Her Wicked Hero

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  “Three dead men in eight years, that’s all you’ve been able to confirm, right?” Marcia leaned over and drilled Dexter with a look. “You know there’s more.”

  “Yep, that’s what my guts saying too, but these are damn near certain. So, we’ve got a serial killer on our hands, and you are his number one target.”

  Marcia waved her hand like it didn’t matter, and Zed gritted his teeth. “Dex, you have more than just five slides. So, we know we have an itty-bitty problem with Raymond, who’s up next.”

  “This isn’t a joke,” Zed spit out.

  She whirled to look at him, and she was going to mouth off something smart-ass, but thank God, she figured out now was not the time.

  “Zed, I know it’s not a joke,” she said quietly as her hand landed on his thigh. “But I also know your team, and especially you, won’t let anything happen to me.”

  “What else do you have?” Zed asked Dex.

  This time Dex handed the picture to Zed.

  “Solomon Jefferies, former Assistant Director of the NSA.” Zed studied the picture of the man Dex handed him. He wanted to see if this time he would discern something new if he looked at it.

  “Kane finally found something interesting,” Dex said.

  “Kane?” Gray said.

  “Kane, me, who’s keeping score,” Dex scoffed. “Anyway, here’s the deal. Our man Jefferies’ new BFF, Vitoly Akulov, he’s a bastard.”

  Everyone laughed, except for Zed.

  “So, this isn’t about Jefferies’ friends in Turkey, is it? Who’s his father?”

  Dex shook his head. “His father is the former head of the Republic of Crimea. The one who is currently in exile.”

  “So, we could potentially have a Crimea with nuclear weapons?” Marcia asked aghast. Then she paused and slowly shook her head. “There’s no way Jefferies would allow that much instability to happen. Unless he’s a total warmonger. What’s his motivation? Money or instability?”

  “Since I found out some former members of Thorp group have taken a commission to eliminate Vitoly, I’m going to have to say Jefferies was in it for the money, but now, he’s doing what he can to mitigate things. He would be looking for a new buyer, but I’m going to feed all the information to Brockman, so he can finally take back the materials. They’ve never been out of his men’s sights.”

  Zed nodded his head slowly. Something still wasn’t sitting right with him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

  “Okay, that takes care of Jefferies,” Gray said. “Any sightings of Raymond?”

  “Nothing. None of his known aliases have been used at any airport,” Dex said.

  Marcia’s phone rang. Zed saw Lesley’s picture come up on the display.

  “Querida, put it on speaker.”

  “Lesley, where are you, honey? Are you okay?”

  “Marcia,” it was clear Lesley was crying. “I can’t reach Daddy on the phone. Nobody will tell me anything. Do you know where they are? I need to go see them.” She continued to say something, but Zed couldn’t understand her through her sobs.

  “Lesley, calm down. Are you high?” Marcia’s tone was loving, patient, and firm.

  “No. No. I promise―”

  “Everybody’s fine,” Marcia cut through Lesley’s words. “Tell me where you are, and I’ll have someone come and pick you up and take you to the hospital.

  Dex already had his phone out, Zed would bet money he was talking to Kane.

  “I’m in Alexandria. My friend’s name is Margaret, just like Mom.”

  “I need an address,” Marcia stayed on track.

  Lesley gave it to her.

  “Are you safe where you are?” Marcia asked. “Are you going to relapse being around Margaret and with what’s happened?”

  The sound of Lesley blowing her nose came across clearly. “I already flushed the shit down the toilet. I just want to get to Daddy and the girls. I’m not going to use this as a crutch.”

  Marcia slumped against him in relief.

  Dex held up five fingers, three times. Marcia straightened and gripped her phone tighter.

  “Lesley, someone will be picking you up in less than fifteen minutes.”

  “Don’t hang up,” Lesley pleaded.

  “I won’t hang up until your ride arrives.” Marcia picked up the phone and started talking to the girl who meant so much to her.

