She fumbled with the rope again at her ankles, the fibers of it rubbing against her fingertips. She’d never been one to fuss over her nails, but goodness. At the moment, she wished she had long, manicured nails to better pick at the knots. She shifted slightly, working more fervently. Her back was starting to hurt from twisting in this awkward position, but she didn’t care. She needed to get out of this cabin.
Caitlyn had the eeriest sense ten minutes earlier that someone had been outside the window. Outside, as in hanging off the boat or in the water. Goosebumps had broken out all over her skin, but when she’d glanced over, she’d seen nothing. Not that anything was out there except pure darkness.
And who would have been there anyway? A gunman escaping? A passenger jumping overboard? She’d heard two of the men talking earlier about the small Coast Guard vessel that had chased them. They were right near the Navy base, and Caitlyn had no doubt they could blow the yacht clean out of the water if they wanted. Not that they’d do that with civilians and Navy officers on board.
Fighting the tears that had been threatening to fall, she fought with the bindings again. She needed to leave. Now.
“Huh,” she said a couple of minutes later as the knot finally began to loosen. “Holy shit,” she whispered. Frantically, she pulled at the knot, working the ropes free. She did it. She’d actually untied the rope. Tears smarted her eyes as she shakily tried to stand. She clutched onto the bed, pulling herself up.
In disbelief, she looked around for a weapon. Of course, there was nothing here. She’d been in the room for well over an hour, her gaze scanning everything. The lamp at the bedside appeared to be bolted down. That made sense, she supposed, given they were on a boat. Otherwise it would fall and break. It would’ve been a good weapon to hit someone over the head with though.
There was a small chest of drawers, but even if she got one out, it would be awkward to carry around and nearly impossible to swing hard enough to harm someone. They’d shoot her before she gave them even a scratch.
Taking a step forward, her legs wobbled, and nausea roiled through her. She’d been so focused on freeing herself, she’d been able to ignore the queasiness in her stomach. Now that she was standing, she felt sick again. She’d never thought much about sea-sickness before, but she’d never been on a boat for an extended period of time like this either. No matter. She could ignore her stomach. She wasn’t going to sit in here waiting for the men with guns to hurt her.
Crossing the cabin, she nearly stumbled as her ankle throbbed. Damn it. She’d been doing better with her cast off, but sitting bound for hours hadn’t helped. She gingerly took another step, stopping to rotate her ankle. She’d be okay to run. She had to be.
She paused at the cabin door but didn’t hear anything and slowly opened it. There was another cabin further down with the door open, and she stilled as she heard low voices inside. No one came out, and she gingerly edged into the hallway. Turning away from the open door, she took a careful step.
Should she run as fast as she could? Creep slowly down the hall and hope no one came? She wanted to get back on the deck. To hide until she could figure out what to do next.
She was walking slowly down the hall, afraid to so much as breathe too loudly, when the hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood up. Someone was right behind her. She didn’t even get a chance to scream before one hand covered her mouth and an arm wrapped around her, pulling her back against a solid, muscular body.
Her entire body froze in panic, and she was so scared, she couldn’t even try to fight or scream. Her pulse pounded in her ears, and her eyes darted around the hallway, wondering what she could do to escape.
“Caitlyn—Butterfly. It’s me,” a deep voice said. “Troy.”
Her body relaxed infinitesimally as the icy cold fear snaking down her spine dissipated. Troy? As in her Navy SEAL Troy? No one else in the world had ever called her Butterfly.
But what in the world was he doing here on a hijacked yacht?
She had to be hallucinating or something. None of this could be real.
Caitlyn tried to pull away, and his grip tightened. His arm was like steel around her, and she couldn’t fight this man off if she wanted to. She felt him duck so that his mouth was closer to her ear.
“Butterfly,” he said again. “It’s Troy from the beach. I’ll let go of you, but don’t scream. My team and I are here. We just rescued Evelyn, the admiral’s wife. Can you be quiet for me if I release you?”
