Loe raamatut: «Navy Seal Captive»

This book is dedicated to my sister, Delilah Devlin, who was an officer in the US army. She has inspired me to be the best I can be in my military career and in my journey to publication. She’s my mentor, sounding board and critique partner. And she isn’t afraid to tell me like it is. I love you, Sis!

Contents

Cover

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“Seriously. I can’t believe you talked me into this. And to go straight for the biggest first? Isn’t that pushing it?” Sawyer Houston adjusted the web seat and waited his turn on the platform. Perched on the edge of a two-hundred-foot cliff, staring down into the vast jungle, Sawyer balked. Cancún Adventures boasted the longest, most exciting zip line in Mexico, guaranteed to make you scream. Not, in Sawyer’s opinion, the most reassuring advertisement.

“It’s not like you to turn away from a challenge, Houston,” Quentin Lovett ribbed. “You’ve fast-roped out of helicopters, entered buildings full of terrorists and been shot at by rifles, machine guns and mortars.” Quentin snorted. “What’s a little ol’ zip line gonna hurt?”

“I don’t know who set it up, whether the cable is strong enough to withstand my weight or if there’s a way to stop me at the other end. Hell, I can’t see the other end, and plunging into a tree at the bottom isn’t my idea of fun. Besides, how would that look on my tombstone? ‘SEAL ends his navy career on vacation, sliding to his death on a poorly rigged zip line.’”

“Step aside.” Quentin circled Sawyer. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

“That’s right. Test the line. I’ll be sure to send your mother a letter telling of your bravery in the face of a zip line.”

A couple of women stood in front of Quentin. The curvy one in the khaki shorts and white Cancún T-shirt shook her head, her dark red curls bouncing with her nervous movements. “No. I’ve changed my mind.” She backed away from her friend with the short dark hair, running into Quentin.

“Whoa, darlin’.” Quentin steadied her, his brows rose and he winked at Sawyer.

“Sorry.” Her cheeks bloomed with color, and she hurriedly stepped away from him.

“Jenna, you have to do it,” the dark-haired, petite woman said. “It’s part of your kick-the-boring therapy.”

“Yeah, but I was thinking more along the lines of riding a roller coaster, not speeding through the jungle at Mach ten on a cable probably salvaged from a shipyard by people who might have used office staples to nail it to some tree ready to fall over at any minute.”

Sawyer took a breath for Jenna. How one woman could say all that without inhaling was beyond him. But she was kind of cute, and he didn’t blame her for her trepidation.

“Hey, I’ll go first to test it out,” the other woman said.

“No way, Carly. If you die, I’m stranded in the jungle with no one to get me back to the hotel to find my lost luggage.”

Sawyer’s lips quirked at the redhead’s adamant refusal to participate in the death-defying feat of zip-lining. “I’ll give you a ride.”

Jenna shot him a narrow-eyed glance before turning back to her friend. “Or you’ll be leaving me at the mercy of strangers, possibly mass murderers.”

The brunette rolled her eyes, then gave Sawyer a considering look. “He’s not a mass murderer, and he’s really cute. You could do worse. Now, I’m going. I’ll see you back at the parking lot.” She pulled on the gloves they’d been given and stepped up to the man in charge.

The man in the red Cancún Adventures T-shirt and black cotton shorts stubbed out his cigarette and hooked her belt to the cable. “If you want to slow, grab the cable with your glove. But don’t do it too soon, or you will stop in the middle of the cable,” he said in heavily accented English.

“Here’s to shaking it off and plotting a more adventurous course in your life.” The brunette leaned toward the cliff.

Jenna swayed toward her friend. “Carly, don’t—” But she was too late. Carly leaped off the cliff and raced toward the jungle at breakneck speed, squealing in delight.

Quentin chuckled. “Damn, she beat me to it.” He turned toward Sawyer. “Are you going to let a girl shame you?”

Sawyer crossed his arms over his chest. “There’s no shame in preferring to keep my bones intact.”

