Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(54)

Elodie’s background as a chef, and her creativeness, meant that she could repurpose just about anything that was donated and turn it into gourmet meals for their clients.

“It’s gonna take more than one trip to get all this to my car,” Jag said. “How about if you stay here and I’ll pull up out on the street. I’ll text when I’m there, and maybe you can get Justin or someone to help you carry it out?”

“Sounds good,” Carly said. “Are you okay?”

Jag looked at her in surprise. “Yes, why?”

“I don’t know, you look…hyped up? That’s not exactly the right term, but you’re different today.”

“We can talk about it later,” Jag said, not wanting to worry Carly before they were on their way.

She frowned. “Is everyone all right? No one’s hurt or anything?”

“No, nothing like that,” Jag reassured her.

“Baker found Shawn’s accomplice?” she whispered.

“No,” Jag said, hating that he had no new information about that situation.

She stared at him for a beat before taking a deep breath and nodding. “Okay.”

It was one of a million reasons why he loved this woman. She was resilient and trusting. “Give me about five minutes and I’ll be out front,” he told her, before kissing her once more. This kiss was a little longer and a little more intimate, since they were alone in the back room in the kitchen. He wanted to linger, but his desire to get her home where he could pamper her was more pressing at the moment.

He brushed the backs of his fingers over her flushed cheek before he turned and headed out of the kitchen.

Within ten minutes, he had Carly and all the food loaded in his Jetta and they were on their way to Barbers Point. Carly had texted Lexie to let her know they were on the way so she’d be ready for them.

“Okay, what’s up?” she asked, turning a little in her seat to look at Jag while he was driving.

“I saw Eddie Evans in the international market,” he said, not wanting to draw this out.

“Shawn’s neighbor?” Carly asked.

“Yeah.”

“What was he doing?”

“Smoking a cigarette and looking shady as hell,” Jag said. “I don’t think he saw me, but just as I was going to go and find out what the hell he was doing there, he ducked into the market and I lost him amongst all the vendor tables and kiosks.”

“And?”

“And what?” Jag asked.

“Did he do something else?”

“No, I told you, I lost sight of him.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Jag asked, surprised by her reaction.

Carly nodded and shifted so she was facing forward again. She rested her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes. “Yeah. I’m not happy that he was so close to Duke’s, but I can’t control people’s comings and goings, and there could be a hundred reasons he was there.”

“Name one,” Jag blurted, having a hard time believing she was truly so nonchalant about this. He was proud of how well Carly had been doing recently. She’d come a long way from the terrified woman who hid in her apartment all day. But at the same time, he was a little worried that now she was maybe being too nonchalant about her safety.

“A drug deal? Meeting with a tourist about a new scam? I don’t know.”

Jag knew she had a good point. Eddie Evans wasn’t exactly an upstanding citizen, but he did own a boat, and if Shawn had offered him enough money to come and pick him up, he might’ve been all too eager to get involved in a kidnapping plot.

“Besides, he can stand across the street and stare at the hotel all he wants, he can’t hurt me from over there. If he’d been inside the hotel, or if he’d tried to get into Duke’s or talk to me, he wouldn’t have gotten far. I swear I’ve got more people looking out for me now than I ever would’ve thought. Vera’s like a damn guard dog, which, don’t get me wrong, I like. And Justin and the other servers all know what Luke looks like, and the pictures of the other possible accomplices are posted in the kitchen of Duke’s…you know the ones Baker sent over? And don’t get me started on Kaleen and Paulo. They’re still upset they didn’t do more when Shawn came into the restaurant and took Kenna. I have no doubt if anyone tried any shit with me, they’d lose their freaking minds.”

Carly’s voice was level and she didn’t sound particularly stressed out, which Jag liked, but again…it also kind of concerned him. He didn’t want her freaked out, but he did want to make sure she was still taking the situation seriously. He opened his mouth to tell her just that, but she kept talking.

“If I had to walk to the parking garage by myself, then yes, I’d probably have a very different reaction to the fact that Eddie was anywhere near Duke’s. But since you’ve offered to continue to pick me up for the foreseeable future, and I know without a doubt you’d never let anyone get near me, I don’t want to spend energy panicking about this.”

She turned her head without lifting it to look at him. “I hate that we haven’t figured this out, but I refuse to let my past dictate my present or future anymore. Maybe Eddie was there to spy on me. Maybe he was trying to figure out the best way to get to me. I don’t know. But sitting here stressing about it isn’t going to change anything. And I’m trying not to get all wigged out about something I have no control over, Jag.