Navy SEAL Captive (7 page)

“You're not going to get any arguments out of me.” Sawyer stepped behind Lance. “Thanks for taking on this assignment.”

Lance shot a look over his shoulder at Sawyer and returned his attention to the screen. “Not only did the boss give me permission, he also assigned me to you until you don't need my services.” The man shrugged. “I can't complain too much. I'm in Cancún. Every once in a while, I step outside and actually see the sun and the beach. I might even get a chance to put my feet in the water when we solve this case.”

Sawyer patted Lance's shoulder. “We'll try to make it as short and painless an assignment as we can.”

“I'm counting on it.” He pointed to the screen. “It took some finagling, but I was able to hack into the resort's security system. Based on what you told us about when she took the wrong case, I was able to get several shots of the lobby right around the time Jenna took the case. Now watch.”

He pointed to the screen. “This is the lobby. There's Jenna, and she's heading for the concierge.”

Sawyer's chest tightened. Seeing her on the screen made him wish he'd brought her with him rather than leave her lying naked in the bed in her suite. Alone. Potentially vulnerable.

“There's the case standing beside the concierge's stand.” Lance tapped the screen.

Sawyer could make out the shape and size of the case. But no one stood close enough to indicate who the case belonged to. “Why is this a big deal? You're not showing me anything different than what Jenna told me.”

“We started at this point and then backed up.” Lance set the video in rewind, backing up slowly enough that they could make out all the people coming and going in the lobby in reverse motion. For several seconds, the case remained static, apparently left long before Jenna had arrived to claim it mistakenly.

Then a figure moved in front of the concierge, and the case disappeared.

“Wait.” Sawyer leaned closer. “Run it forward.”

“Hold on. We're working on the resort server, and it can be slow.” Lance played the video in forward slow motion. A man walked into the lobby, carrying a case.
The
case. He set it down by the concierge, straightened, glanced around and left through a side door.

“Can you get a clear image of his face?” Sawyer asked.

Lance nodded. “Already did. We're running facial-recognition software on him.” Lance switched to a different screen, where an image of the man who'd dropped the case was being compared to a database of potential suspects, flipping through one after another so fast Sawyer could barely keep up.

“What about after Jenna picked up the case? Did anyone else go by the concierge's desk looking for a case?”

“There were several people in the minutes following Jenna's arrival and departure on the scene,” Lance said. He switched back to the video from the resort, fast-forwarded to Jenna taking the case and then set the footage in slow motion.

A man wearing jeans and a T-shirt strode across the lobby and stopped at the concierge desk. No one manned the desk. The man looked behind the desk, walked around it, shook his head and left.

A woman in a broad-brimmed hat approached the counter. She set her purse on the counter and dug into it for a moment. The concierge never appeared. The woman found what looked like a powder compact, opened it, applied fresh lipstick, returned her compact and lipstick to her purse and then moved on.

“Can you get a clear shot of the woman's face?” Sawyer asked.

Lance shook his head. “No. All I could get was her chin.”

A man dragged a large suitcase up to the concierge's desk and tapped his fingers on the wood. When the concierge finally appeared, he took the case, handed the man a ticket and stowed the case in the room behind him.

“I skimmed through the next hour of footage but didn't find anything else unusual,” Lance said.

The image of the hotel lobby blinked out, and an error message displayed on the screen.

“Did you just click off?” Sawyer asked, even though he hadn't seen Lance touch the mouse or keyboard when the screen disappeared.

Lance frowned. “No.” He tried to bring up the resort's security system again. “I can't seem to get into the system. Let me try another route.” Lance's fingers flew across the keyboard. “There. I've hacked into the registration system. Damn.” He clicked a few more keys.

“What?” Sawyer leaned closer to the monitor.

Lance's frown deepened. “I'm getting a message that the fire alarm has gone off. The resort employees are to evacuate the main hotel building.”

Sawyer straightened, his chest tightening. “Do you suppose whoever is looking for that case could have hacked into the security system and seen the same footage we did?”

Lance nodded. “It's possible. The system was a breeze to get into for even the clumsiest hacker.”

Sawyer sprinted for the door.

