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  “I’ve been duly warned,” he said, smiling. He had grown up with his father’s huge family, no stranger to any of them. It was going to be an interesting mix of seventy or so of a SEAL platoon mixing with the Royal House of Saud here on the ranch. Somehow, Mike knew it would work. He’d get a couple of barrels of beer and put them out for his SEAL buddies and the Saudis would be happy drinking their tea or coffee. Yes, it would work.

  “The guys are throwing him a bachelor party,” Khat warned them. “Mac, the chief of their team, is already in motion on it.” She flashed Mike an elfish look. “I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a very rowdy occasion.”

  “More than likely,” Mike said, remembering a number of other bachelor parties for his team over the years.

  “That’s all right, Khat,” Annie said, “we’ll have a very nice party for you. I’ll call Glenna this afternoon and we’ll have a lovely threesome lunch to celebrate your engagement to Mike.”

  “Probably will be pretty mundane,” Mike said drolly, hiding a smile. He picked up his cup of tea.

  Annie gave him a one-eyebrow raised look. “Just because we’re quieter than that animal team you work with doesn’t mean we won’t have some fun.”

  Mike held up his hands, not wanting to get into a good-natured argument with his mother. “We’ll compare notes afterward, okay?”

  Khat chuckled. “Sure. What little you’ll share with us, which won’t be much,” she said, laughing outright. Mike had the good grace to blush.

  “We need to start looking for your wedding dress, Khat,” Annie said, excited. “I think we should fly up to San Francisco, grab your mother, and the three of us will go to some very exclusive bridal shops that have fabulous designer dresses.”

  Khat felt as though she’d stepped into another world. Another life. She’d grown so used to her meager life in the caves that designer wedding dresses sounded alien to her. “Sure,” she murmured. “But I’ll need your help. I’m not too up on this kind of thing.”

  “No worries,” Annie assured her. “Glenna and I will do all the planning. All you have to do is pick out a dress you love, we’ll get it fitted and that part is done. We have to think about flowers, bouquets, dresses for the bridesmaids, the groom’s men…”

  Khat felt sadness in her heart. Her father was a stranger to her, unable to give her away. “Annie, Mike and I have talked about who I’d like to give me away.”

  “Yes, dear?”

  “I want it to be Mac, Chief McCutcheon. He is sort of like a much loved uncle to me. He took good care of me and Mike. He knew we were in love and he made things happen so that Mike and I had a little time together.”

  Bedir said, “I think that is a very kind offer, Khat. After all, Mike is a SEAL. And why not have a SEAL give you away to him? I find that endearingly symbolic.”

  Mike nodded. “It has a nice ring to it,” he agreed softly, holding Khat’s moist glance. He reached over and squeezed her hand for a moment. “Do you want me to talk to Mac? Or would you rather drive in and ask him yourself?”

  “I want to see him in person,” Khat said, self-conscious. “I never got to thank him for all he did for you and me.”

  “Well,” Mike murmured, picking up a chip from his plate, “I think Mac will be humbled by your request. He once told me you were like a niece to him, so I think he’ll be more than ready to give you away to me.”

  Touched, Khat blinked away tears. She’d always had a special connection with Mac. Maybe, on some level, she’d imagined him as her close relative. A fair, gruff uncle, but one who loved her and showed his love in any number of ways to her. Now, she had two men in her life who considered her a daughter and a niece to them, and her heart swelling with gratitude and warmth.

  Annie could barely sit still. “Bedir, we are going to have to get your family up to speed on Valentine’s Day. You must explain the significance of the day.”

  Chuckling, Bedir continued to eat his sandwich and nod his head as his wife went down a verbal list that would overwhelm most people. Finally, when she quit talking to catch her breath, he patted her hand. “Darling wife, I will take care of everything you have asked of me. It is all heart’s day on February fourteenth. They will surely understand that, so no worries. We all want this wedding to be a happy day for Mike and Khatereh.”

