Trap, Secure: Navy SEAL Security

by Carol Ericson

  A smile flitted across Amy’s face. “He sounds...interesting. So you all retired from Prospero, except Jack, and now he’s missing?”

  “Even Jack retired from the military and Prospero, but instead of taking his hard-earned cash like the rest of us and kicking back, he took a job as a hostage negotiator. He disappeared while on a job in Afghanistan.”

  Amy shivered and clutched her arms. “That’s a dangerous place. What does he have to do with the Velasquez Drug Cartel?”

  “We don’t know yet.” Riley hunched his shoulders. “The Velasquez bunch was supposed to be getting a shipment of heroin from some terrorist organization with ties to Afghanistan. Jack’s name came up in some chatter the CIA picked up. It’s our first clue.”

  “A terrorist organization in Afghanistan? I can’t believe Carlos Castillo was involved in all this.” Shaking her head, she scooped up Riley’s empty plate and stalked toward the sink.

  Riley grabbed a glass of water and downed half of it. “I’m glad you brought up Carlos. It’s my turn now. You met him on the beach and you two started dating?”

  “That’s pretty much it. You know as much as I do now.” She cranked on the faucet and scrubbed the plate so hard Riley figured he might need a new plate before she finished.

  He ran his knuckles across his stubble. “Carlos obviously targeted you for access to that beach, but why? Did he ever approach you about bringing a boat up on shore? Maybe he thought he could sweet-talk you into looking the other way while his buddies picked up their shipment.”

  “That would take a ton of sugar, unless...” The plate cracked against the side of the sink. She held up the two pieces. “Sorry.”

  Riley hopped off the stool. “That’s okay. Just be careful you don’t cut yourself.”

  He took the plate from her and dropped the pieces into the trash. “What were you going to say about Carlos?”

  She slid the shiny forks into the dish drainer and turned, leaning her hips against the sink. “I forgot. Carlos probably just wanted info from me. He did ask a lot of questions about my job. He knew the beach would be deserted this time of year. He knew what time I got off work, and he probably knew it was my last shift today.”

  “But that still doesn’t tell us what he was doing at your house.” Riley crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Maybe he wanted to warn me or make sure I was okay.” She must have noticed the scowl twisting his face. “He wasn’t a bad person, Riley.”

  “He was a drug dealer, Amy.”

  She reached over and toyed with the keys in the basket, making them jingle like wind chimes. “I know that. Sometimes criminals...people...do bad things, but they’re still people. They have their good sides.”

  Riley cocked his head. He hadn’t figured Amy for the bleeding-heart type, but she must’ve liked Carlos since she’d dated him.

  Did she sleep with him, too? He dug his fingers into his biceps until it hurt. He didn’t want to know the answer to that question.

  “We need to check out the beach tomorrow. I want to get a good look at it during daylight. Will there be anyone there?”

  “It’s a weekday. No lifeguards on that beach anymore, and I think it’s supposed to be overcast again.” She cupped a set of keys in her palm. “Are these Carlos’s keys?”

  “Yeah. We should remove your house key from the ring since I’m going to be leaving his car somewhere along with his keys.”

  Amy fiddled with the key chain, a crease forming between her brows. Then she gasped.

  Riley’s heart jumped. “What is it?”

  Amy pinched a small gold key between her fingers, holding it aloft while the rest of the keys dangled below it. “I know what Carlos wanted on that beach.”

  Chapter Five

  Riley lifted one brow and his gaze shifted from the key clutched between Amy’s fingers to her eyes, bright and round above flushed cheeks.

  “You do?”

  “Yep.” She jangled the keys that caught the recessed lighting and reflected in her eyes, giving them an added sparkle. “This is a distinctive key and it belongs to the storage unit on my beach.”

  “Storage unit?”

  “We have a storage unit on that beach for buoys, extra equipment and supplies for the junior lifeguard program, which ended in the middle of the summer.” She tossed the key chain to Riley, and he caught it with one hand.

