“That ignoring a situation doesn’t make it better for the people living it.” My throat threatened to close, my body recognizing my defeat before my heart.
“I still feel the same way. Me leaving isn’t going to help these people. The least I can do is bear witness.”
“You’re not coming with me, are you?” My voice broke on the last word.
She shook her head. “I’ve worked too hard to get where I am to quit.”
I pressed my lips between my teeth and fought the immediate burning in my eyes. The very passion I’d always admired about Serena had the potential to get her killed, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
“I’ll give you guys a minute, but that’s all we have,” Nate said quietly before walking toward Taj.
“I won’t be able to come back,” I whispered. “I pulled every string I had to get here, and I have the feeling Nate did too.”
She smiled. “Only you would come searching in the first place, and I love you for it.” Leaning forward, she rested her forehead against mine. “But I can’t leave. Not yet.”
“And if the province falls before your thirty days are up?” I could barely get the words out. “Please tell me you’ll get out before then. I can’t leave you here—”
“I’ll leave if the province falls.”
“Promise me.”
“Promise. I’m not trying to get myself killed. But I’m not leaving Taj. It would be unspeakably cruel to abandon the person who has done so much for me, and he won’t be safe here anymore, not after the work he’s done for me, the work he’s done for our government in the last few years. You know they’ll kill him the first chance they get.”
Hope sprung up in my chest. “I can work on his paperwork. At least I’ll do what I can to push. The State Department is overwhelmed.”
“I appreciate that.” Her hands fell to my shoulders. “Just remember that I’m here because I choose to be. What’s happening is more important than me.”
“Not to me.” I winced. “And yes, I can hear exactly how self-centered that sounds.”
Serena laughed and pulled me into a hug. “I’ve missed you. And no matter what, my assignment is up in a month. I’ll be home before you know it.”
Nate walked by, followed by the remaining operators, but I couldn’t let her go, even when the wind gusted in, somehow hotter than the stifling, stagnant air of the room.
“Stay with Nate,” Serena whispered. “That man has his faults, but there’s nothing he won’t do to keep you safe.”
“And how would you know that?” I found the strength to pull back so I could look at my sister.
A smile curved her lips. “Because I see the way he looks at you. Guess nothing much has changed there.”
I shook my head. “He’s been an absolute ass from the second I got off the plane. The only reason he’s looking at me is because I’m his assignment.” But that wasn’t the entire truth. Feeling his gaze on me, I glanced over my shoulder to see him waiting for me in the doorway, and turned back to Serena. “But there’s been a minute or two that he’s just been . . . Nate. We’re making the best of a really awkward situation.”
“Are you, now?” She retreated a couple of steps, her fingers sliding down my arms until she held both my hands. “If I had to promise that I’d leave if the province falls, then you make me one too.”
“What promise do you want in return?” I gripped her hands and told myself this wouldn’t be the last time I saw her. If I even thought it, I wouldn’t be able to walk away.
“Promise me that you won’t marry Jeremy.” She nudged my ring with her finger.
I blinked. There was no way she knew. “Because he’s Mom and Dad’s choice, or because you’ve never liked him?” She’d made her opinion widely, loudly known the night Jeremy proposed at our family’s very renowned, very well-attended Christmas party.
“No.” Her voice lowered, and her posture softened as she grinned at me like we were back in that apartment in DC and not in the middle of a war zone. “Because I see the way you look at him too.” She glanced meaningfully over my shoulder. “You have no business marrying one man while you’re in love with another.”
“I’m not—” I yanked my hands back, but she held tight.
“You are.” She gave my fingers a squeeze and then let me go. “And Jeremy’s never been good enough. Stop settling for less than what you deserve. Stop walking the path Mom and Dad laid for you unless it’s the one you want.” One step at a time, she backed away. “I’ll see you in a month. Let’s grab pizza from that little place near the old apartment. God, I miss pizza.” She flashed another smile, then turned away and walked out, taking Taj with her.
Somehow, I made myself walk to Nate.
Somehow, he got me into the helicopter.
Somehow, I managed to breathe as we took off, leaving my sister behind in Mazar-i-Sharif.
Nate slipped his earbuds into my ears and played some of my favorite music on the flight back to Kabul, but it barely made a dent in the noise of my thoughts. I’d had her, hugged her, and now she was gone. Our flight back to the States was scheduled for ten days from now.
Was there any way I could convince Serena to leave by then?
How did I let this happen?
“You didn’t fail,” Nate said quietly as he opened my car door once we reached the embassy.
I’d been so consumed by my thoughts that I hadn’t even noticed we’d arrived. “Why would you say that?” At least this seat belt didn’t stick as I got out of the car.
“Because I know you, and I know how you think.”
Unfortunately, he was right.
“It feels a lot like failure.” The heat beat mercilessly as we walked toward the entrance.
“She made her choice.” We passed the marine guards, and Nate opened the door. “Serena has always been stubborn as a mule when it comes to her work.”
I nodded, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. The crisp air was a relief against my face as we entered the embassy’s foyer and started toward the stairs. I wanted to crawl into bed and sleep off the utter, heart-wrenching defeat. Lucky for me, none of the staff was waiting, which meant I had a chance to make it to my room without being noticed.
Nate and I walked up the steps in silence.
“Is what Serena said true?” he asked as we neared the door to my room. “About why you went to work for Senator Lauren? Why you went into politics?”
I stopped dead in my tracks.
Oh. God. I’d almost forgotten that Serena had accidentally ratted me out. I opened my mouth to answer, but someone stepped out of the next room down the hall, saving me from embarrassment.
“Damn, I’ve been waiting all day for you,” a man said angrily, and Nate and I both looked down the hallway to see the figure striding our way with purpose, his face becoming disastrously clearer with every step.
Not just any man.
Jeremy was here.
My stomach hit the floor.