Acts of Honor

Acts of Honor Read Free

Book: Acts of Honor Read Free
Author: Vicki Hinze
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relationships. She’d never verbalized it, or dared to focus her thoughts on it, but she did want a family of her own and someone to share her life with, yet she couldn’t have everything Brenda had lost. She just . . . couldn’t.
    Gruesome thought, but maybe Foster knew Sara better than she knew herself.
    Fighting not to wince, she shifted topics, heading for safer ground. “So what’s your problem?” Did she dare to hope, a guilty conscience? “Why do you need my services?”
    “First, some ground rules.” He straightened and stepped back from her desk. “Everything I tell you falls under patient/ physician privilege. I have not, and will not, grant you authorization to release any information I share with you. None whatsoever, under any circumstances, at any time, to anyone.”
    “I gathered that.” Sara met his gaze and saw the tension of an emotion she’d never expected to see in Jack Foster’s face. Fear. It tugged hard at the healer in her. “So what’s the problem?”
    “I’ve got an officer with scrambled brains, and I have no idea why or who scrambled him.” Foster stiffened, as if relieved and uneasy with revealing that. “He was on a mission—classified, of course—and went missing. Seven days later, he showed up at a secluded facility, and we have no idea how he got there.”
    “Could you clarify his condition? Scrambled, how? Is he a vegetable, psychotic, or what?”
    “He’s been diagnosed PTSD.” Foster grimaced. “I need to know what happened to him, why, who did it, how, and if he’s salvageable.”
    If he’s salvageable? Flabbergasted, Sara leaned back in her chair. “And you want me to make this determination?”
    “Yes, I do. Quickly.” Foster didn’t miss a beat. “This man has been on a lot of high-risk missions. He has Top Secret security clearance, and he’s having moments of lucidity. Frankly put, he’s a critical security risk.”
    Foster’s voice turned gritty, as if forced to speak, and the words burned his throat. “You have the highest success rate in the business, Sara. I need success. Until we determine the specifics I mentioned, every AID mission and operative working worldwide is vulnerable. I can’t afford to lose this operative without discovering the facts of his case.”
    “The patient is an AID operative?”
    Foster hesitated. “He is, but don’t bother checking on him. You won’t find any more on him than you found on me.”
    Not surprised that Foster knew she’d checked him out, Sara didn’t flinch. “Why is that?”
    “Because he’s one of my men.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest. Her white lab coat bunched at her ribs. “Your men. Who are  . . . ?”
    Foster paused. “I head an elite group of specialized operatives called Shadow Watchers.” He gave her a chilly smile. “You won’t see that organization listed on any official documents. Actually, most military personnel don’t realize our group exists, and those who do realize it would never admit it to other service members much less to anyone outside of the military.”
    “I see.” An empty hole stretched and yawned in her stomach. She’d gotten into something deeper than expected. “What exactly do Shadow Watchers do?”
    “We perform a vital service in a system that requires checks and balances.”
    “Could you be a little less philosophical and more specific?”
    Foster answered without embellishment. “We spy on spies.”
    David had worked for Foster—as a Shadow Watcher. Suddenly, so much made sense. Except for the suicide. That would never make sense. David had been happy with Brenda, had adored her and Lisa. From all signs, he had been content.
    Had David’s death been suicide? An eerie feeling crept through Sara. She stared into the cool, detached depths of Foster’s eyes. Or had David been declared “unsalvageable”?
    The question begged to be asked, but Sara resisted. Foster wouldn’t answer, and it could be advantageous not to let him realize

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