Page 49 of Deadly Betrayal

Grateful, she nodded. They’d eaten a smallbreakfast several hours ago, and her stomach was starting to growl.When he stood, she almost grabbed his arm to make him stay. Couldshe do this? If Khalid saw her alone with so many strange men, he’dbe incensed. Any Afghan man who saw her here would immediatelyassume she was an unclean woman.

Her gaze fell to the young man, Jake, sittingacross from her. He had blue eyes also, but they were much palerthan his employer’s. As she studied his face, it dawned on her thathe was also very attractive. Was it a requirement of theiremployment as bodyguards to be good-looking? The two men and theirhandsome employer certainly had heads turning.

Jake cleared his throat. “So, Doctor Azita,Kaden says you work at a women’s clinic in Kabul. Were you educatedhere in Afghanistan?”

“When the Taliban took power, my father sentme to live in Tehran with my aunt and her Iranian husband. Istudied medicine at Tehran University.” She didn’t often speak ofher past, those happy years spent in Iran. The guilt of havingescaped the misery in her homeland prevented it. But there wassomething warm and trustworthy about him that loosened hertongue.

“Was it difficult for you to return?”

“Things are certainly much different here.Harder. One in ten children die before their fifth year. Maternalmortality rates are also very high, despite significantimprovements in the last decade. I feel blessed every day that Ican do my part to help my countrywomen and their children. Progressis slow, but we are making a difference.”

Nic wiped his mouth with a napkin and set itdown slowly, carefully. His expression was surprisingly serious. “Ihad no idea the situation was so bad. How is your clinicfunded?”

“Some private donors, but mostly foreign aidagencies. Even worse off are the women’s shelters, which have to behandled clandestinely, since it is illegal to harbor a run-awaywife.”

Nic’s eyes flashed and his lips pressedtogether, whitening. “What happens to the women who are caught?” heasked, his voice tight.

“If the husband or his family still wants thewoman, she is returned to them. Otherwise, she goes to prison.”

“And the children?”

“If they are lucky, they go to prison withtheir mothers. If they are not, they end up on the streets.” Hereyes watered. Too many broken children with dead eyes lined thestreets of downtown Kabul, begging for scraps.

Nic closed his lids and rubbed the spotbetween his brows, visibly disturbed. “Supposing someone like mewanted to make a sizable donation, how would I go about it?”

“Would you really?” A huge weight lifted fromher shoulders. Even if Khalid followed through on his threat to endhis funding, the shelter would have another source of income.“Elahakhanom, the director of the shelter that I help at,will be most pleased.” From her pocket, she pulled out a pen and anotepad she used for prescriptions and wrote down the director’scontact information in Dari. Below it, she transcribed theinformation into English.

Taking the note, he blinded her with anothermegawatt smile. “Thank you, Doctor Azita. Now I feel like I’m doingmy part too.”

Oh, he was a very likeable man, this one. Nowonder he was such a huge success. “Are all American movie starsthis generous?” she teased.

He laughed and several heads turned at thelighthearted sound. “I wouldn’t know. I’m Canadian.”

Canada. She’d met a delightful woman fromthere, a doctor who’d come to train midwives, something that wassorely needed, since men often refused their wives medicalattention if no female doctor was available. And given the state offemale education in this country, that happened more often thannot.

At that moment, Kaden rejoined them, settinga tray in front of her. A vegetable salad, a plate of chicken withrice, and hot tea. His own tray was a twin of hers. She smiled.“This is perfect.”

Their eyes held for a moment. Kaden clearedhis throat. “So, what did I miss?”

“We were talking about Canadians,” she saidbefore taking a bite of chicken. It was prepared differently thanshe was used to, but she enjoyed the taste.

“Our neighbors to the north.” Kaden winked atNic. “They’re all right, I guess.”

She laughed at their teasing, then quicklycovered her mouth when she remembered they were in public. “Haveyou been there, Kaden?”

“I guess Shahram didn’t tell you. We all livethere. Jake and I followed Nic when he moved back to Montréal. Now,we’re business partners.”

“So you arenothis bodyguards?” sheasked Kaden, trying to understand the relationship between thethree men, who were obviously very comfortable with each other.

“We are, but…” Kaden hesitated. He lookedpast her to Nic.

She held her hand up. “I’m prying.”

“It’s okay,” Nic said. “I’m a private person,and Kaden just wasn’t sure I’d want to share. I met a wonderfulwoman last spring. Her name’s Lauren, and she has a son, Jason. Wehad some trouble with a stalker. That’s when I started relying onKaden’s bodyguard services more seriously. We brought Jake on boardto guard Lauren. Once everything was over, we decided to stay inMontréal. And these guys”—he smiled warmly at Jake andKaden—“decided to join us. I don’t go out in public as much as Iused to, so to keep these guys from getting bored, we opened StarSecurity Services.”

Kaden seemed embarrassed. “It’s his company.We’re just the brawn.”

When Nic grunted loudly, Azita’s gaze swungback to him. “How many times do I have to repeat myself? What youdid for my family is worth more than any amount of money. You andJake are most definitelynotmy employees. You’re mybusiness partners, my brothers.”