Degree of Risk by Lindsay McKenna

Author:Lindsay McKenna
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Sarah was yanked off the panting horse. They’d ridden for nearly an hour, whipping in and out and around hills. Her inner legs were rubbed raw by the wooden saddle. Her fever was high and she thought she was hallucinating. How she stayed on that horse for an hour, she did not know. She’d tried to memorize where she was. They were west of FOB Thunder. Sarah estimated roughly ten miles. They’d dipped into a series of cave systems located at the base of a mountain that towered twelve-thousand feet or so above them. She saw snow on the peak. The sun had come up, its long rays slanting across the landscape. They’d left the narrow valley and were now in hills near the beginning of a mountain chain.

The horse was soaked with sweat, its brown coat gleaming in the dim light of the cave they’d just ridden into. Sarah saw it was huge, long and high. The white-and-cream colored stones on the ceiling reflected the sunlight, lending more light than usual.

“Get off!” Jawaad growled, marching up to her, a pistol pointed up at her.

Sarah was fluent enough in Pashto, and she saw the hatred in the man’s small, close-set brown eyes. She pushed off shakily. The moment she slid to the ground, red-hot pain shot up her leg. With a gasp, she collapsed. The horse’s feet danced around her. Black dots swam across her closed eyes.

“Whore!” Jawaad yelled, grabbing her by her hair, hauling her upward.

With a cry, Sarah felt her entire scalp erupt with pain. She wasn’t expecting it, her arms flying out from her body, trying to regain her feet.

“Jawaad!” Mustafa yelled, “stop! Do not mistreat her! She’s wounded. Get two men to help her to walk to the inner cave.”

Breathing hard, Jawaad released her hair with a snarl.

Sarah collapsed against the horse, dizzy, unable to orient. The men grabbed her arms, steadying her. Opening her eyes, she gasped, dying for some water, her mouth cracked and dry.

Jawaad lifted his lip and glared at her. He ordered the men to drag her along if necessary.

Sarah tried to walk. She’d felt warm blood trickling down her leg and ankle, absorbed by her sock and boot as she rode. Now, as she was dragged into another cave, the pain was excruciating.

Mustafa’s staff of servants came racing up to him. “Get that ruck she was wearing. Get Anas! I need him to look at her leg wound.”

Instantly, the servants left. One ran down another tunnel. The other quickly gestured for his lord to sit on the colorful Persian rug that had been quickly unrolled for him to sit upon. Another brought him a jug of fresh water. A plate of fruit appeared, as well.

Mustafa eyed Sarah, who struggled to keep her head up.

“Put her here.” He jabbed his finger at the other end of the huge rug. The soldiers dragged her over. “Gently,” Khogani growled at them.

Sarah felt herself being placed on something soft, not dirt, not hard rock.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.