Hudson was the last to remove his pack and sit down. She noticed his wince of pain. Her gaze traveled over his body, settling on a red stain above his knee. His pants were ripped. “You’re injured,” she said in surprise.
He covered the spot with his hand. “It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”
She realized that he’d been hit with a bullet fragment or a piece of rock while he’d been shielding her and Ashur.
“Surely you don’t expect him to come with us,” Aram said in Assyrian.
“What do you suggest?” she returned, bristling.
Aram glanced back the way they’d come.
“He’ll be recaptured. He doesn’t know where to go.”
“He can take care of himself. It’s not our concern.”
“You agreed to bring him along!”
“To Halana,” Aram said. “Not Rajan.”
“I won’t send him back.”
“Will you tell him where we are?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, her stomach roiling. “I’ll tell him when it’s safe.”
“Your affection for this infidel makes you foolish. But then, you have always had a weakness for outsiders.”
The dig at Khalil didn’t sit well with Layah. Neither did Aram’s arrogant attitude. She’d arranged for this entire journey, which Aram had greatly benefited from. She’d spent the last of her money on gear and guide services. “We might not be in this position if you hadn’t left your pack at the top of the cliff.”
“I had to climb fast, because you women are slow and weak!”
Oshana touched his elbow. “Shlama, Aram.”
“What’s his problem?” Hudson asked, glancing from Aram’s angry face to Layah’s. “Do you need me to shut him up?”
Layah ignored Hudson. “Was your passport inside the pack?” she asked Aram.
“No. Oshana has it.”
“I agree with Aram,” Ashur said. “You risk all of us to protect this American who left my father to die in the streets.”
“He took a bullet for us,” Layah replied. “Look at him.”
“It’s a flesh wound.”
She swallowed her response, aware that Ashur’s heartbreaking past colored his opinions. Aram was a young hothead, quick to judge. They both used sharp words without thinking. Instead of arguing with them, she rummaged through her pack for the almonds and raisins. She was in charge of this expedition. She would bring along whoever she liked.
Yusef and Nina returned with good news. They’d been able to call Miri from a pay phone at the pharmacy.
“She’ll be here in thirty minutes,” Yusef said.
“She won’t shelter an American,” Aram said. “Her husband won’t allow it.”
Layah gave him a quelling stare. He was irritating, but he had a point. “We’ll see.”
Hudson knew they were talking about him, and he didn’t seem to care. He stretched out on his back and tucked his hands behind his head.
“Aram wants to leave Hudson here,” Layah explained to Yusef.
“Yusef sides with me,” Aram said.
“No, I don’t,” Yusef said.
“What?”
“We are not animals.”
Aram took offense to Yusef’s strong opposition. “I am an animal for considering our interests ahead of his?”
“We’ll let Miri decide,” Layah said, ending the conversation. Then she leaned against her pack and closed her eyes. She didn’t know what her aunt would do. If Miri refused to shelter Hudson, Layah would have to accept it and say goodbye. She couldn’t run away with him. She was going to Armenia with Ashur. She’d made a vow to take him to a safer place.
She owed her brother that much.
Chapter 13
Hud considered making his escape.
The village had a public phone. Yusef and Nina had already used it. One call to his commander would end this farce. He could get up and walk away anytime.
But he didn’t, for several reasons. It was difficult to go unnoticed in a village this small. He also wasn’t sure what the consequences would be for Layah. As soon as he made contact with the navy, he’d be given specific instructions about where to go and what to do. A plan would be set into motion, with no turning back. Within hours or minutes, he’d rendezvous with personnel from the nearest US air base. There was one in Incirlik, by the Syrian border.
He’d have to tell the truth about how he’d arrived in Turkey. He couldn’t claim to have escaped the Da’esh on his own. He couldn’t have climbed the mountains without specific gear. If he said he’d agreed to help Layah, he’d be in violation of military regulations. If he said she’d forced him to act as their guide, she could be prosecuted. No matter what story he told, there would be complications. Her family might get picked up by the Turkish police, or sent back to Iraq.
Whatever happened would be out of his hands, and he didn’t want to put her at risk. Waiting until they were in a more populated area would be safer for both of them. He could disappear in the crowd. She could continue to Armenia. Everyone wins.
Decision made, he rested his eyes for a few minutes. They were arguing about him. Maybe Aram had accused him of dishonoring Layah again. Hud was too tired to care. He’d stayed up all night guarding the camp. No one had come to relieve him of the duty, and he’d been reluctant to disturb the love tent. He had nowhere to sleep, anyway.
It rankled a little that Aram was getting in Hud’s business, after Hud had given him the privacy to bang his wife and cuddle with her for hours. He’d also saved their asses on the cliff. But whatever. Hud had bigger concerns. His thigh ached like a son of a bitch from the ricochet wound, and he was starving.
He needed to eat and rest. Then he could think about the next step.
A flatbed truck rumbled down the road less than an hour later. The woman who emerged greeted Layah with a warm hug. She