Shakily, she nodded. Someone lying to her wouldn’t know Evelyn’s name. They wouldn’t know her name either. And absolutely no one, save for the man behind her, had ever called her Butterfly.
Slowly the hand lifted away from her mouth, and the arm around her loosened. She twisted around before he released her entirely, and she was shocked to see Troy standing there in a wetsuit. He was looking down at her with concern, but there was something aggressive and fierce about him as well. His body was tense, like he was prepared to fight, but his focus was solely on her.
“Troy,” she said, immediately bursting into tears. She’d held it together for so long—for hours. She’d been tied up and terrified. But knowing she wasn’t alone anymore? And that Troy and his teammates were risking their lives to save her and the others? It was suddenly too much.
“Hey,” he said, pulling her close. “You’re okay now. Did they hurt you?” She choked back a sob as his strong arms wrapped around her, holding her to his chest.
“No,” she managed to choke out.
She was exhausted and emotionally drained. Terrified. They had to get out of here though. They needed to run. Fight. Anything. She was too petrified to even move at the moment. The relief that washed over her was palpable. She was barely holding herself together, and now Troy was holding her in his capable arms instead.
Troy’s large hand stroked down her hair while she tried to stop shaking. “Shhh, you’re safe now,” he said huskily. “We’ll get you out of here.”
Gunfire erupted from another part of the yacht, and she jumped in his arms. “Shit,” he muttered.
A male voice called out from the cabin, but she was in too much shock to even understand what he said. She felt silly standing here crying on this man. He had work to do, and she was acting like a scared little girl or something. She looked up into his concerned blue gaze. Troy’s hand went to his ear, and she realized he was listening to someone. “Affirmative. Roger that. We’ll be out there in a minute.”
He gently took hold of her arm. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?” he asked.
She shook her head no, not missing that even in the middle of chaos, he was gentle with her.
“We’re moving you and Evelyn to the deck,” he said hurriedly. “They’ve found explosives on the other side of the yacht. We’ve got a boat in the water and will evacuate you and some of the passengers immediately. The others will go on a second vessel after we free them.”
“Explosives?” she asked in alarm.
He nodded, rushing her down the hallway. She saw another man emerge from the cabin with Evelyn. They were hurrying onto the deck before she could even say anything.
The man with Evelyn glanced back from the doorway. “One of the gunmen just jumped overboard.” He rushed to the side, looking out into the dark waters, while Evelyn was met by yet another Navy SEAL on the deck of the yacht.
“God damn it,” Troy muttered.
“This is Hurricane,” the new guy said into their comms units. “I’m bringing the first hostage over.”
Caitlyn jolted at the rush of cold air as they made their way onto the deck of the yacht. It was surprisingly colder than it had been earlier. Rain was just beginning to fall, and she closed her eyes for a moment, tilting her face up toward the night sky. It was strangely cathartic.
“You like the rain, Butterfly?” Troy asked as he gently put his hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the back of the boat.
“I just thought I’d never get out of there,”
she said, her voice trembling. “I thought I’d be trapped in the cabin until they shot me.” Another door burst open, and she saw some of the other women being guided outside. “Oh my God,” she said.
“They’re okay,” Troy assured her. “We’re evacuating all of you immediately.”
Another man was helping Evelyn onto the ladder. With growing panic, she realized they were climbing off the side of the yacht in the middle of the night. There was a full moon providing some light, and some sort of large search light down in the water. “What’s happening?” she asked.
“There’s another boat already down there. Some of my team is still clearing the ship, but we don’t want to risk dismantling the explosives with civilians onboard.”
“So you have to stay here?” she asked in alarm.
“That’s part of my job, Butterfly. We’ll get you to safety, get the men released from the cabin they were held in, and my team will handle the rest.”
“What happened to them?” she asked.
“They were restrained, and a couple were wounded. We’ll take care of it, Butterfly. You don’t need to worry anymore.”
