Well getting to the end. I really have loved this one! So FYI: Conversations in italic means they are speaking Farsi.

Chapter 39 - Bulletproof

Harm pressed a hand to his chest expecting the excruciating pain, the sticky crimson to coat his fingers and the breath to be sucked out of his lungs as his vision tunneled and faded. Instead he saw the pistol slip out of Victor's fingers, blood in his mouth and the former Marine collapsed to the ground.

For a brief moment he figured he'd lost for good, never destined to save the girl until he looked up to find Mac standing just a fraction away with a bloodied knife in one hand. Her eyes were wide at how quickly Gunny collapsed but her aim had been true, plunging the knife deep knowing each organ that was sliced when she twisted and pulled.

It wasn't fair but she had to kill a friend. Instinct told her Gunny was too far gone with no chance of redemption. And as her eyes dropped to the blade all Mac could feel was emptiness. The man cared once, enough to return for Harm when everyone else believed he was dead. He had kept him safe, Webb as well and why he turned, she would never understand.

"Mac."

"Nazanin."

The familiar voices of both men forced an ache to settle in her chest and when Mac looked away from the bloody blade her eyes settled on Farid first and Harm second. She never believed both men would be standing in the same room with her - the two men she willingly married.

"Are you okay?" She asked while dropping the knife and stepping towards Harm. Her hands immediately came to his chest searching for any sign that Gunny's weapon had hit its target. She dug her fingers under his shirt and found nothing more than the rough edges of the scars he bore along with the dog tags that held their rings. "Oh, thank God. I thought he'd kill you. I can't go through that again."

It had been a young guard who'd come for her with concerns about an impending coup within the compound. He never much liked The Assassin, a few times the man had barked orders that were not needed or warranted. The argument with Farid had been the tipping point and the young man realized he needed to keep Nazanin safe.

"Listen to me, I am an American military officer. The hostage Farid has in one of the rooms is my partner and my husband, my real husband. I know I shouldn't tell you these things but I need to find him. You've seen the things Farid has done, I need to get away and go home. Help me..help us. I'll even take you to America if you wish."

"I help." The guard said and gathered three others who followed her lead. She used the passages to gain entry into the office, the Marine in her was taking charge, telling each man where to point their weapons, how to enter quietly until she decided the sound of a ballistic explosion would be too loud.

An eternity seemed to pass while she stood behind the hidden door listening to Gunny spew whatever hatred had been placed in his mind. As heartbreaking as it was, she realized the Marine she once knew was gone.

Harm was taunting Victor and Mac wanted to yell for him to stop. He was asking to be shot and killed but when Gunny pulled out a pistol, she felt like a bucket of iced water was thrown over her. For as many times as she'd accused Harm of running on emotions, it was a cross she carried as well.

This time those emotions would save him because Mac couldn't conceptualize any alternatives as the barrel was pressed to Harm's chest. Thoughts of Paraguay stoked a rage she kept buried and made her yank a knife out of a guard's waist band as she hurried into the room.

Victor was far too concerned with Harm to hear her slip behind him.

"It's okay...I'm fine." Harm said, his arms folding around her body when hers wrapped around his middle. He held her and ignored the melee around them, the guards which had turned were being taken out of the room at gunpoint and Victor's lifeless body was dragged out as well.

Farid's eyes couldn't help but lock on the pair, glaring as if shooting daggers at the man who held his wife. Perhaps he shouldn't had interfered and allowed the Assassin to end the man's life once and for all. Nazanin would grieve for a time, of course but that would end one day and she would be his again.

He waited for the couple to separate and then hurried to her side, one arm sweeping around her waist with a flourish. "My love, are you alright?"

Mac stiffened and just as quickly felt her body relax against Farid's. She wanted to push him away just as much as she wanted to stay. This feeling was familiar to Nazanin and her beginnings with a man who tried to give her everything. It just wasn't the same as being in the arms of her other lover. "No."

Harm made her feel whole, cherished, like his World would end if they didn't breathe the same air. He had flaws but the man who stood before her was changed. He completely opened his heart to her, bore his soul and the insecurities he felt as her husband. He loved her. He loved her more than words could express.

"No?"

She shook her head and glanced between both men feeling the heavy weight of a decision she didn't want to make. "No. I'm not alright." Her heart was aching, pounding the roughest of staccatos that she was sure it would slam out of her chest.

With Harm there was a history that spanned more than a decade. Adventures, near death experiences, illicit kisses, heartache and love. There was so much love when she looked through rose coloured glasses and understood why he did the things he did. Harm loved her - unconditionally. He loved her enough to let her go. He loved her so much that he died trying to save her and Mac knew he would do it again.

