“Yes. Three were captured by the SEAL team not long after the mudslide. Jonas and Phelps had set out to attempt the same hike you and Audrey had made in case you both had died in the slide. They came across three mercenaries who were trying to flee—much as the mercenary you met on the hillside said he was doing. It appears Mikhail was no longer rational. He killed one of his own men in anger after losing the lodge and hostages.”

“Do any of the mercs have a wound to the neck or shoulder—above the collarbone?”

“I’m not sure,” the captain responded. “Why?”

“I shot one with one of Corporal Shaw’s match guns—hit him with a nail—during the raid on the lodge. He got away when I went after Audrey.”

She hadn’t known about that, but then, in the aftermath of the fight behind the post office, she’d been too obsessed with getting the dead man’s blood off her face to really remember anything else. It had all been a blur.

“The merc I shot… He was masked,” Xavier said.

Audrey jolted as his words sank in. “But…Cohen said the mercenary leader, Mikhail, was the only one who was masked.”

He nodded. “I figured you should check, in case Mikhail is trying to pass himself off as a minion.”

The blood drained from her face. Xavier had been on the verge of taking down the mercenary leader, but he’d abandoned him in order to save her.

“We’ll check on that,” the captain said. “We’re still trying to get an accurate count of the number of mercenaries. To that end, we’d like you both to come to headquarters for a full debriefing as soon as you’re released from the hospital, Mr. Rivera.”

“The doctor said I’m clear to leave this morning. Keeping me overnight for observation was just a precaution.”

“Good. We’ll give you time alone first—I know this morning’s news is a blow, as it is to all of us. When you’re ready, tell the nurse, and we’ll have a car pick you up.”

The men left, and they were alone again. The silence was a heavy weight as Audrey thought about the three SEALs. Two known to be dead and the third unlikely to have survived.

Audrey rose from her seat and moved to his bedside. She took his hand. “I’m so sorry, Xavier.”

She remembered those first minutes after they found the empty pit, and his desperate need to stop the training. She’d wanted to check on George and he’d wanted to go to the yurt. They both knew now that even if they’d gone to the yurt, it was too late. Jeb was dead and all wired communication destroyed. They couldn’t have stopped it.