She looked at him warily—no, he’d just drug, kidnap, and hold her against her will. Not to mention demand sensitive, military information.
He laughed, a loud, harsh sound. “Oh, I’ll fuck you. Don’t get me wrong about that. Women like you need to be flat on your back—maybe down on your knees, getting me off. You sure seemed to enjoy it with that Navy SEAL of yours.”
She stiffened.
He tossed the photographs carelessly onto the ground. “Take a look. You give me the information I need, and I won’t release these to the public. But I will be back later—and whether you cooperate on this or not, you’ll be mine tonight.”
Her heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline racing through her system. What a sick, twisted bastard. Like hell she’d give him anything. And no way was he laying a hand on her. She’d rip his heart right out if he got a step closer.
He turned and walked back to the heavy door, yanking it open. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he leered at her again. “I especially like the first one, with his mouth between your legs. Stupid bitch.”
The door shut behind him with a loud thud, and she heard the click of the lock turning. She scrambled down to the floor, crawling over on her hands and knees, scooping up the photographs. Certainly he couldn’t—
Her heart stopped as she gazed at the pictures. Someone had photographed her and Christopher the other night on the beach. She was naked, in the bed of his pick-up, and Christopher was pleasuring her as she screamed in ecstasy. There were nude photos of her—of him. Of the two of them passionately making love. Her stomach churned, and she leaned over, spewing vomit all over the pictures.
***
Christopher ground his teeth as he eyed the other men on his SEAL team. Every man looked livid, but not a single one of them knew how he felt. When Patrick’s girlfriend Rebecca had been chased by a stalker, she’d never been in imminent danger. They’d kept eyes on her at all times, and the stalker had ended up at Patrick’s home. Evan’s girl, Alison, had suffered a serious asthma attack and been hospitalized right before they were sent out on a mission, but again, they knew exactly where she as at all times. And she was alive. Breathing.
But not knowing what the hell had happened to Lexi? It was fucking killing him.
The police had discovered Lexi’s purse on the side of the road not far from the garage, cell phone in it. There was no hope of tracking her that way, and Christopher’s gut churned at the thought of someone taking her. It wasn’t a robbery—they’d left her vehicle and ditched her purse. The only signs of a struggle were a broken window on the passenger side.
This was all his damn fault. He never should have let her out of his sight for a moment.
“The MPs have been sent to arrest Edwards,” his CO informed the team. “Virginia Beach PD is looking at the security footage at the hotel’s garage. A large black SUV was seen leaving around the time Lexi’s car was discovered, but the plates were missing.”
“Shit,” Christopher said under his breath.
His CO’s eyes swept to him.
“Lexi saw some guys in an SUV watching her the other day,” Christopher explained. “She was freaked out at first but convinced me it was nothing. If I hadn’t been there, they probably would’ve nabbed her then.”
“What day was that?” Patrick asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Ugh, a day or two ago. Fuck, I can’t think straight.”
“I’ll call my buddy at the precinct. They can pull up the footage from a few days ago if you can give us an estimate of date and time.”
Christopher took a deep breath, trying to steady his thoughts.
“I called a few people up at the Pentagon,” his CO said. “They called Lexi’s emergency contact—some friend of hers in Arlington. Apparently the friend has a condo down here, and Lexi was there earlier today.”
“Let’s search it,” Mike said.
“Absolutely,” Christopher agreed. “Did you get the address?”
“You and Mike head there,” his CO commanded, spouting off orders. “Brent and Evan will head to the hotel to work with the police. Patrick and Matthew are here with me.”
“We’ll find her,” Patrick said, cool blue eyes meeting his.
Christopher gave him a gruff nod, then took the address from his CO. He’d tear his hair out sitting around here doing nothing. Going to her friend’s condo, knowing Lexi had been there hours before, gave him something to focus on. Some hope of finding a clue, tracking her down. His gut churned. He’d been sent out on missions all over the world, jumped out of airplanes, swam in dark, choppy waters. But nothing scared him as much as the thought of harm coming to Lexi.