But then there was Farid, the man who pulled her from a burning vehicle and came to love her despite knowing her mind was in such a fragile state. That was why she couldn't hate him when most of his actions were harsh and merited her resentment. It was why she wanted Harm to stop hating the man as well. Without Farid, she would have died.

Unfortunately, the attractive man had a love that came with conditions, some of which Mac fundamentally understood although it never seemed right. As Nazanin, she was his obedient wife, seeking his love and approval. But, Nazanin Ahmadi was slowly slipping away despite the short history shared with Farid.

Nazanin placed a palm against Farid's cheek, an action that was common when he earned her affections. When she spoke it came out in Farsi, "Deep inside part of me loved you and still might. I think you know that. But, I don't belong here, my love...I don't belong with you...If given an ultimatum, it's him...it will always be him.""You heard us?""Yes. And I choose him. I can't explain it but it's as if two women live inside that are often at war. He touches me and those feelings stop...He brings me peace."

"My sweet Nazanin, are you still inside? If you are, please come back. Come back and I will change for you, my love." Faird bit back a heavy sigh when Nazanin's finger captured an errant tear. He rarely cried and as heartbreaking as it was, there was a choice to make.

"Nazanin loves you, she does...but still chooses him. I choose him because I love him so much it hurts. What I have with him is timeless. It's forever...I love him so desperately, I always will and Nazanin has come to realize that too."

"No, my love."

"I'm sorry...I don't want to hurt you but, I'm in love with him...Nazanin is in love with him." She finally spoke to him in English and the dialect made his eyes snap up to meet hers, darkening when Mac took a step away. "Let me go. Let us go."

Farid could feel the waves of anger radiating off of Harm. The American had tempered his rage somehow and despite knowing the danger, he grabbed Nazanin by the waist and pulled her against him. "Part of you will always be mine." He declared and then kissed her.

She responded, although Mac didn't want to, she knew it was the only way to put Nazanin to rest. A goodbye, a break up, the final time her lips would touch those of a husband that she hadn't chosen. "May Allah's light always shine for you. I will let you go but I will not help you escape."

"We'll find our way." Harm said suddenly and his voice broke through the heady haze Mac was caught in.

She gave a final kiss to Farid, a quick one before slipping fully out of his embrace. "Thank you...Thank you." Mac reached for Harm, taking his hand and pulling him towards the open door when Farid's voice made them stop.

"No, Nazanin!"

The sudden cacophony of gunshots echoed from outside and there was yelling and sounds of small explosions. The cavalry had come, albeit too late because none of them had seen the man hiding in the shadows who had used the passages to gain entry into Farid's office.

"Hello Sarah. We meet again and this time with both your lovers." Sadik Fahd held a pistol aimed at Mac but ready to shoot the American who held her hand. He knew of the Commander, Victor had spoken of him with great details and understood the man would stop at nothing to save his wife. "You have to come with me."

"She's not going anywhere with you." Harm stepped in front of Mac, using his body as a shield while he held her behind him despite the way she struggled. The shooting would start soon, he knew and braced himself for the barrage of bullets that would likely riddle his body, ending the mission he began in the Admiral's office when he resigned to go after Mac. It didn't matter how many times Sadik shot him or how badly it would hurt. He would stand there, an immovable wall designed to protect the woman he loved until his last breath. He would die for her and hoped his obstinance could give Mac time to run and seek help.

Sadik's upper lip curled up to more of a snarl than a grin. The evil radiated off of him in waves and it was the American's defiance which upset him most. "Don't be foolish. Why are you protecting a whore?"

"She's not a whore! You sick son of a bitch… She's my wife."

"Your wife? No. She belongs to no man but me." The terrorist declared and without warning, a pistol was discharged.

The time ticked away in slow motion and every attempt for Mac to remove herself from behind Harm met with resistance as his larger body kept blocking hers. He was determined to keep her safe at all costs but his life wasn't something to be bargained with, not to her. The kind of strength she found to push him out of the way was brought on by pure adrenaline - almost like a linebacker's ferocity that forced him to the ground along with a sweep of her ankle. They both fell with a loud thud and she knew he was hurt by the sudden gasp of air stolen from his lungs when his body came crashing down.

Mercifully, the bullet intended for Harm missed completely. When Sadik aimed once again, that shot also sailed wide, thwarted by Farid who had barreled into the terrorist. The pistol flew out of his hand, they scrambled to grab it, wrestled to rip the grip out of one another. There were gunshots, screaming and blood. So much blood because Farid was little match for Sadik who was trained and battle ready, the future polititatin hadn't the strength to stop him.

