Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(39)

Jag beamed and squeezed her hand. “Same, angel. Same.”

“Jag?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really ready to move on.”

“What?”

“I’m ready to move on,” Carly repeated. “With my life. I’ve let Shawn hang out in my head for way too long. I believed the awful things he said to me and began to doubt myself. I felt better when I broke it off with him, but when he started harassing me, I admit that I had second thoughts. Why would anyone else want to be with me? Maybe I was all the things he accused me of being. Immature, stupid, ugly…but I realize now that he was trying to break me. I’m ready to put all that behind me. I know I need to be safe and watchful, but you were right to get me out of my apartment, to make me talk to Alani. I appreciate that more than I can say.”

“I’m glad, angel,” Jag said softly.

“I told Kenna and the others over and over that I didn’t want another boyfriend. That I was done with men. Maybe not forever, but for the foreseeable future. But you’ve somehow stormed your way past my defenses…and I’m so happy that you have.”

“Me too. You’re an amazing woman, Carly. And Shawn was an asshole.”

“Yup,” she agreed.

They held hands in silence the rest of the way to Barbers Point. Jag parked in the lot down the street from the food pantry and they carried the bags toward Food For All. Lexie was the only one there, and she seemed a little distracted, mumbling about the increase in the number of people the place was providing food for, so Carly and Jag didn’t stay long.

Carly studied the area as they walked back to the car and didn’t see anyone out of the ordinary. She didn’t recognize any of the men or women walking around, and they were currently the only people in the parking lot.

“You’re safe,” Jag said, obviously noticing the way she’d nervously checked out every passerby.

Carly nodded. “I feel safe with you.”

“You’ll feel safe when you aren’t with me soon. Senior Chief Petty Officer Albertson will make sure of that. And we’ll talk about some things you can look out for when you’re on the road or in a parking garage. You will get back to your normal life, Carly. Promise.”

“Senior Chief Petty Officer Albertson?” she asked. “That’s quite the mouthful.”

Jag chuckled. “Yup. I’m sure she’ll let you use her first name.”

Carly hoped so. She didn’t think she could say Senior Chief Petty Officer Albertson every time she had a question for her. She let a sigh of relief when she was safely inside Jag’s Jetta and he started the engine.

“Home?” he asked.

“Home,” she said in satisfaction.





The man watched Carly and her boyfriend with a scowl. He hated how happy the bitch looked. He enjoyed the nervous look on her face as she glanced around, but then it quickly disappeared after the man distracted her.

She should be scared.

Terrified.

He liked her that way.

She’d killed Shawn. She hadn’t been there when he’d accidentally blown himself up, but she might as well have pulled a trigger and shot him in the head.

He longed to see the terror in her eyes when she realized who he was and what was going to happen to her. Shawn had taught him how to control women. How to make them second-guess themselves, to cower in fear, and he’d been coaching him on breaking down a woman’s barriers, to make her vulnerable and dependent on her man to make decisions. He’d been preparing to put all his skills to use when Shawn died. Without his friend and mentor backing him up, he no longer had the confidence he needed to mold his own perfect partner.

That was Carly’s fault.

He’d dated another woman years ago. Someone he thought he loved, but things had ended badly. And with Shawn’s help, he now understood why. He hadn’t been assertive. Hadn’t broken her down before molding her into exactly what he needed. And just like Carly, she’d gone to the fucking police when he’d followed her around for her own safety. The bitch!

Just when he was beginning to try again, his friend had died.

He needed to step up his plans. That other asshole who’d come to his workplace, insisting on talking to him about Shawn, about what had happened, was too inquisitive. He’d covered his tracks well, but there was still a chance the older man would figure out he was the one waiting in the ocean.

If it hadn’t been for that damn storm. If Carly hadn’t gone home sick. There were so many “if onlys” that it almost drove him crazy. But he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way next time.

Not the fucking watchdog she’d sicced on him.

Not the new boyfriend.

Nothing.

He’d gain her trust. Get her used to seeing him now and then. Use the tricks and tips Shawn had taught him to lure her in. Get her to let down her guard.

Today he was doing one of the most crucial steps in his plan. Learning her routine.

He knew what shift she’d worked the last two days, knew she sometimes brought food from Duke’s to this hole-in-the-wall food pantry, and he knew where the boyfriend lived—where she was currently living. It wouldn’t be long before he knew where she shopped, where her friends lived, what she did on her days off.