They paused for a moment, standing there in the full moon with rain falling around them. The women were being guided onto the boat, and Caitlyn wanted to burst into tears again. She was so overwhelmed with emotion.
Troy stayed with her, despite the fact that several of his teammates were helping the others. She was sure he was supposed to be helping everyone, too, or else assisting with the men, but she loved that he remained at her side. “I lost your number,” Caitlyn admitted. “I wanted to text you. I guess I didn’t save it in my phone after all.”
“I looked for you,” he said. “I looked up wedding planners in the hopes I could find you.”
Her heart swelled. “Well, I’m an event planner—not strictly weddings.”
“Yeah, it was harder than I thought. And while I hoped to see you at the beach again, I sure the hell didn’t expect to ever find you here. As soon as Evelyn said her event planner had red hair earlier though, I knew it was you. A gut feeling, I guess.” He reached out and brushed a damp strand of hair back from her face. “So, what do you say?” he asked, his lips quirking. “After this little incident is behind us, can I take you to dinner sometime?”
“Little incident?” she asked.
“Yo, T-Rex! Time to move, man,” one of the other SEALs called out. Troy glanced at his teammate and signaled something to him, then looked back down at her.
“I don’t mean to make light of it. I know you’re terrified, as are the other passengers. I’ve got to get back inside and finish this. But another night? Dinner?”
“I'd like that.”
His smile grew. “Okay, I'll call you.”
“You don’t have my number,” she said, looking at him in confusion.
Troy met her gaze. “I'll call you,” he repeated in a low voice.
Oh. She flushed, feeling silly. Troy knew everyone involved in this rescue. Of course, he could get her number. He could probably find out anything he wanted about her.
His teammate handed him a life vest, and Troy helped her to put it on. Her blouse was damp from the rain, clinging to her chest, but Troy didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. He adjusted the straps to fit her petite frame, working efficiently, and clicked the buckles shut. She was in too much of a daze to argue with him or protest. Yes, she was an independent, capable woman, but at the moment, she was out of her element and exhausted.
She reached up to brush her own hair back, and Troy lightly captured her hand in his.
“You said they didn’t hurt you,” he growled, looking at the marks on her skin.
“They didn’t—I mean, they tied me up. That’s all.”
He blew out a breath, clearly trying to get himself under control, and then lifted her hand to his mouth, gently kissing her wrist. She was both baffled and flustered by his sweet gesture, and then he swore as it began to rain harder. “Let’s get you off this yacht,” he said, lightly caressing her cheek, “before these freckles wash away.”
“The curse of being a redhead. And I don’t think I’ll ever get on a boat again,” she muttered.
Troy guided her to the back of the boat, clipping something to her vest. Even though she’d be climbing down the ladder, Caitlyn realized he’d secured her to a rope at the back as a precaution. She assumed they’d safely guided the other women over as well, but Troy’s careful attention to her made her heart swell.
She swayed slightly, and he gripped her arm. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’ve been feeling a bit seasick. I’ll be okay.”
He ducked down again, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Be safe, Butterfly. I’ll be in touch soon.”
And then some other Navy guy was helping her climb down the slippery metal ladder and into the smaller boat, away from Troy. She shivered in the cold rain as she settled onto a seat, the other women around her in as much shock as she was.
She began to shake in the cold and looked up, able to see Troy still watching her.
“She’s the last woman!” one of the other divers yelled down.
The guy who’d helped her signaled to someone, and then the boat was moving away in the dark night. Someone handed her a reflective blanket to keep warm, but she knew they weren’t far from the Bay. She watched the lights of the yacht grow smaller the farther away they got, Troy no longer visible. Nausea roiled through her again, and then someone shoved a bucket at her just as she was sick, too weak and overcome with seasickness to think any more about Troy.
Chapter 12
Raptor grinned at Troy as they jogged back across the deck. “That was your redhead?” he asked. “Fancy meeting her here.”
