“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything here,” Lily said, giving Amber a quick hug.
Amber held her friend tightly for a second. They were going separate ways—Brad with Lily, acting as Amber’s decoy by wearing a blond wig, were heading back to his place to get “her” things, whereas Amber and Hawk would start for the western border, toward Albania.
“I’m sorry about this,” Amber said. She felt bad, as if she were abandoning Lily. “I have passports for each of the girls ready in the large envelope. If you need cash—”
“How many times have I done this? Don’t worry so much.”
It wasn’t that she worried about Lily, but it was her responsibility to do the paperwork in their operation. Whereas Lily’s skills had always been on the survival side, rescuing the kidnapped girls and guiding them safely out of Macedonia, Amber undertook all necessary detail work to prepare the girls for their new lives. It was she who got the fake passports ready, double-checked all the tickets for the girls going overseas, and, most important of all, made sure the girls understood what they had to do to make it safely to their destinations.
With Hawk’s escape, Lily was afraid that Dilaver might go house to house looking for him, and would come upon the safe houses. She suggested she would take the current group of girls out of Macedonia immediately. Amber had agreed. She felt she’d let Lily down.
“We do what we have to do,” Lily continued. “Call me so I don’t worry.”
“I will.”
“Here’s the map to where Dija is,” Lily said, giving her a piece of paper. “I’ve already talked to him and he’ll let you guys through somehow.”
“Can we really trust him?” Amber looked at the drawn map doubtfully.
Lily shrugged. “It’s a risk you’ll have to decide. Hawk saved his life back there at the hills and this is a simple return favor. Dija has always kept his word to me.”
“Okay, thanks.” Amber gave Lily another hug. “It’s dark enough now that they can’t really see your face. You look gorgeous as a blonde, by the way.”
“Yeah, watch me scoot down in the car so I look petite like you.”
Laughing, Amber stuck a tongue out at her friend before turning to go back upstairs. Hawk was having his ribs tightly bandaged by one of the housekeepers. When she opened the door, she found several of the girls keeping him company, fussing over his injuries. They heard about what had happened and had been worried. It astonished her to see how these girls, most of whom had grown to dislike men, warmed up to Hawk.
He looked up and his puffy lips attempted a crooked smile. Her heart did a slow somersault at the look in his eyes. Sexy. And dangerous. The man must be a superman. A few hours of rest just couldn’t be enough for an ordinary guy to look so ready for battle again.
One of the girls touched his shoulder. “Be careful and good luck,” she said.
Hawk nodded. He glanced back at Amber. “Don’t worry. I’ve got Amber to take care of me,” he said.
Brad was surprised Lily had agreed to this part of the plan. Going back to his place couldn’t be comfortable for her. Hell, he wasn’t comfortable either. But he was going to try to be a gentleman and not force himself on her.
“You’re still angry with me, aren’t you?” Lily surprised him by bringing it up.
He congratulated himself silently at not braking the car to a dead stop. “I’m not angry,” he said quietly. Not now that he understood her anyway.
“Why? Because you feel sorry for me?”
There was the slightest hint of bitterness in her voice. He couldn’t see her face in the evening darkness.
“I’m not sure how I feel at the moment,” Brad said honestly. He checked the rearview mirror. “We’re being followed, by the way.”
Lily sat up a little straighter, fluffing her hair. “Probably Dilaver checking to make sure Amber and you are doing what you both said you were doing.”
They came to a stoplight and the car pulled next to Brad’s. Lily looked down, then turned away so they could only see the back of her head.
“What are they doing?” she asked, casually leaning over to flick something off his collar.
“Two men. Watching us.” He turned and gave her a smile. “Can I kiss you before we turn into my garage? It’ll make it seem like we have romance on our minds.”
“All right,” she whispered.
Brad leaned down and softly brushed her lips with his. To his surprise, she opened her mouth, inviting him to taste her. He slid his tongue into her mouth and she nudged closer, eagerly responding. It was more than he’d expected and he didn’t want the kiss to end, taking his time to explore her softness. For his part, he wasn’t pretending.
A honk from behind jolted his consciousness and he released her lips. The light had turned green. He looked over Lily’s shoulder and caught the occupants from the other car looking at them, grinning. Another honk, more impatient this time, from the driver at the back. He turned and started the car moving again.
They didn’t say anything as he turned onto his street. He checked the rearview mirror. They were still being followed. As he activated the garage door opener, he turned and pulled Lily into his arms. She came willingly and he briefly wondered whether she was still playing the part of Amber. Of course she had to be. But he no longer cared.
