“There is a truck coming. It’s soldiers. What will we do?” The eldest girl grabbed her middle sister and shoved her into the corner of the shack and stood in front of her, her entire body trembling. Faizah did not look much better, she clutched the newborn close to her body and stared at Carys.
“What if it is their father?”
Carys looked over at her medical kit. There wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to let that man in the house. She scooped Farida off the bed and went to her eldest sister.
“Honey, hold her,” she said calmly. She needed to keep everyone calm. The girl nodded as she took her little sister in her arms.
Carys practically dove for her backpack. She dug deep to the bottom, pushing through all the supplies. When she got to the bottom, she tore at the covering that hid the secret compartment that contained her gun. She grabbed her pistol and released the safety, then she spun around.
“Get behind me,” she gritted out to Faizah. The woman looked at her wide-eyed and stepped backward toward the siblings in the corner. Carys stood in front of them and steadily held the gun pointed at the door. She had a love and hate relationship with the cold steel in her hands. This was one of those times when she loved it.
“Hello?” A voice called out in Arabic.
“Dr. Adams?” An American voice yelled in English.
“Dr. Carys Adams?” her name was repeated from outside. “Dr. Adams, are you in there? We’ve been sent from Khartoum. Jamal told us you were at the clinic, and then Dr. Nazer directed us here. I’m Chief Petty Officer Cullen Lyons with the United States Navy, ma’am. I’ve been sent to get you out of here, it’s not safe.”
They’d sent her a SEAL? She was being rescued by a Navy SEAL?
Again?
“I have an injured mother and her children with me. We need to get them to a hospital.”
“Can we come in?”
She heard a whimper behind her. She realized that all of the talk in English was scaring them, the kids didn’t know what she was saying.
“Can you speak Arabic?” she called through the door.
“Both my partner and I can. Can we come in? We want to help.”
“It’s best if I come out. Let me come out first and greet you.” Carys lowered her gun.
“Are you sure it is safe?” Faizah asked.
Carys turned to her and smiled. “I’m sure. These are good men who will help us. I have friends who are in the United States Navy. I trust them with my life.” She went to the wobbly door and opened it just enough to step out.
They had their truck headlights on. As soon as she came out of the hut, one of the two men went in front of the truck so she could clearly see him. “I’m Cullen Lyons,” he said. Even from where she stood, she could feel the impact of his bright smile.
“Apparently, you know who I am. How did you find me?” Carys asked.
“We were able to track you via your satellite phone,” another voice came from the back of the truck.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Chief Petty Officer Raiden Sato, ma’am. I’ve trained as a medic if that helps.”
“It does. It does a lot. Would you mind standing next to Mr. Lyons?”
“Cullen. Dr. Adams, call me Cullen. I think we’re going to be in tight quarters for more than a minute. For the record, I have some medic training too. But his training is more extensive.” Carys was tense until the other man stepped next to Cullen. He didn’t have a smile, he seemed a lot more serious. He was a little bit shorter than Cullen, but a little broader. It was clear that he was of Asian descent.
“Okay, gentlemen, call me Carys. You’re SEALs, right?”
“Yes,” Cullen answered.
Some of the tension left her shoulders. She hadn’t realized just how panicked she’d been about the whole situation. Without a car and with little Farida’s injuries, she hadn’t been sure what to do next.
“Dr. Adams?” Faizah called from the door. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, they’re friends. They’re going to help us. Give me a few more minutes and then I will have you meet them,” she assured the nurse.
Even knowing that they were allies, she was cautious as she proceeded forward. It was her nature. The man named Cullen must have sensed it because his smile was kind when he gently teased her. “We’re ‘SEAL’s’, Carys, we don’t bite. We don’t have tusks like walruses.”
She rolled her eyes and walked faster. These men were really a breed of their own, how could she have forgotten?
“Don’t mind him, his mouth is always running,” Raiden said as he held out his hand. Carys took it and appreciated his firm handshake.
“Don’t forget me,” Cullen said as he held out his hand. Carys eyed it suspiciously.
“You might be a SEAL, but your name is Lyons, so I still have to be worried about your teeth, right?”
“She’s got you there,” Raiden said with a straight face.
Cullen ran his hand through his hair. “Smart. I like smart.” He gave her a grin out of the corner of her eye. Then he held out his hand again and she shook it. “So, Carys, how bad is it inside?”
She cleared her throat. “We have a woman who just had a cesarean section two hours ago. The newborn’s vitals are okay, but not ideal. Two other children, ages five and seven, are in pretty good shape, even though they have suffered from some physical abuse. But the toddler, aged two-and-a-half, is malnourished and has significant bruising on her abdomen. I’m worried about internal bleeding.”
“So, the mother, baby, and toddler need to be taken to the hospital at Khartoum immediately, correct?” Cullen asked briskly.
Carys shook her head. “The mother and newborn can’t be moved yet, but Farida, the toddler, I’m worried about her, she needs to go A.S.A.P.”
“Shit.” Carys’ eyes followed as he ran his hand through his raven black hair again.
“We’re going to need to split up,” Raiden said quietly.
“How upset are they going to be to see American soldiers?” Cullen asked.