  “One thing,” Mike told his parents, serious. “Khat and I don’t really want any wedding gifts. Instead, we’d like whatever money is given to us as gifts by everyone to be donated to those Shinwari villages along the border. Khat’s eldest aunt, Leeda, is who we’d like the money to go to. She’s a trusted matriarch and that money can flow into Khat’s side of the family. Are you all right with this?”

  Bedir blotted his lips with the linen napkin. “While you profess to have no religion, my son, your heart’s compassion is pure Sufi. Yes, we are fine with your request. Perhaps you should think along the line of also providing her family a herd of cows? I know from reading that many, many cows, which provide milk and cheese to poverty-stricken families, have been killed by IEDs. I can get my uncle, who has the ear of the prince, to perhaps give the village a fine herd of cattle, some for meat, most cows for breeding purposes, to be flown into Camp Bravo. From there, I’m sure the prince can have someone in the SEAL hierarchy agree to outfit a Chinook helicopter with stalls so that the cattle may be flown directly into the village.”

  “I think she would love that kind of gift,” Khat whispered unsteadily, wiping her eyes. “Thank you, Bedir, this means so much to me…”

  “The roots of your soul are deep in the soil of your father’s tribe,” Bedir said kindly, “and you are his daughter. It is fitting that even though your Aunt Leeda and her family cannot attend your wedding, that they become part of the larger celebration of the heart you share here with our son.”

  *

  KHAT TRIED TO quell her nerves as she sat out in the hall waiting for her appointment to see Chief McCutcheon. One day after discussing their marriage at Bedir and Annie’s horse ranch, her mother had called to tell her that her father had committed suicide. For the next week, Khat felt as if she were in a nightmare of grief and tears. There was no chance of a reunion with her father now. She had to live with those last wretched moments with him.

  Her mother had not seen it coming, nor had Khat.

  Through it all, Mike was there to protect and support her. Annie and Bedir surrounded her with their love and kindness. And she was there to do the same for her mother, who was still in deep shock over Jaleel’s death.

  She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, the memories still so fresh. After the funeral, Khat had flown home with the Tarik family. She lost count of how many times she’d suddenly, inexplicably burst into tears. Mike was there to hold and console her. Khat knew she had to get on with their wedding plans, regardless. Glenna, while going through Jaleel’s belongings at his apartment, had found a suicide note. In it, he had asked for Khat’s forgiveness for striking her and alienating her from himself. He said that he’d always loved her, was proud of her for her accomplishments and was sorry she’d been tortured.

  Nothing had meant more to Khat than a copy of that handwritten letter from her dead father. All the kindness that she had known from him as a young child was back in that letter, not the angry man he’d become. Jaleel had asked forgiveness from Glenna, apologizing to her, also. In the end, he’d written, he felt torn in two. That his soul ached for his village of Dur Babba. That he felt foreign here in the United States. He’d requested that his body being flown back to his village, to be buried by his older sister, Leeda.

  Bedir had made it all happen. They had a memorial for Jaleel in San Francisco, and then his body was taken aboard a Saudi Air Force transport and flown back to his homeland. Khat prayed that now her father’s spirit was finally at rest. Finally happy. She knew it would take time for her to get through the shock of the loss on so many levels. Through it all, she’d never hated her farther, only felt pain that he’d pushed her away and
never reached out to love her as he had when she was a child and teen. Everything changed when she went into the Marine Corps against his wishes.

  Moving her fingers constantly, her palms damp, Khat watched the office staff for Seal Team Three coming and going from the Quarterdeck. The place was fairly quiet, given the importance of what the team did in the world. Because she had security clearance to this building due to working in the intel unit, no one bothered her except for a few curious glances by some of the SEALs. There were eight thousand Navy people who supported the two thousand SEALs who were at the tip of the spear. Now, she was in the office end instead of being out at Camp Bravo watching Mac orchestrate the forty-man platoon with finesse honed by years of experience.

  Mac came down the concrete stairs to the Quarterdeck. He smiled and waved her to come on up to the second floor where all the offices were located. Khat smiled back, stood and followed him. Mac opened the door to his office. “Khat, Come on in.”