  All the time Marcia had been talking to Lesley, Zed had been listening as Dex had been filling in Harold Brockman about his oldest daughter and the information on Vitoly and Jefferies. Both calls ended at the same time.

  Marcia looked up and gave him a weary smile. “Was that Mr. B. on the line?” she asked turning to Dex.

  “Yep. He’s going to take care of Jefferies now that he knows everything.”

  “Good job, Dex,” Gray said.

  Evie reached over on the couch and hugged Marcia. “I’m happy about your sister,” she said.

  “Lesley’s just my friend,” Marcia countered.

  “She’s your sister in every way that matters,” Evie disagreed.

  14

  “I suppose we couldn’t very well have lured him to the gun range, huh?” Marcia whispered to Wyatt.

  The young SEAL grinned. “We needed to make you look like an easy target,” Wyatt whispered back. “Think how shitty I feel that everybody just assumes Raymond will make a move on me?”

  They were sitting on the beach, watching Zed and Amelia Jackson swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Somehow Dex had found out Raymond was in California, so the team set up this physical training session for Zed outside of the base, so it would be easier for Raymond to target her.

  Despite the fact this was basically a set up, and she was the cheese in the trap, Marcia was enjoying the sun and watching Zed in the water. She had no doubt in her mind, the men of Black Dawn would make sure she stayed healthy.

  “You’re ogling your man,” Wyatt teased.

  “You’ve been having impure thoughts about Amelia, don’t lie to me,” Marcia grinned at Wyatt.

  She watched in fascination as a blush rose up on his face. She’d actually been just kidding him, but apparently, she’d hit the mark.

  “Come on, it’s about time we went for our little walk.” Wyatt helped her up off the sandy beach and they started towards the seagrass. He paused for just a moment, and Marcia realized he must be listening to someone on the communication device embedded in his ear. She’d tried to use one but utterly failed. She always seemed to be talking to thin air, so she told Zed, that for the good of the operation, she wouldn’t have one.

  “What’d they say?” she asked Wyatt.

  “Where Dalton is positioned, he doesn’t see anyone. From Griff’s vantage point, nothing. They want us to walk up to the bike trail.”

  They picked their way up the sandy slope, away from the water. As they got closer, a group of runners were coming their way. Wyatt pulled Marcia to a stop.

  “Let’s let them get by before we go up.”

  Marcia watched the morning joggers and saw some bicyclists in colorful jerseys coming from the other direction.

  Wyatt was pretending to be nonchalant, but she could see that he was listening intently.

  “What? What are they saying?”

  “Hunter thought he saw something, but it was a false alarm.” Wyatt was all business. He kept his hand on her elbow.

  “Oh no,” she cried and tried to move forward, but Wyatt’s grip was implacable. Marcia watched as one of the cyclists careened toward the crowd of runners. The man in the yellow jersey went over his handlebars and took down three runners, his bicycle skidding into two others.

  “Report!” Wyatt said.

  “They need help,” Marcia cried as she saw people sprawled along the trail.

  Wyatt turned, so he was between her and the group of athletes. She looked over his shoulder. This couldn’t be anything more than an accident.

  “I see him!” Wyatt said.

  Marcia saw a man ov
er to the right of the accident. She’d thought he was one of the cyclists, but he was hanging back from the mess, removing his backpack.

  Wyatt pulled out his gun. A woman screamed. Hunter came out of nowhere and tackled the bicyclist who now had a gun in his hand. The lean SEAL drove the man to the ground. Silence reigned.

  Zed was still wiping down when the commotion started. Amelia had already left to go to her car. This was it, they were finally going to get the bastard.

  “Report,” he said into his mic.

  “Marcia’s fine. He was in with the bicyclists. We’ve got him.”

  Zed was already on the run to the north, his senses expanding, waiting for―.

  “Zed,” Amelia cried.

  Goddammit, they’d told her she needed to leave the area. What’s more, Aiden was supposed to be watching out for her.

  Zed turned and saw Raymond had Amelia by the arm.

  “Let her go,” Zed said. “It’s me you want.”