Thirty minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot at the condominium complex. Cars were parked throughout, but a man in khakis and a polo shirt stood at an empty space. He had a dustpan and broom in his hand, and Christopher noticed glass scattered on the ground.
“Don’t touch that!” he shouted.
The man looked up, startled, to see two Navy SEALs heading toward him.
“This may be a crime scene,” Mike said, grabbing the broom. “A woman who was here earlier is missing, and the window in her SUV was broken. Call the police and don’t touch a thing.”
“It’s unusual to have crime in this area,” the man said.
“My girlfriend was kidnapped,” Christopher ground out. “She was visiting a friend here earlier this evening, and then her car was found abandoned in a garage. The window was smashed out.”
“And you think this is it?”
“The police will confirm,” Mike said.
The man agreed to place the call, and Christopher and Mike hurried to the condo. Glancing at the unit number, he was surprised to find the door ajar. Gesturing to Mike, the two of them silently entered. Their SEAL team was used to running ops together, busting down doors and searching the premises. Taking prisoners when needed. They communicated wordlessly, worked as one unit.
The team was more than well acquainted with searching hell holes in the Middle East, not luxury condominiums in beach towns near base.
Fucking hell.
There was a rustling sound coming from a room in the back, followed by the sound of drawers opening and closing, and the two men crept quietly down the hall. Maybe Lexi had left the door open and a robber had entered. Maybe one of her kidnappers had come back here looking for something.
A quick scan upon entering had shown the family room and kitchen to be empty, so whoever had entered was somewhere back here. Christopher pulled out his sidearm, following behind Mike. A shadow emerged from the doorway on Mike’s left, and Mike was on the suspect in an instant, pinning them against a wall with his hulking frame.
The woman screamed hysterically, and Mike’s large hand covered her mouth as he eased up.
“Who are you?” Christopher asked, eyes assessing. The woman looked positively terrified to see them. She was petite and small, with wavy brown hair and wide eyes filled with fear. She trembled as Mike’s large frame held her in place. “Get the fuck off of her,” Christopher barked.
Mike released her, grumbling a gruff apology.
The woman looked back and forth between them like she’d seen a ghost. Christopher didn’t miss they way she remained back against the wall, scared out of her mind. “Do you guys know Lexi?”
“Yes, and she’s missing,” Christopher said, in as calm of a voice as he could muster. “Is this your condo?”
“It’s my parents’ condo. Someone at the Pentagon called me earlier,” she said shakily. “I’m Lexi’s emergency contact, and—” Her voice broke, and he could see the tears that threatened to fall.
Christopher reached out and roughly pushed Mike further away from the scared woman. He was hovering over her like she belonged to him or something, concern and unconcealed interest flickering in his blue eyes. What the fuck that was about, he didn’t even want to venture. This sure as shit wasn’t the time or place. “You’re safe with us,” Christopher assured
her. “Lexi’s been kidnapped, and we thought you were involved. The door to the condo is open.”
“Oh, I forgot to close it,” she said distractedly. “I just came in to look around. Lexi called me from here earlier. After someone from the Pentagon called and told me she was missing, I drove down as fast as I could.”
“What time did she call?” Christopher asked, his eyes narrowing. Hell, this woman was another clue in the trail of where Lexi had been all evening, and Mike had practically frightened her to death. The woman hastily explained her phone call with Lexi earlier.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Christopher; this is my teammate, Mike.”
“You’re him,” she finally said, eyes flicking up and down his frame.
“Him?” Christopher questioned.
“Her guy. The SEAL from Coronado.”
“She told you about me?” He didn’t know what to make of that. Had Lexi told her she’d run into him again this week? Or had she told her him in the context of her asshole of an ex-boyfriend? He had little to say to this woman in defense of how he’d acted all those years ago. But he’d fucking make up for it now. He wouldn’t rest until Lexi was back in his arms. And if any harm came to her, he’d dig the graves of her kidnappers himself.
