Page 7 of Her Wicked Hero

“Marcia,” the young girl wailed.

Raymond pointed the gun at the Debbie. Shots continued to ring out. Then, like avenging angels, Marcia saw men painted in green and wearing green fatigues running into the clearing. They shot Kyle.

Her hair was yanked so hard, she was lifted onto her feet. “I will kill your sister.” Raymond’s eyes looked crazy. Marcia looked down and saw his gun was pointed at Debbie’s head.

“Don’t go,” Debbie begged.

“What do you want?” Marcia asked.

“You’re my insurance policy. I’ll get a payoff as long as I have you. Now, let’s go.”

When Marcia hesitated, he hit Debbie in the head with the muzzle of the rifle. She let out a cry and slumped to the ground. He lifted the rifle butt again and stared at Marcia.

“It’s your choice.”

“Stop! I’ll go with you.”

He fisted his hand in her curls and yanked. She did her best to keep up with him, trying not to cry despite the pain. It wasn’t until they were well past the clearing and lost in the jungle, she realized her jeans weren’t even buttoned.

“Count off,” Gray commanded. “I want to know how many bogeys you got.”

“One,” Dalton said.

“Two,” Hunter said.

“One,” Aiden said.

“One,” Dex said.

“Two,” Zed said as he prowled into the clearing. He counted three prisoner huts and one larger dwelling for the mercs. Aiden was kneeling down next to an old man and woman, his backpack already off, so he could offer first-aid.

“I’m counting eight bodies, Lieutenant,” Griff said to Gray Tyler. “Either someone’s being bashful, or there was a falling out amongst these assholes, and they killed one of their own.”

Zed watched as Aiden talked to the older couple, then spoke up. “The leader executed one of the men before we got here according to Mrs. Hoff.” That still left them down one mercenary. According to Duane on the boat, there were nine guys up here at the camp, and Zed was positive he hadn’t been lying. He’d been in too much pain to lie.

“I’ve got Brockman, and he’s in bad shape,” Dex called from one of the huts.

“I’ve got two injured,” Griff yelled, from another hut.

Zed scanned the area carefully, he felt something. That’s when he heard it. A whimper over at the edge of the clearing.

“Nobody in the barracks,” Dalton said disgustedly. He and Wyatt came out and went to Aiden. He saw Dalton get some of Aiden’s supplies and head into the hut with Dex as Zed started jogging toward the soft sound of a girl crying. He saw the makeshift latrine, and the closer he got to it, he could smell the stench.

“Hello?” he queried. “Who are you? It’s safe to come out.”

There was no answer. He crouched down, knowing his size was formidable. Even though he was pretty sure that he was dealing with an innocent, he kept his rifle at the ready since there was still one mercenary unaccounted for. A girl who couldn’t be more than thirteen peeked around the corner, her brown hair was matted with blood.

“He took her,” she gasped. “You have to save her.”

Zed moved toward her, “Querida, I have to look at your head.”

She shook her head, then moaned. “What?”

“Honey, you’re hurt.”

Enough of this happy horseshit. Zed pushed his rifle behind his back and had the girl up in his arms before she could blink.

“Please, help Marcia,” she said again in a whisper. “He’s got her.”