  “For the moment, it’s you. Eventually, it will be your little fuckbuddy.” Raymond said as he pushed Amelia forward. He had a gun shoved in her side.

  “I’ll go with you, just let Amelia go.”

  “That was quite the nice little set up your team did for me over there.” Raymond pointed to the north where a siren could be heard. “Too bad for you, you underestimated me.”

  Zed looked at Amelia’s face. She wasn’t doing well. He could see the beginnings of a panic attack. If that happened, Raymond would just kill her and be done with it.

  Where was Aiden?

  “What pawn were you willing to sacrifice, Felix?” Zed asked Raymond, trying to stall.

  “I love the Thorne Group, they always have newbies willing to take side jobs. They make excellent cannon fodder.”

  Amelia started to tremble, and Zed willed her to keep it together for just a little longer.

  “Why not let this go? Jefferies would pay you top dollar to keep you on his team, why not focus on that instead of Marcia?”

  Raymond’s face contorted in rage. “Jefferies, the Thorne Group, hell, damn near anyone will pay for my services. I’m worth top dollar.”

  “That’s what I’m saying, why screw it all up for revenge?”

  “You think this is revenge?” Raymond asked. “This isn’t revenge. That little bitch tried to make a fool of me. Nobody is allowed to do that. Especially, not some woman. If you let them get away with that, you’re worthless.”

  “Don’t” Amelia’s soft voice could barely be heard over the noise of the Pacific Ocean.

  “Let her go,” Zed pleaded again. Behind Raymond, he saw Aiden pushing himself up off the sand, his head covered in blood.

  “You really were a pain in the ass in Borneo,” Raymond said flippantly.

  Amelia slumped against him, lodging the gun between her and Raymond. Zed jumped. He grabbed Raymond by the head, twisting as Aiden rushed from behind. Zed heard the satisfying crack of Raymond’s neck breaking as the gun went off. He turned panicked eyes to Amelia, expecting to see blood seeping up under her wetsuit.

  “It looks like you both killed him,” Aiden said somewhat groggily.

  Amelia was holding the gun. Raymond had been shot in the chest at about the same time Zed had broken his neck.

  “We were supposed to be in this together,” Marcia said through gritted teeth. “You didn’t tell me you were setting yourself up.”

  “We weren’t sure which way he was going to go,” Zed said. “It could have been just as easily you he was after, so you needed to have your head fully in the game. I couldn’t have you worried about me.” Zed’s eyes flashed down at her.

  “So, this wasn’t about not trusting me?”

  “Fuck no. I trust you with my life, Marcia. This is a matter of everyone playing their position. Wyatt’s entire focus was on you, he didn’t know about our secondary operation, either.”

  Marcia thought about it and realized Zed was telling the truth. Wyatt had been just as in the dark as she had been, but he hadn’t been upset, seemed to think this was a good way of handling things. Maybe she needed to take a page out of his book.

  “How’s Amelia?” she asked.

  Zed started the car and headed toward the apartment.

  “Amelia is doing fine, great in fact. Since coming back from Afghanistan, she’s been suffering from PTSD and was sure she could never cope with any kind of combat situation again. She said this helped her turn a corner.”

  Marcia was happy to hear that.

  A car tried to merge into them and Zed laid on the horn. He accelerated, so they got out of the dumb butt driver’s way, but didn’t slow down until they took their exit. It was unlike him.

  “Zed?”

  He gave her a tight smile. “Almost home.”

  What the heck was wrong? The bad guy was dead, and Zed seemed to be crawling out of his skin.

  As soon as the vehicle was parked, Marcia undid her seatbelt and reached for the door. His big hand landed on hers.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Getting out of the car?” She gave him a bewildered look.

  “You’re supposed to wait for me.”

  “Raymond is dead,” she argued reasonably.

  “Marcia, did you forget your house in DC was bombed three days ago? We still don’t have that figured out yet.” Zed’s eyes glittered down at her.

  “Mr. B. said it had to do with the Saudi’s and Yemen,” her voice trailed off.

