“Fuck!” Zed yelled out as a Ford F250 pulled out in front of them. He swerved to avoid it.
Crrruunnnch.
Marcia saw stars and smoke as her airbag was deployed when they were hit from behind.
“Zed!” she shouted.
“Marcia, it’s going to be okay,” he rasped.
She couldn’t turn her head. Her car door was yanked open.
“Zed,” she shouted again.
“Got her,” a man yelled. She was dragged from the jeep. She tried to scream, but she was out of air. Where was Zed?
Oh God, not another van. Her head hit the metal floor.
She heard someone talking on the phone.
“Tell Jefferies we got the target.” Marcia whimpered. Oh Lord, her Neanderthal had been right. “We’ll be at the marina soon,” the driver said.
The van was going a good speed, but she wasn’t tied up. She got on her knees to see if she could open the door and jump out.
“Get her!” the driver yelled.
She heard the scuttling as the man in the passenger seat scrambled back to her. He lunged and pulled her away from the door. She toppled back to the floor and she ended up staring up at him. “What do you think you’re doing?” he grinned down at her. He smelled foul.
“Leaving,” she spat up at him.
“She’s a fighter,” he yelled up to the driver.
“Leave her alone, she needs to be in good shape when we deliver her to Jefferies.”
“I don’t have anything to tie you up with, baby. Guess we’ll just have to lie here.” He rubbed himself suggestively against her. Marcia cringed.
It seemed like hours, and she had had enough. “Get off me.”
“You’ll try something stupid.” He shoved himself lewdly against her again, and Marcia wanted to cry. Where was Zed, he’d promised it was going to be okay.
She started to scream. She couldn’t help it, it just was too much.
“Get off her!” the driver yelled.
The sour smelling man rolled off her. “Shut your mouth, or I’ll hit you.”
Marcia stopped screaming. He was off her that’s what she wanted. She felt the vehicle begin to slow down, then finally stop. She started to scream again, hoping to draw someone’s attention. Body Odor man slapped his hand over her mouth.
The van door slid open, and two men crawled in. She cowered back. Think Marcia, they want you alive. Driver boy said you needed to be unharmed. It’s going to be okay.
“Use this.” One of the two men threw a rag at her face.
“What for?” skunk-man asked.
“Gag her. We need to take her to the boat.”
If she got out of this alive, she was never going on another boat for the rest of her life, Marcia vowed.
The rag was tied around her mouth, and she was yanked out of the van, then carried like a sack of potatoes toward the sound of water.
“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” said to the guy next to him. At least he wasn’t the one carrying her because then she’d be throwing up behind the rag because of the toxic odor.
“Shut up.” The man carrying her went faster, and Marcia saw the stinker falling behind. There were four men taking her towards the boat. She was dizzy because of the airbag, and she was hung over the back of this guy’s shoulders, so maybe it was her imagination, but did she just see a shadow pull stink-boy into the bushes?
She looked around, and now she was surrounded by only three men.
Zed! He was coming to rescue her.
It was time to do her part. She twisted, kicked, and bit.
“Bitch, don’t make me hurt you.”
Another shadow rose from the bushes and pulled down one of the three remaining men. She kicked and twisted more keeping the remaining men’s focus on her. Zed would so totally win.
“What the fuck?” the man holding her stopped, his voice high.
“Give her to me.” It was Hunter’s voice.
She couldn’t see anything. “What’s going on?” she cried. This was ticking her off.
She felt herself falling as her captor dropped her. The dark ground came hurtling toward her, then she was caught. Somebody pulled off her gag.
“Zed?”
“Nope, I’m Kane.” His grin flashed white.
“Where’s Zed? Is he okay?”
“Quit flirting and give her to me,” Zed rumbled.
“You’re alive!” Marcia wriggled out of Kane’s arms to throw herself at Zed. “You rescued me.”
Dex walked up. “I’d give you a hug, but I don’t want my arm chewed off.”
