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He fully expected the force of five weapons to be turned on him as he walked toward the group of people in front of the mission doors. Instead, no one even glanced his way. That was because their attention was focused entirely on the strange behavior of the leader of the group of militants. Without warning, he stopped screaming at Edith. His head spun so sharply to the right that Adam, still several feet away, heard a crack. It was as if his neck had just broken from an invisible kick to the head. Then the man dropped to the ground.
His followers were still regarding him in surprise, when the reason for this phenomenon was explained...to Adam, at least. Maja appeared from nowhere, holding her Valkyrie sword in both hands. As she swung the weapon above her head, her eyes met Adam’s. The expression in those blue depths reassured and warmed him. She was flesh and blood and she knew what she was doing. He took a moment to feel glad she was on his side.
“Get his gun.” She gestured for Adam to go toward the unconscious form of the leader as she approached the other militants. They were briefly stunned into immobility by what had happened, but Adam wasn’t hopeful that was going to last.
Sure enough, as Maja drew closer, the man who held his gun at Edith’s head raised it and pointed it at the Valkyrie instead. His hand shook wildly as he barked an order at her. Adam could understand the reason for the awestruck expression on his face. With her proud stance and golden hair streaming out behind her, Maja resembled an avenging angel as she bore down on him.
Adam’s injury made him feel close to useless, but he was going to do everything he could to help Maja fight these thugs. It looked like he wouldn’t get the chance, for the man fired at the precise moment that Adam managed to stoop and snag the leader’s discarded gun. As the bullet hit Maja in the abdomen and she doubled over, Adam couldn’t believe the force of the emotion that swept through him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Maja go down, and he wanted to roar like a wounded animal in response. He would never have imagined himself capable of anything so primal and raw. Thought took second place to feeling. Acting on nothing but instinct, he raised his arm and fired an answering shot.
Adam’s bullet hit the rebel in the throat; the man’s body hitting the red dust shook the mission workers into action. Two of the militants had been taken out, which meant their chances were improving. Seizing the initiative, they turned on their attackers. Although gunshots rang out, Adam didn’t see anyone get hit. But that might have been because his attention was on Maja.
After being struck by the bullet, she had dropped to one knee. Now, she was up again and powering forward at a run that would put an Olympic sprinter to shame. Adam shook his head to clear it. He had seen that bullet hit her square in the center of her body. She should be dead or dying, sprawled in the Syrian dust.
She’s real, but she’s not human.
Right now, he couldn’t see a problem with that. As Maja thundered into the fight, sword discarded, Adam was very thankful to have an invincible warrior princess on his side. He watched in admiration as, in one stylish movement, she brought a foot up under the chin of one of the rebels while swinging her elbow full force into the windpipe of another. They would be debilitating blows in any circumstances. He had a feeling, from the way those men crumpled like discarded toys, that from Maja, they were more. She must have a strength over and beyond anything mortal. Those men were never getting up again. The fifth rebel clearly shared his conviction and attempted to run.
“We can’t let him get away.” Edith sounded almost regretful. “If he goes back to his masters and tells them what happened here, the mission is finished.”
Adam helped her to her feet. Edith turned her face away as one of the mission workers fired the final shot at the fifth attacker.
“We need to dispose of these bodies. Fast.” Adam’s face was grim. Had he ever envisaged a situation in which he would utter those words?
As he surveyed the scene, Maja moved toward the drystone wall. As she neared the gap, Tarek burst through the opening and hurled himself into her arms, twining his small body around her like a monkey climbing a tree. An unusually subdued Leo came to sit at her feet.
“Don’t leave me, Maja.” The boy’s desperate plea reached Adam’s ears.
Maja’s voice was soft and reassuring as she cradled Tarek to her. “You are safe now. We won’t let them hurt you.”
Her eyes met Adam’s over Tarek’s head and there was a silent appeal in those blue depths. When she said “we,” she meant the two of them. With an emotion close to shock, he realized he would be the boy’s rescuer. He would do whatever it took to keep him safe, and do it happily. For the first time since Danny’s disappearance, Adam had someone to care for. He might not like the circumstances, but he didn’t dislike the feeling.
Edith was organizing the removal of the bodies. Her men would load them onto the mission truck and drive them out into the desert. Sadly, a pile of anonymous corpses lying in the red sand was not uncommon. Their clothing, with its telltale Reaper insignia, would be burned. No one wanted the Reapers seeking revenge for the deaths of their comrades.
