Page 70 of Her Wicked Hero

“Just scared out their minds, but fine. It’s because of where their bedrooms are.”

“Thank God. Who’s missing then? Kane told me only four people were found at the house.”

“Lesley’s missing. She wasn’t home, and I didn’t know she’d left the house.” He sounded anguished.

“What happened to Vi that she couldn’t explain who she was? Are you sure she left voluntarily? Are you okay?” Marcia thought she might drop the phone, she was trembling so badly.

Zed scooched his chair beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.

“Easy,” he breathed into her hair.

Marcia slammed the speaker button on the phone, so Zed could hear Mr. B.’s answers.

“Vi was in the living room watching television, and she was knocked out. I was in my study and the bookcase fell and trapped me along with the part of the outside wall that was blown in. By the time they put me in the ambulance, they’d already transported Vi and the two girls. I have some of my former men checking everyplace for Lesley.”

“Her phone?” Zed asked.

“I’ll have the records in the next ten minutes,” Brockman answered. “I’m praying this is nothing more than her normal bad behavior.”

“How’s Vi now?” Marcia asked.

Brockman gave a weak chuckle. “I think this is old hat for you, honey. Contusions and a concussion.”

“I’ll be there tonight.”

“No!” he sounded almost like Kane had.

“I want to be there for my family.”

“And I want, your family wants you with you here with us,” Brockman said tiredly. “But NSA and Homeland Security are all over this. It’s made international news. What you don’t know is Al-Qaeda has taken credit.”

“Does that mean it has something to do with Yemen and the Saudis?” Marcia asked.

“ISIS has taken credit too.” Marcia could hear the man’s exhaustion. He needed her.

“I’ll be there―”

“Zaragoza, if you were running this op, what would your decision be?”

“She’d stay here. Too many moving parts in D.C. right now. You have no idea if this is part of your old job, Jefferies, or whatever pies you currently have your hands in. Meanwhile, we know Jefferies and Raymond are threats we have to neutralize, and we’ve been working some angles on that.”

“Do you have any leads?”

“Yeah, we do. We’re going to review them with Marcia in a few minutes. Dex or Kane will keep you informed unless you want to be part of the conversation.”

“I’ve got to get back to the girls,” Marcia heard Mr. B. sigh. “Meanwhile, you keep my girl Marcia safe, you hear me?”

“I do. And I will.” Zed disconnected the phone.

Zed saw Gray and Dex come into his apartment. Aiden was at the sliding glass door, motioning Evie to come inside. Zed put his arm around Marcia and took her into the living room which seemed exceedingly small, now that it housed so many large men.

“How’s your family, Marcia?” Gray asked as she settled onto the couch.

“Physically fine, but Lesley’s missing. She just got out of a rehabilitation clinic. She’s pulled stunts like this before after her first two in-stays.” Zed heard the pain in her voice. He’d really hoped it would be different for Lesley this time on Marcia’s behalf. He just thanked God, the other four Brockman’s were doing well.

Dalton cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him. “Marcia, I’ve got your family in my prayers,” he said solemnly. From what Zed knew about the man’s past, he knew he was sincere.

“Thank you,” Marcia responded.