“Only a million times.”
Christopher’s chest filled with warmth, immediately followed by pain. Hell, his heart actually hurt thinking about her. Lexi certainly wouldn’t have talked about him that much if she didn’t still feel something over all their years apart. Maybe a reference or two in passing, but if Lexi’s friends knew about him, a man from her past, apparently he wasn’t out of her mind as much as Lexi had led him to believe.
“I’m Kenley,” she finally said, holding out a small hand. He shook it, squeezing gently as if to reassure her. Or maybe it was himself he was trying to reassure. She glanced at Mike warily but didn’t offer a handshake to him. Fucking idiot—pinning a defenseless woman against the wall. He was easily twice her size. He could have restrained her without going ape shit.
Christopher filled her in on the broken glass found in the parking lot. They looked around the condo but didn’t see anything else amiss. If Lexi had been here, it hadn’t been for long. But why had she come?
“Are you planning to stay here?” Christopher asked. “How can we get a hold of you?”
Kenley said she’d stay until Lexi was found, offering to help in any way that she could. They exchanged contact information, with Christopher promising to call as soon as they knew anything.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Mike said, his voice low.
“What’s not?” Christopher asked.
“Her staying her alone.”
Kenly glared at him, placing her hands on her hips. “I’m pretty certain the only person I have to worry about here is you.”
Mike stiffened, and Christopher tugged him to the door. Jesus. They had to get a move on, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to stand around keeping these two from tearing each other’s throats out. He needed to call his CO, see if the police had any leads on the SUV in the garage. If they didn’t have anything by now, he’d hack into the damn traffic cams himself. Lexi was out there, alone. And nothing was going to stop him from finding her. This ended tonight.
Chapter 16
Lexi pinched the bridge of her nose, a headache forming. The combination of whatever they’d drugged her with, the lack of food and water, and the deep sleep she’d been in earlier was wearing her down. How many hours had passed since she’d been kidnapped? She wasn’t even sure what day it was. Her stomach rumbled, but she felt too queasy to eat. Not that they’d offered her anything.
The sun dipped lower in the sky, nighttime approaching. But what night it was, she couldn’t even venture. No one had come back. She was alone in the room with only the photos that made her ill and grungy blanket and pillow. She gathered up the pictures that lay scattered across the ground and arranged them into a pile, facedown. She couldn’t even look at them. It sickened her to know someone had been watching her and Christopher on the beach. That moment had been special, sacred—between only the two of them.
The slimy man from earlier would come back for her—that wasn’t a question. Maybe other men would be with him. And they needed her cooperation. She needed to buy time. Maybe even offer to work with them. Pretend she’d steal the information they needed. Find out if they were working in conjunction with Edwards. They wouldn’t kill her if she could be an asset to them.
A chill snaked down her spine as she remembered the man’s words from earlier: You’re mine tonight. No way in hell was she going down without a fight. But how much fight did she have in her? She was exhausted, dehydrated, sick to her stomach. Could she really fight off a man twice her size in this condition?
A single tear slid down her cheek.
Where was Christopher?
***
The six men on Christopher’s SEAL team gathered in the CO’s office on base, looking down at the paper Brent tossed onto the table.
“You’re sure this is it,” Christopher demanded, looking at the numbers and letters in front of him.
“That’s the plate,” Brent said, “as well as the make and model of SUV. The police pulled it off the surveillance footage from the garage. They’re coordinating an effort to pull up images from all the traffic cams in the area and surrounding businesses.”
“Fuck no,” Christopher said.
The eyes of every man on his SEAL team slid to him. His CO crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation. Patrick raised his eyebrows.
