Honor Reclaimed (HORNET #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

KUNAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

Tehani Niazi knew the bomb strapped to her chest was set to explode. The vest’s straps bit into her shoulders, cold metal pressing against her ribs like icy fingers. Each breath she took felt like inhaling glass shards, shallow and jagged.

The guards’ empty gazes pinned her in place.

To them, she was already a ghost.

And maybe she was. She died a little inside every time her husband stopped her attempts to escape him.

A cold sweat raised bumps on Tehani’s skin and chilled her to the bone, but she didn’t dare shiver, too afraid of triggering the device. She didn’t want to end up like Bita. Their husband had strapped a bomb to her last week. He had sent her to the American embassy in Kabul as punishment for her barrenness, even though none of his wives had yet to become pregnant, and Tehani was beginning to suspect the problem was on his end and not theirs. Still, he’d said the only way for Bita to reclaim her honor was to become a martyr. And Bita had believed him. Had all but begged him to allow her to prove her loyalty.

Poor, stupid Bita.

But Tehani wasn’t Bita, and she didn’t believe his word was law. He was nothing but a horrible man who took wives when they were too young and thought of them as objects to be used until he tired of them.

She wasn’t disposable. She wasn’t an object. She was Tehani Niazi, sixteen years old. She had a brother, a sister-in-law, and a nephew. She wanted to go to school and study the law to make sure men like her husband were punished. She had dreams, goals, and none of them included dying for Jahangir Siddiqui.

Except how would she escape this time?

Wind whistled through the hallways of the old military compound Jahangir had claimed when the Americans abandoned it. She clenched her teeth, refusing to shudder as the cold abused her exposed skin. The thin red dress wasn’t suitable for winter in the mountains, and she’d lost her head scarf long before her husband’s men had captured her. If she ran again, the cold would end her as easily—if not as fast—as the bomb.

Besides, running wasn’t an option this time. Two men had been left to stand guard at her door overnight. They were the ones who had awakened her fifteen minutes ago and fitted her with a vest holding the bomb. Now they stood at their posts again, backs turned against her pleas for help. They both believed in her husband’s goals and soon they would load her into a car and take her to a restaurant in Kabul popular with foreigners.

They wanted her to kill people.

Tehani stared at the tangle of wires and round metal objects that made up the vest. She couldn’t make sense of any of it, but the thought that she’d soon be responsible for the deaths of dozens of people turned her stomach to acid. She swallowed a sob.

Maybe she could set it off here. At least then, she’d only kill the men loyal to her husband and not innocent people expecting only to have lunch at a restaurant.

Yes. That’s what she’d do.

If she was going to die one way or another, she preferred to spite her husband on her way to heaven.

With a shaking hand, she touched one of the colored wires, following its path from a cylinder to a small box at the underside of the vest. If she pulled this one, would the bomb detonate? She gripped the wire but released it without pulling and glanced toward her guards. Maybe she should wait until more of the men surrounded her. Two men wouldn’t hurt her husband’s plans. In his mind, warriors were just as disposable as misbehaving wives. But if she took out a dozen or more? His plans wouldn’t be ruined, but it would take him time to replace the men he’d lost.

She rather liked the thought of stalling him.

Movement at the door caught her attention, and she dropped her hand away from the wire, stuffing it underneath her thigh lest one of her guards realize what she was up to. Out in the hallway, the two were talking to someone. The conversation was muffled, but she had little doubt this was the order to take her to Kabul.

Again, she gripped the wire as her guards moved away, and a shadow filled her doorway. She imagined Jahangir standing there, closed her eyes, and yanked the wire.

Nothing happened.

Her heart stalled. Another wire—nothing. Terror bubbled up, sticky and sour in her throat as she scrambled for the next one.

Tears burned trails down her cheeks, and she grabbed another wire and another.

Still nothing.

There had to be a way out—there had to.

The shadow in the doorway swore under his breath and strode into a beam of light cast across the floor by the rising sun. He crouched in front of her and caught her wrists. “Tehani, don’t. It’s not active.”

She blinked until the shadow’s blurry face came into view.

Zakir.

