On Fire Page 6

  Chapter Four

  KHAT AWOKE FROM a nap in the private hospital room. Looking at her watch, she saw it was 1030. She heard Mike nearby, and her heart swelled with love for him. He was sitting with his Toughbook laptop, working. Probably on that upcoming patrol five days from now.

  “Feel better?” he asked, lifting his head and meeting her gaze.

  “Yes.” She rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up, feeling a twinge of pain in her abdomen. Nurse Black had warned that any movement would trigger the pinching sensation. In about a week, she’d told her, the pain should reduce markedly. Her hair had loosened during her one-hour nap and she pushed tendrils away from her cheek.

  “Thirsty? Hungry?”

  “You know what sounds good to me?” she said, sitting up, testing her ability to cross her legs beneath the covers. Her abdomen was cranky, so she decided instead to simply pull her feet toward her body.

  Mike put the lid down on his lap top and stood up. “What?”

  “Linda said I could have ice cream,” Khat said, giving him a wicked look. “I’m dying for a chocolate milkshake.”

  Mike leaned over, kissing her tenderly. “I think I can manage to scrounge one up for you down at the cafeteria.”

  She drowned in his lion-gold eyes. “Thank you.”

  “You’re so easy to please,” he teased, caressing her flushed cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

  Mike headed down the quiet hall toward the nurse’s station. Nurse Black’s shift had ended and he spotted the oncoming shift’s nursing supervisor. Linda had introduced Mike to the supervisor, Nurse Pamela Langford, an Army major. She was in her early fifties, her sable-colored hair streaked with strands of gray. One thing for sure, the nursing staff was just as protective of Khat as he was. Mike halted at the desk.

  “Any of you want anything from the cafeteria? I’m heading down to get Khat a chocolate milkshake.”

  Pamela, who was sitting at one of the computers at the desk said, “Ohh, that sounds good, Petty Officer Tarik. I’ll take a strawberry shake?” She dug into the pocket of her uniform and put some money on the desk in front of him.

  Mike heard the elevators behind him whoosh open. Still jumpy from this morning’s confrontation with Jaleel Shinwari, he automatically turned to check out who was coming onto this floor. His eyes widened a bit. A tall woman, nearly as tall as he was, dressed in a tasteful navy blazer and slacks with a feminine, ruffled white blouse, stepped out. She wore low black-leather heels and had a black purse over her left shoulder. She had red hair and green eyes. Mike tensed. She appeared confused and stood there, looking at all of them.

  “I’m sorry,” she said to Pamela behind the counter, “I’m Glenna Shinwari. Is this the floor my daughter, Khatereh Shinwari, is on?”

  Mike moved aside as the woman, who appeared to be in her early fifties, her hair up in a tasteful twist, looking distracted and confused.

  Pamela shot a look over at Mike.

  Mike wasn’t sure why Khat’s mother was here. Had her angry husband decided to send her up instead of himself? Had he taken Mike’s advice and not shown his face on this floor again because of his threat? The woman seemed flustered, her hands folded against her body.

  “Mrs. Shinwari?” he said, “I’m Mike Tarik. I’m Khat’s fiancé.”

  Her eyes widened with shock as she turned toward him. “Excuse me?”

  Mike heard the woman’s low, husky voice. He knew Khat had not contacted her parents to tell them she was engaged to him. It was obvious from the disbelief in her expression.

  “Kit never told me anything about being engaged,” she began, shaking her head, staring at him.

  Kit. Is that what Glenna called Khat? He ruthlessly searched her face for some sign of being sent up here by her husband. “Khat’s job doesn’t bring her into much contact with the outside world, Mrs. Shinwari.” He held her stunned stare. “What is the nature of your business with her?”

  Glenna frowned. “I’m her mother. I want to see my daughter, Mr. Tarik. How is she?”

  “Khat is recovering,” he assured her. “Did your husband send you up here?” Mike kept his tone quiet and reasonable. He wasn’t sure if she was Jaleel’s pawn or not.

  “What are you talking about?” She frowned. “I just arrived off a flight here to Bagram. I had a terrible time trying to persuade Afghan security to allow me through Customs to get over here.”

  Scowling, Mike said, “You didn’t fly in here with your husband?”

