reacting instantly to her view of him half-clothed. “I’m heading to bed,” she said, her voice a little strained. “Is it all right if I go jogging tomorrow at five a.m.? Will you come with me?”
He nodded. “Sure, I’ll always be at your side any time you’re outside Kitra’s gate, Teren. That won’t change for the duration of the PSD. Get some sleep. You’ve had a pretty rough day.”
She gave him a warm look. “It was tough on you too, Nolan. Thank you for sharing with me. It means a lot.” Teren turned away, knowing that if she didn’t, she might step forward and do something bold and crazy: ask Nolan to take her to bed and love her. So turning, she hurried away to prevent herself from issuing, either verbally or with her body, such a life-changing invitation.
Musing, Nolan watched Teren move away from him. She wore a pair of loose lavender cotton pajama bottoms with a sleeveless tee of the same color. With her hair half-dry, the towel over one shoulder, she looked fetching. He hadn’t meant to be half-naked, but when she’d called for him, it had sounded urgent. Pushing his fingers through his wet hair, Nolan turned and headed to the bathroom.
*
The morning air was slightly cool. Teren jogged with Nolan along the berm of the asphalt highway. It was quiet except for their running shoes slapping the dry, hard clay soil. She spotted a few rabbits hopping around, seeking out the tough green bushes that thrived in the hot Sudanese desert to hide within. Off in the distance, she heard a pack of hyenas yipping but couldn’t see them. There were what she called “knobs of hills” here and there across the otherwise pancake-flat grasslands. They were two hundred or so feet tall, rising like bumps out of the sea-level surface.
Having Nolan moving fluidly at her shoulder, his Glock in a holster at his side, made her feel safer. There was no one around at this time of early morning. Traffic to and from Kitra usually started at ten a.m. and was finished by three p.m. on weekdays. Teren expected to find no traffic on the ribbon of highway and she saw none. She’d slept hard last night, her last thoughts settling on Nolan and how sexy he’d looked in that towel draped around his waist. Her dreams had been torrid: they were finally in bed together doing things she’d never imagined participating in. These dreams were a first for her and left her shaken and yearning for relief.
She couldn’t look into his eyes this morning and not remember he’d lost the woman he loved, as well as their unborn baby. She saw him in a whole new light and could feel the last of her walls crumbling around her heart.
“Two point five miles,” Nolan told her now, starting to slow down to make the turn back to Kitra.
“Wow, it didn’t seem like it,” she said, breathing easily as she turned around on the highway.
“You were lost deep in thought,” he teased, joining her on the other side of the highway.
Teren laughed a little. “Yeah, I nosedived, didn’t I?”
“You’re a techie. You’re used to putting a hundred percent focus on whatever you’re doing.”
She slid him a glance as they picked up the pace once more. “You do the same thing.”
“Guilty,” Nolan admitted with a boyish grin.
There was a new, vibrant energy throbbing invisibly between them. The intimacy was there, just waiting. Nolan had entrusted her with the most horrific event of his life. He had so much courage that, in her eyes and heart, he was a modern-day warrior with morals and values from long ago. Not everyone held themselves to a higher standard, but Nolan did. He also treated her as an equal, if not putting her on a pedestal at times, and that was so refreshing.
“Farida has never had this kind of threat to Kitra…not that I know of,” she said to him. “I wonder how she’ll take the report from you and Ayman this morning.”
“From what Wyatt told me at Artemis before I came out here, Teren, he’d had a number of serious events reported by Farida and Ayman. She probably kept that intel to herself for a lot of good reasons. I don’t think this potential intrusion is going to catch her off guard. It’s not going to make anyone’s day, but Farida strikes me as a very solid leader who’s pretty much unflappable.”
“I think you’re right. I’m glad Artemis is working so closely with us.”
“They’re just coming online, but their whole focus is on keeping their locations, the people they serve, and the staff, protected.”
“And I had to be the poster child they cut their teeth on,” she grumped, shaking her head, frowning.
“Two years ago there was an attack on another Delos charity down in La Fortuna, Costa Rica,” he told her as he looked at his watch, marking the time. “Two teachers were murdered and their school was burned to the ground. A third woman, Lia Cassidy, the administrator, escaped into the jungle and lived to tell us about it. But then the drug lord, who was pissed at them for hiding his mistress from him, took out a hit on Lia as well. That’s when the Culver family kicked into gear. They hired a security contractor like me to protect her. His name is Cav Jordan. And then Dilara and Robert Culver, who own Delos, flew down there to start the rebuilding of the school and hiring new teachers. They fought back by bringing in a security team to allow the construction of the new facility to be completed. The happy ending was that the drug lord was put out of business and the children of that town are thriving with the school nearby.”
“I didn’t know any of this,” she murmured, worried. “What happened?”
“They eventually captured the drug lord who instigated the murders and the burning of their school. Lia, the woman who survived because of her security contractor, now works at Artemis in Alexandria. So does Cav. They’re happily married and working in different departments at the security company. They have a little one-year-old girl, Sophia.”
“I love happy endings,” Teren said, seeing the gates of Kitra in the distance. Looking at her watch, she said, “Cool-down time.”
In more ways than one, Nolan thought as he cut his stride and watched her ponytail settle between her shoulders. He enjoyed seeing Teren in skimpy jogging clothes; her blue shorts and white sleeveless tee left little to his imagination. His hand itched to explore every part of her lovely, gleaming body, but he sent his desire packing, reminding himself that patience paid off—for all concerned. He just hoped that a time for loving would come sooner than later…