“Where are you going?” Duff asked.

“If we saw Jenna pick up that case, the assassin could have seen her, as well. I've got to get to her.”

“What if the assassin is using this as a way to lure you out?”

“I can't leave Jenna without protection.”

Chapter Seven

Jenna was in the middle of a very sensuous dream with Sawyer when an alarm went off, yanking her out of his dream arms and into reality. She sat up and stared bleary-eyed at the empty pillow beside her. The alarm clock blinked a green 3:46 a.m. Jenna patted the alarm to shut it off, but it kept blaring. “Sawyer?” she called out.

When she was met with nothing but the piercing squall of the continuous alarm, she realized it was the fire alarm in the hallway. She leaped out of the bed and ran to the bathroom, just in case Sawyer was there and hadn't heard her call or the fire alarm's scream.

Sawyer wasn't there, and his clothes were gone.

The persistence of the alarm forced Jenna to take action. She pulled a sundress over her naked body, stepped into panties, slipped on a pair of sandals, grabbed her purse and headed for the door—all in a matter of seconds.

“Fire alarm! All guests must evacuate,” a voice announced in the hallway.

Jenna yanked open the door.

Before she could take a step out, someone dressed completely in black came at her, hunched over like a linebacker. He plowed into her belly and lifted her off her feet, carrying her back into the room.

She screamed, but the door to her room closed, her cry for help drowned out by the fire alarm.

The man threw her on the bed.

Her heart racing, Jenna rolled over to the other side, dropping her feet to the floor.

The man in black ran around the end of the bed and grabbed for her.

Jenna somersaulted back across the mattress and hooked her hands in the comforter.

When the man launched himself across the bed, she dragged the comforter over his head and twisted it, wrapping him in the fabric. Then she ran for the door and yanked it open.

Footsteps pounded after her.

Unable to slam the door behind her, she ran as fast as she could, pushing through the exit door leading into the stairwell. Running downward, she took two steps at a time, braced her hands on the railing and vaulted at the turn, landing four steps lower.

From the tenth floor, she ran down the ninth, then the eighth. Other guests flowed into the stairwell. She pushed past them and kept running. When she reached the sixth floor, she ran into Becca, who was working her way up the stairs. She stopped in front of Jenna, forcing her to come to a halt.

Jenna shot a glance up the stairs, her heart pounding and her breathing coming in ragged gasps.

Becca gripped her arm. “Jenna? What's wrong?”

“Someone attacked me.”

“Where?” Becca looked over Jenna's shoulder. Guests dressed in bathrobes and pajamas marched down the stairs, wide-eyed and worried.

“In my room.”

“Let's get you out of here.” Becca cast another glance up the stairs and then turned. She put an arm around Jenna and hurried her down to the ground floor and out the back of the resort near the pool.

People milled around the grounds, clutching each other and staring at the hotel, searching for the smoke expected with a fire.

“I need to report the assault,” Jenna said, looking around for the hotel security staff, a Cancún police officer or anyone she could tell about the attack. Still shaking, she wondered if the man was actually walking among them, merging with the frightened guests leaving the building.

When they finally came to a stop near the outdoor bar, Becca gripped Jenna's arms. “Are you all right?”

Jenna rubbed her hands over her arms and shivered. “I think I am.”

“What happened?”

“I don't know.” She could barely believe she'd gotten away. “I opened the door and someone rammed into me, then threw me on the bed.”

“What did he look like?”

Jenna flung out her hands. “I don't know. He was wearing all black and a black ski mask.”

“Did he say what he wanted?”

“No, he just tried to grab me and I...I...got away.” Her body trembled in the aftermath of her near miss. If she hadn't been able to slip away, what would have happened?

Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart skittered to a stop. The assassin. He had to be looking for his missing weapon.

“Jenna?” Becca's eyes narrowed. “Are you sure he didn't say anything?”

“He didn't say anything.” Jenna had to get to Sawyer and warn him that the assassin had found her in his attempt to locate his missing weapon. He'd known who she was and where to find her. “I have to go.”

“Where?” Becca asked.

