Page 16 of Her Devoted HERO

“I wanted to ask you, how you were doing,” Gray said. “You and Aiden both seemed to take it pretty hard. Of course, you two were holding the girls in the helicopter.”

Dex looked down at the green grass under his feet, so different from the sand that he had trekked over just weeks before. Then he glanced sideways at his friend and boss. “I’ll be doing better when you answer my question,” he replied.

“I have a friend,” Gray paused. “Don’t ask me who or how, but suffice it to say they have connections, they told me what is going on.”

Dex stopped in the middle of the fairway, watching as his grandfather took out his pitching wedge to explain something to Hunter. “Tell me. Please tell that I’ll get to testify against her.”

Gray gave him a long look, and Dex realized what that meant. Fuck. The bitch was going to get away with assisting in her husband’s death.

“If you can’t give me that, at least tell me that she isn’t going to have anything to do with raising her daughters.”

Dex thought about that moment in the desert when little Clara Anders looked at her mother, begging to know where her daddy was, and that crazy blonde bitch had actually slapped her child and told her to shut up. Before anyone could blink, Dex had picked her up and cuddled her. But Noreen Anders had still been trying to get at her child, so Gray physically restrained her until the helicopters showed up.

“Here’s where it stands. Half of the people working the case still think it was Bill Anders who was doing the selling, but the other half belief it was the bitch from hell.”

“What about our reports?” Dex asked.

“This is the stuff you and I can’t and won’t ever know about, but the CIA bureau chief sat down with the ambassador and laid out all they did have, that wouldn’t necessarily stand up in a court of law, including our reports. The bureau chief even arranged for a child psychologist to meet with the girls. The ambassador was appalled. Besides the CIA, her father turned on her. The girls were taken from her. Their aunt and uncle will raise them in the US. I checked they’re good people.”

Of course, Gray checked.

“Tell me something really bad is going to happen to Crazy Noreen,” Dex pleaded.

“Crazy Noreen is going to be working with the bureau chief. He’s basically turned her into one of his operatives. He’s using the threat of your testimony as leverage. He’s got her convinced that she could be up on manslaughter charges for not helping you try to save her husband.”

That gave Dex a small amount of satisfaction, then he thought of something.

“Her first assignment is working in a village in Somalia for a year, gathering intel about pirates.”

“She’s the ambassador’s blood daughter, and he’s okay with this?” Dex hoped to hell he was.

“Yep. He’s a good man. He wrote letters of condolences to the four marines families. If she can help stop more of blood-letting, he’s for it.”

Dex looked at his lieutenant. It was amazing how connected and informed he was. He opened his mouth.

“I told you,” Gray said. “Don’t ask any questions of who and how I got this information.”

Dex shut his mouth and nodded.

“Now, just how hard a time are we going to have beating your granddad?” Gray asked.

“Just get your money out now, we’re going down,” Dex said.

Chapter Four

Kenna,

I can be as slow as a herd of snails travelling through peanut butter. See you said slow, and I didn’t even make a sexual innuendo because that would have been going fast.

Poppy, I don’t know what went on in your past, but if you need slow, and I get to spend some time laughing at my computer screen because of your attitude, I’m all for it. If there ever comes a time where you want to tell me about your past, I’m all ears. (Like a slow-moving elephant going up a hill.)

I lived with Grandma Helen and Grandpa Martin during the summers so it might not be a totally glowing letter of recommendation. She might have thrown in a few zingers about what a handful I was. Hearing that my words soothed your soul made me soar.

I believe in this. Let’s keep talking. We’re doing the right thing here, Kenna.

- Dex

Kenna threw up her hands.