Beyond The Limit (7 page)

“It appears to be an ongoing problem,” Pete agreed somberly.

Hesam brightened. “Democracy is what I and others want for our country.” He swept his hand around the room. “The northern province tribe leaders show others what is possible. And I, for one, am your protector, Major. You can count on my men. They will not steal from you. They will put in a full day's work without complaint. They are not shirkers. So long as you pay them fairly and don't treat them as dumb animals of burden, I will be grateful.”

Nodding, Pete said, “My lord, I am authorized to pay them a good wage. They will be respected. I know that they must pray six times daily, and they will be allowed to do so. I plan two shifts of workers, if you approve.”

Pensive, Hesam glanced at Cali. “And does all this meet with your approval as well, my friend?”

“My lord, I represent the construction company that works for Major Trayhern. He's my boss. If he tells you that your men will be fairly paid and he needs two shifts, I believe that. I'm sure he will respect your traditions where your people are concerned. We all want to see Afghanistan get back on her feet, and her people enjoy good jobs at fair wages.”

“Excellent,” Hesam murmured. “Then we are in agreement.” He reached out and patted each of them on the shoulder. “Come, now that we have completed our business, I want to show you my racing camels. They are the best in Afghanistan!”

As Cali rose, after Hesam had gotten to his feet, she looked across at Pete. He seemed as if the weight of the world had just been removed from his broad shoulders. She understood how important it was to have the sheik's blessing. Without the influential warlord, the area would be like lawless Dodge City without a sheriff or posse around to keep the tentative peace. Her heart beat a little harder as she tried to rein in her sudden, inexplicable joy. She quickly told Hesam that Pete's introductory gift would be presented to him as soon as it arrived. Hesam glowed.

For a fleeting second, vulnerability appeared in the major's face, and it touched Cali's heart. Rubbing her brow, she turned and followed the men out of the room.

She and Major Trayhern would have two years of working together. Two years of hell? And what would heaven be like?

Cali snorted softly to herself. Whatever loneliness she felt, she had to live with. She should stop looking for the major to become a friend—or more.

T
HE NEXT MORNING WAS
clear, cool and crisp. Cali wore a dark green, goose-down jacket to shield her from the biting breeze that flowed off the Kush range just before the sun rose over the jagged, snow-covered peaks. She made it to Pete's trailer and stepped inside. As she moved toward the office, she wasn't prepared for the sight of Ahmed screaming at Pete, who'd been studying site drawings spread out across the table. The Afghan's face was livid and he was waving his arms like windmills. She nearly dropped her mug of coffee as she hesitated near the entryway, feeling like an interloper.

“You cannot send me back to Kabul, Major! I am a good interpreter! I did everything right! You are letting a mere woman fill your head with lies!” He glared down at Pete. “You would rather listen to her than to me, a man? Women are nothing! They are slaves to serve us!”

Annoyance surged through Cali. She saw Pete's gaze turn stormy as he stood to confront the upset interpreter. Ahmed's face was frozen with hatred.

Cali realized neither man was aware of her presence. Shutting the door with more force than necessary, she saw Ahmed jump, as if shot, and whirl around. His mouth dropped open when he realized she was standing there.

“You!” he screamed, shaking his finger at her. “You have lied to the major! I am a good interpreter! You do not know what you say, woman! You have no business being here on a man's construction site! You belong at home, tending your babies!”

Cali lifted her chin, her fingers curling a little more tightly around the handle of the mug. “Ahmed, you're way out of line. Settle down. Screaming, yelling and making stupid charges like that isn't going to help anyone.”

His thick black brows drew down and his eyes became slits. Nostrils flaring, he switched to Pashto. “You spawn of the devil! How dare you tell me anything! You are nothing but a worthless woman! You have no rights here as far as I'm concerned!”

Before Cali could answer, Pete came around the planning desk and stood between them. His body radiated tension. “What did he just say to you, Ms. Roland?” he demanded tightly.

Cali translated. She saw the Marine's face go very still. She was seeing the construction supervisor now, not the man. Ahmed was much shorter than him, and Pete leaned down and snarled into his face, “You're fired, Ahmed. You will not insult anyone who works for me. Particularly Ms. Roland. Sheik Hesam said the same thing she did—that you did a poor job of interpreting for me. Your services are terminated, mister. Leave right now. Go over to accounting and pick up your last paycheck.”

Cali moved aside as Ahmed backed off. He cursed in Pashto, whirled and stormed toward the door.

“I will get even with you, woman!” he growled at Cali. “Count the days! I will take my revenge upon you!”