  He plucked out the gold key, with its squared-off end and dip in the middle. He hadn’t wanted to involve Amy in any of this, but she’d jumped in with both feet and seemed to thrive on the thrill. Who was he to deny her?

  “Would anyone else be in and out of this storage bin?”

  “It’s pretty much reserved for the junior lifeguards. When the program ends, nobody uses the storage until the following summer.”

  “A perfect drop location.” Riley traced the edges of the unusual key with the tip of his finger. “Carlos got close to you to get access to the storage unit. He probably arranged for his contacts to leave the drugs in the storage unit, and the Velasquez Cartel was on its way to pick them up or scope out the location when we interrupted them.”

  Amy folded her arms on the counter and hunched over. “We interrupted them? I was in the lifeguard tower doing my job.”

  Riley grimaced. Just showed how much she’d become a part of the equation in his mind. “The diver was the scout to give the all clear for the boat to come up on the beach.”

  “Do you think they picked up the drugs?” She jerked upright and slapped the counter with her palms. “Maybe Carlos never left the drugs. Maybe that’s why they killed him.”

  “I like the way you think, Amy. You ever consider a career in law enforcement?”

  His teasing comment elicited bright red cheeks and a nervous laugh from her. “They wouldn’t have me.”

  “I suppose it wouldn’t do any good to suggest you stay here tomorrow while I search the beach?”

  She shook her head and her ponytail whipped from side to side. “No. That’s my beach. Besides—” she glanced over her shoulder at the kitchen window “—I don’t want to be by myself.”

  Riley didn’t want to leave her by herself, either. “That’s what I figured. Let’s get some sleep. You can have the bedroom. I’ll bunk out here on the couch.”

  “Are you sure?” Amy wrinkled her nose as she peered around his shoulder at the small couch. “I think I’d fit more comfortably on the couch than you.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve slept on worse.”

  Riley dragged a blanket from the hall closet and tossed it onto his new bed while Amy slipped into the bedroom and shut the door. He brushed his teeth, and she stepped into the hallway clutching a pillow to her chest.

  “Here’s an extra pillow from the bed.”

  “Thanks.”

  He held out his arms, and she smashed the pillow against his chest and scurried into the bathroom. He caught a glimpse of her baggy nightshirt before she slammed the door. His brow furrowed. Why the modesty? She wasn’t wearing anything from the pages of one of those sexy lingerie catalogs. Not that she needed to. Amy’s natural beauty and feisty personality pushed all his buttons—including some he didn’t even know he had.

  He didn’t figure he’d ever want to involve a woman in his business again, especially not after what had happened to April. But Amy wanted in, and not for the same reasons as April. Carlos Castillo had dragged Amy into his business, and she had a burning desire to finish it.

  Riley dropped his shorts by the edge of the couch and peeled off his T-shirt. He punched the pillow a few times and dragged the blanket over his shoulders.

  The bathroom door clicked open, a shaft of light slicing across the hall.

  Amy poked her head into the living room. “Are you okay? There’s still time to switch.”

  “I’m good.” He waved his arm, the blanket slipping from his shoulder. “Go ahead and make yourself comfortable in my bed.”

  Without me.

  Amy hesitated, a soft sig
h escaping from her lips. Riley held his breath. Was she about to issue an invitation?

  “Th-thanks, Riley. Good night.”

  Riley eased back against the cushion. Of course she wouldn’t ask him to join her. They’d just met. Today. On the beach. Under fire. They barely knew each other.

  * * *

  AMY PEELED OPEN one eyelid and focused on the sunlight sifting through the blinds. After thrashing around and twisting the bedcovers into a hopeless knot, she welcomed the morning after the sleepless night she’d spent in Riley’s bed.

  Replaying the previous day’s events in her mind had kept her wide-awake, wide-eyed and fearful. Once she’d talked herself back away from the ledge, her thoughts scrambled down another just-as-torturous path—Riley Hammond half-naked in the other room.

  For one crazy moment last night, she’d almost suggested he join her in bed. The lust factor did play a role in her almost-invitation, but she also craved a warm body for comfort. Those old familiar feelings of loneliness had washed over her when she’d slipped between the cool sheets of Riley’s bed alone.

