Ajax was worried about Serena. She went back to being quiet as they continued walking. It might have been for the best since they needed to focus on the terrain and ensuring they didn’t lose sight of the road and stray too far off-course.
When they came to the outskirts of town, they quickly located the rock formation where they were supposed to meet their next transport.
They were early. Intentionally. Missing a pickup point would be detrimental to the plan. It could ruin everything. People risked their lives helping to move humans around under the radar. They couldn’t return if something went wrong.
Ajax took Serena’s pack off her shoulders and then watched her drop down onto her butt. She was tired. They both were from two days of walking while carrying their packs.
Ajax opened a bottle of water, removed the lid, and handed it to her. He opened them each a protein bar next and sat next to her, leaning his back against a large rock. After adjusting his weapon at his waist, he tipped his head back and sighed.
It was time to focus on the mission. Tonight they would sleep in a host’s home again. Tomorrow, he would leave Serena behind and make the last leg of the trip on his own.
She didn’t know that yet, but it was necessary. He wasn’t taking her one step closer to the danger zone. She was raised in this town. If anything happened to him, people would take care of her and get her out of the country safely.
He didn’t know for sure how far Charley intended for Serena to accompany him, but he was certain Charley understood there was no way Ajax would lead Serena into a battle situation. The danger level he was willing to expose her to had been exceeded when they stepped off the airplane.
Serena leaned her head on his shoulder. “You okay?”
He chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her. “That’s usually my line.”
“Yeah, but right now you’re the pensive one all up in your head.”
“Mmm. True. Just thinking. We’re getting closer. Shit’s gonna get real.”
“It must be stressful. I can’t imagine if six of my closest friends were being held hostage for three months in a third-world country. I think I’d lose my mind.”
“If I had made this trip alone, there’s a good chance I would have panicked by now, but you’ve kept me distracted. Thank you.”
She tipped her head back and smiled at him. “There. Perfect.”
He furrowed his brow. “What’s perfect?”
“I’ll just tell my mom that I had to get naked with you in order to save lives. It was an important job assignment.”
He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “You’ll do no such thing.”
She giggled. “Why not? I think it’s a good ice breaker. Yeah, so, Mom, I think I need to branch out and expand my options. The men I’ve met at the church aren’t cutting it for me. I’m gonna need a man with a bit more experience who can make me scream in bed.”
Ajax rolled his eyes skyward and gripped her tighter. “You’ll do no such thing,” he repeated. “No need to kiss and tell. You won’t even have to lie. Your mother is not going to ask you if you had sex with the former SEAL you were traveling with.” Right? God, he hoped he was right. But what did he know?
“True. Just in case…” she teased.
“It’s bothering you, isn’t it?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Not only did I lead you down a path of seduction and put you in tune with all the sins of the flesh, but I’ve caused you to start lying.” He couldn’t keep from grinning.
“You did not.” She swatted at his chest.
He caught her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. “It’s a slippery slope. All this lying. First, you lie to cover up your transgressions, then you lie about lying. What’s next? You probably won’t tell your mom you even came to Ethiopia.”
Her eyes widened adorably. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea. I just won’t tell her where I went at all. Omission.”
He chuckled. “Is that what they teach in Sunday school? Lying by omission as a way to avoid facing the truth?”
She giggled. “Maybe you could lie for me and then I wouldn’t be the one sinning.”
This banter was fun and helped keep his mind off the upcoming mission, but he wondered how much of it was a joke to her and how much of it was serious.
He was concerned about her. Big time. No matter what. Even if he pulled back and kept his hands to himself starting right now, he’d still made her feel things she hadn’t been aware of. Made her think. Made her question her beliefs and choices.
At the time, when he’d decided to show Serena what she was missing out on, he hadn’t fully realized how religious she was or how it might affect her emotionally. Now, he was worried that he’d done more harm than good.
Was there such a thing as too much information? Some situations required one to keep some things to themselves. Like dropping into a third-world country from a helicopter and handing out candy bars to the children who’d never had one before. Was that kind or cruel?
He felt that way about Serena. Even though he hated how sheltered she’d lived and how uneducated she was about sex, that hadn’t given him the right to interfere and cause her to question everything she’d known to be true for twenty-eight years. Now he worried he’d done her a disservice.
On the other hand, she was an adult who made her own decisions. She wasn’t exactly naïve. She was worldly. She traveled and dealt with people and had a great deal of education. She wasn’t weak or mousy. She’d simply been uninformed about pleasure. And now she wasn’t. He was sure she would work through her feelings about sex over time.
Ajax couldn’t do anything about the past now. All he could do was hug this amazing woman against him and wish the world were a simpler place in which the two of them could fit into it as a couple.
When they finally heard a vehicle approaching, Ajax stood first, palming the gun at his side, watching closely.
The car that pulled up had only one occupant, and Ajax tensed up until the man held up two fingers, the sign they were expecting. Ajax forced himself to calm down. He was growing more anxious with each passing hour.
Serena rose next to Ajax and grabbed her pack, and then the two of them hurried over to the car. It was still daylight, so people would see them inside the vehicle as they drove into town, making Ajax wonder if they needed to stay down and out of sight.
Serena came to an abrupt stop as soon as they reached the driver’s side. The window was rolled down, and when Ajax glanced at her, he found her grinning. She set her hand on the frame of the car and uttered one word. It sounded like a question.
