Elle James - Navy Seal Survival

“Happen to get their names?”

Natalie shook her head. “No. They stayed at the table the entire time.”

Lance fast-forwarded the video, stopping on an image of Melody and a man dancing.

Her heart came to a hard stop in her chest and Natalie sucked in her breath. Her gaze caught on Melody, laughing, dancing and flirting. She was so happy and carefree.

When her heart started pumping again, it raced, anger pushing blood through it faster and faster.

Natalie leaned toward the screen, trying to see the man with her, only getting the back of his head. “Can you see his face anywhere in the video?”

Lance shook his head. “No matter how many times I replay, I can’t get a clear shot of his facial features.”

“Melody is five feet two inches tall and, based on what she’s wearing, she’s probably got on at least three-inch heels, making her five feet five. He’s at least another five to six inches taller than her. That would put him right around six feet tall. And he has dark hair.” She straightened. “Anything else?”

“Several men in the lobby of the hotel. Some of them with women who appeared to be girlfriends or wives. Others were alone.” He clicked on the touch pad and another view popped up on the screen. “This is the lobby.”

Lance took her through several minutes of video he’d tagged as potential. When they were done, Natalie didn’t feel any closer to finding her sister than before. “Tomorrow morning, I’m scheduled to go on the dive boat Melody and her friends sailed with.”

Lance’s brows dipped. “Stay with your dive buddy in case you run into trouble.”

She snorted. “What are the chances the people who took Melody will hit the same dive boat two times in a single week?”

“Slim to none. If these creeps are smart enough to kidnap three women without raising a red flag with the local authorities, they won’t go after someone on that dive boat.”

Natalie sighed. “I know it’s a reach, but maybe I’ll get some information out of the crew. Perhaps one of them is in cahoots with the operation.”

Lance clicked another button on the computer and a GPS tracker screen appeared. “Either way, I’ve got you covered. Get some sleep tonight and be careful down there tomorrow.”

“I don’t hold out hope on sleep.” Natalie crossed to the door. “I can only imagine what Melody is going through.”

“Yeah, it’s gotta be tough when it’s your sister. She’s not my sister, and I can hardly wait to catch the bastards.”

Natalie smiled. “Thanks for your help, Lance. It’s nice to know SOS is backing me.”

“We miss having you around. Nobody quite equals our best sharpshooter.”

Warmth stole through her. They might not be blood relatives, but the members of the SOS team had been like family.

She opened the door and checked to make certain the coast was clear. A light breeze stirred the air. The moon shone bright through the gently undulating palm fronds, stirring shadows. But nothing else moved.

Natalie left the bungalow and headed toward the beach.

She passed another bungalow and was about to cut across to the more direct path leading through some bougainvillea bushes when the snap of a twig sounded behind her.

She spun, ready to face an attacker. Again, nothing moved in the shadows except the shadows themselves.

A shiver rippled across her skin in the balmy night air. Rather than cut through the thick bushes, she continued on the pebbled concrete path toward the beach. Once on the sand, she’d be in the open. Unless whoever was following her had a gun and planned to shoot her, she’d have half a chance at defending herself.

Natalie picked up the pace, stretching her long legs, trying to put distance between her and whoever or whatever was following her. By now she heard footsteps behind her.

Whenever she turned, she saw nothing. Trained to survive in hand-to-hand combat, she knew her limitations. She was better with a gun. A large man could subdue her, if he knew what he was doing.

Once out in the open, she could face her adversary head-on. No more hiding in the shadows. By the time she burst out of the palm tree shadows onto the beach, she’d gone past powerwalking, skipped jogging and was running all-out.

She turned to look over her shoulder and ran into a solid wall. Arms wrapped around her, holding her so tightly she couldn’t move.

She tried to scream but a hand clamped over her mouth.

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