  She snorted and buried her face in the pillow. As if Riley would’ve been interested in cuddling away her fears all night. That wouldn’t have even been enough for her. Once she got her hands on his rock-hard bod...

  The rap on the bedroom door had her yanking the covers to her chin. She cleared her throat. “Yes?”

  The door cracked open a sliver.

  “You’re awake? I didn’t want to disturb you before, but we should get going.”

  She gasped and shot upright. “Is it late?”

  “About ten o’clock.” He pushed open the door and wedged a shoulder against the doorjamb, his long hair wet and slicked back from his face. “We had a late night, and you needed your sleep.”

  She rubbed her eyes. She still needed her sleep. It figured. She’d dozed off at the break of dawn and slept in.

  Scrambling from the bed, she said, “Looks like you already showered. You probably need to get in here and get dressed.”

  Pulling her oversize T-shirt past her thighs, Amy’s gaze tracked across Riley’s bare chest. She worked on the beach and all the male lifeguards she knew spent half their time shirtless, but the sight of Riley’s flat planes of muscle and ridged abs left her breathless.

  His blue eyes darkened as he crossed his arms over those amazing pecs. Had she unsettled him with her unabashed appreciation of his male assets?

  He cocked one brow and a lazy smile played across his lips as his muscles seemed to bunch up even more.

  Unsettled? Hardly.

  Amy turned and dipped her head into her suitcase. “I’ll grab some clothes and hit the shower.”

  She pawed through a jumble of shorts and T-shirts. What did one wear on a spying mission? Wrapping her arms around a bundle of clothes, she headed for the door where Riley’s solid frame loomed in the opening.

  He stepped aside and she brushed past him, her arm skimming his.

  “How’d you sleep?”

  His voice so close to her ear made her jump. “Huh?”

  “How’d you sleep? No bumps in the night?”

  “Plenty, but they were all in my head.” She stumbled into the bathroom, still misty from Riley’s shower. She inhaled the steam and savored the scent of masculinity that whispered on the air.

  She shook her head. Maybe she should adjust the water temperature to freezing to quell these fantasies about Riley. After her lukewarm shower, she toweled off and pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Then she padded to the living room.

  Riley, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt, sat hunched over the counter, nursing a cup of coffee and scanning a newspaper.

  He glanced up when she walked into the room. “Do you want some bran flakes or instant oatmeal?”

  “I’ll take the cold cereal.” She plopped down on the stool across from him and reached for the box of bran flakes. “Anything in that paper about last night’s activities?”

  “Nope. I guess you weren’t that convincing.” He collected a bowl and a spoon from the dish drainer on the sink and shoved them across to her.

  “I wouldn’t trust those cops to find a lollipop in a candy store anyway.”

  Riley blinked and studied her face.

  Tone down the vehemence about the police, girl. Amy ignored his puzzled gaze and dumped some cereal in her bowl. Riley got the hint and retreated to his bedroom where he proceeded to bang closet doors and drawers. She hoped he’d emerge with some tools of his trade—guns, knives, grenades.

  Riley joined her in the kitchen with a promising black bag slung over one shoulder. He scooped up Carlos’s keychain and swung it around his finger. “Are you ready to investigate?”

  Amy dropped her dishes in the sink. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, but what happens if we don’t find anything? What next?”

  “I search for new leads, and you watch your back.”

  Amy shivered and clenched her teeth. She didn’t like the sound of that proposition at all.

  A half hour later, Riley pulled Carlos’s car into the almost deserted beach parking lot. With summer over and school back in session, only a few die-hard runners and walkers occupied the barren sands. Surfers found better waves up the coast and fishermen had the pier farther north for their activities.

  As he rolled past the empty spaces, Riley asked, “Where’s the storage container?”

  “South end of the beach, just over that rise. You can’t see it from the parking lot.”

  Perfect place to stash some illegal contraband. Riley nabbed the last space on the south side of the lot and grabbed his black bag out of the trunk.