“I want them to see how much I want you,” he told her and kissed her again.
The ride to the mountain pass was uneventful. No one paid attention to the old van used to transport the girls. Hawk had made sure they weren’t being followed as he followed Lily’s map. Just before they reached the border, he pulled over so Amber could get into the back.
This was perhaps the most important part of the passage. Dilaver controlled many of the border gangs and he was sure to have everyone on the lookout for them. Through the years, Amber and Lily had mapped out which were the safest routes in and out of Macedonia, “safe” being a relative term here, as all sorts of shady characters resided in the mountains. Lily had many contacts and she told them that there was a price on the Americans’ heads. Alive.
When they stopped at the roadblock, Hawk gazed directly into Dija’s eyes. In spite of all this veza stuff among the locals, he much preferred to trust his own instincts. The other man had told Lily he would let Amber and him pass through because Hawk had spared his life in the firefight. He supposed that was the mercenary’s way of returning the favor. Fair enough.
Still, he didn’t put all his trust in the man’s word. Dija was, after all, a mercenary, someone who put a price on lives.
“What are you transporting at this hour?” Dija asked.
“Fruit.” Amber had assured Hawk that she would be ready back there if Dija decided to betray them. “Market day tomorrow.”
Dija turned to the man next to him. “I’ll look in the back. You stay here.”
Hawk didn’t turn his head as he listened to Dija’s footsteps leading to the back of the van. The sound of the back door opening. He smiled at the other man standing by his side of the vehicle. The back door slammed shut. Dija trotted back to the front, his weapon pointing down at the ground.
“Okay, you can go,” he said crisply.
Hawk met his eyes one last time. “Thank you,” he said.
“Not a problem,” Dija answered.
Hawk drove about ten kilometers before he found a good place to hide the van. He got out in the dark. He could hear Amber getting out of the vehicle from the back. They had to abandon it and go the rest of the way on foot. They didn’t have the paperwork to show to the authorities and the Serbian police were no better than Macedonian thugs, except they had prisons in which to beat people.
“Well, that was easy enough,” he said, half joking. The country roads that connected Macedonia with Albania were sort of a no-man’s land where two sides were at war. The KLA was determined to take control of as much land as possible and sporadic battles broke out without any provocation. “He didn’t give any hint of having seen you back there at all.”
“Dija moved some fruit around, but it was obvious he wasn’t going to look too closely,” Amber said.
“What are you looking at?”
Amber had pulled out something from her bag. “Another map. I want to get our bearings right.” She pointed to several spots on the map. “These are places to avoid. More gangs or checkpoints. We’ll have to move around them and try not to get caught in a battle. Oh well, at least we still have my handy bag of weapons.”
It amused him to listen to her talk of the operation ahead as casually as the way she followed one of her recipes. In a way, she reminded him of Jazz, who could talk strategy and make it sound like music. She would get along with his SEAL brother.
“If we follow the trail around this lake,” he said, “then we’ll get to Elbasan first.” The cache they were looking for was between Elbasan and Tirana.
“It’s a long hike from here. Most of Tirana is hilly, perfect to hide a weapons dropoff. It’s going to take at least a day.” She rubbed his arm. “Or more, with your injuries.”
Hawk knew she was concerned about his bruised ribs. He ran a finger down the curve of her cheek. “I can do this, sweetheart. Trust me.” He had to tell the truth now. “I’m a Navy SEAL, so I’m quite used to a lot of pain.”
“A what?”
“Navy SEAL,” Hawk said. “It stands for sea, air, and land, and I—”
“I know what a SEAL is,” Amber interrupted. “You said you’re one.”
He stroked her soft skin again. “Yeah.” He didn’t blink when she shone her flashlight at his face, looking at him closely. He cocked his head. “Don’t look any different, do I?”
“You’re a soldier?”
Hawk shook his head. “See, you don’t know what a SEAL is. I’m a sailor, sweetheart. You know...Navy SEAL.”
She waved the flashlight away. “What’s the difference? You’re military.” There was disbelief in her voice.
“Don’t let my frog brothers hear you say that. Plenty of difference. When I have time, I’ll have to teach you.”
He waited as she stood there thinking about what he had just told her. He knew she had thought he was a part of Jed’s outfit and, being Amber, had him all figured out in her head. Or so she’d thought.
“Frog brothers?” she muttered. “So you can swim?”
Hawk chuckled. “Yeah, I can swim. I’ll take you sometime, too.”
“But I can’t swim, except doggy paddle.”