  “Until everything is wrapped up to my liking, you follow the safety protocols we’ve established. Got it?”

  She nodded. Zed got out and yanked open her door. Where was her calm, cool, and collected SEAL? Marcia gave him a confused smile as he walked her to the apartment. As soon as they were inside, he slammed the door shut and jerked her into his arms.

  Zed’s mouth plundered hers, his fingers sinking into hair, while his other hand gripped her ass and pulled her tight against him. For a split-second, Marcia was worried about him, but then all conscious thought dropped away as she spiraled into a pit of need. He maneuvered her against the wall and shoved her tee up and over her head.

  Marcia whimpered at their short loss of contact. Before he could ask what was wrong, she twined one arm around his neck, the other hand in search of his heat. She found him, hot and hard, straining against his shorts. She caressed the length of him, needing like she never had before.

  Zed worked down her shorts and panties, and when they were partway down her leg, he used his foot to push them the rest of the way to the floor. His fingers found the heart of her, circled and tugged until she thought she would go out of her mind.

  “Come for me.”

  “Not without you,” she panted.

  He thrust two fingers inside her and everything went up in flames. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe. When she finally surfaced, she touched the button on his shorts, then suddenly she was upside down.

  “What?”

  “No condom out here,” Zed said as he carried her down the hall to the bedroom. He dropped her onto the bed, and she stared up at him. Where was his wicked smile? Those warm eyes? Instead she was facing a marauder, a man who was intent on conquering. Why?

  “What’s wrong?”

  Zed sheathed himself, then pulled her to the middle of the bed, and pulled her legs over his arms.

  “I’ll tell you what’s wrong,” he said as he stroked through her wet folds. “I wasn’t with you. When they made their move, it wasn’t me there to protect you.” Zed slid deep inside her, his eyes never leaving hers.

  Marcia felt his possession all the way to her soul.

  “It was your team protecting me,” she protested.

  Zed’s hands gripped her tighter, pulling closer, then he rocked forward, so his lips were next to her ear.

  “You’re mine. It killed me not to be there with you.”

  She clung to him, peppering kisses along his jaw.

  “I was safe because of you
,” she insisted.

  His heart was racing, she could feel it against her breasts. She knew he was barely keeping control, but this man of hers would always keep her safe, and right now she didn’t need his control. She dug her fingernails into his back.

  “More.”

  He continued with those same strong, steady strokes that were driving her to the brink of insanity, but she could tell it wasn’t what he needed,.

  Marcia pulled back and grabbed fistfuls of Zed’s hair, glaring at him.

  “I’m not made of glass.”

  “I’ll never hurt you,” he promised. He was worried.

  “Of course not. I know that. But I need all of you.” She shoved her hips up, trying to bring him deeper. Trying to show him she was his safe spot.

  “Marcia,” he begged. “Have a care.”

  “I need all of you,” she whispered the words staring up into his eyes. “Give me all of you.”

  For a moment she’d thought she’d lost, then he moaned. His lips settled on hers, taking, giving, pleasing, coaxing. He pushed her higher, and she met him, lights skittering across her vision as she reached heights she’d never imagined, up and up until she screamed his name. His real name.

  “My Zed. You’re mine.”

  He rolled them over and she sprawled on top of him like she had been through a hurricane.

  “I’ve been yours since the moment I saw your photo,” he said solemnly. “We belong to each other.”

  Marcia needed to understand what he was saying, but Zed started to stroke his hand down her back, and she couldn’t stay awake. What photo was he talking about?

  He sat in the chair in the bedroom, watching her sleep. Marcia was beautiful. Had it only been six-and-a-half weeks ago he’d read about her while on the USS Ronald Reagan? Just that short amount of time since he’d first seen her picture?

  His gaze flitted over to the picture of his grandmother on the bedroom dresser, and he smiled. He shook his head, thinking back to a time when he hated the idea of having the ‘sight’ like his abuela. Instead, it had brought him the two most important people to him.