  Amy pointed to the bag as Riley hitched it over his shoulder. “What’s in there?”

  “A few necessities of life.”

  “Bet your necessities are a lot different from mine.”

  “If you hang out with me long enough, you’ll come to appreciate mine more.”

  She wouldn’t mind giving it a try. Amy clumped across the dry sand next to Riley. But back at his place he’d made it pretty clear that if they hit a dead end on the beach, she’d be on her own, Looking over her shoulder.

  Not that she was any stranger to looking over her shoulder. Or being on her own.

  They traipsed up a small dune and the storage unit rose from the sand, an ominous dark gray shape. Amy shoved her hands in her pockets to hide their slight trembling. She’d never considered the junior-lifeguard shed scary before.

  “Do you want to do the honors?” Riley dragged the keys from his front pocket and dangled them from one finger.

  Amy held out her hand, and Riley dropped them into her palm. She selected the unusual key from the ring and lifted the lock securing the door. With shaky fingers, she tried to insert the key into the lock, finding success on her third try.

  Riley helped her pull open the heavy door, which creaked on rusty hinges. Amy sniffed at the briny scent that lived in every corner of the storage unit.

  As her gaze tracked across the cleared-out space in the center of the unit, her breath hitched, and she grabbed the edge of the door.

  “What’s wrong?” Riley hovered over her left shoulder.

  “This.” She swept one arm in front of her. “We didn’t leave it like this.”

  “You mean this clearing?” Riley stepped around her and parked in the middle of the circle ringed with buoys, life vests, surfboards and paddleboards.

  “We stacked all this equipment at the end of the junior-guard session. Someone’s pushed it out of the way to make room for...” Amy hugged herself, suddenly cold in the stuffy unit.

  Riley crouched beside her, running his hands over the cement flooring just beyond the shaft of light from the open door. He turned his hands over and studied his palms, as if trying to read his future.

  “Do you see anything?” Amy leaned over his shoulder and peered at the sand and grit stuck to his palms.

  “No.” He brushed his hands together. “But then I didn’t
expect them to leave any heroin behind.”

  “W-what would it look like?” Her gaze darted around the storage facility.

  “Probably a brown powder or a black tar form. The couriers from Afghanistan might have already packaged it in balloons for Velasquez to sell on the street.” Riley braced his hands on his knees. “But I think it’s clear Carlos made this space available to the dealers from Afghanistan to leave their delivery for the Velasquez Cartel.”

  Amy squatted next to him, wrapping her arms around her knees. “And Velasquez’s boys picked it up last night. That’s why they didn’t come after us after those initial shots. They found what they came for. That could’ve been the end of it.”

  “Except for Carlos.” Riley brushed a wisp of hair from her cheek. “They came after Carlos because they didn’t trust him or because he didn’t deliver the money for the shipment.”

  “That still doesn’t get us beyond square one. Why did Carlos return to my house? I just don’t—”

  “Shh.” Riley sliced a hand across his throat.

  Amy covered her mouth with her hand as a shadow passed by the open door to the unit, momentarily blocking the sun that had given them their only light.

  Jumping to his feet, Riley pulled the gun from his waistband. Amy toppled sideways into the paddleboards. How’d he whip that out so fast? She hadn’t even realized he’d been packing anything other than the stash in the black bag.

  Clutching the weapon in his right hand, Riley crept toward the door and poked his head outside. He called over his shoulder, “You saw that, right?”

  “I saw a darkening at the door, but it could’ve been a cloud moving over the sun, or a bird.”

  “That’s one helluva bird to blot out the sun.”

  “Do you see anything?”

  “Just a couple walking in the distance, but these dunes make it hard to see for any distance.” He spun around, tucking the gun back into his waistband. “Let’s get out of here and take a look at the lifeguard tower.”

  Amy scrambled to her knees and gripped the thick edges of the paddleboard, shoving it back against the others. A sliver of silver glinted behind the board. Amy’s fingers inched along the gritty floor and she slid the hard, smooth object toward her.