He hadn’t thought of that. “Okay, then I’ll teach you.” He took hold of her hand. “What I was trying to say was that I’ve been trained to do this.”
“Hmmm. I knew there was something about you. I guess I can teach you to cook.”
That was his girl. Always had to compete. Hawk grinned. “Deal,” he said.
Lily put away her cell phone. “That was my contact telling me that he’s waiting for Amber and Hawk,” she said. “He’ll call me again when they cross the border.”
“Good,” Brad said as he poured himself a glass of wine. “What would you like to drink?”
“The same thing,” Lily replied. It would help relax her.
“To Amber and Hawk,” Brad said, holding up his glass for a toast.
“To us,” Lily said, smiling.
Brad studied her for a moment, his eyes searching. “This teasing has to stop eventually, Llallana.”
“Eventually,” she agreed and finished her wine in one gulp. “I want more.”
“More...wine?”
“More...everything. Call me Lily, Brad.”
He carefully put down the glass. “What are you doing, Llallana?”
She didn’t want to tell him he’d won. That she yearned to feel something besides hatred and fear one more time in her life. That she was tempted to give in to this need for him. She knew that if she went through with this, she would hate herself in the morning, but she wanted him and couldn’t deny it any longer. For once in her life, she wanted a man to satisfy her.
“I’m not teasing any longer, Brad,” she said softly. To prove she wasn’t, she undid the zip at the side of her silk top and slowly pulled the blouse loose. “We have to kill some time, let Amber and Hawk get out of town. Why not spend this time doing what the men outside think we’re doing?”
She walked to him and started to unbutton his shirt. He didn’t stop her, his eyes, full of questions, searching hers. She felt excitement surging through her as his shirt parted. She laid her cheek on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat.
This was the easy part. She was in total control, just the way she liked it. “We’re going to finish what we started the other night,” she told him. “I promise.”
“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want...Lily.”
“I want...this.” She ran her hand down his chest toward the waistband of his pants. “I want this.” She unhooked the belt and pulled on the zipper. “I want this.” She put her hand inside and grasped his hard arousal. It pulsed with heat. “Inside me.”
Brad let out a soft groan as she stroked his penis. He abruptly took her hand and pulled it out of his pants, then turned, taking her along with him. She assumed they were heading for his bedroom. Her feet suddenly felt weak. She was really going to do this.
Lily didn’t even have time to register what his room looked like. He had her on her back, on his bed, and started kissing her face and her neck. She gasped when his mouth covered her nipple, sucking and licking it. His hand reached between her legs and she felt his fingers rubbing her through her panties. She almost choked from the shock. How could she be so near to coming from just that? She fought for control. No.
“Not yet,” she said. “Slowly, Brad.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, moving up and kissing her lips. “I can’t think straight when you’re around me. When you took off your blouse just now, I think I about lost it. I’m going to make this good, Lily. I promise you.”
She was dying from forcing herself not to move. She let him take her clothes off, heard his compliments through the buzz in her head, and watched as he removed his. He was so handsome. So big. She stared at his arousal. He climbed on top of her.
She wanted to be on top. She always wanted to be on top. Not this time. She could do this. She opened her legs. “Come inside,” she invited and forced a smile, even though she was fighting the growing fear. She was screaming inside. No, no, no.
“Not yet,” he said, and his smile was so beautiful. His hand reached down again and he intimately explored her. “Slowly, Lily. I want you to feel very good. You’re so wet now, baby. I want you to lose yourself like I’m going to lose myself in you.”
Lily shut her eyes tightly. She didn’t want to lose herself. She always had them come in her and lose themselves as she rode them. They were the ones out of it; she was the one using them. Except she hadn’t felt the same sharp pleasure that Brad was giving her now. It was the same building pressure from the other night, the one that took all her control to stop.
She was so close. She held her breath, fighting the need to pull his hand away. A sob escaped her lips.
“Yes, baby, so close.”
She felt him slide down and gasped at the first feel of his tongue where his hand had been. He pleasured her with rhythmic strokes, strong and hard, his sure fingers opening her folds wide for his tongue. She was melting, losing all thought. She fought it even as she felt herself getting wetter and closer.
No! She couldn’t be this easy to conquer, could she? She chased after that elusive tension mounting inside her even as she fought to let go. His fingers joined his tongue. She sobbed harder. She couldn’t lose control.
His weight came back on her and she wrapped her legs eagerly around him. This she could do. She would make him come inside her, and she would watch him. Instead of plunging into her, he rubbed himself against her clitoris, over and over, until she felt her legs falling onto the bed as she helplessly squirmed.