The redhead nodded, her gaze on her friend as she disappeared into the dark green jungle below. “That’s what I told Carly.” She glanced back at Sawyer. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for adventure.” Jenna bit her lip. “Or, at least, that was the point of this exercise.” Turning toward the cliff, she straightened her shoulders. “And, for the record, I’m not boring.”

“Didn’t say you were. Actually, you’re far from it,” Sawyer agreed, admiring her curvy figure and the shock of auburn hair that refused to be contained in the ponytail.

Quentin performed a sweeping bow in front of the woman. “Allow me.”

“Sure. I’m not in a hurry to plunge to my death.” She stepped back, this time bumping into Sawyer.

He wrapped an arm around her, absorbed the impact of her body and breathed in the flowery scent of her hair. Nope. Not boring at all. With her small body pressed close to his, he forgot all about the zip line and his argument with Quentin.

“Sorry,” she mumbled and stepped to his side and out of his embrace, her cheeks flushing a soft pink.

Everywhere she’d touched him still resonated with the warmth of her body. Sawyer’s groin tightened.

“Nothing to it.” Quentin allowed the attendant to hook his D-ring to the pulley and held on to the cable with his gloved hand. “See you at the bottom, if you have the guts to do it.” He winked, lifted his legs and took off, sliding to his doom in the jungle, whooping and hollering as he went.

Jenna drew in a long breath and let it out on a sigh. “I did come to Cancún to start over and be more adventurous.”

Sawyer smiled. “You don’t have to do the zip line to be adventurous.”

“No?” She glanced at him hopefully, her face brightening. Then her brows drew together, and she stiffened. “Yeah, but I don’t ever want to be accused of being boring again.”

“I take it someone called you boring,” Sawyer said.

She lifted her chin. “My ex-fiancé.”

“He must have been blind.”

“And a cheating bastard.” She stepped up to the attendant. “I’m going.”

“You want me to go with you?” Sawyer offered.

She shook her head. “No. I’ll be fine. If Carly can do it, so can I.” Jenna stared at the attendant, biting her lip. “I’m ready.”

The attendant gave her the same instructions he’d given to Quentin and Carly.

Jenna closed her eyes and said, “Could you give me a little push?” Her hands shook on the line hooked to the pulley as she drew in a ragged breath.

The attendant nodded, a smile teasing the corners of his mouth, and gave her a hefty shove. Her small body flew out over the cliff and raced to the bottom. A long, high-pitched scream ripped through the air, fading the farther away she went.

“Damn.” Sawyer checked his nylon web belt, which fit snugly around his legs, and stepped up to the attendant. “Guess I’m going, too.”

He turned to the man behind him, hoping that one last person would talk him out of taking the plunge.

The tall, muscular man with light brown hair and steely gray eyes stared right through him.

Nope. There’d be no help on that front.

When he stepped up to the edge, the attendant blocked him with his hand. “Wait until the senorita makes it to the bottom.”

The attendant waited a full minute before he snapped Sawyer’s link onto the line, repeated the instructions and left Sawyer teetering on the edge of the cliff, praying the cable held and the glove would do its job and slow his descent. In the back of his mind, he hoped that he’d find the woman he’d held in his arms for that brief second to thank her for shaming him into jumping off a cliff when his gut told him he was crazy.

He jumped.

Sawyer fell into the jungle, his speed picking up as he swished past treetops, the wind clearing his head and sharpening his mind. As he dropped below the canopy of trees, he could make out the base and Quentin standing at the bottom.

But he wasn’t slowing, and at the pace he was going, he’d crash into the pole at the bottom. How had he let his teammate talk him into sliding down a cable he hadn’t personally inspected? If he lived through this, he’d have a word or two with Quentin.

He gripped the line with his gloved hand, slowing a little, enough to give him a slight amount of reassurance he could stop himself before he crashed into the pole at the other end. For the first time since he jumped off the upper platform, he glanced around at the jungle below. When he looked back at his destination, his heart leaped.

The distance closed faster than he expected and before he knew it, he was careening the last fifty feet into the base. Sawyer grabbed the cable with the gloved hand and squeezed. The wind no longer whipped past him, and his descent slowed the closer he came to the bottom. He couldn’t remember being that terrified since his first fast-rope experience out of a fully operational helicopter hovering thirty feet from the ground.