“What’s going on?” Marcia looked around in confusion.
“We’re not quite done. Dex and Hunter are going to pretend to deliver you to Jefferies. I’m going to take the rear,” Zed said as he cradled her in his arms.
“I’d go too,” Kane said. “But we’re worried about Jefferies recognizing SEALs from Virginia.”
Marcia gave Zed a pointed look.
“There’s no way I’m not going to be there with you,” Zed said. “I’ll take up the rear.”
Marcia nodded reluctantly. She didn’t want to do it. She just wanted it to be over.
“How long?” she asked.
“In just five more minutes, Querida, you’ll be able to call Brockman and it’ll be over. But if you need to stop, we’ll find another way,” he promised.
“No. Let’s just get it done.”
She saw Kane, Hunter and Dex all share a smile.
Zed gently transferred her to Hunter.
They walked the quarter mile in the dark to the boat.
“Jefferies is expecting us,” Hunter said to the man at the top of the gangplank who was holding an automatic rifle. The bald man looked at Marcia and nodded.
Two more guards were on deck, and there was Jefferies, gloating.
“Excellent,” he said as he saw Marcia. “Drop her,” he pointed to a spot in front of him. Hunter gently lowered her to the wood floor.
“Why do you need me?” Marcia asked. She made her voice quiver.
“Harold was closing in on me. He’ll back off to keep you alive.”
“He won’t give into blackmail, he’s too patriotic,” she jeered.
Jefferies laughed. “Ever since his wife died, you and his other daughters are his Achilles heel. He’ll give me whatever information I want to save you.”
She looked at this man who had once been a friend of Mr. B’s, and shivered. “You’re wrong. If you had one of his daughters, maybe.”
Jefferies got down on his haunches and stroked a finger down the bridge of her nose. “Marcia, you underestimate how important you are to Harold.”
Jefferies’ gaze jerked up, as Marcia heard movement behind her, sickening thuds.
“What?” Jefferies screamed. He yanked Marcia by the hair.
Not a chance in hell, not that again. She kicked, trying to get his junk, his knee, anything. She wasn’t going to be a hostage. She thrashed wildly, she didn’t want Jefferies to press a gun against her. She didn’t!
“Whoa there. Calm down.” Zed softly trapped her arms by her sides so she stopped thrashing. It took long moments for Marcia to realize her hair wasn’t being pulled anymore, that she didn’t have a gun shoved against her. She looked around and saw the three guards, unconscious, and Jefferies on the deck with Dex’s foot on his neck. Hunter was on his cell phone.
“How did you find me?”
“Kane and Hunter were following you,” Zed said.
“And that’s another thing,” she said as Kane walked up on the deck. “What’s Kane doing in California?”
“Following you,” he reiterated.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you and Harold thought I was out of my caveman mind.”
She heard sirens in the distance.
“But Hunter’s been in on this all along?”
“He saw me get an incoming text from Kane today while he was trailing you and Aliana. Hunter wanted t
o help.”
“You did the right thing wearing the red,” Kane chimed in. Jefferies groaned, and Dex pushed down harder with his foot.
Oops, here it came. Zed was prepared. As soon as the first tear started, he had her in his arms.
“I can’t believe how incredibly brave you are.”
“I’m not brave,” she snuffled against his chest. “I was so scared.”
“Me too,” he breathed into her hair. “Losing you would end my life. I love you so much Marcia.”
“I’m so glad you’re a Neanderthal,” she whispered. “I couldn’t ask for anybody better to keep me safe.”
Zed’s arms clutched her tight, and she knew she was home.
Epilogue
This was the most nervous Zed had been during his relationship with Marcia. He’d thought everything had been fine before he’d left on this last mission. They’d found a townhome in Alexandria, and she was scheduled to start school soon. Hell, it was even back at Virginia State, and when he’d gone wheels up, she’d been spinning around in excitement.
