Read Online Camouflage Heart by Dana Marton - Free Book Online Page A

and didn’t waste time with complaining about things that couldn’t be changed.
    He had to stop keeping a running list of the things he liked about her. Hell, it was pretty much everything. Liking her and doing something about it were two different things, however. “Ready to move out?”
    â€œAbsolutely.” She regained her composure enough to flash him a cautious smile.
    He really liked the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled.
    Â 
    H AMID LISTENED to his men report back, finishing his rice. No sign of the two that ran away. Where the hell were they?
    If it were just the woman, he wouldn’t have thought twice about it. But the man bothered him. Jamil’s prisoner was a survivor. He had made it through malaria, beatings, years in that damn cage where Jamil had kept him like a pet. He could behalfway to Miri by now. No, maybe not halfway, the woman would slow him down.
    They hadn’t gone on the river. Omar’s men were watching day and night. That was good at least. The jungle would slow them even further, give him more time to act.
    He set the bowl down and got up, walked to the crate in the corner. The bombs were ready. They were as powerful as he could make them. But they were no longer safe here. If the man made it out, he could give the army Omar’s location. And if Omar was captured, he might give their plan up to save himself.
    He called for his men, looked at the two that entered. Good. They were part of the old guard. “You two and your brothers—” he nodded to the taller one “—will take the crate now.”
    â€œTo the city?”
    He nodded. It was too early, not what they’d planned, but at times like this, flexibility was the key.
    â€œIs Muhammad coming?” the man asked.
    â€œNo.” Especially not Muhammad. He had caused enough trouble already by bringing western hostages to camp. “You will go quietly. Keep a low profile. Don’t stop at any camps. Take enough food. Don’t even stop to hunt.”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œYou stay with the bombs and wait for me.”
    He would have to go. That part of the plan would have to change, too. Muhammad was too much of a man of impulse, he saw that now. Omar could have gotten the job done, he was eager enough to prove himself to volunteer for any mission. But if something went wrong, would Omar be willing to sacrifice himself for their cause?
    Jamil would have, if he could have been talked into it, but too late to think about that now. Jamil was dead.
    Hamid ran his fingers across the top of the crate. He would go. And when the time came, he would do whatever was necessary. First the bombs, to scare out of the country the foreign dogs who supported the current government and its malpractices. Then he would unite all the guerilla groups in the hills—he was making good progress with that—and go head-to-head with the military.
    And then his country would finally be free.
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    T HEY WALKED IN SILENCE , picking their way over fallen logs and through leafy bunches of vines that were hanging from the canopy, blocking their way.
    â€œThis way,” Brian said, wincing at the stab of pain that flashed through his knee every time he put his weight on his bad leg.
    The ground was waterlogged, extensive buttress root systems tripping them up, blocking their way.“Look for game trails,” he told Audrey. “It’s the easiest going, as long as you remember to get off them at dusk. You don’t want to run into any night predators.”
    â€œHave you ever come across a tiger?”
    He glanced back. “The native tribes believe if you speak the word out loud one will appear.”
    â€œOh.” She looked around and stepped up until she was right behind him.
    He hadn’t planned on telling that story to anyone. Wasn’t even sure what had really happened. But what the hell. What else did they have to talk about?
    â€œOnce,” he said,