Ten feet from his feet touching the ground, the cable jolted in his hand. Sawyer bounced in the harness and then dropped like a ton of bricks to the ground. He tucked and rolled, absorbing the impact, and then sprang to his feet. What the hell had just happened?

The attendant at the bottom yelled something in Spanish and threw himself into the jungle. Quentin followed suit.

Sawyer spun in time to see the cable springing back toward him, detached from the pole at the other end. He dived to the right and ducked behind a tree. The cable whipped through the treetops like an angry snake and finally lay still on the ground.

His heart pounding like a bass drum, Sawyer leaped to his feet and yelled, “Everyone okay?”

Quentin climbed out of the brush, pulling leaves out of his hair. “Holy crap. Did you see that?”

Sawyer’s jaw tightened, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. “Saw and felt it.”

“If you’d been a couple seconds later on that cable...” Quentin shook his head and clapped Sawyer on the back. “Damn, buddy. I hate it when you’re right.”

Sawyer brushed the dirt off his hands. “In this case, I wish I hadn’t been right.”

While the zip-line attendant scrambled to his feet, swearing in Spanish, Sawyer unbuckled the nylon straps from around his legs and let the harness drop. “Next time you want me to slide down a zip line...”

Quentin held up his hands. “Don’t worry. There won’t be a next time.” He felt his pockets and cursed. Then he dived into the brush and came up with his cell phone. “The good news is I got it all on video. The guys are gonna die when they see this.”

Sawyer snorted. “I almost died living it.”

Quentin shoved the phone into his pocket and turned toward the exit. “I have to admit, I was surprised to see you coming. But even more surprised when the redhead came down first.”

Sawyer glanced around and didn’t see the woman named Jenna anywhere. “I take it Jenna arrived safely at the bottom.”

“She did. She and her pretty friend left, claimed they needed to get back to find a piece of missing luggage. The redhead told me to tell you thanks for the encouragement.”

Disappointed he’d missed her, but glad she’d gone before him when the cable was still intact, Sawyer asked, “You didn’t happen to catch her full name, did you?”

“She didn’t offer a last name.” Quentin turned back to Sawyer. “Why? Are you interested?”

Again, Sawyer shrugged. “Just wondered.” Hell, yes, he was interested, but he’d be damned if he let Quentin know. He’d pick at him incessantly.

“I did get her roommate’s name, though.” Quentin patted his smartphone. “Carly Samuels. We have a date tonight.”

Figured. Quentin didn’t waste time when it came to women. He was a charmer, and women fell for him all the time. Perhaps the best-looking man on the team with his black hair and ice-blue eyes, he usually had his pick of the ladies.

Quentin had a date and Duff was with his lady friend, Natalie, leaving Sawyer and Montana fending for themselves for dinner and drinks. Which suited Sawyer just fine. Montana was a big, outdoorsy mountain man who didn’t say much but was good company. They had a week and a half left of their two weeks in Cancún. Granted, he loved his SEAL teammates like brothers, but he could use a little quality time away from them, preferably in the company of someone of the opposite sex.

As they slid into the rented Jeep, Quentin turned to Sawyer. “You had a few minutes alone with her. Why didn’t you get her name and number? We could have gone on a double date.”

“We weren’t alone. The attendant was there. And who said I wanted to go out with her, anyway?” And he sure as hell wouldn’t go on a double date with Quentin. No, if Sawyer had gotten Jenna’s number, he’d have taken her out alone. Maybe for a walk along the beach in the moonlight. If she showed even the slightest interest, he might have stolen a kiss. Those pretty pink lips she’d chewed on prior to taking the big leap on the zip line were full and plump. Made for kissing.

“You’ve got to get out there, be more sociable, network and sell yourself.”

Sawyer’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel at Quentin’s comment. He’d heard the same words from his father’s mouth on more than one occasion. Quentin was right. He hadn’t dated in a while, and he was getting rusty at socializing with women.