“Go back to Kabul, Ahmed,” Cali answered in Pashto.

Pete winced as the interpreter slammed the door behind him. He glanced over at Cali, who took a sip of her steaming coffee.

“A helluva start to our day,” he muttered. “I'm sorry he said those things to you. I'll dispatch a report on Ahmed to Mr. Elliot today.”

“I'm assuming you told Elliot about Ahmed's inaccuracies yesterday?”

“Yes, he called late last night. Apparently Ahmed comes from a very rich family…” Pete shrugged. “You know how this political and family stuff works over here.”

“I do. The rich get favors all the time. The poor never get a break.”

“Ahmed will make out just fine in Kabul,” Pete said darkly. He was glad to have the backing of Kerwin Elliot, but didn't share that with her. “Javad will take over as of today.”

When he had the chance to clear his head of this most recent unpleasantness, Pete noticed how beautiful Cali looked this morning. Construction fashion didn't change much. Jeans, a long-sleeved white cotton blouse, a pink tank top beneath it and rough-out boots were the uniform of the day, every day. Still, Cali's cheeks were ruddy from the chill, her red hair pleasantly mussed beneath the white hard hat she wore. Those same small pearl earrings were in place. Maybe it was the dark green jacket she just unzipped that brought out the sultry color of her large, intelligent eyes.

He had to stop looking at her like that. In any case, her grim expression warned him off.

“Did Ahmed come to see you or did you call him in?” Cali asked.

Snorting, Pete went over to the coffee station and poured himself his second cup of the day. “I called him in to give him his release. The moment I told him his work was unacceptable he flew into a rage. That's when you came in. I hadn't got a chance to tell him he was fired.”

Cali moved away from the major. He was too close for comfort. Her personal comfort. Last night she'd dreamed of Russ again. It was a dream filled with rage against him—his lies, his deceit. She wasn't in a good mood, as a result. Having to spend time with Trayhern was enough of a trial. To be in the same office with him was always a stress on her.

Worry gleaming in his eyes. Pete sat down at the planning desk, coffee in hand.

“The guy's a fanatic, Major,” Cali murmured. Wrapping her hands around her own mug, she added, “I've occasionally run into men like Ahmed on other Middle East projects. There's a part of the Islamic belief system that is extreme, and he follows it. They think women should be barefoot, pregnant and at home. That, and out in public, women should be hidden from head to toe behind a black chadri.” Cali grimaced. “The Ahmeds of the world regard women as little more than animals, and in fact, I've seen times when a camel, horse or goat was treated better than the wife of one of these fanatics. It's shameful and degrading.”

Pete wanted to tell Cali to call him by his first name, not “Major.” But no way could he go there. Better to stay formal, so that an automatic distance remained between them. “You handled yourself well,” he murmured between sips. Seeing anger in her green eyes, he added, “Good thing you aren't easily intimidated.”

“As the site project engineer I'm the last person to be intimidated. The tradespeople working under me need to be assured I'm no shrinking violet in the line of fire. I've taken the heat in the kitchen plenty of times and lived to tell about it.” The only thing Cali couldn't stand was deception. Even though Pete was totally off-limits, she wondered if the major ever lied to women.

“That's true. You handled the situation with Ahmed very well.” Pete hoped she had the steel in her veins necessary to run this site. Cali was a strong, confident woman, but did she have the stamina for this project? He wanted her to succeed.

Wanted her, period. The truth was Cali hadn't given any signals that she was interested in him. Pete should have felt relief, but being so close to her made him squirm.
Remember the past, Trayhern. There's no room in your heart for a woman right now.

“Thanks.” What did the major expect? Cali wondered. For her to break down in tears? To wither beneath Ahmed's vitriolic attack? Being site supervisor was a royal battle more often then not. In fact, she'd rather have Major Trayhern as an enemy than a friend, she decided. He was too easy to like. So far, Cali hadn't caught him in a lie. Not yet. She had a bad history of men lying to her to get what they wanted, however. Toby, a classmate of hers in sixth grade, had talked her out of two of her valentine cookies with a story about his sick mother and taking them home to her. Cali learned later that his mom was fine and not ill at all. Toby had taunted her for weeks after that, for believing his lies. It got no better in junior high, when Cali's trusting nature had led to more embarrassing situations. And then there was Russ Turner….

“While you're here, I'd like an update on the fence building,” Pete stated.

“We're working to get back on schedule,” Cali said, holding his narrowed gazed. She finished her coffee. If he only knew the rough-and-tumble construction men she'd had to stand toe-to-toe with over the years, he probably wouldn't give her that doubtful look. As if she couldn't do the job.