He, on the other hand, was happy to see that life was changing on another front for Marcia. Finally she was not the one always in a support role for the Brockman family. Instead they were more of a source of fun and enjoyment. Especially Lesley. It was like she had her best friend back.
He and Marcia were supposed to be married in just a month. Folding her into his arms last night when he’d gotten home at midnight had been paradise. Her soft limbs, her silky hair and low sighs were the stuff of dreams. But this morning he’d felt her gaze on him before she’d snuck out of bed. She’d never done that before and it had him questioning himself.
Six weeks ago, he’d told her about the man he’d lost on a mission last year. It was one of those midnight moments of sharing, and as soon as the words had been out of his mouth, he worried she would think his job was too dangerous and have second thoughts about marrying him. But she hadn’t been like that at all. In typical Marcia fashion, she had surprised the hell out of him by listening and getting him to talk about everything.
She made him really think through how his need to protect everyone might be a little unrealistic. But when he thought about how he’d ultimately ensured her safety against Jefferies, he realized he probably wasn’t going to change what he did. He might, however, not think every negative outcome was his fault.
But what was going on with Marcia? She needed to be happy. It was his job to make her happy.
You could just ask, a niggling little voice suggested, but he pushed it away. If she’d wanted to tell him, she would have. Therefore, it was up to him to figure out what was going on and fix it. He got out of bed and stopped short at the guest bathroom in the hallway. The door was closed. What was Marcia doing in there, instead of in the master suite bathroom?
He listened. She was gasping. Was she crying?
“Marcia?” he knocked on the door. He was met by moments of silence, then he heard retching. He pushed the door open to find Marcia kneeling in front of the toilet, vomiting.
“Madre de Dios.”
He knelt down naked beside her and caught her as she started to slump to the floor.
“Marcia, let’s get you back to bed.”
She waved him off, then stuck her head back into the toilet bowl and heaved. Her entire body shuddered like it would rip apart. Zed held her in his arms, making crooning noises, then when she was done, he flushed the toilet. He made sure she was steady enough to hold onto the rim on her own, then he grabbed a washcloth, wet it, and stroked her face, trying to soothe away the sweat and strain.
Marcia gobbled in great gasps of air.
“Do we need to take you to the hospital?”
Her eyes finally seemed to be able to focus, and she stared at him. She was white as a sheet. It reminded Zed of the condition he found her in the jungle all over again. He hauled her up into his arms, strode into their bedroom, and set her down on the bed.
“I’ll get dressed. Hospital or urgent care?” he asked. Zed went to his dresser to grab clothes, when Marcia’s laughter rang out.
“Neither.”
“Should I call Kane? He’ll know what to do.”
“Zed, you big oaf, this isn’t a mission. I’m pregnant. This is morning sickness.” The shirt he was holding dropped to the floor.
“Oh Honey, you should see your face.”
He came over and cupped hers. “Are you serious?” he rasped.
“Open the closet. There’s a gift bag on the top shelf. Go grab it.”
Zed continued to stare at her in shock. He’d had no idea. No clue. No feeling. How was this possible?
“Closet,” she waved him away. He went to the closet and pulled down a little green gift bag filled with yellow tissue paper. He brought the bag back and handed it to her.
“No, silly, it’s for you.”
He dug through it and found a small, white plastic wand. When he peered down at the little writing in the window, it said, PREGNANT.
“You’re going to be a daddy,” she grinned.
“I thought you said this project would take longer,” he said. He looked at her resting there in his green t-shirt, looking so delicate.
“You have strong swimmers. We scored in our first month. Apparently, the sicker you are with morning sickness the stronger the pregnancy. I can tell you Zed, it’s a strong pregnancy.”
Now that he really looked at her, it seemed she’d lost weight she couldn’t afford to lose.
“Stop,” she held up a hand. “Did I just see Neanderthal Man rear his ugly head?”
