Page 9 of Her Wicked Hero

“Do we know why he took her?” Gray asked.

“She told me more when I was treating her,” Aiden said. “This guy called Marcia an insurance policy. He also said that as long as he had her, he was assured a payoff.”

“Most of the targets took head shots, but not the SEAL, I want everyone to take a look at him, and see if we can identify him,” Gray said pointing to the corpse. Zed hoped he couldn’t. He didn’t want to think any man he had served with was capable of throwing his honor away. “Actually, take a look at everyone,” Gray corrected himself.

Everyone let Aiden go first, so he could get back to his patients. He made quick work of looking at the men. “Nada,” he said as he passed Gray heading into the hut with Harold Brockman. Everybody else made the same loop. Zed was last. He had another feeling, and when he looked down, he was right. The SEAL’s name was Sommers. They’d been at Jump School together down at Benning. He’d served on another team in Virginia. There’d been rumblings about him. Nothing that ever bubbled up to command, but rumblings about gambling and a couple of ex-wives.

“I’ve got a lock on him, Lieutenant. He was on one of the Virginia teams. Do we have time to make a call? If I can get ahold of my communications guy for Night Storm, he’ll have the four-one-one on this guy.”

“Why’s that important?” Gray asked.

“I want to know if this guy Raymond who has Marcia is a SEAL.”

Gray tilted his head toward Dex. “Dex, set him up to make his call.”

Dex was already standing with the satellite phone in his hand. “Here you go.”

It took a moment for Zed to remember Kane McNamara’s number since he had him programmed into his phone and didn’t have to dial it, but finally, he pulled it out of his memory banks and placed the call. After five rings, a disgruntled Kane answered the phone.

“Who’s this?”

“It’s Zed. I need info now.”

“It’s nice to hear from you too. I’m doing fine. Yes, the team misses you.”

“Cut the crap,” Zed growled. “Get to your fucking computer.”

“I’m here now. Ask your questions.”

Zed began to breathe a little easier. Dex was a nice guy, but he knew Kane’s capabilities, and the man was a fucking wizard. He could pull information out of thin air.

“I need information about a guy named Sommers.”

“Fuck, Zed, are you talking about the guy from Phantom Phoenix? I don’t need to go to my computer for that. He’s a loser. His lieutenant got rid of him. Made it so goddamn hard on him, the bastard ended up quitting.”

“Do you have any idea when that was? Do you know what happened to him afterward? Did he have an associate named Raymond?”

He heard Kane sigh. “It was three years ago in August. I remember because we were on that mission in Honduras, and Phoenix was supposed to act as back-up. But the rest of that shit I’m actually going to have to do a little digging, how soon do you need it?”

“Now.”

“Hold on.” He watched as Hunter, Wyatt, and Dalton started to drag the corpses into the barracks. Meanwhile, Dex was on his comp, reporting into command. Griff came out of a hut leading a woman who was hunched over. The woman had won a Nobel Peace Prize in physics and this slime had roughed her up? He shut his eyes for a moment and whispered a prayer. He’d like to say he couldn’t believe it, but he could. It was as if she felt his eyes on him. She looked over at him and gave him a small smile and nod. The mind boggled how sometimes the delineation between good and bad was so clear.

Griff gently settled her next to the Hoffs, so Aiden would eventually be able to look her over. The fact he was still in with Brockman was not a good sign.

“Okay, I have the info, and you’re not going to like it,” Kane’s voice was tense. “Fuck, I don’t like it.” Zed’s gut clenched. Kane never sounded upset. He was the most easygoing guy on the Night Storm team. This did not bode well.

“Tell me.”

“Felix Raymond made it through BUD/S third in his class. Hell, I have a copy of his file, there are notes up the ass about what a great SEAL he’ll be. That’s what makes the next part so bad.”

“What?”

“The night before the graduation ceremony, he was charged with murdering his girlfriend in San Diego. The public defender got him off.”

“Did he do it?”

“Oh, yeah, he did it, they got him off on a technicality. He’s a real piece of work, I’m looking at the psych profile they did on him. They’re saying he’s a sociopath.”