“I expect a full report.”

Offended by his tone, Cali did her best to keep her voice cool. “The fencing material arrived yesterday. Sheik Hesam sent over ten pickup trucks filled with workers to our site this morning. I've had Ray take them to the payroll trailer to sign them up and give them their marching orders. We plan to start crews on roads, security and fence building—” she looked at her watch “—in less than an hour. I anticipate that by noon, that fencing will start going up.”

“We're already two days behind schedule,” Pete reminded her, looking down at his scheduling book to make the point.

Anger simmered briefly in Cali. “I'm going to see what I can do to speed up the process.” If she'd thought Trayhern was going to be a pushover, she was wrong. Already, Cali could see that she was looking through rose-colored glasses at this guy. Hadn't she learned her lesson already? A sense of failure, deep and painful, flowed through her.

“We've only got two shifts, and eight-hour days.”

Cali said, “I have my methods, Major. Trust me.”

Pete gave her a cutting smile. “As you know, trust doesn't enter into this. Words are cheap. It's actions that count. I have two engineers and an office clerk arriving about noon. I'll bring them around for introductions and check on your progress at that time.”

Trying to be diplomatic, Cali said, “I'll look forward to meeting the rest of your team.”

“Do you have more information on Hesam other than what was in your company's dossier?” Pete asked. “Is he trustworthy, do you think? Based on your experience here in the Middle East?”

“Absolutely. Hesam is a true diplomat and politico. He's a stand-up guy you can trust if you don't cross him. Have you read the dossier yet?”

Again, Pete was impressed with Roland's in-depth investigation on the main players at the construction site. It was a smart business move. “Yes, I read it. We'll see if your research is correct over time.”

Cali ignored his jab. “Basically, Hesam is pro-American and anti-Taliban. What the report doesn't say is the Taliban have killed members of his family. You heard about Javad losing his parents, but Hesam has lost two younger brothers, their wives and children, as well.”

Shaking his head, Pete said gruffly, “I can't imagine how awful that would be, having so many loved ones murdered like that.” He vividly recalled the stories of his own parents and Jason, his older brother, being kidnapped by a drug lord. He'd been born after the terrible crisis, but had seen the results of it in his family.

“Makes two of us,” Cali said. She was glad to talk about something other than the absent security fence. “I can't walk in his shoes, but I do feel great compassion for Hesam. Also, he is too worldly and cosmopolitan for the Taliban and their fanatical ways of practicing Islam.”

“That's what I thought,” Pete conceded.

“For example, did you know he allows women in his province to wear whatever they want? They are not confined to the imprisoning chadri. Sure, they wear a scarf on their head when outdoors, but all Muslim women do that. He has consistently schooled girls, when many in Afghanistan, under Taliban rule, stopped them from being educated at all. Hesam believes education is the way out for his people. His province has more college graduates than any other right now. And his graduates come back here to improve rural village life.”

“I appreciate the extra input,” Pete murmured. “Maybe I can help him in that regard.”

“Oh?” Cali wanted to run. The trailer seemed to be growing smaller by the minute, and she was wildly aware of his male presence. Why couldn't she tell her heart to stop being stupid? She inched toward the door. The sooner she got away from him, the better.

“I have a good friend I made in Kabul when I was in the south of the country. She's a professor of education and a real feminist. She's had an educational model for the children from kindergarten up to K12. I'd like to put a call in to her and see if she's willing to share it with Hesam.”

“Sounds good on paper, Major, but my two cents'worth is, before you call her, clear it with the sheik. It's just good manners from his perspective. Hesam may already have an educational model in place. We don't know that.”

“Of course I will.” Pete scowled. Not only was she verbally slapping his hand, but she seemed eager to leave.

“Major, I've seen my fair share of white men from America show up on Middle East turf and screw things up big time. You may not appreciate my advice, but there are times I'm going to give it to you.”

“I didn't just arrive, you know,” Pete reminded her.

“And if I hadn't given you a heads-up on Ahmed, you'd never have known what he did to you.”

Pete drew in a deep, ragged breath. This woman could be infuriating. “I'd have figured it out eventually.”

Cali glared at him. Men were stupid sometimes, and she could see Pete's wounded ego speaking. Finally, some of his inadequacies were coming to light. “Not on my watch, Major. Because I don't want a problem with Sheik Hesam. You're worried about a two-day delay on the security fence schedule? Just think what would happen to your schedule if Ahmed had continued to mess things up between you and the clan leader. Protocols over here are dyed-in-the-wool and you don't deviate from them. We could have ended up with no one working at this site.”