  She wiped her hands on her dark gray slacks. Today, she was dressed in civilian clothes because she was still on leave. Giving him a slight smile of hello, she walked through the door. This office was no larger than the one at Bravo, she realized.

  “Have a seat,” Mac invited, gesturing to one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

  “Thanks for seeing me,” she said. “You look as busy here as you did at Bravo.”

  Mac was wearing his SEAL cammies. He smiled a little. “Stuff’s the same no matter where in the world I am. Can I get you some coffee, Khat? I just made a fresh pot.”

  “Er…no, thank you.” Her pulse was ratcheting up with anxiety. What if Mac said no to giving her away? Khat was making a huge assumption here. Mike had promised Mac would be honored to do it, but looking at his face, now without a beard, she wasn’t so sure. He had a hard face and his intense dark blue eyes held her gaze.

  “So, what’s this meeting about?” he asked.

  Khat dove in. “Chief, Mike and I are going to be married on February fourteenth of next year. We were wondering—I was wondering, if you would give me away.”

  Mac’s eyes widened with surprise. His mouth pursed and he leaned back in his chair, studying her. Her throat went dry. It was so hard to see if he was pleased or going to say no.

  “I heard about your father’s death,” Mac murmured. “And I’m sorry about that.”

  “Thank you,” Khat whispered painfully. She knitted her fingers in her lap. “I guess you heard through Mike?”

  “Yes, he informed me.”

  His expression thawed, and she heard sincerity in his deep voice. His blue eyes warmed.

  “You’ve had a rough time of late,” Mac murmured, his hand resting on the edge of his desk. “I’m glad you and Mike are going to tie the knot. I think you’ll be a strong couple together.”

  “Thank you,” she said, holding his thoughtful gaze. “I know this is going to sound corny, but after I met you at Bravo, I always saw you as a caring uncle, a close relative to me..” She gave him a self-conscious look. “You were always fair with me, honest, and when Mike and I needed some time alone, you were there for us.” She opened her hands, her voice husky with barely held emotion. “I told Mike that you were the only one I wanted to walk me down the aisle. You’ve stood by us through everything that we were going through at Bravo. And if you would do this for us….more for me….I would want your wife to be there, too. I think she should be very proud of what you do, how you manage and care for all of us.”

  Mac rubbed his shaven jaw. “I’ve had a lot of requests over the years, Khat, but never one like this.” He sat up straighter and said, “I’d be honored to walk you down the aisle.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  Blinking back tears, Khat said, “This means so much to me… Thank you, Mac.”

  “Are you taking care of the wedding details?”

  Shaking her head, she said, “No. Annie Tarik, Mike’s mother, is.”

  Mac grinned a little. “Oh, yes, the Whirling Dervish.”

  “You’ve met her?”

  “From time to time at certain functions, yes. She’s a very capable woman. Gets things done. My kind of person. She reminds me of a senior master chief.” He grinned widely.

  A huge load of weight dissolved from Khat’s shoulders. Annie had given her several of her business cards and she handed one to the chief. “She said to call her and she’d get you in the loop. Give one to your wife, too.”

  Mac chuckled. “Yes, it’s like dancing with a tornado. But I’ll make it happen, and my wife and I will be there for you and Mike.” His smile waned and his voice became serious. “I know you don’t see yourself, Khat, what you accomplished almost singlehandedly over those five years in Afghanistan. When I think about it, I shake my head because frankly, I wouldn’t think anyone on a black op could go that long and not be killed. You’re one hell of a survivor, and I sincerely wish you and Mike the best. It’s going to be good that most of the platoon will be there to celebrate with the two of you.”

  Chapter Seven

  “TELL ME ABOUT your growing-up years,” Khat asked, lying against Mike. The grandfather clock chimed midnight. They’d made love, and now she felt his fingers slowly stroke down her ribcage, coming to rest on her hip. He’d left the curtains open tonight because there was a full moon. The bedroom faced the waters around the island where his condo sat. She watched the light skip and dance across the smooth black surface.