Unlike some of the other men, he kept his dark beard neatly trimmed and took care of his appearance. His eyes were such a rich, dark brown that they appeared black, but they weren’t soulless like her husband’s. She’d always liked him, and betrayal left a bitter taste in her mouth. How could he have been involved in this newest torment?

“It’s not active,” he said softly again. “I made sure it wouldn’t hurt you.”

He checked over his shoulder and then surged to his feet, moving so fast it took her brain a second to catch up to him. He scooped her into his arms and had her halfway out the window before she even thought to fight him. She sent a fist flying and he dodged it, but wasn’t fast enough. It glanced off the side of his head.

“Fuck!” Zakir hissed, rubbing his temple where her fist had grazed him. The word sounded so strange coming from him. It was the kind of thing the American soldiers used to mutter when they visited her village.

Tehani blinked, confusion twisting in her gut. “You—what did you say?”

He froze, eyes sharp with something like regret. “We don’t have time for this.”

She stared at him, torn between shock and terror. She didn’t know many English words, but she’d heard that one often enough. And the way he said it, it was the same accent and everything as those American soldiers.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

“You need to trust me,” Zakir said in flawless Pashto and she wondered if maybe she’d misheard him a moment ago. He’d never spoken English before. As far as she knew, he didn’t understand any more of the language than she did. Maybe he’d picked up the swear word from the soldiers, too.

At the sound of voices in the hall, he glanced toward the door and swore again. This time, there was no mistaking the language.

She shied away from him. “You’re American!”

He gripped her shoulders, holding her still. “Tehani, do you want to leave here?” His voice was quiet but firm, as if her life hinged on the answer.

She nodded slowly, her heart thundering in her throat.

“Good. I’m going to lower you out the window. Run for the trees. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t stop for anything.”

Zakir hoisted her toward the window. Beyond the door, footsteps thundered closer—one man, two, maybe more.

Panic surged in Tehani’s chest, but Zakir’s gaze anchored her. “Go,” he whispered. “Run.”

She dropped into the snow below the window, her breath misting in frantic clouds. As she bolted toward the tree line, one thought hammered through her mind:

Who was Zakir?

Pain exploded through Zak’s ankle the second he hit the ground, sharp and hot, nearly sending him sprawling. He bit down on a curse and waved Tehani onward. She froze halfway across the clearing, right in the kill zone between the compound and tree line, her wide eyes locked on him like a frightened deer.

“Go, go, go!” he hissed and hobbled after her, moving way too fucking slowly. He’d be lucky if he didn’t get his ass shot. They had minutes—maybe seconds—before the alarm spread, and the thought of Tehani being dragged back to that compound twisted something deep inside him.

Man, he was going to catch hell for putting the mission at risk like this. If he hadn’t felt the need to play knight in shining armor before making his escape, he’d be long gone by now. Problem was, he liked the girl. And, like Siddiqui’s other wives, she was just a girl. At sixteen, she was one of the older wives, but still too young to be married. Too young to become a martyr for a cause she probably didn’t even understand. But unlike the other wives, she was smart and had spine. Afghanistan needed more girls like Tehani if it had any chance of moving into the modern era. So, reckless as it was, he’d decided she was leaving with him. It meant he had to bump up his plans, but that was all good with him. He was over playing adoring minion to Siddiqui’s evil genius. He had the information he needed. Time to cut and run.

If he could run. His ankle sent spikes of pain through his calf with every step, and he felt swelling inside his boot. Probably not broken, but definitely sprained. And eventually, the cold grip of adrenaline would wear off. They had to be long gone by the time it did.

At least nobody in the compound had raised the alarm yet.

Even as the thought crossed his mind, shouts rang out at his back.

Well, fuck. So much for that.

Tehani waited for him just inside the tree line, trembling and white-faced. It tugged on his heartstrings, but he couldn’t take the time to comfort her. Nor could he pick her up. He grabbed her arm and dragged her along behind him until he reached the spot on an overgrown road where he’d stashed a vehicle last night.

Ignoring the throb in his ankle, he hauled Tehani inside, then jumped into the driver’s seat. As soon as they were bumping along down the mountainside at a good clip, he reached for the glove box and his sat phone. When he dialed, all he got was an earful of static. He waited until they cleared the trees and tried again.