“Let’s go see.” Carys motioned for them to follow her into the shack.
5
You could feel the terror in the room. In some cases that was fine as far as Cullen was concerned, sometimes he relished it because it made his job easier. But to see children looking at him with horror, it made his stomach churn.
And his smile didn’t seem to be getting the job done. The little girl who sneaked a peek at him from behind her little sister actually whimpered. He turned to Raiden and glared at him. Raiden shrugged. But when he looked into his friend’s eyes, he saw that he was just as devastated.
He took in the room. There were the two girls huddled in the corner, one of them holding a newborn, sheltering a smaller girl. There was a young woman who didn’t look like she was even twenty, holding the injured toddler. There was a thin green blanket hanging from the ceiling shielding one corner of the shack. Cullen assumed that was where the mother was. He didn’t hear any noise emanating from that area, which didn’t bode well.
As if they could read each other’s minds, they each slid into an easy crouch with their backs against the far wall, anything to make themselves look less threatening.
Their rifles were strapped to their backs and their pistols were holstered, but damn, he hated flaunting guns in front of kids, even if they were probably used to them. He would have loved to have left them in the car, but the situation outside was just too damn fluid for his peace of mind, and he knew that Raiden felt the same way.
“Cullen, don’t you have something we can give the kids? You and your damn sweet tooth should have something good to offer them.”
“Yeah, your sesame seeds aren’t going to get it done,” Cullen muttered. He pushed up from the wall and beelined it out the door. In his pack was the treasure trove. How could he have forgotten it? Truthfully, Raiden and the guys knew that he rarely touched the stuff, but boy did American candy come in handy for smoothing the way. Leo
was the one who brought the cigarettes, and when they really needed a favor, Max was known to bring out a cigar. Yep, bribery worked.
He was back inside before anyone had blinked. Because these weren’t just street kids, but actually a family in their home, he didn’t just hold out his hand and offer them the treats.
“Hi, I’m Cullen. I’m a friend of Dr. Adams,” he addressed the children in Arabic. “I would like to share some candy with you. First, I wanted to see if the doctor would like some.” She was holding the baby now, but she was easily able to take the candy.
Carys smiled. “I would love some, thank you for this, Cullen.”
It was obvious she approved how he was going about things. He felt a zing of pleasure at her praise.
After she unwrapped the chocolate and took a tiny bite, he asked her if he could give some to the children.
“Would you like some?” she asked, turning to the two older girls still standing in the corner. At least they weren’t cowering any longer.
“Yes, please,” the older girl said with a hesitant smile.
His heart melted at her shy, polite response. Once again, he crouched down. Cullen held out his hand. “Here you go.”
She held her little sister’s hand and they hesitantly approached him and took the highly prized treat.
“Thank you,” the littler girl said. She was a beauty.
“You’re welcome, Honey.” He watched as the older girl opened her candy bar, broke it in half and gave part of it to her sister.
“Save the other one for later,” she whispered.
Over his shoulder, he saw Raiden and Carys talking.
“Hello, I am Faizah,” the nurse said as she walked over. Cullen smiled as he stood up.
“Cullen Lyons,” he introduced himself. “Who’s this little darling?” he asked.
“This is Farida.” Carys had been right, the girl didn’t look well. Her eyes were glazed over and Cullen saw the bruising around her stomach where the shirt was scrunched up from her diaper.
Cullen unwrapped a piece of candy. “Do you want a little bit of chocolate?” he asked as he showed the child the sweet. Farida’s eyes showed a little glimmer of interest and she lifted her arm. Cullen broke off a little piece of the candy, put it into the tiny hand and helped to guide it to the girl’s mouth. His heart damn near melted when the child grinned and held out her hand for another piece.
“You’ve got it,” Cullen laughed. He immediately gave the kid another piece.
“Ah, shit.”
“Huh?” Faizah asked.
Cullen realized he’d just cursed in English.
“Should she be eating candy?” Cullen asked in Arabic.
“Right now, I’m just glad for anything that makes her happy,” Faizah said.
“Lyons. Over here,” Raiden said in English. Cullen gave the girl one last smile. Then pushed a couple of bars of chocolate into Faizah’s hands before joining Raiden and Carys.
“What’s up?”
“It was like I said outside, Farida needs medical attention now,” Carys said. “Her lungs aren’t sounding good to me.” She was gently cradling the newborn. Cullen noted that she had her shirt unbuttoned to the top of her bra, and the baby was cuddled close to her warm flesh.
“Are you sure we can’t take everyone?” Cullen asked. “I know you said the mom and the newborn need to stay here, but we can figure out a way to make Mom comfortable.” He looked up at Raiden for confirmation. His friend gave him a slight shake of his head.
“There’s no way,” Carys said in a soft voice so as not to disturb her tiny charge. “I was on that road two days ago. She’s just had major surgery. I can’t allow either her or her new baby to go. They need to stay here for at least a day, preferably two or three.”
She looked over her shoulder at the blanket separating the room. She looked nervous. Even after a half-hour, he could tell that nervous was not normal for her.
