Samurai Game (Ghostwalkers, #10)(69)

“And what about the men who shot me?” Sam wanted to know. “Did Whitney send them after all?”

Kadan sighed. “That gets a little complicated, Sam. I don’t believe they were after you. I think, again, Azami was correct when she said they were after her brothers.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “The Iranian soldiers came in via Mexico. The word we got was they were led into the United States through the drug tunnels the cartel has. These tunnels are elaborate and even heated in places. The mercenaries acquired the helicopters and Jeeps. The soldiers were taken to small planes and we tracked them to a small private airport.”

“The cartel was used before,” Azami said, “in an assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. Is there some faction in Iran working with the cartel and now they’re making a grab for Daiki and Eiji?”

“I doubt if it’s some faction,” Kadan said. “But anything’s possible. At least we know how they got in to the country and how they got out again.”

“It isn’t the first time the cartel has been in bed with Iran,” Ryland said. “There are rumors that they’re training the cartel’s hit squads in terrorist tactics, but so far we don’t have anything concrete on that.”

Azami smiled. “A high-resolution satellite would change that for you. I’ve got pictures of camps.”

Ryland leaned toward her. “Have you shared that information with anyone?”

“Who would I share it with? I have a mission, and that’s to try to cut Whitney off from those who enable him in his brutal experiments.”

“How do you plan to go about doing that?” Ryland asked, his tone almost gentle.

Again, Sam tightened his fingers around Azami’s in warning, although he shouldn’t have worried. She shrugged her slender shoulders. “There is no clear path,” she said, her statement as much of an enigma as she appeared to be. “But I will find one.”

Kadan burst out laughing. “You’re not going to get anything out of that woman, Rye, so short of torturing her, you may as well throw in the towel. She beat you at your own game.”

Azami continued to look innocent as if she had no idea why all the men were smirking.

“If we’re finished here,” Sam said. “I have to go talk to Azami’s brothers.”

“Tonight?” Ryland asked. “Sam, you need rest.”

“That’s all I’ve been doing lately and I’m asking before she changes her mind.”

Ryland looked straight into Azami’s eyes. “Do you plan on changing your mind?”

“That is to be seen, isn’t it?” she said softly. “If we’re done here, I must return to my room and rest for a little while.”

“Will your brothers be awake?” Sam asked.

She smiled her mysterious smile. “Of course, they would not sleep while I am being asked questions by Captain Miller. They are as protective of me as I am them.”

Sam’s head came up. They’ve been listening this entire time?

Do you think they would leave me unprotected? Had your captain deemed me dangerous and attempted to arrest me, we would have fought our way to freedom, or died trying. Her eyes met his. Be very certain I am the kind of woman you wish to spend your life with.

Sam looked into those dark, liquid eyes. She possessed a kind of magic no other woman held for him. You’re exactly the kind of woman I want. Don’t think you’re getting out of this by trying to warn me off.

Her mouth turned up at the corners, a soft smile meant only for him, and then she very gracefully rose from the table, gave a slight bow to Ryland and the others, and slipped from the war room without a whisper of movement.

“Holy cow, Sam.” Gator fanned himself. “You’re goin’ to be in more trouble than I am if you marry that girl.”

“Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into?” Ryland demanded. “She gives nothing away. She doesn’t show emotion at all. How can you know she feels the same way about you? Feels anything at all for you? Because I didn’t see it.”

“Public displays of affection are against her nature,” Sam said. “Believe me, she feels.”

“What’s not to like, Rye?” Kyle demanded. “She’s beautiful, exotic, and wealthy.”

“How’s it going to work, Knight?” Ryland asked Sam, ignoring Kyle. “She owns a company in Japan. Her family is there. You’re a soldier, sworn to protect your country. You’re a GhostWalker, and you damn well belong here—with us. Do you really think she’ll be happy living up in the mountains? It snows here and we can barely make it out. We have money to make life a little easier, yes, but she’s used to a different way of life altogether.”

“Is she?” Sam asked. He pushed himself to his feet, wanting to end the discussion. He’d already considered everything Ryland was telling him and he didn’t want to go over it again. What did a soldier have to give a woman like Azami? Why had she even looked at him twice?

“I’m not finished. Do me the courtesy of listening, since you can’t obey a damn order,” Ryland snapped.

Sam tightened his jaw, but dropped back into his chair. He’d been lucky that Ryland had backed off from the order. He rubbed his jaw, regarding his friend carefully. “I’m in love with her, Rye. I know all the objections. Do you think I haven’t thought of all of them myself? Yes, it happened too fast. I’ve been in her mind. I know what she’s like . . .”