Page 26 of Wounded Hearts

“We need to tell Smithy,” Jace said.

Zack sighed. “Agreed. K hasn’t said anything yet so we can tell him in a safe environment.”

“I can’t believe she’s back,” Jace said with a shake of his head.

Drew knew he must be petrified for his wife and child. He wasn’t sure his guilt at being related to such a vile human being would ever leave him. Once again, his blood was targeting someone he cared about, and he hated the feeling.

“We need to end this once and for all.” His statement hit the room and he saw every single person in there look at him and nod.

“It’s time,” Zack agreed. “Let’s get Zenobi in on this as well and end this for good.”

“I’ll make the call,” Roz said as she headed for the door.

“It goes without saying you have Eidolon’s full support,” Will added.

From the beginning, Eidolon and Zenobi, Roz’s all-female assassin group who very much worked for themselves, had been involved with fighting this battle against the Divine Watchers and more directly Rhea Winslow. They had both lost good operatives to the Divine Watchers and along with Fortis, they had their own scores to settle.

Zack lifted his chin in thanks, before focusing on Drew and then Mara. “Mara, we need to know everything you can tell us about Brayden Wells and Rhea Winslow. Even the smallest thing could help us.”

“Okay. I can tell you what I know but I only met her one time.”

“At the party?” Nate asked his gentle gaze on Mara.

“Yes. Brayden introduced her as his good friend and business associate. I got the feeling they were perhaps more than friends though.”

“What did she say to you?”

Mara bit her lip and looked at him and he nodded and stroked his hand over hers offering her encouragement. “She said she thought we’d be good friends and I remember thinking no way. I had a bad vibe from her from the offset. Then Brayden said she’d be staying with us at the house.” Drew watched her roll her lip between her teeth and her face go red before she continued. “He said she’d be helping with my little problem.”

“What problem?” Zin asked.

Mara looked around the room at the fearsome man and he felt the tremble in her hand before she straightened.

“You don’t have to tell us,” Drew reassured her, torn between the team needing all the help they could get and protecting this woman from any more suffering.

“But she’s dangerous right, and people could die if we don’t stop her?” She held his eyes beseeching him to tell her the truth.

“Yes.”

Mara straightened her shoulders and looked at the room. He saw Lizzie give her a nod of encouragement. “Brayden thinks I can’t get pregnant and he wants an heir.” Drew watched her wring her hands in her lap as she spoke. “The truth is, I was pregnant twice and each time he beat me so badly I miscarried.” Drew felt the air leave the room at her words and a fierce protective tension surrounded them. “Brayden has no idea about the pregnancies though because I never told him. I was almost five months with a baby girl when I miscarried. I buried her under an apple tree in the garden. I didn’t know what else to do.”

There was a beat of silence as the people in the room absorbed the information.

“Thank you for sharing that with us, Mara. I know that wasn’t easy for you,” Zack said with compassion in his voice, the barely contained fury only evident to those who knew him well.

“Do you think this woman knows about my baby being buried there?”

Drew hated the fear and pain in her eyes as she looked to him for answers. “I suspect so.”

“What can she possibly want with me?”

“We can’t know for sure, but it could be she knows of your connection to me and therefore Fortis, or it could be a coincidence and she’s playing games.”

“But you don’t think its coincidence, do you?”

Drew looked at Zack and then back at Mara. “No. I believe she targeted you specifically. Whether Brayden knows is doubtful at this point. He’s probably a cash cow she’s milking for every penny. We practically wiped her out last time and she’s obviously spent some time rebuilding and refinancing. What is clear is she wouldn’t have resurfaced in such a way without a plan or a reason. We just need to figure out what they are.”

“So, what do we do now?”

Drew smiled at her willingness to pitch in. “Now we do what we do, and you try not to worry.”

He watched as her head bowed and she nodded. “Okay.”

He knew she was withdrawing and hated it, but the truth was he needed a moment to get his head together. She was possibly in this situation because of him and he struggled to come to terms with that.

“I need a second,” he said to the room at large before he walked to the door needing air. The perfect life he’d fought so hard for was beginning to wobble, and he needed every ounce of strength and stamina to hold on or die trying.