“Is there something else wrong with her besides her having had the cesarean section?” Cullen asked. “Is she having complications? You mentioned some other injuries. Are you sure we should wait?”
She looked up at him with an almost grateful look. “That’s just it. I can’t get any of the kids to speak to me about their injuries. You saw them, right?”
“They were hard to miss.” It was part of the reason he didn’t just give Faizah the chocolate to pass out, he wanted to see the kid’s injuries up close and personal. “An adult has been abusing them. The fingerprint bruising on the little girl was obviously made by a man’s hand.”
Carys’ expression tightened. “Yes. That is my conclusion. I think—”
“My baby,” a weak wail came from behind the curtain.
Carys went quickly behind the makeshift partition and began speaking softly in Arabic. For the first time, Cullen heard the baby give a cry. He didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing.
“Faizah? Can you come here? I need your help.”
“Is my Mama okay?”
“I want my Mama.”
“Girls, stay here,” Faizah stepped in front of the two girls before they had a chance to go behind the curtain. Raiden just barely beat Cullen as he took little Farida from Faizah’s arms. Cullen crouched down in front of the two little girls.
“Little Ladies,” he grinned at them. “I was wondering if I could take your picture. I have two sisters at home who would love to see you. Have you ever had your picture taken?” He watched out of the corner of his eye as Faizah went behind the curtain to assist Carys.
“I want my Mama,” the youngest girl said.
“What’s your name?” Cullen asked. “I bet your name is Princess.”
A shy smile appeared on her face. “I’m not a princess. My name is Aamira.”
“I’m Leila,” the other girl said proudly. “I’m the oldest. Can we go see our Mama now?”
“Pretty soon,” Cullen assured them. “But right now, I’m going to show you some pictures, and then I want to take yours, okay? Do you want to see pictures of my sisters?”
Please say he could keep them occupied.
He’d just recently scanned some old pictures of Chelle and Baily when they were young. “Girls, why don’t you come over here so we can see better?”
The whole time they had been there, Raiden had stayed close to the door, but now that his hands were full with Farida, Cullen wanted to make sure he could be on the lookout for anyone coming their way. He propped open the door just a little bit and pulled out his personal phone. He used his facial recognition to open it up, then he thumbed through the photos.
“Who’s that?” Aamira asked in her piping little-girl voice as she pointed at a photo of him and his two sisters. It had been taken when they were on a tree swing together out by the lake near their grandparent’s home.
“That’s me with my two little sisters, when we were young. Their names are Chelle and Baily.” He quickly scrolled past the picture with them all eating cake to the one where Baily had just won a ribbon in a school race. He explained about the competition.
“I’m fast too,” Leila said proudly.
Carys came out from behind the curtain. “Girls, you can go in and see your mama for just a moment. Only hold her hand, okay? Her tummy hurts. Do you understand?”
The girls gave solemn nods. “Go see Faizah.”
“Did you leave the baby with the mom?” Cullen asked.
“Yes, it’s best if they can have as much bonding and skin-on-skin contact as possible. Unfortunately, her milk hasn’t come in so he’s going to need formula.”
“That happens,” Raiden nodded.
“When I spoke to Shada, she finally told me that it was her husband who hurt her and her girls. No big surprise there. According to her, he’s a soldier who has been gone for the last week and isn’t due back for a while. I tried to get her to define what length of time that would be, but she couldn’t pinpoint it.”
Cullen looked at Raiden. A soldier could mean anyt
hing in this part of the world, and God knew what side he was playing for. “Carys, did he leave alone, or did he go with others?”
She bit her lip and her brow furled. “I didn’t think to ask. I only asked what color his uniform was, and she said it was tan.”
That really didn’t do them a damn bit of good—both sides were wearing tan uniforms.
“It’s okay, Doctor, what other information did you find out?” Raiden asked. He rocked Farida from side to side. Cullen saw that Carys was eyeing his friend with approval. It bothered him, he wanted her to only look at him with approval.
Cullen stopped short.
Where in the hell had that come from?
“I found out that she has a concussion, is what I found out. I found out that she needs to leave the bastard!” As soon as the word left her mouth, Cullen saw that she regretted it. Apparently, the good doctor didn’t feel comfortable swearing.
Damn, that was so sweet.
“Carys, where is it you think she can go if she leaves here?” Raiden asked quietly.
“We’ll take her to Khartoum.” Cullen glared at him.
“No,” Raiden looked at Cullen with that calm way he had about him. “She can’t be moved. We need to take this little girl to Khartoum and get her some help, but we can’t separate this family. We need a game plan.”
Carys’ shoulders straightened. “And we’ll come up with one. There isn’t a chance in heck that this family will ever be beaten again.” She walked up close to Raiden and the girl in his arms. She put her hands on Farida’s head and abdomen. The little girl gave a weak cough. “We’ve got to move fast. How fast can you get to Khartoum?”
“Not as fast as my boy Lyons,” Raiden dipped his head to Cullen. “I’m pretty sure he learned from his moonshine relatives how to drive NASCAR.”
“You’re driving the family. I’m staying here,” Cullen stated emphatically.
Her Tempting Protector: Navy SEAL Team (Night Storm Book 2) Page 5