  Her brows drew down. “No. I knew he was coming here to see Kit, but he didn’t tell me the details. He was very upset.” Glenna looked distressed and asked, “May we step away from this counter, Mr. Tarik? I really don’t want the world knowing what I’m about to say next.”

  “Let’s go in the lounge down the hall and chat,” he suggested mildly, showing her the way. As he walked with the woman, Mike could feel the tension swirling around her. She was nervous, looking around. Why had they flown in here on separate flights? It made no sense at all to Mike.

  Sitting on one of the red plastic lounge chairs, Glenna dropped her purse on a nearby coffee table, facing Mike.

  “How is Kit? Tell me more?” she pleaded, her voice filled with emotion.

  Mike sat down. “She’s going to live. They took Khat out of ICU, and now she’s up here on this floor. She’s doing well, Mrs. Shinwari.” Mike saw instant relief in the woman’s tense features.

  “Thank God.” Glenna closed her eyes, her hand pressed against her heart. Tears streak down her taut face. What the hell was going on here?

  “Look, Mrs. Shinwari—”

  “Call me Glenna.” She stared at him. “I’m in the process of divorcing my husband, Mr. Tarik. When the Marine Corps officer came and told us Kit was missing, I just died inside. I was in the process of moving out of our house when it happened.” She grimaced. “Jaleel flew into a rage. He said he was coming over here to punish her. That all she did was cause him embarrassment with his family, which is over here in Afghanistan.”

  Mike scowled. “Your husband came up here this morning and tried to push his way past the nurse’s station to go find Khat. I stopped him and put him back on that elevator you just came out of. I told him he wasn’t allowed to see Khat. Ever.” His hand flexed momentarily into a fist, rage still close to the surface. Even though Glenna’s relief was evident, Mike still didn’t trust her. People were good at lying to get to their objective, and he was damned if he would leaving Khat open to any family drama right now.

  “Thank goodness you stopped him.” Glenna wiped the tears from her eyes with her trembling fingers. “Did Kit tell you what he did to her five years ago?”

  Mike nodded. Pain ravaged the woman’s features. “She told me everything,” he growled. “Including the fact that when Khat tried to stand up for herself after he disowned her, your husband slapped her so hard it nearly knocked her off the bed she was in.”

  A gasp escaped Glenna. “What? What are you talking about?”

  Mike evaluated her stricken reaction. Her hand had flown to her mouth, her eyes huge with disbelief. Glenna was either a consummate actress or her reaction was genuine. “You didn’t know?” he demanded harshly.

  “Oh,” Glenna whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. “No. Oh, God, no, I didn’t know. He—he told me he’d disowned her, nothing else. He wouldn’t allow me to see her. We fought. I lost the argument. I so badly wanted to see my daughter, Mr. Tarik. But…Jaleel is heavy-handed with us…he always was…is…” She pressed her hand against her eyes, a sob tearing from her. “Oh, poor Kit! This is my fault…my fault… I—I should have been there to protect her. Oh…no…”

  Mike felt real sympathy for the woman, because it was obvious she was an abuse victim beneath her husband’s hand. Glenna cried softly, head buried in her hands, her shoulders shaking. Mike stood up and went over to a table that had a box of tissues on it. He grabbed it and brought them to Glenna.

  “Here,” he said.

  Glenna
looked up, saw the box and took it. “Th-thank you.”

  Mike waited patiently, watching her. His gut sense told him Khat’s mother was not being manipulative. He watched as she dabbed her eyes and struggled to get ahold of herself. He saw so much of Khat in her face. Glenna’s red hair was auburn, her green eyes lighter than Khat’s. But the shape of her face, the beauty, was all there. It was easy to see that Khat had strongly inherited her mother’s genes. Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief. Better than taking after her bastard of a father.

  “I’m sorry,” Glenna whispered, anguish in her voice. “I just want to see Kit. To let her know I love her. We hardly get to see one another, maybe once a year. I’ve been dying inside ever since Jaleel disowned her. I pleaded with him to take his words back, take our daughter back. But he wouldn’t do it.” She clenched the damp tissue in her hands resting in her lap. “I—I couldn’t take it anymore and I filed for a divorce from him a year ago, shortly after I saw Kit off to go back to Afghanistan. I never got to tell her… She doesn’t know…yet…”

  “And what are you going to tell her now?” Mike demanded. “Because I’ll be in that room with you, Glenna. Khat has gone through hell and nearly died of appendicitis. No one here, not even her surgeon, thought she’d live.” He saw the terror in Glenna’s eyes. He had no desire to make her feel even more pain that she already carried. “Khat made it,” he told her. “And she’s going to be in the hospital for probably another two or three days.”