What Quentin and his father never understood was that Sawyer didn’t like being in the limelight. Especially in front of all of his father’s peers. He’d rather be the best he could be at his job in the navy SEALs, the one place he’d proven he was good enough to make the cut. Besides, wearing the uniform was usually all he needed to find a date when he really wanted one. Too bad he was in civvies here.

“So do you have plans for tonight?” Quentin asked.

“Yeah. I plan on spending the afternoon on the beach. Maybe I’ll rent a WaveRunner. Then I’m going to eat seafood and have a few beers with Montana. I don’t have to live for excitement like you.”

Quentin shook his head. “Since excitement seems to follow us, you might need a little rest and relaxation.” He linked his hands behind his neck. “Missions always leave me wired, ready to expend some energy.”

“Like winding the springs on a watch?”

“Yeah. Something like that.”

“Not me. We’ve spent the past few months either training or performing back-to-back missions. I could use some downtime to regroup and get my head on straight.”

“Well, you do your thing. I’ll do mine.” Quentin shot a grin his way. “With the adventurous and beautiful Carly.”

Sawyer almost opened his mouth and asked Quentin to secure the phone number for Carly’s friend Jenna. Then he thought better of it. He didn’t need Quentin to find him a woman. If he really wanted to go out with her, he’d find her himself. She had to be somewhere in Cancún. The resort area wasn’t that big. He might even run into her on the beach.

His pulse quickened at the thought.

* * *

EVEN AFTER THE long drive back to the resort, Jenna Broyles still shook from her experience on the zip line.

“I can’t believe you actually did it,” Carly said for the tenth time as she got out of the rental car and met Jenna in front of the hood. “I’m so proud of you.” She hugged her and stood beaming like a mother bird on her chick’s first flight. “So how does it feel to be adventurous?”

Jenna pressed a hand to her belly. “A little nauseating.”

Carly laughed. “You’ll get over it. Just like you’ll get over being stood up at the altar.”

That reminder bit into Jenna’s newfound adventurous spirit. Though it had been almost two months since she’d stood in the anteroom at the church, wondering where Audra, her maid of honor, was and waiting for her cue to walk down the aisle, it still hurt that her groom hadn’t bothered to come to his own wedding. He’d not only failed to appear but also run off with the maid of honor.

Jenna had been adjusting the veil over her hair, wishing her mother could have lived to be there at her wedding, when the text had come through.

Sorry. Can’t make the wedding. Changed my mind. Keep the tickets for the honeymoon.

She’d stood dry-eyed, shocked and unable to comprehend what had happened, until her father came through the door to lead her down the aisle. One look at her face and he’d grabbed the phone from her hand.

After a few choice words, he’d hustled her out of the church into the waiting limousine and taken her to the home she’d grown up in, where she could lick her wounds. Carly had done the honors of sending everyone home and canceling the reception and wedding band. She’d joined Jenna and her father at the ranch, ready to take one of the rifles over the mantel to Tyler’s lying, cheating heart.

Jenna had heard through the grapevine that Tyler had slept with Jenna’s former best friend, Audra, on the night of his bachelor party. He claimed Audra was more fun than his boring bride, and he couldn’t go through with the wedding knowing he’d be stuck in a mundane marriage for the rest of his life.

Jenna had planned her wedding for the date her parents had been married in February. But as an accountant, she couldn’t plan their honeymoon until after tax season. She’d almost forfeited her tickets until Carly talked her into going. She needed to show Tyler and, more important, herself that she wasn’t boring. She knew how to be adventurous.

Of course, she had to take Carly along with her to show her how to do it.

Carly pulled in front of the resort hotel, shifted into Park and got out.

“Aren’t you going to park it yourself?” Jenna asked. “I don’t mind walking a little.”

Carly clucked her tongue. “Don’t be so tight. We’re only here for ten days. You might as well live a little. Let the valet park it for us.” Her friend tilted her head. “Come on. It won’t kill you to be a bit extravagant.”

“I just don’t like spending when I don’t need to,” Jenna grumbled as she got out of the vehicle and joined Carly on the sidewalk.

Carly handed over the keys to the valet and sauntered into the hotel.

