A SEAL's Surrender (Alpha SEALs Book 3) (14 page)

The second he arrived on base, he was pulling up her phone records, consequences be damned.  He didn’t care if he didn’t have legal authority to hack into the databases, but he wasn’t wasting another second knowing harm had potentially come to his girl.

And what about the guy at her hotel that had spooked her the other day?  Did he have something to do with it, to?  That seemed as far out there as any other reason at the moment, but what else did they have to go on?  A strange man watching her at her hotel, a traitor on base, multiple attempted hackings.  Could anything else go wrong?

He flew down the road, cruising into the tree-lined street leading to base.  He better slow down or the guards would be shooting at him, assuming he was planning to crash through the security barriers.  With the way he felt at the moment, he’d take on the whole damn Navy if it meant getting Lexi back to him sooner.

Lexi glanced around the darkened room in a daze as she slowly came to.  Her brain felt foggy, like she was trying to remember something but couldn’t quite grasp what it was.  Shadows danced across the window, and she couldn’t tell if it was morning or evening.  She was cold.  Uncomfortable.  Her mouth was so dry it felt like it was stuffed with cotton.  Her muscles were stiff and sore from the position she’d been sleeping in on the hard floor.  She’d been tired earlier, but what the hell had happened after she left Kenley’s condo?  Where was she?

The room was empty save for the thin blanket and lumpy pillow on the ground.  She cringed as she sat up, wondering the last time either of them had been washed.  Bare cinderblock walls surrounded her, cold and sterile.  The concrete floor was equally unwelcoming.  Her hands clutched the dingy blanket beneath her as she tried to get her bearings.  She still had on her suit from yesterday—or was it today?  What time had she left Kenley’s condo?

She leaned back against the cold wall, her head pounding.  She had to think clearly—panicking in this situation wouldn’t do her any good.  Had someone taken her here?  Was she hurt?  She had to try to remember something, to fill in the gaps from leaving the condo and waking up here.

Glass shards had been all over the ground.  Her window, her laptop….

She heard voices down the hall, arguing, and her chest clenched in fear.  Were these the men that had taken her?  Bile rose in the back of her throat as the sound began getting louder, the men getting closer.  What did they want with her?

Her heart began to pound as the footsteps approached the room she was in.  She felt nauseated and dizzy.  She desperately wanted lie back down as the room began to spin, and she forced herself to take a deep breath, drawing in precious oxygen.  She was tired.  Disoriented.  She needed to stay alert.

The footsteps stopped at the door.  A key turned the lock.

She wrapped her arms tightly around her chest as the door opened.  A man’s designer shoe stepped in, and she looked up, taking in the man in the slick suit from her hotel.  Another expensively tailored suit hung from his tall frame now.  He was almost the height of Christopher, but not nearly as broad or strong.  Not a piece of slicked back hair was out of place, and without his sunglasses, she could look right into his black, beady eyes.  The overpowering, potent scent of his cologne permeated the room.  She resisted the urge to vomit.

Hell.

He smirked as he watched her, a smile playing about his lips.  “I don’t think we’ve properly met,” he said in a thick foreign accent.

“Where the hell am I?”

“Feisty, I like that.  I can tell you’re going to be a lot of fun.”

She hugged herself more tightly so he wouldn’t see her tremble.  This guy wasn’t so big—she could get in a few good jabs.  Too bad her head was so foggy.  Given the chance, she’d rip his balls right off if he tried anything.  But certainly he wasn’t here all alone.  She’d heard voices in the hall a moment ago.  Even if she did somehow manage to harm him, then who would come for her?  And which was worse, the enemy you knew or the one you didn’t…?

“Why am I here?” she asked, struggling to stand.  Her legs felt like jelly.  She couldn’t run from him if she wanted to.

He appraised her, beady eyes scanning over her body.  The hunger in them scared her more than her confinement in this room.  This man had watched her at her hotel.  Followed her.  Found her.  The last thing she remembered was driving back after leaving Kenley’s condo.  She’d made it to the parking garage, hadn’t she?  It felt like something was missing, like she couldn’t recall what had happened next….

“You have information I need.”

“I’m not telling you anything!”

He took a step closer, and she leaned back.  Sitting on the ground, leaning against the hard wall, she had nowhere to go.  She needed to stand up—to fight him off if necessary.  Clumsily, she struggled to get to her feet.  Her hands sought purchase on the wall, and as he watched her, she finally made it to a standing position.  She leaned back against the cool wall to keep from swaying.

“You and your friend have been investigating someone on base.  I need that information.”

“Like hell you do.”

“I think you’ll cooperate when you see what I have to show you.”

“Fuck you,” she said, struggling to fight through the haze in her brain.

“Ah, I think my men may have given you too much.”

Her mind swam.  She’d been drugged.  No wonder she couldn’t remember a damn thing.  What day was it?  Christopher was supposed to meet her at the hotel.  He’d realize she was missing.  But was it night yet?  Or had she been out of it for several days?

She had no sense of time—she could’ve been in this room for hours or a week.  The man reached into his suit jacket, and she stiffened.  She was almost relieved to see him pulling out photographs.

He took a step toward her, and she darted to the side, stumbling.

“I won’t hurt you,” he said in a thick accent.

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.”