Page 34 of Her Wicked Hero

Marcia gritted her teeth and breathed through her nose trying to force down the nausea, but the more she bit down, the more her head hurt.

“We’re going to be there soon,” he said.

How come he didn’t sound out of breath?

“Marcia? Are you with me?”

“Don’t want to talk,” she gritted out. “I’m about ready to blow chunks.”

“Should we stop?” Zed asked as he slowed down.

She shook her head. Darn it, that was a mistake. She groaned. He stopped.

As soon as she was on the ground, she rolled over and puked. When she was done, she saw the water bottle under her face. She grabbed it and rinsed out her mouth.

“Let’s go,” she muttered.

“Nurul needs a moment,” Zed said.

She looked around and realized Zed was holding Hana. Marcia blinked slowly, trying to bring them into focus. He was stroking the baby’s head, his lean fingers so gentle against the child’s soft skin. He bent and kissed her forehead. He must have felt her gaze on him because he looked up and smiled.

“Do you have children?” Marcia asked.

“No.”

“Nieces? Nephews?”

He got a funny look on his face, then finally answered. “Probably soon.”

Before she had a chance to probe further, Nurul returned. “We should get going,” Marcia said.

“Are you sure?”

“When is the helicopter due?” she asked.

Zed looked down at his watch. “Soon.”

She gave him a pointed glance.

“Less than an hour.”

“So, we need to go.”

“Yes,” he said as he stood up and handed Hana to her mother. Marcia held out her arms, and Zed lifted her up. He waited while Nurul adjusted Hana into a comfortable position. Marcia vaguely remembered Zed cutting up some medicine, and Nurul coaxing her daughter to take it. She couldn’t wait until the little girl could have proper care. Then Zed started walking and once again all she could concentrate on was focusing on the landscape ahead of her, so she wouldn’t get dizzy.

After a few minutes went by, Zed started talking. “I need to fill you in on the plan.”

“When did you make a plan?”

“You were out of it, one of the times we stopped to rest. We’ve got four good men coming in on the helicopter. I don’t know them, but the captain vouches for them.”

“Will they be able to land?”

“Yeah, there’s space.”

“What about Raymond?”

“Once he hears the helicopter, he’s going to know you’re being rescued. He’s also going to know we’re going to want to take him out. He’ll know he’s outmanned, so we think he’s going to make a run for it.”