While that activity was taking place outside, Maja carried a terrified Tarek into the building.
“I know you told me to run.” He turned his head to look at Adam, who had followed them inside. “But my legs would not work.”
* * *
“It’s okay.” Maja could see the lines of pain etched into Adam’s face and wondered how he was still standing. “My legs were feeling the same way.”
They went into the kitchen and sat at the table that occupied the center of the room. There was a jug of water and Maja poured glasses for Tarek and Adam. They both gulped the lukewarm liquid gratefully.
“Why were those men looking for you, Tarek?” There was a gentle note in Adam’s voice that surprised Maja.
Tarek’s hand tightened convulsively in Maja’s and he turned wide eyes to hers as if seeking reassurance. “You are not in any trouble,” she explained. “We can only help you if we know the truth.”
Her words seemed to help him reach a decision and he nodded. “It is because I know who he is.” He drew a deep breath as though the words were being dragged up from somewhere deep inside him. “The one they call ‘the Reaper.’”
Maja was watching Adam’s face and she could tell Tarek’s admission had a powerful effect on him. His eyes darkened and a frown line pulled his brows together. She sensed he was trying not to express disbelief, and she was glad when he won his internal battle. She might not know much about these things, but if they were going to support Tarek, they had to show him that they believed him unconditionally.
“I don’t understand.” Maja looked from Tarek to Adam. “Who is this man?”
“The Reaper is a vicious murderer and one of the most feared terrorist masterminds in the world,” Adam said. “His network extends across the globe, but his headquarters are thought to be in this part of the world. I’m saying ‘thought to be’ because no one really knows anything about him. His true identity is carefully concealed. Armed forces have been hunting him for the last two years with no luck.”
While his words revealed a disgust for the man who could unleash that sort of terror on the world, they didn’t explain the sadness she had seen when he first heard Tarek’s words. Sensitivity wasn’t Maja’s strong point, and patience was not considered a virtue in the Valkyrie, but she decided to wait in case Adam had more to say. After about a minute, during which he appeared lost in thought, he spoke again.
“A bomb was planted in the office of my Boston newspaper headquarters after we published an article condemning the activities of his terrorist group. Luckily, a security guard saw a suspicious package and raised the alarm before it went off, so no one was killed. The building was destroyed.”
He smiled, and her heart gave a strange little leap. It was most perplexing, because there was no one she could go to for advice about that. She suspected there was nothing actually wrong with her heart, and that its erratic behavior was an Adam-related occurrence. Until now, she had never envied mortals. Their lives seemed short and drab. Now, she wondered if she might have been wrong. If she had been a mortal woman, she probably would have been able to ask someone about the unnerving effect Adam had on her. She could always ask him, of course. Maybe just not right now...
“And the heroic security guard is still alive, so he wasn’t picked up by one of your squad mates and transported to Valhalla.”
The words heralded a change in approach. They were a definite signal that he no longer viewed her as a figment of his imagination. Which meant he knew what had happened between them had been real. Real and devastating. The thought tipped her world slightly off balance. She had an uncomfortable feeling Adam knew exactly what she was thinking. How had it suddenly gotten so hard to breathe?
Tarek. He was the focus here. The only thing that mattered right now. Yes, she had a whole heap of other problems to deal with, but the child’s safety had to come first. She didn’t know any other children, but some new instinct, more powerful than anything she had learned in Valkyrie training, told her that. She turned back to the boy. “How do you know this man?”
“I don’t know him. I have never met him, but I heard my father talking about him on the phone.” Tarek clung to her hand. “I was supposed to be in bed, but I sneaked onto the landing and listened. I was frightened because my father was shouting and he sounded scared. He kept saying ‘you have to listen to me.’” He swallowed hard. “I don’t think they listened to him.”
“Do you know who he was talking to?” Adam asked.
“My father called him ‘sir.’ Only once, he said his name. Then, he called him ‘Shepherd.’ I remember everything he said because it scared me so much. He said the Reaper wasn’t one man, it was a con-sor-tium.” Tarek spoke the word carefully in the manner of one who had rehearsed it many times. Out of the corner of her eye, Maja saw Adam sit up a little straighter. “But he said one man was the brains behind it all. My father said he had two years’ worth of evidence on this guy. It was enough to bring him down. The next day—the day after my father made that phone call—they bombed the university where he worked and my father was killed. That was two weeks ago.”