And then, suddenly, he was inside her, filling her. She was so wet that he went all the way in, stretching her to the point of no return. And still she fought not to let go.
“It feels so good to be inside you,” Brad whispered into her ear. “I want you to come with me, Lily.”
His strokes were long and hard. She heard his breathing as he neared his climax. She gritted her teeth and clenched her insides so that he would come sooner. A few more strokes. He would be a useless soft pile of nothing in a few more...she gasped as he changed angle, jerking upward in swift, hard thrusts. He reached down and opened her again, his knuckles slithering over her most vulnerable spot. He thrust harder. His knuckles slid in time.
Lily tried to raise her legs. If she wrapped them around his waist, she could control his...Brad sat up on his haunches and plunged deep. The first wave of her orgasm hit her.
No. She tried to stop it. She felt him pulling out slowly. Felt the long, slow stroke of him filling her all the way. The tightness started to uncoil. No! His finger pulled at her clitoris and her whole body quivered as everything unwound inside her. She had no control left. The pleasure was unbelievable, almost painful, every wave taking away all her fight. She heard Brad give a moan and felt him shuddering as he fell on top of her body. He was right. She was lost in him and she was falling apart. She hated herself for losing control.
Afterward, Lily stared up at the ceiling in the dark, listening to Brad’s breathing. They had been sleeping for a little while. He held her close, one hand covering her breast. She had to get up soon. Find her pants. Get the hypodermic needle.
For some reason, after so many years, she’d wanted to feel an orgasm with a man. So tonight she’d done it successfully. It’d felt wonderful and wrong. Brad had made her lose control and now she truly hated him. He deserved the needle.
Her cell phone’s muffled ringing came from somewhere near the foot of the bed. Brad stirred. “Shhh,” Lily said. “I’ll get it.”
They rested till dawn broke over the mountains, then resumed their climb down the mountain pass. It had been a while since Amber had hiked like this. She’d grown up doing this with her parents, going from small village to small village, some of which were reachable only on foot. She’d learned to appreciate the local culture of each country and to use the resources to make traveling easier. It wasn’t the first time she had to walk like this in the dark. There were times in Africa when her parents and she had to run off with many other villagers from advancing militia.
She looked at Hawk. She didn’t care whether he was a SEAL or not. The man was injured and any kind of strenuous exercise had to aggravate those bruised ribs and Lord knew what else. His breathing still didn’t sound right, although it didn’t seem to stop him as he kept a pace that would down most ordinary men.
But she was fast learning that Hawk McMillan wasn’t an ordinary man. She’d always admired that well-sculpted body, thinking that he must work out a lot. As a SEAL, she now knew, he’d undergone training in conditions that would test his spirit and endurance. She’d seen television shows on SEAL training in which young men were deprived of sleep and made to train in extreme conditions in the ocean.
Sailors, she corrected herself. She looked up at Hawk climbing above her. She recalled the way he’d tested her, the sure way he’d learned the city alleys. How could she not have noticed how calm he’d been in the middle of a battle? Her lips twisted when she remembered how she’d teased him, saying he was probably hiding in a bush. She suspected now that he’d been doing a lot more. That sailor body had been sculpted to be a fighting machine. How strange that she, who had thought she would never meet someone who would understand her way of life, would meet a man like him.
Hawk looked down. “What’s the matter? Are you tired?”
“I’m fine. Do you need to stop for a rest?” She grinned at his snort. He didn’t even bother to answer her. “You keep forging ahead like you know where you’re going.”
“I want to make sure there’s nothing over this ridge, that’s all. You’re back to point man once you get up here.”
She grinned up at him and resumed her climb. He’d been teaching her all these military terms as they hiked through the night. “Point man” was the one walking point, looking for wires and bombs as he led the way.
“I kind of like checking out your cute ass from behind,” she told him.
Hawk frowned down as he offered a helping hand to pull her up. “That’s not very professional,” he said. “You’re supposed to be looking around you to make sure we don’t come under attack.”
She’d been doing that, but she wished he hadn’t taken off his jacket. His soaked T-shirt molded his pumped body like a second skin and it was distracting. She’d better change the subject before she showed him how unprofessional she could get.
“There’s a farm a short way from here,” she told him. “We’ll try to hitch a ride. That will give us more rest time.”
“Won’t the farmer think it odd to have two strangers drop in like that?”