“This is Zak. I need an exfil now.”

More static, but he thought he heard a voice underneath it.

“I repeat, this is Sergeant Zak Hendricks. I’ve been made. Get me the fuck outta here.”

“Sergeant,” the warped voice said. “Need—coordinates?—”

He rattled off his position but didn’t think it had gone through because now he didn’t even hear the static. He thunked the piece of shit phone against the steering wheel.

Tehani made a sound of distress, and he glanced over. She huddled against the door, staring at him like he was a snake in the grass. “Are you American?”

“Yes, I am.”

Her shoulders relaxed a little. “Are you going to stop my husband?”

That was the plan, but it wasn’t going to happen if he didn’t make it back in one piece. But the kid looked so goddamn scared, he couldn’t tell her just how bad their situation was. “Yeah, he won’t win.”

“He’s a bad man. He needs to be stopped.”

He smiled at her. “Brave girl. We’ll stop him together, okay? You and me.” But the smile faded as he got a load of what was waiting for them down the mountain. Siddiqui’s second in command had already pulled men together to set up a roadblock.

Goddammit.

Zak pulled the vehicle to a stop and drummed his fingers on the wheel. He couldn’t go down there. Not with Tehani in the car. Siddiqui would kill him and use her to kill civilians. Or worse.

Problem was, Zak couldn’t take off on foot either. With the way his ankle throbbed in beat with his heart, he wouldn’t get far, and if he never showed up at that roadblock, the men would start combing the mountain. Even though Tehani’s village was only a few miles away, they’d never make it.

And even if they did make it, Siddiqui would unleash hell on the village in retaliation. Zak couldn’t put those innocent people at risk. He had to find another way.

“Change of plans, kid,” he said, throwing the vehicle into reverse.

The tires spun on the dirt road as Zak swung the vehicle around, the engine roaring. Tehani squeaked and braced herself against the dashboard.

“Hold on,” Zak said, gritting his teeth against the pain shooting up his leg as he pressed the accelerator. “We’re taking a detour.”

He punched the gas, sending them careening back up the mountain road. In the rearview mirror, he caught sight of Siddiqui’s men jumping into their vehicles to give chase. Bullets pinged off the rear bumper.

Shit.

Zak’s mind raced as he wove through the switchbacks, trying to formulate a new plan. They couldn’t go back to the compound. Couldn’t risk Tehani’s village. Couldn’t rely on his team for an exfil.

That left only one option.

He had to buy her some time to escape.

Guess he was going to do the knight in shining armor routine again. He pulled off the barely there road and reached under his tunic for the files and flash drive he’d strapped to his chest. “Do you know where you are?”

She glanced at their surroundings. Nodded. She pointed to the southeast. “My village is that way.”

“Can you make it home?”

“By myself?” she asked, a tremble in her voice. “I think so, but what about you?”

“I’m going to distract these men. Make sure you have time to get away.” He pushed the files into her hands. “Take these with you and get them to the Americans. It’s very important. Can you do that?”

Nodding, she tucked the flash drive away in her dress, then clutched the files to her belly. He leaned across the seat to push the door open. “Go on. Be safe.”

“Zakir.” She hesitated. “Is this about the nuclear bomb?”

Surprise coursed through him. “How do you know about that?”

“I don’t know what it is,” she admitted. “I’ve heard the men talking and they are excited about it. I think it’s going to hurt a lot of people.”

“It will if Siddiqui gets his hands on it. That’s why it’s so important to give those files to the Americans, all right? They’ll be able to stop him.”

She bit her lower lip. “I’m not going to see you again, am I?”

“No.” Zak swallowed the sudden lump blocking his throat. “You’re not.”

“Are you going to die?”

“Probably.”

Her shoulders straightened. “I won’t let you down.”

“I know. Go on now.” Zak watched her scramble out of the vehicle and duck behind a boulder beside the road. He pulled the door shut, drew in a breath, let it out slowly, and shifted to drive. He’d told Tehani the truth—there was a very good chance he wouldn’t survive the next few minutes.

And even if he did, he was going to wish like hell he hadn’t.