WAR: Intrusion by Vanessa Kier

the money to rebuild so quickly. If the media reports that your grand opening is successful, the rebels might attack again. And next time they might hurt you or your staff.”
    “Then we’ll never get the money we need to keep the clinic running,” she said with such despair that he felt a jab of sympathy. “I can’t bear the idea of the locals returning to the sub-standard care they received before.”
    Sincerity and true passion rang in every word she spoke. Something he’d never heard from his father, even when his father was at his most outwardly sympathetic. But he couldn’t afford to let his guard down yet. Not until he was one hundred percent certain she was not involved in any weapons smuggling.
    “You’re missing the main point, doctor.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Your life, and the lives of your staff, could be at risk.”
    She looked startled by the notion.
    “Did you not hear what I said before?”
    She glanced at him. “Do you really think we’re in danger?”
    “I think it’s a distinct possibility, yes.”
    “Is that why you’re carrying a gun at the small of your back? Because you expect a rebel attack wherever you go?”
    “Noticed that, did you?”
    “Yes. When you almost pulled it on Kwesi.”
    Lachlan gave a one-shouldered shrug. “The bloke’s an arse with a short temper.”
    “Around you, maybe. But Kwesi is a respected businessman and the brother of the tribal chief.”
    He snorted in disdain.
    Dr. Kirk yelped in alarm and slammed on the brakes.
    Lachlan braced his arm against the dash to stop himself from hitting his head on the windscreen. When the vehicle was completely stopped, he saw that Dr. Kirk had narrowly avoided hitting a small tree that had fallen across the road. The four-wheel-drive vehicle would normally have been more than a match for it, but the branches sticking straight up were thick enough to pierce the petrol tank.
    “You have excellent reflexes, doctor.”
    She gave him a faint smile. “I’m used to working in fast-paced trauma centers where I have to make rapid life and death decisions. Guess I haven’t fully lost my touch.” She nodded toward the downed tree. “Would you mind helping me move that?”
    “Not at all.” He reached over, turned the vehicle off, and pocketed the keys.
    “Hey!”
    He gave her a knowing smile. “Just ensuring that you don’t abandon me here, doctor. After all, you don’t trust me any more than I trust you, now do you?”
    She narrowed her eyes, then turned without a word and climbed out of the cab.
    With the two of them it didn’t take long to drag the tree out of the road. They encountered two more such obstacles before finally reaching their destination—a weed-infested patch of dirt in front of a long building with the typical corrugated metal roof. The number of doors and louvered windows marked it as a classroom block.
    Dr. Kirk opened the rear door and pulled out an easel and several open-topped boxes containing a variety of health-related props.
    “You’re teaching a women’s health class?” Lachlan asked as he picked up the easel and one of the boxes.
    Dr. Kirk nodded in gratitude, stacked two other boxes on top of each other, and headed toward the nearest classroom. “That’s right. I hold it every month.” She looked back over her shoulder at him. “You can bring the supplies in, but you’ll have to move out of earshot once I start class.”
    “Why?” He opened the door, then put his back to it and waited for Dr. Kirk to move past him into the room.
    “You’re a man. We’re going to be talking about sensitive women’s issues. Having you nearby will make my students uncomfortable.” She set her box down on a wooden table underneath a newly painted blackboard.
    “I don’t see why you need me to leave,” Lachlan commented. Not that he particularly wanted to stay. Being free to roam the grounds would allow him to search the other buildings for weapons. But he enjoyed tweaking her. “I only