Both men stared at each other with murderous intent. It was Farid who collapsed.

A burning pain spread through his midsection where the bullet had entered and embedded itself, the point blank shot leaving no exit wound. He couldn't stop himself from falling or preventing Sadik from raising his gun once more and pointing it towards Nazanin and the Commander. "No…"

Two more shots echoed through the office, each one hitting their intended target culminating in a silence that was so deafening until Mac caught the sound of her ragged breath. Her body partially shielded Harm's, her right arm was extended and in her hand she held a smoking gun.

Despite the years without training, a Marine would always be a Marine, her aim impeccable when she ended Sadik's life with a shot that slammed into his head.

His lifeless body fell to the ground and she caught sight of Farid who's white shirt was now covered in blood. She heard his grunts of pain as he dragged himself towards the sofa but was unable to raise himself onto the cushions.

Harm was alive, she knew that but, inexplicably Mac rushed to Farid and her hands immediately went to his middle that he didn't let her touch. It was bad, real bad, he would likely bleed out.

His fingers were coated in blood, the pain was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. When Mac pressed on the area, Farid wailed and begged her to stop. "I could never be a soldier."

Farid noted that Harm had managed to stand up although the man held an arm against his ribs and was limping badly. "Here." The Commander handed his wife a shemagh and motioned for her to plug the wound. "Use it to keep pressure against it. I'll get help."

Mac turned to look up at Harm, desperate to run and leave with him but a sense of duty kept her by Farid's side. She knew he was hurt as well while a bullet hadn't hit him, the woosh of breath when they hit the deck had to have worsened his injuries. As he walked out of the room, she turned her attention back to the Iranian. He wasn't a hero, he wasn't noble. "You took a bullet for him. Why?"

"You love him." Farid sighed. "I hate him but you love him. I had to...had to be something more in your eyes... not just the man who hurt you."

"It wasn't all bad…"

He shifted, wincing when he brought a hand up to touch Mac's face. "I'm sorry for all of your pain, sweet Nazanin. I was a man obsessed with you. That isn't love...but I did love you."

"Shhh, don't talk. We'll get you help." She pressed her hand against the wound unsure of how bad it was or if they had managed to staunch most of it. Mac didn't expect to cry but the tears came anyway, a steady stream that he brushed away.

"Is he a good man, your Commander?""Yes.""I am not...I hate that I am not."

Harm returned with a group of men in black fatigues, one of them a medic which carried a backpack full of supplies that he began to search through. "Farid, stop talking or you'll bleed out faster."

"Commander, you do not command me...I am Farid Ahmadi and must allow me to say goodbye to my wife." Farid never felt this sort of sadness before when he glanced between the two and found his wife looking up at Harm with great concern. The Commander held her gaze, sharing a silent conversation through eyes that were a piercing blue, his love for the woman so plainly evident.

He never looked at her that way. Yes there was love but it was mostly clouded by lust. Now Farid realized why she had drawn Harm's eyes, all the different shades and expressions with such fine details it looked real. The eyes truly were windows to the soul and the Commander's burned for this woman, he loved fiercely - it wasn't only sexual.

"He looks at you as if you are the only woman on earth." He spoke in Farsi and took sick pleasurenat watching the Commander scowl.

Mac nodded but didn't turn to face Farid, her eyes held on to Harm's. She felt her heart skip a beat, the butterflies began to rumble in her tummy at the prospect of going home. "To him, I am.""Will he ever abandon you?""No. Never.""Good...I do not want you to be alone." Farid reached for Nazanin, turning her head so that she would face him. "I absolve you of our marriage. You are mine no longer...I absolve you because...I love you sweet Nazanin. I love you and will gratefully die in your arms.""You're not going to die...Farid...Farid...My love?" A heavy sob followed next when the corpsman pulled her hands away and searched for the entry wound that had taken Farid's life.

She sat by him, pressed her fingers to his neck to confirm what the medic had declared: Farid Ahmadi was dead and Mac would cry for him.

Harm stood clutching his midsection, the pain over his heart felt far worse than his aching body and the ribs that were now surely broken. He hadn't understood most of the conversation, he only comprehended bits and pieces in Farsi. But, he knew that Farid was gone and any satisfaction he desired fizzled as he watched his wife cry for another man.

Not just any other man - her husband - Nazanin's husband.

It shamed him to feel such jealousy for a dead man. It shamed him that a man he hated so much had saved their lives. Without a word, he stepped out of the room and didn't look back.