“I can’t believe I finally found her in the middle of a damn hijacking. Jesus. She kept her cool and held it together pretty well though. I’m impressed. My sisters would’ve flipped if they were ever held hostage like this. Damn. I’m just glad she’s okay.”
“She’s strong; that’s for damn sure. The admiral’s wife seemed to have had it worse. She was in a state of shock. It sounded like they threatened to rape her before the admiral gave them some bad codes. They’re searching for the one guy who jumped overboard. Logan’s on deck in case he comes back. I’m not sure about the small boat Evelyn thought she saw earlier.”
Troy shook his head, listening on his comms unit as Jackson gave them an update. Ethan confirmed that the explosive device was actually a fake. They had no need to send in bomb techs to disarm it. The other gunmen onboard had all been killed. Jackson had freed the captain in the control room. They were currently untying the rest of the men. If none required immediate medical attention, they could take the yacht right back to the pier rather than evacuate the remaining passengers to the second rescue boat.
“Roger that,” Raptor said into the comms channel. “Fantastic news that the explosives weren’t live. They’ll have a bomb squad sweep the boat to ensure nothing’s been hidden, but we received clearance to bring the yacht in to the pier.”
“Damn,” Troy said, pulling open the door. “You think they hid something on here?”
Raptor lifted a shoulder. “Anything’s possible. It’s a crime scene at any rate and will be thoroughly searched and documented. There’re bullet holes on deck, blood, and two missing NCIS agents. Not to mention the other hijacker.”
“What a clusterfuck,” Troy said, his gaze sweeping the area as they moved down the hall. “Let me know when the women make it to shore.”
“Will do. Caitlyn should be on dry land at any moment. And I found her cell phone on the deck. I gave it to one of the Navy guys on the rescue boat to give back to her.”
“You get her number?”
Raptor snorted. “Memorized it for you. She probably should lock her phone for safety reasons. I could’ve accessed anything on there. But at least you can contact her now. The other women will have to wait for their things to be processed and returned to them.”
“Appreciate it,” Troy said, nodding at his buddy. “Apparently she never saved my number in her phone.”
“So she says,” Raptor joked.
“Ouch,” Troy said. They walked into the cabin where Ethan and Grayson were untying the rest of the men. One had a bullet wound in his leg and was being tended to by the others. Several stood around talking to each other, and it sounded like a group who’d been freed was in the control room with Jackson and the captain.
“Admiral Rice,” Troy said with a nod as he and Raptor walked over.
The admiral reached out and shook both men’s hands. “Thank you, gentlemen. Grayson informed me that Evelyn was evacuated with the other women?”
“Yes, sir,” Raptor said. “She was shaken up but unharmed. I escorted her to the yacht’s deck myself. She and Caitlyn, your event planner, had been kept separately from the other women. We found and freed them. They should be getting off the rescue boat and into waiting ambulances shortly.”
The admiral’s fist clenched. “They threatened to rape my wife right there in front of me and the other men. I gave them some false codes but made it realistic enough to stall them. God damn it! They took her away, but—”
His voice cut off. Troy hadn’t spent much time around the admiral, but the stoic man was known to be calm and level-headed. It must’ve been hell watching the gunmen threaten his wife. To not know what happened to her while he was held captive himself.
Raptor nodded. “She’s okay, sir. Did Ghost update you? One of the gunmen jumped overboard and hasn’t been found yet.”
“The Pacific is damn cold this time of year to be in there long,” the admiral said with a frown. “And he hasn’t been found yet?”
“No, sir. The Coast Guard and Navy are searching for him, but even with the full moon, it’ll be difficult. No other vessels were seen in the water, so it’s unlikely he escaped.”
Troy frowned as he looked at the two men. “So all of this was to get the damn codes? That’s bullshit. Excuse my language, sir. Countless lives were put in harm’s way.”
SEAL's Promise (Alpha SEALs Coronado Book 5) Page 9