Maja wrapped her arms around the trembling boy, holding him close. “Why would they come for you, Tarek? How did those men know you had this information?”
“I don’t know.” Tears filled his dark eyes. “You are the first people I have told.”
“It’s possible they were just taking no chances. Getting rid of any family members just to be sure,” Adam said. “But you definitely heard your father say the name of the man behind this corporation?” As Adam asked the question, Maja sensed he was reining in a feeling of urgency.
“It was an easy name to remember. It sounds like a name from a fairy tale,” Tarek said. “It was Knight Valentine.”
Adam’s reaction surprised Maja. Hissing out a breath, he got to his feet. Although it was clear he was still weak and in pain, he paced from one end of the small room to the other for several minutes, clearly lost in thought. That name meant something to him, and whatever the meaning was, she sensed it wasn’t good.
Maja, meanwhile, spoke softly to Tarek. Reassuring him that he had done the right thing in telling them everything, she promised they would make sure the Reaper would not be able to find him. Could she carry through that promise? She knew nothing of this world, and she was now an outcast from her own. In an act of rebellion so complete, she had ensured she could never return to Valhalla. That was just the start of her personal problems. Odin was famed for his vindictiveness. He was unlikely to let a rogue Valkyrie live in peace. Scratch that. He was unlikely to let a rogue Valkyrie live. And live where? All she knew was her warrior lifestyle, and she wasn’t human, so even if she might be able to hide from Odin, there was no place for her here in the mortal realm.
“I will get you out of here.” When Adam came back to his seat, his firm voice, together with Maja’s encouragement, seemed to boost Tarek’s confidence.
Even so, the boy raised troubled eyes to Maja’s face. “Will you stay with me?”
She lifted her own eyes to Adam’s, seeking confirmation. He nodded. “I’ll stay with you. We both will.”
Reassured, Tarek went off to find Edith, to organize food for Leo.
“How will we keep our promise?” Maja asked. “How will we get him out of here?”
Adam grinned. “I haven’t figured out the finer details. I’ll admit that getting a child, a Valkyrie—” the grin turned into a grimace “—and a dog out of a war-torn country is going to stretch my ingenuity. But I’ll think of something.”
* * *
Sitting at the kitchen table in the mission, they planned the operation long into the night. Edith had handed over the keys to her car without blinking. Much the way she had accepted the presence of a corset-clad, sword-wielding Norsewoman in the heart of Syria. Adam suspected that the Englishwoman’s life contained many interesting stories. Maja was just one more.
“You can’t fly out of Syria without a visa, and we don’t have time to obtain one for Tarek,” Edith said. She spread a map of the region on the table. Tracing various locations with her finger, she pointed out a route. “One by one, the surrounding countries have closed down their borders. You won’t be able to take Tarek across at any official points without the correct documentation, but if you have money, there are places where it can be done.”
“I have money.” Adam’s jacket might be torn and bloodied, but the concealed inner pocket still contained thousands of US dollars and his cell phone. He had a feeling that his best asset in the next few days was sitting at his right-hand side, studying the map in silence. A Valkyrie warrior who could use her invisibility to his advantage was going to be more useful than any amount of money when it came to getting Tarek out of this troubled land.
“The best way out of here will be to drive across the border into Lebanon.” Edith tapped the map. “I have a contact near the old port of Batroun. He will take you by boat to Cyprus. From there, you can arrange to travel to the United States.”
Those words were the sweetest Adam had ever heard. Even so, it seemed he had a long way to go before he could say he was safely home.
“Does Tarek have a passport?” That was Adam’s biggest concern. Maja could take care of herself. Her invisibility would prove to be a handy trick when it came to border control.
Edith nodded. “It was among the possessions that were brought here from his home. It’s in my study, along with his other proof of identity.”
“So, our biggest problem will be Leo.” Adam was thinking ahead. How the hell was he going to get the dog into the United States?
“I’m not going without him.” Tarek’s expression became stubborn as he wrapped his arms around his pet.
Edith pursed her lips, disappeared briefly and returned with a Leo-sized gym bag.
“He won’t like it.” Tarek eyed the bag gloomily.
“He’ll have to put up with it if he wants to come with us.” Adam kept his voice firm. He was in charge, and everyone else—including Leo—had better get used to the idea.