  “I’m so relieved,” Glenna whispered. “Thank you for telling me that, Mr. Tarik. I—I’ve been a very bad mother to her, I’m afraid. I allowed my husband to control me in every way. I just didn’t have the backbone to stand up to him and tell him to go to hell. Kit did, and that’s why he disowned her. I—I didn’t protect my daughter well enough and I feel so guilty about it.”

  Mike frowned. “I love Khat and I’ll be damned if anyone, especially her family, is going to ride roughshod over her anymore. I need your word you’re not going to tear into her like your husband was going to do.” He drilled her with a hard look.

  “I love my daughter,” Glenna quavered. “I’d never upset her like Jaleel would. I came to just be with her, to protect her myself because I knew my husband would blame her for everything, even our pending divorce. Kit has been the scapegoat in our sick, unhealthy marriage. I finally realized it. I wish I’d realized it so much sooner.”

  Mike stood up. “I’m going to ask Khat if she wants to see you. It’s up to her,” he told her in a grim tone of warning. “And if she does, I’ll be in that room, too. Because the moment you upset Khat or blame her for what’s going on between you and your husband, I’ll be taking you out of there fast. Do we understand one another?”

  “Perfectly,” Glenna whispered, holding his dark stare. “I’m glad Khat has someone in her life, finally, who loves her and who will protect her. I love my daughter,” she quavered. “I’d never upset her like Jaleel has done in the past.”

  “And if she agrees to see you, please do not tell her Jaleel was here this morning. Or that I stopped him from seeing her. All right?”

  “Yes, I’ll say nothing. I promise.” Glenna sat up a little straighter, her voice firm. “I’m here for Kit. Not for him.”

  “Just so long as we understand each other,” Mike rasped, leaving the lounge. His gut was in knots. His heart was twisted with pain. His only priority was Khat. He didn’t care how many tears and how much guilt Glenna carried; she wasn’t about to dump it on her recovering, fragile daughter. His mouth thinned as he knocked lightly on Khat’s door. He didn’t want to startle her or barge in on her.

  Khat lifted her head from where she was resting. “Where’s my milkshake?” she teased as he entered. Then she saw the blackness in Mike’s eyes and sat up. “What’s wrong?”

  Mike stood by her bedside, holding her hand, and told her everything. He monitored Khat’s reaction.

  “My mom is here? Really? But how?” Khat seemed to be on the verge of tears, deeply moved by the fact her mother had come to see her.

  Mike brushed her cheek. “She apparently had a tough time with Afghan Customs, but they finally let her come over here to Bagram. Are you really up to seeing her?” The joy in Khat’s eyes was undeniable and she gripped his hand.

  “Yes, I want to see her.” Her voice became choked. “After you, the most important person in my life is my mom. Please, I need to see her.”

  Mike reluctantly left the room to get Glenna.

  Glenna stood, tense, as Mike silently entered the lounge area. She clutched her purse between her long fingers, anxiety and hope in her expression. Mike stood a few feet away from her, grim.

  “She’ll talk to you,” Mike rasped. “You need to realize Khat is very fragile. She nearly died a few days ago, and she’s still pulling out of it. Please be sensitive to that.”

  Glenna’s mouth compressed and she fearlessly held Mike’s dark look. “I’m here for her. Not for myself. I put myself in the position I’m in. My daughter has nothing to do with it, Mr. Tarik. I want to see Kit get well. I want my daughter back in my life, as it should have been all along.”

  Giving her a nod, he growled, “Follow me.”

  Mike opened the door for Glenna, and Khat gave a cry of joy as her mother entered. Scowling, he shut the door and watched the reunion, fiercely monitoring Glenna. He brought a chair for Glenna to sit in. He took his chair and moved it back, watching and listening to their exchanges. They were like two excited children. His concern dissipated and he realized this meeting was going to help Khat. Only then was Mike happy for her and relieved the mother was nothing like her abusive father.