Adrenaline surged through Christopher. For the first time all evening they had a solid lead. A fucking chance. Hope bloomed in his chest, almost greater than the fear that had sat heavily there all afternoon. “That model SUV has built-in GPS navigation. We don’t need traffic cams, we need access to the automaker’s system. We can track the vehicle anywhere.”
“For real?” Matthew asked, looking impressed.
“Hell yeah. That’s why I was so angry earlier that they ditched Lexi’s phone. We could’ve tracked her using that.”
“What about her electronics?” Patrick asked. “Wasn’t her computer stolen from her vehicle?”
“Already checked earlier. It’s turned off. It’s highly unlikely they’d bother shutting off the GPS in their vehicle though. Even if they weren’t using it at the moment, it was running in the background. As soon as I find it in the system, we can follow every movement of the SUV, including where it is now.”
“And it’ll lead us straight to Lexi,” Patrick finished.
Christopher looked at him, eyes grim. Patrick’s cool blue eyes met his, and he nodded. Patrick knew what it was like to live in fear that the woman you loved might be harmed.
“She better be there. Because I’ll kill those mother-fuckers myself.”
The CO’s eyes scanned over the SEAL team. “This is off the books. We have no legal authority to be doing the job of the police, running after Christopher’s girl. If something goes wrong, I won’t be able to help any of you. A move like this could be career-ending.”
“The entire Atlantic fleet couldn’t stop me,” Christopher ground out.
“We’ll handle this as a team,” Patrick agreed, eyes blazing. “Lexi is one of ours now.”
The other men all nodded and grunted in agreement.
“How long will it take to trace the vehicle?” Brent asked. His eyes blazed in anger.
“Minutes. Those systems are easy to hack into—minimal security compared to government databases like ours.” He chuffed out a laugh, his first all day. Could it really be that damn easy to find her? He could only hope.
A few quick keystrokes, and he’d easily accessed the system. The movements of the SUV followed Lexi’s exact path that afternoon. They’d been parked near base, followed her to the condo. Presumably they were the one’s who’d broken the window on Lexi’s vehicle. And when they hadn’t found what they needed, they�
�d nabbed her.
“The vehicle’s been in the same spot for two hours,” Christopher said, his heart racing.
“That’s where Lexi is,” Patrick ascertained.
“We’ve fucking got ‘em,” Christopher confirmed.
The entire team moved instantly, rushing to gather their supplies. Ten minutes later the team was on the move. They exited base and minutes later flew over the bridge heading toward Norfolk. Christopher’s gut clenched as he white-knuckled the steering wheel, his mind racing. Lexi was there—she had to be. But had she been harmed? Was she still alive? The alternative was unthinkable.
***
Lexi scrambled to her feet as she heard shouts. The overhead lights flickered several times, and then the room went black. Silence. The very last rays of the evening sun came in through the window, providing a dim glow in one small area of the confined room. In a few minutes, she’d be here in total darkness. Alone. Vulnerable.
Heavy footsteps resounded in the hall. She scrambled off to the corner of the room, trembling. Were the men fighting over what to do with her? Had something else happened? The doorknob jiggled and then she heard someone fumbling with the lock. Muffled voices. She raced over to the door, pressing herself flat against the wall beside it. The world seemed to sway. She shouldn’t have moved so fast. The effects of the drugs they’d given her were slowly wearing off, but rushed movements made her dizzy.
If she could hide behind the large door when it swung open, maybe she could make a run for it. She’d only have a second, but in the dim light, she might just have a chance. They’d look first to the blanket and pillow. When they stepped into the room, she’d hurry out. How fast or how far she could go was uncertain.
A click, and then the heavy door swung open. She tensed, expecting the man from earlier. Several large men charged in, and she froze in fright. Was that…were those…?
She wanted to run but couldn’t make herself move. Dizziness overtook her, and she started to stumble to the side. A large man ran to her, dressed in black, a mask covering his face. He hauled her up into his arms. “It’s okay darlin’.”
A SEAL's Surrender (Alpha SEALs Book 3) Page 13