Leo sniffed the gym bag thoughtfully, clearly decided it wasn’t too bad, and with a weary sigh, clambered inside it and curled up. Tarek laughed and clapped his hands. “He thinks it’s his new bed.”
* * *
The dog remained asleep as they set off. Three hours later, as dawn broke, Adam figured they must be approaching the point at the border where Edith had thought they would be able to bribe their way across. Following the route she had suggested, their journey had been uneventful, though the roads were poor. Adam had been driving one-handed over the potholes. His whole body was rattled, his shoulder was throbbing and he felt drained of energy.
Maja turned in her seat and studied Tarek as he slumbered in the rear, one arm draped protectively over the gym bag. Even clad in Edith’s cast-off clothing, Adam’s Valkyrie companion was proving to be a severe test of his ability to remain focused on the journey. Baggy linen pants, battered sneakers and a blouse that might once have been white but was now a faded gray color, made up an uninspiring outfit and covered her figure. Her hair hung in a braid almost to her waist and a baseball cap topped her head. How was it that she still managed to look like the hottest thing he had ever seen? Every time he looked her way, his mind went into overdrive as he pictured the lush curves beneath those drab clothes. At the same time, his body remembered how she had felt in his arms and demanded a replay.
Focus. He was in charge of this bizarre rescue mission. Driving over the border into Lebanon would be difficult enough. Coping with a hard-on at the same time? That really was not going to help matters.
“This is a seat belt.” He indicated his own. “It’s designed to keep you safe.”
He flicked a glance in her direction and encountered her steady blue-eyed stare. “I don’t need it.”
“I was forgetting. It must be useful to be invincible.” He turned his gaze back to the road. “Is there anything that can hurt you?”
“Only Odin’s will.” Something about the quality of her voice made him look back at her.
The depths of those incredible eyes were suddenly twin pools of fear and sadness. The change was so abrupt, it shook him. During the drive thus far, he had managed to avoid conversation. Tarek had been awake for most of the time, and they had talked of inconsequential things. Big topics such as what would happen once they reached safety, how Adam was going to deal with the information about the identity of the Reaper, and what had happened between him and Maja...well, they could wait for another time. A time when they were safe. But when Maja looked at him as she did now, his defenses were stripped away. He wanted to know everything about her, including why she was hurting.
Just as he was about to ask her to tell him more, they crested a hill and the sight he had been waiting for came into view. A concrete wall, roughly twelve feet high and topped by barbed wire, stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions. The road passed through the wall, but the opening was guarded by a group of men in a variety of military uniforms. They sat around a few trestle tables, eating and playing cards. Adam didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed at the interruption to the moment of intimacy.
“We’re here.” He nodded, and Maja shifted in her seat as she followed the direction of his gaze. “This is the border.”
Chapter 5 (#u9723b41f-6060-5634-8f6e-dc7ed6b82fba)
Adam slowed the car as they approached the border. Edith had explained that this was not a recognized checkpoint. The gap in the border wall was not meant to be there, but corrupt officials were turning a blind eye to its existence. The men who were guarding the border were smugglers. They would allow Adam and Tarek to cross for a price. She had stressed that they were ruthless bandits who would not hesitate to kill them if they thought it would be more advantageous. In addition to her car, Edith had given Adam one of the guns they had taken from the Reapers. It rested in the well between the front seats, out of sight, but within reach if he needed it. A constant reminder of the danger they were in.
Adam surveyed the scene. He was used to skirmishes, but prior to his arrival in Syria, they had been of the bloodless variety. He knew his business opponents would describe him as a killer...within the corporate environment. Ruthless and without scruples, Adam had a reputation for doing whatever it took to achieve his goals. He stayed within the law, but it was well known that if there was a way to bend the rules, Adam Lyon would find it.
But this? Facing a group of five armed outlaws, miles from anywhere, with only his wits, a gun and a pocketful of hundred dollar bills? This was outside his experience. Add in the fact that he had taken on responsibility for an eight-year-old child—and a dog, don’t forget the damn dog—and the whole situation strayed into the realms of the ridiculous.
He turned his head to say as much to Maja, but she had vanished. Although the passenger-side window was fully wound down, Adam hoped she was still with him, poised for a fight. Since they hadn’t discussed tactics, he couldn’t be sure. That was the problem with invisible companions. They were hell when it came to communication.