Once inside, Jenna eyed the front desk. “I’m going to ask whether my suitcase has arrived.”

“Okay. I’ll go on up and be first in the shower. I have a date with Quentin tonight.” Carly frowned. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Jenna did mind. She didn’t enjoy eating alone in a restaurant. But she didn’t want to hold Carly back from having fun. “I don’t mind at all. I was thinking of splurging, like you said, and ordering room service and soaking in that incredible hot tub.”

“Mmm.” Carly grinned. “Sounds great. And I’ll definitely want to be out of the room when you do it. That’s one disadvantage to having the bridal suite. It was meant to be shared with your lover, not your girlfriend.” She winked. “You should order champagne and do it right.”

“Why? It’s not like I’m celebrating.”

“Yes, you are.” Carly hooked her arm and marched her toward the concierge. “You’re celebrating your liberation from marrying the wrong guy.” She stopped and faced the concierge. “We’d like to order a lovely bottle of champagne delivered to the bridal suite.”

“No, really.” Jenna’s face heated. “It’s not necessary.”

The man behind the counter stared from Carly to Jenna and back. “Which is it to be?”

Carly shook her head. “Champagne to the bridal suite within the next twenty minutes.” She named a brand that Jenna hoped was on the cheaper end of the wine list. “Thank you.” She grabbed Jenna’s hand and tugged her toward the elevator. “Come on. You have some hot-tubbing to do.”

Jenna dug her feet into the tile floor. “I will, but I need to check on my missing luggage.”

Carly let go of her hand and nodded. “That’s right. And I was headed for the shower and a date.” She saluted. “I’ll see you in the suite. I hope your bag came in.” Her overwhelmingly cheerful friend spun away and disappeared into the elevator.

Jenna waited at the bellman’s stand next to the registration desk. A rush of young people converged on the desk, tying up the bellmen and the clerks. A gentleman stood close to the bellman’s stand, tapping his toe impatiently as he checked into the hotel.

Jenna could see everyone was busy and figured it would take time for anyone to free up and help her. Prepared to return later, she spotted her hard-sided gray case between the registration counter and the bellman’s desk.

Excited that her suitcase had finally arrived, she scooped it up and headed for the elevator, saving the bellman one more person to deal with. Glad to have the case with her dinner clothes inside it, now she could relax and enjoy the rest of her “honeymoon.”

As she stepped into the elevator, she thought of Carly and the man she’d just met at the zip-line excursion. Was her friend brave or foolish to go out with a man she knew nothing about?

Deep down, Jenna wished the man called Sawyer had asked for her number or asked to take her out on a date while in Cancún. She and Carly could have double-dated with the two men.

Perhaps she was being silly, but she’d thought she’d felt a connection with him. The warmth of his body at her back, the security of his arm around her waist.

Was she so desperate to be with a man, she had started reading into things? Hadn’t she learned with Tyler that men weren’t attracted to women like her? Or at least not for long. She was too boring, afraid to take risks, stuck in her ways.

Jenna tugged the rubber band out of her hair and shook her unruly curls loose. Well, maybe it was time to be more daring. She’d ask Carly to get the number for her date’s friend.

In the meantime, Jenna had a date with a bottle of champagne and a hot tub.

Funny thing was...she didn’t even like champagne.

No sooner had she entered her room than Carly stepped out of the shower. “I’m done if you want to rinse off,” she called out. The door to the bathroom stood wide-open. Carly leaned against the counter, applying makeup, her slim, athletic body wrapped in a towel.

“No, I’ll wait for the hot tub,” Jenna said and set her case on the floor.

“The champagne beat you here. Help yourself. I already poured a glass.” She turned and raised her glass, then drank a sip of the sparkling liquid.

Jenna figured that since it was paid for, she might as well try to enjoy it and poured a glass. She carried it to the huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean. The sun was still up, shining over the water. People crowded the beach, some swimming, others soaking up the sun. Families corralled children, and lovers lay entwined on towels, smooching as if they were the only ones on the beach.

Sighing, Jenna downed a long gulp of the bubbly liquid. This would have been her and Tyler’s honeymoon had he gone through with the marriage.

