Elle James - Navy Seal Captive

As he lifted the divider, his gut clenched. Just as Jenna had said, there were parts that would make a complete sniper’s rifle with a military-grade scope, giving the shooter the capability of firing at long distances.

“This is what made me find you.” Jenna lifted the envelope and turned it upside down, shaking the contents out onto the bed.

Photographs of Sawyer fanned out on the comforter. Pictures of him walking on the streets of New Orleans when he’d spent a weekend there with his teammates, shots of him outside his apartment near Stennis in Mississippi, and even more of him when he’d last visited his father in DC three months ago. Whoever had been following him had been doing so for some time.

“I don’t understand.” He shook his head. “Why me?”

“Darlin’, if you don’t know—” Jenna let out a short, hard laugh “—I can’t help you. Have you pissed off someone in your past? Someone who would want revenge?”

He thought back on the missions he’d been a part of. The most recent sanctioned mission had to do with a terrorist training camp in Honduras. Surely the terrorists involved hadn’t come all the way to Cancún and singled him out. Why not the rest of his team? He shuffled through the photographs.

Whoever the assassin was, Sawyer was his only target.

Sawyer drew in a deep breath and let it out, then glanced across at Jenna. “My father is a US senator. Not many people know, but this doesn’t make sense. The note doesn’t make sense.”

Jenna read it aloud. “‘Bring him to the agreed-upon location by 9:00 p.m. Dead or alive.’” She stared at the paper, her face pale, her eyes wide. “I don’t know. Why would someone kill you and then deliver you somewhere?”

“Unless they’re trying to make a statement.”

Her pretty brow furrowed. “What kind of statement?”

“Perhaps it’s a drug cartel or terrorist organization picking off SEALs to show they can.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “Whoever it is hired an assassin. He might get paid more if he delivers me alive.”

“Or he might just decide to take a lesser payoff because he’s dealing with a highly trained SEAL. If he can pick you off at a distance, he has less of a chance of being taken down.”

Sawyer’s lips quirked. “You’re pretty smart.” He cupped her cheek and stared into her beautiful green eyes, wanting to do so much more. When he finally looked away, he dropped his hands to his sides. Settling the photos and note into the case, he closed it and let the locks click into place. Then he stared around the room as if for the first time. “Why the bridal suite?”

She turned and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. “It’s a dumb story.”

“I still want to hear it.” He followed and stood behind her, watching her instead of the view. He liked what he saw: petite, yet strong; slim, yet curvy; smart and a bit sassy.

“I was engaged to a man who found my maid of honor more interesting than me.” She shrugged. “He texted me on our wedding day that he couldn’t go through with the marriage.” She turned and waved her hand at the room. “The hotel was nonrefundable, so I came with a friend.” She lifted her chin and faced him, her eyes slightly narrowed as if daring him to laugh.

Again, he cupped her face. “His loss, my gain. If you’d come with him, you might not have found the case and come to warn me.” He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the backs of her knuckles. “Thank you. And for the record, your fiancé was a fool.”

“Ex-fiancé,” she amended, staring at the hand he kissed. “And I agree. I’m better off without him.” She stood as if frozen to the spot, her eyes widening as her tongue swept across pale pink lips.

Sawyer couldn’t resist. He bent to brush his mouth across hers in what he’d intended as a brief sweep. But as soon as his lips connected with hers, he couldn’t back away. He slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her close, deepening the kiss.

She rested her palms on his chest. Instead of pushing him away, her fingers curled into him, her nails scraping against his skin.

He skimmed the seam of her lips, and she opened to him.

He caressed her tongue with his, fire burning through his veins, searing a path south to his groin.

Jenna’s hands slid up his chest and linked behind his neck, pulling him closer.

The sound of a metal lock clicking brought Sawyer out of the trance Jenna’s mouth had him in, and he lifted his head.

“Oh.” The woman who’d been with Jenna at the zip line stopped in the middle of the doorway, her eyes rounding. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” She pointed to the closet and hurried across the room. “I’ll just be a minute,” she said, tiptoeing into the room, grimacing. “Don’t mind me. Go back to what you were doing.” She grabbed a dress and raced into the bathroom, calling out over her shoulder, “I didn’t see anything. Continue kissing.”

Jenna stepped away from Sawyer, her cheeks bright red, her eyes averted. She pressed a hand to her lips and stared out the window.

When the bathroom door opened again, her friend smiled. “Don’t wait up for me. I might not be back. I’m taking my toothbrush just in case.” She rushed to the door, yanked it open and turned with a full grin on her face. “And for the record, Tyler didn’t deserve you. And you deserve to have fun. You go, girl!” She pumped her fist and let the door close automatically behind her.

“Don’t mind Carly. She has no filter.” Jenna chuckled softly. “She’d tell you that herself.”

“I get that.”

“Should we catch her before she gets on the elevator and warn her about the hit man?” Jenna started for the door.

“No. Text her and tell her you’d like to have the room to yourself. That should keep her from coming back to a potentially dangerous situation.”

Jenna texted the message.

Carly texted back with a smiley face.

God, she probably thought Sawyer was staying the night. Jenna’s cheeks heated and she couldn’t face the man. Instead, she walked back toward the gunman’s bag. “What do I do with the case? Should I take it back to the lobby and leave it for its owner?”

“No use making it easy for him to kill me. If he wants me badly enough, he’ll have to find another weapon to do the job.”

Jenna shivered. “I’d just as soon he didn’t do the job at all.”

“You and me both.”

“In the meantime, what do I do with it?” Jenna waved at the case.

“I’ll take it. I know someone who might help.” He lifted the suitcase off the bed and headed for the door.

Jenna jumped in front of him. “Wait a minute. Where are you going?”

“Back to my room.”

“If he knows you’re in Cancún, the assassin will know which room you’re in.” She touched his arm. “You can’t go back there.”

“What do you suggest?”

She glanced around the bridal suite. “I figure if he hasn’t already come after me for the case, chances are he doesn’t know I have it.”

“Then this will have to stay here for now.” Sawyer hefted the gun case onto the shelf in the closet and straightened, facing Jenna. “We need to find your case before he does.”

“Right.” Jenna nodded. “I guess you can stay here until I get back. I hope my case has been delivered from the airport by now.”

“Uh-uh.” Sawyer shook his head. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”

Her brows pulled together. “But he’ll recognize you as soon as you set foot into the lobby—if he didn’t see you coming in the first time.”

“Not if I wear a hat and sunglasses.” He glanced around the room. “I don’t suppose you have a T-shirt that will fit me and a baseball cap or sunglasses.” He stared down at his naked chest. “I seem to have come ill-prepared for undercover ops. If not, I’ll pick up something in the gift shop.”