“Jenna!” A deep male voice called out from the far side of the crowd gathered around the pool.

Jenna stood on her toes, trying to see over the throng. A tall man, towering over many of the others, emerged from the darkness. “Jenna!”

“Sawyer?” she cried out and ran toward him.

He held open his arms and engulfed her in his embrace. “Whoa, sweetheart, what happened?” He held her close, brushing the hair from her face.

She pressed her mouth to his ear. “We have to leave here. Now.”

“Let's go.” He curled her into his arm, shielding her body with his, and moved toward the beach.

“Jenna?” Becca called out.

Jenna stopped, feeling guilty for abandoning her new friend without explanation. “I have to go. Thank you for getting me out of there.”

“Where are you going? I'm sure someone probably pulled the fire alarm as a prank, but we can report your attacker to the police when they get here.”

“I can't stay. I have to go.”

Becca nodded. “I understand. Do be careful.” She stared past Jenna to Sawyer. “She's had quite a shock.”

“I'll take care of her,” he promised.

His words warmed her insides, which still trembled from her encounter.

When they escaped the crowd milling around the pool, Sawyer asked, “What happened?”

She told him about the man in the black clothes and mask. “It had to be the guy after the case. But how did he find me?”

Sawyer didn't answer. Instead, he took her hand. “Can you jog?”

“Yes. I work out at home.”

“Then come on. We need to get out of the open.” He set off at a fairly easy pace, running along the shore near the waves washing up on the harder-packed sand.

They passed one resort, and as they approached the next, two men stepped out of the shadows of a palm tree.

Jenna dug her feet into the sand and backed away, pulling at Sawyer's hand.

He stopped.

“Sawyer,” one man said. “It's me, Montana.”

“And Duff,” the other man said. “Glad you found her before the gunman did.”

Jenna shot a glance up at Sawyer, his face visible in the starlight. “You knew he'd come?”

He nodded. “Just a few minutes ago. It's why I came back. We were able to review the security-camera footage from the lobby and saw when you retrieved the case.”

“And who came looking for it?”

“That wasn't as clear.” Sawyer led her onto a path connecting pretty little bungalows. “The point is, if we could hack into the security system and see the footage...so could the gunman looking for his case.”

Jenna's heart dropped into her belly like a heavy weight, and she swayed. If not for Sawyer's arm around her waist, she might have fallen to her knees.

As the moved down the path, another figure appeared out of the shadows, this one with a more feminine shape.

Duff stepped up to the woman and bent to kiss her lips. “I take it the path is clear?”

“For now.” She glanced across at Jenna. “This must be Jenna.”

Sawyer nodded, leading Jenna through the other three. “Let's get inside, and then we can do the introductions.”

They stopped in front of one of the bungalows, and Sawyer knocked. Montana, the woman and Duff stood close behind them, shielding Sawyer's and Jenna's bodies from any potential threat.

The door opened, and a man waved them in. Once they were all inside, he closed the door and turned to take his seat at a desk.

“Jenna, this is Lance,” Sawyer said, pointing to the man who'd opened the door.

“Hey.” Lance didn't glance up from the two monitors.

“Are you a SEAL, as well?” Jenna asked.

The man snorted. “Not hardly. I work much harder than they do.”

Sawyer nodded to his teammate's girlfriend. “Natalie and Lance are special agents.”

“What kind of special agents?” Jenna asked. “FBI, CIA, Interpol?”

Natalie chuckled. “None of the above. We work with a top secret agency. That's all I can tell you.”

“Or she has to kill you,” Lance quipped.

Jenna stared from Lance back to Natalie.

Natalie glared at Lance. “Don't listen to him. He's just grouchy because he's been here four days and has yet to set foot in the water.”

“Yeah. While you guys are having all the fun, I'm stuck in my geek cave, doing all the real work.” He touched his mouse, and one of the screens lit up. It displayed a somewhat blurry image of a Hispanic man. From what Jenna could tell, he was standing in the lobby of a hotel.

She peered closer.
Her
hotel.

Lance pointed at the screen on the left. “This is the man who left the case with the concierge.”

“Is he the gunman?” Jenna asked.

