Page 32 of Her Tempting Protector

Even after a mile down the road and he realized he’d gotten away with the truck, he still wasn’t happy. Not even the splendor of an African sunrise could get a smile from him, he was too worried about Shada. With every deep rut in the road he winced, worrying that she would end up ripping open her incision and bleeding out.

He slowed down as he approached the lonely house. Once again, he wondered why she lived so far away from any other person. That wasn’t the norm from what he had learned at the briefings he had been given and what he had observed. Normally a family like hers would be surrounded by more people. What was the deal?

Cullen got out of the truck, prepared to see what progress Carys had made inside the house to get Shada and the baby ready for travel. Before he had even stepped two feet toward the abode, the door opened, and her hair was glinting in the sunlight.

She opened the back door of the truck. “Thank God it has a backseat. I was worried that you were going to bring me a sedan or a two-seater truck with just a flatbed in the back. This will work.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Come inside. I need you to cut some things down to size. Once you do that, the mattress will lay out pretty well. I want to give her as much cushioning as possible, but we can’t use the blood-soaked bedding from where she gave birth.”

It took a moment for Cullen’s eyes to acclimate from the bright sun to the dim interior of Shada’s home. He could see what Carys was indicating. She had piled two crates near the door, they could be cut down so that they could be shoved into the footwells of the back passenger seats and then a mattress could lay on top of the seat and the crates. He grinned. The innovation was perfect.

“Let’s get this going,” he enthused. “How are Mama and Baby?”

“I just administered a low dose of pain meds to Shada when I heard the truck pull up and confirmed it was you. Adam doesn’t need to be fed again for another two hours.”

Cullen paused from where he was modifying the crate to fit into the back of the truck. “Adam, huh?”

Even in the dim light, he could see Carys blush. She nodded.

“I think that’s a perfect name,” he said quietly. “So, will they be ready to move when we have this set up?”

“We will do what we have to do.” She walked over to him and crouched down. “Cullen, this is one of the worst possible things we could be doing. You know that, right?”

His gut clenched. “Carys, I wouldn’t be doing it if there was any other choice.” He cupped her cheek. “We have to get to Khartoum—your lives, all three of your lives, are depending on this.”

She nodded. “Okay, I have scoured the house. Every bit of fluid and food I’ve got packed. I also have a hijab for me to wear.”

“You plucked the suggestion right out of my head,” Cullen said as he bent back down to the crate. “Is she on solid foods? I have some MREs. Raiden stuffed his into my pack. There’s packets of fruit and applesauce in there for her.”

“The applesauce would be a Godsend. Maybe I could finally get her to eat something. But so far, she just hasn’t been interested. That’s just one more reason I’m so worried. I have a few bananas as well that I was going to mash up. We’re not going to be able to take the direct route to the capital, are we?” Carys asked.

Smart. The lady was smart.

“Nope. Not with me driving. Even with you in the hijab, I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb. I’d normally suggest we drive at night so we could avoid detection, but I need to be able to see the road so that I give Shada the smoothest ride possible.”

He stood up and Carys followed him as he went out to the truck to see if the crates fit in the footwell. They did.

“Is she going to be okay with me carrying her?” Cullen asked.

“That’s part of the reason I administered the pain medication. Having a strange man, especially an American, carrying her was going to be difficult for her no matter how desperate the situation. I have her covered in her hijab. I’ve told her about you and explained that you are a trained medic like Raiden. That seemed to help.”

Cullen nodded. He picked up the mattress and Carys’ large medical bag and hauled them out to the truck. When he had it all situated, he went in to carry Shada out to the vehicle.

He formally introduced himself in Arabic. “Your son is very handsome.”

She hugged her son close to her chest, then relinquished him to Carys’ waiting arms.

“Thank you, he is already a great joy in my life,” Shada said sweetly.

“It has been a pleasure to feed him and meet all of your children.” Even dosed with pain medication, Cullen could see a look of pride in Shada’s expression.

“Please tell me if I’m hurting you when I lift you up,” Cullen asked. “The last thing I want to do is cause you any pain.”

“I will be fine. Just take care of the doctor and my baby,” the woman said softly.

Cullen couldn’t help but admire the woman’s stoic attitude. He carefully picked her up, not surprised when she didn’t make a sound. Carys held the door open while holding the baby in her other arm. She walked ahead and was able to help him place Shada in a comfortable position, all without causing baby Adam to wake up.

He helped Carys into the front seat, then went back into the house to make sure nothing was left behind. As soon as he was satisfied that they were all packed up, he hot-footed it out to the truck, and headed out on the route that Kane had provided.