Allowing a small exhale of relief, she looked for an opportunity to slip from behind her secluded shelter and fall in to the mix of people making their way to the village below. Hiding in plain sight. Her pursuers wouldn’t expect her to openly mingle with others in broad daylight. Not when she’d only traveled by night thus far and had hidden during the day to rest. Or so she told herself. If she dwelled on any other possibility, she’d stay in her current position, too afraid to move, and she’d lose her only opportunity to replenish her supplies before she once more took flight and forged ahead in her quest for freedom.

When there was a break in the parade of people, she hurriedly strode toward the road, taking her place like she was just one of the others on their way to market, but she was careful to assume the stooped-over shuffle of a much older woman. Her hand automatically went to her veil to ensure that it covered all but her eyes, and she kept them downcast so she chanced looking no one directly in the eye.

Then she glanced down at her hands before burying them in the layers of material flowing from her waist. There was still swelling, and dirt covered the cuts and lacerations, only giving the impression of a woman who’d worked a lifetime with her hands. She’d been careful to wash away any dried, crusted blood; her fingernails were broken to the quick and dirt covered them, embedded around the cuticles, coating the area where they’d been ripped away from her skin.

She was near the outskirts of the village and she could hear sounds bursting from the small populace. There was even music in the distance. Already haggling had begun and the booths were alive with people seeking to barter for items or buy them.

“Good day to you, sister.”

Honor stiffened but forced herself not to overreact to the man who’d slipped up beside her undetected. She’d been too focused on the goings-on in the village and hadn’t paid her fellow travelers the attention she should have. The man had spoken in one of the less common dialects. Had it been a test?

Before she could summon a response, he continued in a low voice, as if not wanting to be overheard by anyone. “There are outcasts here. They look for something. The villagers are wary. They surround the village and are searching the village thoroughly. A woman alone cannot be too careful. If you wish, you may travel with me. It would be an honor to aid an elder of our people.”

Did he know who she was? How could he? Had she not been as careful as she’d thought? Was he warning her because he knew she was the one whom the militant faction searched for? And was he merely offering her reassurance that he wouldn’t betray her by playing along with her disguise and calling her an elder of their people? Or was there something more sinister at play? Was he one of the very men she had to evade at all costs?

There was little she could do. If she suddenly fled, she’d certainly draw attention to herself. And again, she doubted the assholes hunting her thought she would have the balls to go into that village with them there, so close she could smell them. And if she traveled with this man who looked to be older, it would only add credibility to her disguise.

He was younger than she pretended to be, but he was not a young man and likely had a wife or wives and children. Perhaps in his forties, but it was hard to tell because hard work aged the people here far before their time.

“I thank you, my brother, and good day to you as well.” Then injecting a note of fear in her voice, as would be expected, she turned but was careful not to meet his eyes, and she kept her head bowed in a gesture of subservience. “Why are they here? Is this not a peaceful village? What is it that they seek this day? And are we safe?”

She’d thought through every single word and purposely made her voice sound as aged as she appeared. She wanted no hint of an accent and she was very good at the languages of the Middle East, even the obscure ones that verged on extinction. She breathed a sigh of relief when she could detect no error in her effort. She only hoped a native hadn’t picked up on something she herself couldn’t hear in her voice.

“There is talk that the group that calls themselves A New Era seek an American woman who escaped a relief center bombing while all other workers perished. They won’t stop until they capture her, so they are spreading themselves far and wide and splitting up so they can cover more ground. The villagers are uneasy. They fear this abomination will destroy the village and expand the area they have absolute control of. If this woman is found, she would be given up in hopes that the fanatics would spare them in exchange.”

Honor was more sure than ever that this man knew she was the woman being hunted. Why he had offered to help her, she didn’t know. But then perhaps he only wanted to lure her in, give her a false sense of security so he could be the one to hand her over to A New Era and reap the reward.

She didn’t have time to ponder the choice or mull it over in her mind. It would be a dead giveaway, and no elderly woman would turn down the protection of another when apprised of the situation, so she did the only thing she could do. The only option available to her.

“I am grateful for your protection and gladly accept. I have need of only a few things. I have no desire to be caught in the slaughter of innocent lives.”

“May Allah be with us both, my sister,” he said formally. “Come, walk with me and we will acquire the things you need so you can be on your way. And may Allah walk with you wherever you go.”

He knew. He had to know. And yet he acted as though he wanted to help her. She was both relieved and grateful but also terrified all at the same time. She hated feeling so exposed. She hated someone knowing that she was the one the intruders were here for. Guilt swamped her. She didn’t want to be responsible for the deaths of innocent people. She didn’t want to be responsible for an entire village being decimated. And she didn’t want to cause the death of a man who knew who she was and was helping her regardless.

She fell into step beside him and he slowed his pace to match hers so he didn’t leave her behind.

“Are you injured?”

He asked in a mild, concerned voice that put Honor on edge even more. She couldn’t afford to trust anyone. What if he was leading her directly to the men hunting her?

She emitted a soft laugh, roughening her voice to sound hardened by work and age. “When you get to be my age, your bones hurt and you don’t move as quickly as you did in your youth. But I am well. I still manage to get around just fine.”

He nodded, seeming to accept her explanation. They continued on in silence until they reached the small dwellings of the village. From underneath lowered lashes, she surveyed the area with a keen eye. At the river, her prime objective, several women were doing their morning laundry. The mood seemed light, but perhaps they didn’t know of the danger that had infiltrated their village.

She would make her way to the river first because it would give her an opportunity to view the booths and see if any had items she needed. She would be okay for food for a few more days, but it only seemed logical to restock if possible because she had no way of knowing when she’d get another opportunity.

The only thing she had of value that wouldn’t draw immediate suspicion was an intricate, decorative bracelet that had been a gift from a grateful family whose son she’d tended to, and she had been warm and reassuring when the child was scared. She knew it was of value and that it was something the family couldn’t afford to simply give away, but it would have been an insult to refuse the offering, and now she was glad she hadn’t. It should be enough to buy food and another garment so she could change her appearance and alternate her manner of dress.