Page 49 of Her Wicked Hero

Just that easily her fright eased.

“Zed?” she croaked.

“I’m here.” The bright lights were dimmed, and she could see his face.

“Who else is here?”

“I’m here too, Marcia,” a familiar voice whispered. Lesley Brockman peered over Zed’s shoulder.

Marcia reared up in the bed, then let out a shrill cry of pain which Lesley echoed. Zed was there to help guide her back down onto the hospital bed.

“I need you to stay down, okay?”

“What’s wrong?” Lesley whimpered.

“It’s going to be all right, okay ladies?” Marcia calmed at Zed’s soothing voice, it gave her something to cling too. “Lesley, right now your friend has just managed to get into a spot of trouble again which has resulted in a ton of bruising, scrapes, and a concussion. If she could have, I’m sure somehow she would have managed to have found a python at the mall too.”

“Stop it, Zed, it hurts to laugh,” Marcia laughed.

“What do you mean a python?” Lesley asked.

“It’s a long story,” Marcia sighed. “What are you two doing here? What time is it?”

“Don’t you mean what day is it?” Zed asked wryly.

Marcia’s eyes widened. She looked over at Lesley and swallowed. “You came home on Friday. What day is it, Lesley?”

She stepped around Zed to the top of the bed. She pushed back some of Marcia’s unruly curls and kissed her forehead. “It’s Monday.”

She felt it then and hated it. Stupid weak tears. Raymond had stolen three days from her. They were gone. “How was your welcome home party?”

Lesley glanced over at Zed. “You know she’s serious, don’t you?” She turned back to Marcia and raised her voice. “How could you even ask something so stupid? You were almost kidnapped? We didn’t have my damned party. You were the important one. You!” Lesley burst into tears.

Marcia held out her arms, and Lesley fell into her embrace. It was a familiar pattern. “Lesley, I’ve been so worried about you. I’m so glad you’re home. How are you, honey?” Lesley hiccupped as Marcia stroked her brown curls.

“I was so scared when Daddy told me what had happened to all of you. Then to find out the nightmare wasn’t over,” her body trembled against Marcia.

“Are you seeing your counselor?” Marcia asked quietly.

“Yes,” she said as she grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and blew her nose. It took long minutes for Lesley to calm down. In the meantime, Marcia missed the feel of Zed holding her hand. Looking up at his hooded gaze, she realized she couldn’t get a read on what he was thinking. It was weird, in the jungle she’d felt really in tune with the man.

“Lesley,” Zed said quietly. “Why don’t you go tell your father Marcia is awake?”

Lesley pulled out of her arms, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her shirt. “Dad’s down in the cafeteria. He had some calls to make. He’ll be so happy to see you. He’s been here every day.”

“It would be great to see him. I love you, Lesley, it’s great seeing you,” Marcia said pointedly.

“Yeah well…” Lesley shrugged. She ducked her head instead of looking at Zed and left the room.

“Now, tell me what happened,” Marcia demanded. “Everything is kind of a blur. I heard gunshots. Did Raymond kill more people?”

“Actually, there was a woman on the scene who had a license to carry a concealed weapon. She was a former Marine. She shot and killed the man who was working with Raymond. He had a record a mile long.” Marcia breathed a sigh of relief.

“Nothing bad is going to happen to her, is it?”

“No, there are video cameras in the mall parking garage, she’s in the clear.”

“When can I leave here?”