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.”
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