Now, two months after the horrible embarrassment of being jilted at the altar, she was glad she hadn’t married Tyler. They might already have been divorced or had the wedding annulled. Jenna would never have been happy with him. They were too different. She wanted a man who could be faithful. He wasn’t.

The ping of a cell phone sounded from the bathroom.

“Whoops.” Carly raced out of the bathroom, fluffing her short, dark, damp hair. She threw on a powder-blue sundress and strappy stilettoes and grabbed her purse. “Quentin is waiting for me downstairs.”

“Isn’t it early to go to dinner?” Jenna stared out at the beach.

“He wants to take me driving around first. Then we’re going to walk on the beach. After that, we’ll do dinner and dancing.” She smiled. “He wants to get to know me.” Carly hugged Jenna and bussed her cheek. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t, and enjoy your hot tub and champagne.”

“I will.” Jenna sighed as Carly hurried out, the door closing automatically behind her.

As soon as the door closed, Jenna cursed. She’d meant to ask Carly to get the phone number for Quentin’s friend.

She teetered on the balls of her feet, tempted to run after her friend, but didn’t. For a long moment Jenna stared at that door as if it were a barrier to her self-esteem.

Why was she staying in her room, soaking in a tub, when she could be out, enjoying the sunshine and salty air? Wasn’t she there to be adventurous? What better way than to go outside and experience life?

Scrapping the idea of a long soak in the hot tub, she stripped down to her underwear and slung her case up on the bed. She refused to hide in the honeymoon suite when she could be out having fun. With a determined flip of her hair, she flicked the latches. They didn’t open. Funny. She hadn’t locked them, knowing airport security would want to inspect for illegal or potentially dangerous items. Hell, she hadn’t thought to bring the key. And yet somehow, the locks had engaged.

She fished in her purse for her metal file and went to work jimmying the locks one at a time until finally they each sprang open. Jenna straightened triumphantly. One more hurdle overcome. She could do anything when she set her mind to it. “Boring... Ha!”

Jenna flung open the case, ready to pull out her sexy black dress.

For a moment, she stared into the case, her mind slow to realize this wasn’t her case at all.

“Oh no.” On top was a layer of clothing. Dark trousers, dark, long-sleeved T-shirts, a black ski mask. Things she would expect to see in a case bound for the ski slopes or a really cold climate, not the tropics.

Jenna closed the case and stared down at it, wondering what to do with it. There was no luggage tag on the outside identifying the owner should the case be lost.

Feeling guilty already about forcing the case open, she lifted the lid and glanced inside again. Maybe there was some form of identification buried inside.

Carefully lifting the clothes, she set them aside on the bed. Beneath the clothing was nothing. Strangely, the case still seemed heavy, and it was deeper on the outside than the inside. Was there a false bottom? She ran her hand around the inside of the case, searching for a lever or button to push. Finally she found it, sliding the device to the left. The divider popped up enough that she could slip her fingers beneath it and lift.

Jenna gasped.

Parts of what appeared to be a rifle lay disassembled in a bed of foam, including the stock, butt, scope and bolt. A manila envelope lay on top of the weapon.

Why would a man need to bring his gun to Cancún? Was he part of a marksman team?

Her stomach knotting, Jenna refused to think past this being a competitive marksman’s prize rifle. With no other identification to be found, she lifted the envelope, hoping to find the owner’s name and cell phone number inside.

Flipping up the prongs on the metal clasp, she opened it and spilled the contents onto the bed.

Photographs, money and a note lay on the comforter.

She examined the wad of cash secured by a rubber band and counted fifty one-hundred-dollar bills. Holy crap. Five thousand dollars. Her knees trembled. Who carried around five thousand dollars in cash?

Jenna picked up the photographs, her eyes widening. The man in the picture had dark hair and dark eyes. He was nice-looking, dressed in dark jeans and a black T-shirt. The material of the shirt stretched over broad, muscular shoulders. Tattoos peeked from beneath the sleeves.

Jenna peered closer, her breath catching in her throat. She recognized the man in the photo as the man she’d met on the zip-line platform not an hour earlier.