hand against his where it lay on her head. "Thanks for coming back. It means a lot to me."
"You're welcome." He bent and kissed her forehead, wishing he could make it better. Straightening, he looked at Spencer. "You'll take care of her?"
"You know it."
When he turned back to her, Bryn's eyes were glazed. "Try to sleep," he whispered. "I'll get in touch with you as soon as I can."
She nodded almost mechanically, as though she was sinking deeper into grief. "Bye."
When he looked back at her from the doorway, her eyes were already closed.
Day 5, Near Syria-Lebanon border
Evening
Farouk Tehrazzi leaned back into the front seat of the battered pickup as it bumped and rattled over the rough dirt road that led to his childhood village, fighting back the bitter rage that filled his heart. When the intelligence had come in that morning about the traitor, at first he'd refused to believe who had helped the Americans escape. He did not want to 106
Cover of Darkness
by Kaylea Cross
believe his blood would commit such a terrible sin. But the evidence was incontrovertible. They had betrayed him, and now they would pay the ultimate price so that no one would dare cross him again.
In his mind he saw his victim paused in front of the fire crackling in the crude hearth to warm her old bones. Every arthritic joint in her body would be aching and throbbing as they always did this time of day. How many hours had he spent rubbing those gnarled hands to relieve her suffering over the years? But her recent actions had sealed her fate.
Did she know he was coming for her? He imagined her weakened heart fluttering against the cage of her ribs like a trapped bird.
Mortal terror did that to a person.
Whispers about the foreign captives' escape had circulated through the local marketplace that morning. He had made certain everyone knew he was searching for those who had betrayed him, and when he found them, their deaths would be brutal. A matter of hours ago he had learned the truth about the betrayal. Now, mere minutes remained before he would mete out his swift and savage retribution. Her betrayal had pushed him into a rage so vast...
He forced a calming breath. She would pray for death before he was finished with her. As would her husband.
Even the bond of shared blood would not save them from his wrath.
He thought of the stoning he'd witnessed in Kabul a year after the Taliban had restored law and order to the chaos of Afghanistan in the wake of the Communist defeat. Found 107
Cover of Darkness
by Kaylea Cross
guilty of adultery, the man and woman had been wrapped in white cloth, bound hand and foot and buried in the ground up to their waists. Neighbors from the village had carried out the sentence. The memory of the rocks and stones hitting their bodies was still fresh in his memory. He could still hear the sound of it—each dull thud as the stones smashed into flesh and bone, until the white cloth was soaked crimson with blood. Left alone where they lay, the victims had taken another day to die from their injuries.
He was a hardliner. He believed in upholding the traditional Islamic Shari'a law. Should he stone the traitor to death?
Behead her? He pushed away the surge of guilt. She was a woman of strong faith. No matter what crimes she had committed here on Earth, there was a place in heaven for her. After her mortal suffering was finished, Allah would have mercy on her, even if Tehrazzi did not.
As they entered the village, people peered out the windows of their tiny mud-brick huts. Children played in the dusty road, but stopped when they saw them. A few dogs skulked in the lengthening shadows. The truck announced his presence for him, as he was the only one wealthy enough in the region to afford a vehicle. Every man, woman and child in that village knew who he was and why he was here. He thought of his intended victim. Was her husband still out herding the goats? She couldn't leave without him. She was too old to
"You're welcome." He bent and kissed her forehead, wishing he could make it better. Straightening, he looked at Spencer. "You'll take care of her?"
"You know it."
When he turned back to her, Bryn's eyes were glazed. "Try to sleep," he whispered. "I'll get in touch with you as soon as I can."
She nodded almost mechanically, as though she was sinking deeper into grief. "Bye."
When he looked back at her from the doorway, her eyes were already closed.
Day 5, Near Syria-Lebanon border
Evening
Farouk Tehrazzi leaned back into the front seat of the battered pickup as it bumped and rattled over the rough dirt road that led to his childhood village, fighting back the bitter rage that filled his heart. When the intelligence had come in that morning about the traitor, at first he'd refused to believe who had helped the Americans escape. He did not want to 106
Cover of Darkness
by Kaylea Cross
believe his blood would commit such a terrible sin. But the evidence was incontrovertible. They had betrayed him, and now they would pay the ultimate price so that no one would dare cross him again.
In his mind he saw his victim paused in front of the fire crackling in the crude hearth to warm her old bones. Every arthritic joint in her body would be aching and throbbing as they always did this time of day. How many hours had he spent rubbing those gnarled hands to relieve her suffering over the years? But her recent actions had sealed her fate.
Did she know he was coming for her? He imagined her weakened heart fluttering against the cage of her ribs like a trapped bird.
Mortal terror did that to a person.
Whispers about the foreign captives' escape had circulated through the local marketplace that morning. He had made certain everyone knew he was searching for those who had betrayed him, and when he found them, their deaths would be brutal. A matter of hours ago he had learned the truth about the betrayal. Now, mere minutes remained before he would mete out his swift and savage retribution. Her betrayal had pushed him into a rage so vast...
He forced a calming breath. She would pray for death before he was finished with her. As would her husband.
Even the bond of shared blood would not save them from his wrath.
He thought of the stoning he'd witnessed in Kabul a year after the Taliban had restored law and order to the chaos of Afghanistan in the wake of the Communist defeat. Found 107
Cover of Darkness
by Kaylea Cross
guilty of adultery, the man and woman had been wrapped in white cloth, bound hand and foot and buried in the ground up to their waists. Neighbors from the village had carried out the sentence. The memory of the rocks and stones hitting their bodies was still fresh in his memory. He could still hear the sound of it—each dull thud as the stones smashed into flesh and bone, until the white cloth was soaked crimson with blood. Left alone where they lay, the victims had taken another day to die from their injuries.
He was a hardliner. He believed in upholding the traditional Islamic Shari'a law. Should he stone the traitor to death?
Behead her? He pushed away the surge of guilt. She was a woman of strong faith. No matter what crimes she had committed here on Earth, there was a place in heaven for her. After her mortal suffering was finished, Allah would have mercy on her, even if Tehrazzi did not.
As they entered the village, people peered out the windows of their tiny mud-brick huts. Children played in the dusty road, but stopped when they saw them. A few dogs skulked in the lengthening shadows. The truck announced his presence for him, as he was the only one wealthy enough in the region to afford a vehicle. Every man, woman and child in that village knew who he was and why he was here. He thought of his intended victim. Was her husband still out herding the goats? She couldn't leave without him. She was too old to
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