He looked back down at the plastic stick, then up at her. “Yes, you did. Deal with it.”
“Fudge nugget. You’re going to be all overprotective, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. Overprotective is in the job description.”
She crooked a finger at him. He leaned down. “Closer,” she whispered.
“Yes?” he whispered back in her ear.
“But you know not every little bad thing that might happen rests on your head, right?” Her deep sherry colored eyes were anxious.
“I’ve learned my lesson, I know better than that,” he assured her.
He pushed his hand underneath her shirt and rested it on her flat tummy.
“But do you want to know something?” he asked her.
Her eyes overly bright, she nodded yes.
“Our little girl is going to be just fine. I just know it.”
If you enjoyed Her Wicked Hero please consider the next book in the series Her Guarded Hero. Below is a sneak peek at Chapter One.
Get your copy of Her Guarded Hero here.
Chapter One
Her Guarded Hero sneak peek!
The rifle shot was followed by a woman’s shout. Not a scream, a shout. He heard rapid horse beats. They were coming towards him. Dalton Sullivan ducked behind one of the Ponderosa pines, his gun in his hand.
The horse and rider came into view. Another rifle shot. This time there was a scream. It didn’t sound human. The horse reared up. Scratch that, the beast was literally standing up on his hind legs as if he was a person, but somehow the rider stayed on.
“Siren calm down.” He heard a woman’s calm voice.
So, it was a woman on the horse, but she couldn’t stay on for long, no matter how soothing her tone. Dalton took in the blood on the palomino’s flank. The woman must not have been hit by a bullet, because she wouldn’t still be holding onto the horse. Dalton watched as her golden hair streamed and whirled around her, glinting in the sunlight.
Amazingly, the horse came back down and shot its legs backwards and bucked again, but somehow the woman stayed planted. Once more the horse bucked and twisted, and the rider moved fluidly with the animal, like they were one perfect being.
It was when another shot rang out that she bent sideways and lost her balance. Grimly, he watched as she literally flew the twenty feet toward him. She tucked and rolled like a pro, but still the forest floor was pretty
damn hard here in Lake Tahoe.
Dammit! Why wasn’t she wearing a helmet?
She swung out her arms, trying to reach for any kind of underbrush that might stop her from rolling down the hill, but there wasn’t a lot. Dalton ran and jumped over her slim body, bracing himself in front of one of the tall pine trees so that he could cushion her stop. She groaned when she rolled into his waiting arms.
She looked up at him, dazed. He saw blood dripping down her face from what looked like a laceration on her scalp. Her hair was in the way, he couldn’t see if it was deep, but it was bleeding like a son-of-a-bitch, he hated head wounds.
“Siren?” she asked softly. He ignored her. He needed to check her out and see how badly she was injured.
She grabbed at his sweater and levered herself up, her gaze was fierce. “Did you see my horse?”
Dalton admired her grit, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried about her. He gently pulled her hands away.
“You need to lie back. I need to check you out,” he said gently.
“Did you see Siren? I think she was shot.”
Last Dalton had seen, the horse had run off down the steep hill towards the pristine blue water of Lake Tahoe. “Seeing how well she was running, I’d say she was fine. It’s you I’m worried about. Do you promise not to move if I go get my backpack?”
As soon as he stood up, she rolled over on her knees and started to get up.
“Dammit Woman, I said stay still.”
“I’m fine,” she gasped. Then she groaned and rolled back over. “Okay, I’m not fine. I’ll just rest here for a moment.”
Dalton dashed over to his pack and was back in under a minute. Her blonde hair was quickly turning to orange from all the blood. He had field medic training, all the SEAL’s on the Black Dawn team did. He knelt beside her and foraged through his backpack and grabbed at a clean pair of white socks. He gently placed one against her forehead.
She immediately grabbed it out of his hand and pressed it against her scalp.
“I’m fine,” she assured him.
Her Wicked Hero Page 19