Finding Dani (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 3) by Kori David Page B

said.
    He was sitting at the computer of one Dr. Martin Graham and the triumphant smile on his face raised Zach’s eyebrow. “What?”
    He was meticulously going through all the books on the bookshelf, looking for anything. Why folks tended to hide things in books, he’d never know, because it was always one of the first places that got checked.
    “Dr. Graham has a secret numbered bank account and he’s getting regular payments.”
    “How much?”
    “Irregular amounts, but nothing over ten grand. But it’s been going on for the last year, and the account has about five hundred thousand dollars in it.”
    Zach paused and looked at Jesse. “Sounds like a payoff of some kind.”
    “Enough to kill a village?”
    “Who knows?” Zach looked around. The house was small but nice. The furniture was expensive but older, the paintings were prints but of well-known artists, therefore expensive. Everything was stylish and tasteful, but not luxurious. “Maybe he just wants to up his standard of living.”
    “Guy is anal retentive, for sure, but to kill a large amount of people for this amount of money doesn’t track. If it was a million or more, I could see it, but this is small potatoes comparatively.”
    Zach shrugged and moved to the next bookcase. The doc had almost as many books as Zach’s wife did, but his reading taste was vastly different. Live and let live. He was quick and thorough and left the computer snooping to Jesse, who was much better and faster at it. And they’d been illegally inside the house for only twenty minutes when Jesse scored big.
    “I know what his secret is. You gotta see this shit.”
    Zach rounded the desk and bent over slightly to see over Jesse’s shoulder. “What the hell?”

    ***  

    By the time Damon got back down the hill, Hailey had disappeared. He checked her tent, but it was empty. He stopped a few of the soldiers passing to see if they could point the way, but she’d apparently slipped by them as well. Not that they’d been looking for her.
    He ended up close by Travis’s tent and stuck his head inside. He was after Hailey, but it wouldn’t hurt to find Travis as well. He was about to leave when he heard the crying. Stepping into the dark interior, he left the door ajar. It was hot inside, as none of the flaps for the windows were down to admit the almost nonexistent breeze.
    “Hailey?”
    Now the noise had moved to sobbing. He found her wedged in between the cot/bed and a footlocker. She was curled up in the fetal position on her side, one hand covering her face and the other clutching a long thin metal case.
    “It’s Hailey, right?” he asked, as he squatted down to get a better look at her. “I haven’t had a chance to get to know you yet.”
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered through the sobs.
    “Sorry for what?”
    When he moved forward, she jerked back from him. His eyes had adjusted to the poor light, but only her bright blond hair gleamed in the dimness. That and the metal box in her hands. She continued crying.
    “Hailey, what’s wrong?”
    “I didn’t know,” she wailed. “Why won’t he talk to me?” Then she pulled her knees further into her chest and the wail quieted to an agonizing moan. “I think I’m sick.”
    Damon reached out to move the hair off her face and could feel the heat coming off her skin. She was burning up. “We need to get you to sick bay.”
    “No,” she whimpered. “I need Travis…to say sorry.”
    “We’ll find him and tell him, okay?” He shoved the footlocker to the side and reached for Hailey. She was small and he lifted her easily from the ground and into his arms. She curled into his body, still crying softly. Her frame was slender, almost fragile.
    He carried her out of the tent and started toward the infirmary. “What’s in the box, Hailey?”
    “What?” She’d stopped crying, but still had her eyes closed.
    “The box in your hand, what’s inside?” He didn’t care, but he wanted to keep her conscious