The most evil laugh he had ever heard emanated from Lucas’s lips. “What do you think you can do about it? I’ll do anything the hell I want to her. Does she have a sweet pussy, O’Rourke? I bet she’s been missing good cock. She thinks you’re dead, you know.” He grabbed his crotch and made obscene thrusting motions with his hips.
Dead? They had told Savannah he was dead? Patrick had never considered that – he presumed he would have been reported MIA. Dead? “You reported me killed in action! You total bastard!”
Lucas didn’t know it, but right then – he sealed his fate. He had just given Patrick the incentive to move heaven and earth to get out of that prison. When Lucas came after Savannah, he’d get the surprise of his life – because Patrick would be waiting on him.
Desperation coupled with fury had made all the difference. He only had one thing worth trading for aid and now was the time to use it. In the last few weeks, he had obtained a piece of information from a fellow prisoner. The poor fellow didn’t make it, he was half-dead when he had been thrown in The Pit, but what he had told Patrick was valuable indeed. He whispered to Patrick the location of buried Afghan emeralds seized in Khenj, mined from the Panjashir Valley.
The man’s dying confession told of a trip to a village for information on Taliban troop movements by allied forces that went terribly wrong due to too much alcohol and an inbred mistrust. An Afghan family was killed for nothing and their possessions ransacked. Sylvan Marceau had later been shot, captured and accused of murder. He felt his fate was just, but he had no qualms about passing on the location of the treasure to Patrick. In a way, he had been bragging.
Funny – the knowledge of the valuable jewels had held no fascination for him until the possibility of a threat to Savannah had come into play. Now, he was thinking clearly for the first time in years.
Today, he stood on a rise near Savannah’s house where he could watch and wait for anyone that would threaten his woman. For all extents and purposes, Patrick was still a dead man. Except for Jayco and Hawke, no one knew he was still alive other than the Commander at Barksdale and the one Military Policeman he was waiting for. And Rasib, of course. Patrick wondered what Savannah had thought when he emailed her and phoned her. Had he scared her? It had occurred to him that she might think it was supernatural. After all, she was deeply involved in paranormal investigationsp; In aBut last night, when she had welcomed him into his bed – that would have convinced her he was real. And tonight when he went back to her, they could talk.
His cell phone buzzed. It was Rasib. “Hey, Buddy. I’m good. Yeah, I’ve talked to the Commander and someone’s on their way to watch Savannah while I go and tell them all I know. She’s good. Yea, I was with her last night, but it was late when I got there and I had to get busy this morning, so I left before daybreak. I’m not sure she fully understood what was going on. She might have thought she dreamed me up,” he laughed. “I will. I’ll call soon. Thanks.”
Rasib had been his salvation. His faithful friend had come when the guard from The Pit had summoned him. Patrick had needed him to follow Marceau’s directions and grease the wheels for him to get out of Afghanistan.
The temptation of a fortune in emeralds made the Afghan guards allegiance a commodity to be purchased – and so Patrick had bought it. It had been a tricky deal. He had to give out only enough information to the keepers of the prison in order to prove the truth of his claim. The plan was that after the guards had made his departure possible, Patrick and Rasib would lead them to the rest of the treasure.
Rasib had been overjoyed to see him. Like everyone else, he had assumed that Patrick had been reduced to ashes blowing on the wind. The guard had slipped Rasib into The Pit clothed in a woman’s robe. Patrick had to smile. No woman had sported a finer beard. He hadn’t thought it was so funny when he had left the same way. And thank God, he had access to enough treasure to pay off all the guards, or at least to buy himself some time before Lucas would discover Patrick was out of The Pit. Luckily, Marceau had hid the emeralds in several places so there was enough for the lure, the pay-offs, a portion for Rasib and enough for him to have to ensure safe passage home. As far as he was concerned, it was a steal. Nothing was more valuable than Savannah. Her price was far above rubies – or emeralds. Keeping her safe was paramount.
Rasib had brought weapons and a jeep and information on ways out of the country. The quickest way out was a rattletrap plant that Patrick hadn’t expected to be able to use to climb over the mountains, but he could. The rest of the journey hadn’t been easy, either. Without his government ID, he had been on his own. But it was amazing what an emerald would buy.
Now, here he was in Louisiana and trying to come to terms with all the changes. His Paddy had passed away. When he had called the nursing home, the woman who had answered didn’t even know the name. Apparently he had died not long after Patrick had been captured. There was no doubt in his mind that Savannah and Revel had taken care of things. Sorrow weighed heavily in his chest, but Patrick knew his grandfather was much better off.
He hadn’t been surprised to learn that Jayco and Hawke hadn’t given up on him. They had