“We don't think so,” Sawyer replied.

Lance chimed in, “We think he left the case for the gunman, who would have picked it up if you hadn't snagged it first.” He shot a smile at her. “By the way, great job warning Sawyer.”

“Yeah,” Montana added. “I got to thinking, went back to the rental company and found something that looked suspiciously like a bullet hole in the rear of the WaveRunner you two sped off on.”

Sawyer raised his eyebrows at Montana. “When did you do that?”

“While you were out earlier.” Montana's glance shifted to Jenna and back. “I haven't had a chance to tell you.”

Her throat constricting, Jenna swallowed hard. “Are you sure it was a bullet hole?”

Montana's lips twisted. “I'm sure. When it got nailed into the back of that WaveRunner? I don't know the answer to that. I wasn't looking for bullet holes when we rented it.”

Sawyer's fists clenched, his face hardening. He reached for Jenna's hand and pulled her close. “Damn it, Jenna. You should have turned that case over to the police instead of coming after me.”

She leaned into Sawyer's hard body, his strength helping her deal with the fact that she could have taken the bullet if the shooter aimed a little higher or they hadn't gotten out to sea fast enough. “It doesn't matter now.”

“It sure as hell does. You were attacked tonight. Whoever is after me has now come after you.”

“He might have come looking for you and found me instead.”

Sawyer gripped her arms. “He attacked you.”

“If you two could pay attention for a moment...” Lance clicked the mouse and the other screen blinked to life, displaying several images of what appeared to be the same man from the hotel in various other places. “I found these on the CIA's database. This man is one the CIA and DEA have been watching. Jorge Ramirez.”

“Why?” Sawyer moved closer, staring hard at the man on the screen, memorizing his features. If Ramirez had anything to do with the attack on Jenna, Sawyer would find him and take him out of everyone's misery.

“He works for Carmelo Devita, the same drug runner who had a hand in the human trafficking case we just busted wide-open.”

“But Devita wasn't the orchestrator of that operation,” Duff said. “He was only hired help to get the job done.”

“Question is, who hired Devita this time, and how do we find him? If we can get to Devita, we can figure out who's gunning for me,” Sawyer said.

Natalie tapped her chin and narrowed her eyes. “Our boss has other connections here in the Cancún area.”

Sawyer's lips curled up at the corners. “I'm not surprised.” He raised his hand to Natalie. “Don't worry. I'm not looking that gift horse in the mouth.”

Natalie grinned. “Good, because I don't even know half his contacts. He has them all over the world.”

Jenna stared at Natalie. “Is your boss on our side? Or is he also involved in criminal activities?”

Her grin disappeared. “Royce is one of the best human beings you'll ever meet. Whatever he does, he does for the good of the people of our country.”

Jenna raised her hands. “Okay. I get it.”

Natalie stared at Jenna a moment longer and then relaxed. “Sorry. We just got through a pretty hairy situation with a human trafficking operation. I'm a little punchy.”

“Are you two through talking?” Lance asked. “The boss sent us an address where we might be able to find Ramirez.”

Sawyer's eyes narrowed, and his hand tightened around Jenna's waist. “Good. I'm going.”

“Me, too,” Duff added.

“Count me in,” Montana said. “And Quentin will want to get involved as well when he wraps up his date.” The big SEAL shook his head. “Some guys have all the luck.”

“I'm just glad my roommate was out with him when the guy attacked me,” Jenna said.

“Speaking of which.” Sawyer pulled out his smartphone and keyed some letters. “Just texting Quentin to keep your roommate occupied for the night and not let her go back to the room.”

“Good. I wouldn't want her to run into the attacker. She hasn't been clued in on the case, the rifle, the attempt on Sawyer's life or my involvement in any of this.” Jenna ran a hand through her hair. “Perhaps I should call her and fill her in on all of this. Quentin can probably take good care of her.”

Sawyer glanced down at Jenna. “In the meantime, you can't go back to the suite.”

“What a waste. I have the best suite in the entire hotel and I can't even use it.” Jenna clapped her hands and rocked back on her heels. “So, what's next? Who are we going after, and what do we hope to gain from them?”