She shook her head. “No, this area is full of foreigners, refugees, and aid workers. During the height of the war, refugees were pouring in from Kosovo and Macedonia, so strangers are nothing new to the locals around here. It’s the Albanian authorities we have to worry about. We’ll tell the farmer we’re heading for Tirana. It’s one of the oldest cities, with famous castles, and we can have them drop us near there. And if nothing else, money talks around here.”
“Tirana. That’s one of the cities near the weapons.”
Amber nodded. “It’s roughly fifty kilometers between Tirana and Elbasan. Let’s hope your coordinates are correct, because that’s a lot of area to go looking for a hidden cache.”
“Jed told me they had all the coordinates for the UAVs as they flew over the various drop points. The problem from his end was to distinguish between regular food aid and weapons that are being illegally smuggled into the theater.”
Amber coughed. “Umm...UAV? Theater?” He had definitely reverted to military mode, with all this talk. “Can we talk English?”
His lips quirked. “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. “Theater” means the battle zone.”
She chuckled quietly. “You guys. How about stopping for some TQL from the WHD?” She pointed to their pack. “You know, thirst-quenching liquid. Water-holding device?”
Hawk pulled her close to give her a quick kiss, his stubble rubbing her face. “ILY,” he said quietly into her ear.
She looked up at him, the morning sun just breaking into a tiny red streak in the sky. Standing on a mountain. Heaven above and mere men below. Her parents would certainly approve. She smiled joyously.
“ILY, too,” she said and it felt so right.
Everything seemed to fall according to plan after that. They didn’t see any border authorities or roaming mercenaries. The farmhouse. A curious but helpful farmer and his family. American dollars bought them some breakfast, the use of the facilities, a new change of shirts and some straw hats, and a ride toward Tirana. They took turns napping as they sat in the back of the little truck, bouncing uncomfortably, though still it was, Amber noted with satisfaction, much better than spending the next two days hoofing it. It was a risk, but time wasn’t on their side anymore. Dilaver had transportation and sooner or later he would catch up.
She watched Hawk give the farmer another tip when he dropped them off, frowning as she noticed Hawk limping. “How’re the ribs holding up?” Like he was going to tell her the truth. “I know, I know, you’re a SEAL, blah, blah, blah, but you’re a limping SEAL right now.”
Hawk surveyed the dusty path. “We have to get off the main road, if you can call this one. Do we go to the left or the right of it?”
He’d changed the subject, so he was in pain. Amber frowned. His eyes were a little red and there were lines bracketing his mouth. She probably looked just as rough, but she didn’t have to deal with bruised ribs. They probably had another ten kilometers to cover and then they still had to conduct a search of the area. “Hawk?” she prompted.
“I’ll make it, sweetheart,” he said. “The thing is to keep moving. It’s the resting that’s killing me.”
She stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. “Is that what they teach you in SEAL school?” she asked incredulously.
He grinned. “We have a saying. The only easy day was yesterday, baby. Come on, I’ll race you.”
To prove his point, he took off running. Amber stared after him. “I’m in love with a madman,” she muttered.
The morning sun broke through the canopy of trees, dappling the path with speckled patterns. They made their way through the woods, then a clearing, and then another patch of rocky woods.
“According to the coordinates, the drop zone should be east of here,” Amber said. “I need a quick break before we get out into the open again.”
“All right. I’ll stand guard right here.” Hawk looked around. “Don’t go too far. There might be ugly bears or something.”
“There aren’t any bears in Albania,” she said. “Are there?”
Hawk nodded solemnly. “Albanian bears are noted for their stench.”
Amber glared at him over her shoulder before disappearing behind a clump of shrubs. He was such a tease sometimes. Looking around, she relieved herself quickly in a shady area. As she readjusted her clothing, the sound of crushed twigs behind her gave her warning that she was no longer alone. She turned and ducked at the same time, lunging forward and using her weight as an element of surprise.
She knew Hawk had been setting her up with that stupid bear story. Her “assailant” toppled onto his back with a grunt. She climbed astride, careful to avoid the rib cage. Leaning forward, she gripped his hips with her thighs. Strong hands came up to hold her waist. She leaned forward, her lips hovering over masculine ones.
“Ha! What do you think of th—You’re not Hawk!” She sat up, too startled to attack. But she could have sworn it was—
“No, ma’am,” the stranger said, amusement in his voice.
“What the hell are you doing, straddling my husband?” a woman’s voice cut in.
Amber had barely registered the similarity between the stranger and Hawk before the woman charged at her. No time to think. Rolling off, she kicked out at the new assailant.
“Hawk!” she called out.