The men halted their game of cards as the car approached. One man rose to his feet and, with his machine gun held in an ostentatious pose across his chest, raised a hand for Adam to stop. With a pounding heart, he hit the brakes and wound down his window.
“Do you speak English?” Adam asked. His heart rate spiked further as the man looked in the rear window at Tarek’s sleeping figure.
“A little.” He came back and leaned on the roof of the car. “You want to cross the border?”
Relieved that he didn’t have to embark on a lengthy explanation, Adam nodded. “How much?”
A speculative look crossed the other man’s face as he eyed Adam, then the car. “Wait here.”
Abruptly, he turned away and strode back to his companions. Adam watched as they talked among themselves for a few minutes. There was much gesturing and pointing in Adam’s direction. He wished he could hear what they were saying. Were they discussing how high to set the price? Or deciding whether to kill him and Tarek, take the car and their belongings and dump their bodies in the desert?
Just when the tension was becoming unbearable, Adam’s attention was drawn to another man. He had moved slightly to one side of the group and, while the others were talking, he seemed to be distracted. Every now and then, he would raise a hand as though swatting a fly. His movements gradually became more pronounced, until he appeared to be shadow-boxing an invisible opponent.
Adam felt a tiny flicker of hope flare inside him at the thought. An invisible opponent. He had been worrying that all he had was his wits and a pistol, when in reality there was a far more powerful weapon on his side all along.
The man reeled back, raising his hands and clawing at his throat. His face darkened and his eyes bulged. As he dropped to his knees, his companions finally became aware that something was wrong, and rushed to his aid. It was too late—the man’s head was wrenched around to the right with a sickening twist and he was flung facedown in the dirt. The others halted in their tracks, their expressions stunned.
Immediately, another of the men staggered as his head jerked sharply back, and he cried out in shock. He covered his face with both hands, but blood gushed from between his fingers. Adam’s best guess was that someone—that same invisible someone—had kicked him in the face, breaking his nose and probably loosening several teeth.
Panic broke out among the group as a third member dropped like a stone. Clutching his groin, he curled up in the fetal position, a high wail issuing from his lips. Adam allowed himself a brief moment of masculine sympathy. Maja was clearly fighting hard in every direction. He was just thankful she was on his side. That superhuman strength in the form of a kick in the balls wasn’t something he ever wanted to experience.
The remaining two reached for their guns, turning toward Adam as they made the connection between him and the mayhem being unleashed. Adam reached for his own in the same instant that Maja became visible. Stooping to pick up a weapon discarded by one of the fallen men, she shot another bandit in the back as he approached the car.
Four down. At the same time, Adam fired a shot through the car’s open window, hitting the fifth man squarely in the chest.
It was the second time he had killed a man in two days. He had known when he came to Syria that he was entering a country where his own life would be in danger. Had he envisaged a situation in which he would be forced to kill? Perhaps it had been at the back of his mind. It didn’t make him feel any better. Didn’t take away the feelings of nausea and guilt. Telling himself that this man and the terrorist back at the mission would have murdered him without a second thought didn’t alter his feelings. Something inside him had changed when he pulled the trigger. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t do it again.
“Get in.” He gestured to Maja as he viewed the scene. They were leaving dead and wounded bandits in their wake. He doubted the authorities would be too concerned, but he didn’t want to hang around to find out. He grinned at her as she slid into the seat next to him. “We have a border to cross.”
* * *
“Thank you.”
Adam’s eyes were warm on her face as he spoke, and Maja took a moment to enjoy the sensation. After crossing the border into Lebanon, they had traveled for a few more hours until they reached the old coastal city of Batroun. The peaceful blue-and-gold harbor was such a contrast to the strife they had left behind in Warda that it was a shock to her system. Tranquility was outside her experience. When she came to the mortal realm, she entered scenes of bloody battle. This was a new phenomenon.
As she sat on the harbor wall, the warm sea breeze tugged strands of hair loose from her braid and caressed her face. Below them, Tarek threw sticks for Leo to chase along the sand. It was easy to imagine, for a moment, that they were here to enjoy the beach scene.
This mortal capacity to keep going was something that amazed Maja. This land had been ripped apart by war, yet its people continued to find happiness in their daily pursuits. And in each other. The thought brought her back to Adam. Everything brought her back to Adam.