  Mike closed his eyes, sated. Happy. “My dad took me over to Saudi Arabia every year since I could remember. We’d go in June after I was out of school. He used to take me into the poor parts of Riyadh. There, he’d drive a pickup truck and he had cardboard boxes full of food for so many of the families. The people, many from foreign lands, knew he was coming because he came every year at this time. When I was nine, I got to help him move the boxes from the truck to the people waiting in line for them. I never forgot their gratefulness, the love in their eyes they had for my dad. And in every basket, he tucked a hundred-dollar bill. That money went a long way for those people.”

  “Bedir is incredible. I think he’s a saint,” Khat whispered, touched. She moved her hand across his sweaty chest, her fingertips grazing his dark hair. “How did this all affect you?”

  Mike smiled a little, absorbing Khat’s long, firm body against his. He tucked one arm behind the pillow. “Actually, it was one of the reasons I wanted to join the SEALs.”

  “Oh?”

  “I remember my father talking with my uncle who works directly for the prince one night after dinner. They were sitting there, discussing world events. I was twelve at the time. My uncle said that there was evil in the world that needed to be fought against and destroyed. That no amount of love would ever stop that kind of darkness. And until those bad men, whoever or whatever they were, were killed, the poor of the world wouldn’t be able to struggle out of their poverty. My father, for once, didn’t argue with him—they’d get into some very active discussions about Islam.” He laughed quietly, remembering those instructive times.

  “Was your uncle in the military?”

  “Yes. He’s retired now, but he was a colonel in the Air Force, and he knew what he was talking about. My uncle is a very quiet, intense man. He worked, I’m sure, in black ops. He was also an important connection between the Saudi military and the American counterparts. A key man in many respects.”

  “Which is why our wedding gift to Aunt Leeda is going to happen.”

  “Yep.” Mike grinned. “Never hurts to know people in high places.”

  “You and your father are using that power, though, in a good way. To help others.” Khat rose on her elbow, searching his shadowed face in the moonlight. “Why did you join the SEALs? Your father is rich. You want for nothing, Mike.”

  His gaze lifted to hers. “Because I saw the SEALs as the mitigating force against the bad guys, the evil my uncle talked about, evil that would keep people in poverty and unable to thrive.” />
  “You’re an idealist with a heart.”

  “No, angel, I don’t kid myself about who or what I am. I kill human beings. I have to live with that for the rest of my life. I’m willing to do that because I want these men off the face of this planet. I saw what my father’s yearly gifts to the poor did for them. He also brought in dental and medical teams to help them. Over those years, I saw many times that those people he’d helped actually stepped up and bettered themselves. One of my father’s charities is to provide schools in poor areas to educate boys and girls so they have a way out of that damning poverty. They are located all over the Middle East. He works closely with the Central Asian Institute, CAI, which supports villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan to build schools. And the girls as well as the boys are educated. They won’t bring in supplies to create a school if the chieftain of that village doesn’t agree to educate the girls. That’s an important issue that CAI insists upon. It’s a good one.”

  “And that’s why you were working with Khalid and Emma Shaheen,” she murmured, putting it all together. Khat leaned forward and kissed his strong chin.

  “Yes,” he rasped, pulling his hand from beneath the pillow and sifting his fingers through her hair, watching her eyes close, a sultry look coming to her expression. Khat was so easily touched. So easy to satisfy.

  Opening her eyes, she said, “When did you realize I was doing something similar, but on a much smaller scale?”

  Sliding his fingers behind her nape, Mike leaned up and kissed her tenderly. As he eased from her wet lips, he said, “It came to me in bits and pieces. You have to admit,” he teased, “you were closemouthed for a long time about your op.”

  “As it should have been.”

  “I got wind of what you were doing when you started opening up to me, trusting me more with yourself. And when I did see the whole picture, I understood your drive to be there. But—” Mike grew serious “—you’d been left out there too long, Khat. Your two handlers didn’t do you any favors. I know the villages profited by you being their guard dog and keeping the Hill tribe from harming them, but you were the one who paid the price for it.”