  “I love you so much,” Glenna whispered, holding her daughter gently in her arms. “Thank God, you’re going to be all right, Kit.”

  Khat smiled, tears streaming down her face as she felt her mother’s strong, loving arms embrace her. “I’ve missed you so much,” she muffled against her shoulder, shutting her eyes, so many emotions overwhelming her.

  Glenna cried too, holding her daughter. “I love you, Kit. I promise, things are going to get better for you, for us.” She eased away, touching Khat’s cheek gently, her eyes warm with affection. “I don’t want you to get worried, but I filed for a divorce from your father nine months ago. When I get back to San Francisco, there’s a final meeting of the lawyers and I’ll be free of him forever.” Her voice grew strained. “And you will be too, Kit. I’m so sorry for all that he’s done to you. You deserved none of it. He was completely in the wrong.”

  Taking her hand, Khat pressed it to her cheek. “I’m so glad to hear you’ve left him.”

  Glenna stood near her daughter, gently touching her hair, smoothing some of the strands away from her face. “It’s for the best,” she said. “For me. For you.” She tried to smile but didn’t succeed, looking deep into her daughter’s moist eyes. “He’s never going to lay a hand on you again, Kit. I didn’t protect you then, the way I should have. I—I’m begging for a second chance with you. I want what is good and strong between us.”

  Khat held her mother’s guilt ridden stare. “I’ve never not loved you, Mom. That will never change. I know you couldn’t fight him. I wasn’t able to, either.”

  Glenna nodded, hanging her head, holding her daughter’s hand. “Well, things are changing. I’m here for you, Kit. What can I do to help you?”

  Khat leaned wearily against the pillows, feeling suddenly exhausted by the shock of her mother’s unexpected presence. “There’s so much to tell you,” she began in a low tone.

  Glenna must have sensed her daughter’s sudden exhaustion. She touched Khat’s cheek. “Listen, I’m going to be here for you. I’ll find somewhere to stay here at Bagram. Whatever it takes. You’re looking very tired. Why don’t I come back later this evening?” Glenna gave her daughter a tremulous smile filled with love.

  Nodding, Khat whispered, “I’d like that, Mom. I’m sorry, this tiredness hits me like a wall and I need to sleep it off.” />
  “You rest, sweetheart. All I want is for you to get well.”

  Mike rose and walked over to Khat’s bedside. He kept his voice neutral. “I’ll walk you out now, Glenna.”

  “Thank you.” Glenna leaned over and pressed a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “Now, get some sleep, Kit. Let your body heal.”

  *

  MIKE HEARD KHAT STIR. She’d slept through lunch. He understood the stressful toll that her visitors—Mac and then Glenna—had taken on her. He watched her rub her eyes with her graceful tapered fingers. After getting up, he set his Toughbook on his chair and walked over to her bedside.

  “Feeling a little better?” he asked, catching her hand. Her lips curved, her lashes lifting and meeting his gaze.

  “Much,” Khat murmured. She moved her hand across her abdomen, feeling that it wasn’t as tender before, a good sign. “What a morning,” she said, meeting Mike’s hooded stare. She could feel him monitoring her. Right now, she needed that warm sense of protection emanating from him, filling her, erasing the anxiety she felt. “I feel like my life has suddenly been turned inside out.”

  “It’s been a lot of adjustment,” he agreed. “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes, my stomach’s growling.” She smiled a little. “A good sign I’m getting better, huh?”

  “Very good,” Mike agreed. She had such heart. Such courage. “I’ll tell the nurse, and then I’m heading down to get something from the cafeteria. I’ll be right back.”

  “Can I have that chocolate milkshake now, Tarik? I never got it,” she teased.

  Leaning down, Mike sought and found her lips, giving her a kiss. “You’ll get it this time,” he promised her.

  *

  KHAT SAT OUT in the front room of Emma and Khalid’s villa at midnight. Two days earlier, they had released her from the hospital. And coming over here was a godsend for her and Mike. She couldn’t sleep, so had quietly gotten out of Mike’s bed and walked into the living room. He was leaving the villa at 0600 to catch a flight back to Bravo at 0800. Curling up on the couch, dressed in a white silk nightgown that hung to her knees, she leaned back against the couch, closing her eyes. Her heart was heavy because she wouldn’t see Mike until mid-December, when his team rotated back to Coronado. Two and a half months.