The dark-skinned man nodded, brows drawn.
Serena’s grin widened and she proceeded to speak again, rapidly. This wasn’t the same language she’d spoken in Addis Ababa, and Ajax reminded himself of the reasons he’d needed her to accompany him at least as far as possible. She also spoke Afar. She used to live here. Even though Amharic was the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia, it was often a second language in the region where they were now located.
Ajax took her bag and tucked all three in the back seat while she spoke with the man. On closer inspection, Ajax didn’t think he was very old. Perhaps early twenties.
Serena was downright excited and giddy when she slid into the back seat next to Ajax. “My goodness,” she muttered.
“Care to share?” Ajax asked.
She was shaking her head slowly in disbelief as she met his gaze. “This man is the son of my friend Jasmine, the woman I told you about. He was only ten when I left. He’s all grown up now.” She reached over and squeezed Ajax’s hand. “We’re going to Jasmine’s house.”
Ajax smiled at her. What a blessing. The woman she most wanted to see in this small town would be their hostess for the night. Even better, Ajax wouldn’t feel as nervous about leaving her there. This development solidified in his mind that he would leave Serena with her friend and continue on alone.
Serena was beside herself with excitement as the young man parked the car behind a comfortable-looking house. Her happiness warmed Ajax’s heart. Seeing her friend would distract her from the rampant thoughts of regret running through her mind.
A woman came out of the back of the house as soon as the young man turned off the ignition, and her face lit up when Serena jerked the car door open and jumped out to run toward her friend.
The woman’s eyes were wide, as were her arms, as Serena ran into her embrace. Jasmine cried, sobbing out loud as she hugged Serena and then cupped her face and met her gaze. She spoke rapidly in Afar. Serena nodded several times and responded in between the barrage of questions.
Ajax watched all of this as he extricated himself from the car and set their bags next to it. He approached slowly.
When Jasmine released Serena’s face, Serena turned toward Ajax. “This is Ajax, the man I’m accompanying.”
“Welcome to our home,” Jasmine responded. Tears were still sliding down her dark cheeks, and she kept swiping at them, but they continued to fall. Tears of happiness.
It didn’t escape Ajax’s notice that this woman who had done such a kindness for Serena all those years ago had been like a mother to her. She may have even played a more important role than Serena’s own mother. She’d empowered Serena in a very modern, feminist way.
Jasmine ushered them all inside. Her son picked up Serena’s pack and carried it while Ajax grabbed the other two. It smelled amazing, another rich stew Ethiopians often dined on.
Ajax followed the younger man through to a bedroom where they dropped all the bags before returning to the front of the house. Ajax wondered if he would be sleeping with Serena here. At the previous house, the couple had assumed the two of them were married. That was unlikely to be the case tonight. He would let Serena handle that side of things.
“I can’t believe it’s you,” Jasmine was saying as Ajax joined them. They were seated at a table in the kitchen, and Ajax settled next to Serena.
Jasmine sat at the head of the table. She reached over to stroke Serena’s hair gently and then giggled. “What a beautiful woman you have become.”
Serena blushed as she set her hand on Jasmine’s. “You have not aged a day.”
Jasmine chuckled. “It feels like I have.”
She glanced at Ajax. “Thank you for bringing this lovely child back to me.”
He nodded in some confusion. “I’m afraid I cannot take credit for that. It is Serena who has brought me to your home.”
Jasmine smiled warmly. “Well, I’m just so happy.” She turned toward Serena and then glanced back and forth between the two of them. Finally, she lifted a brow. “You are a couple?”
That adorable flush covered Serena’s cheeks and she swallowed. “No. Not exactly.”
Jasmine’s grin widened and she clapped her hands together in front of her lips. There was a twinkle in her eyes. “You are in love.” She grabbed Serena’s hand and squeezed it. “I see it in your eyes, child.”
Ajax couldn’t help but smile. This woman was intuitive. He wasn’t entirely sure she was correct, but his chest tightened at the possibility. It wasn’t fair of him to feel such glee at the prospect that this amazing woman might feel even one-tenth of the feelings toward him that Jasmine suggested.
He shifted his gaze to Serena. She was bright red now and biting her bottom lip. He swallowed. Was she in love with him? They’d only been together a few days. Granted, those were very intense days, but love? His excitement shifted to fear. It would be a disaster for Serena to be in love with him.
He ran a hand over his head and shifted his gaze away from the intensity of Jasmine’s.
Jasmine changed the subject. “Tell me everything.” Her expression dropped. “We were so saddened by your father’s death.”
“Thank you,” Serena responded. “It was hard to believe.”
“You returned to your country with your mother and siblings, correct?”
“Yes, I hated that we were rushed out of here in the middle of the night, unable to even say goodbye.”
“I too hated that, child, but I knew you had been moved to safety. My husband will be so excited to see you when he gets here. And look at you,” Jasmine widened her arms. “So grown up. Your mother?”
Serena nodded. “She is well, as are my brothers and sisters.”
Jasmine’s son nodded toward Ajax. “I can show you the bath if you’d like to shower.”
Ajax nodded as he stood, grateful to have a reason to leave the room. Serena would need time to catch up with her friend. He could use that time to regroup and clean up.
He squeezed Serena’s shoulder as he turned to leave.
She set her hand on top of his and tipped her head back, her gaze filled with happiness.