Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(85)

Gideon nodded. “Ah, that makes sense.” He looked toward her car and obviously saw the boxes in her back seat. “Those are pretty big boxes. You want my help? We could bring two boxes down now, then come back for the last one. I can take it down for you, since I’m staying to work at our booth anyway.”

Carly couldn’t help feeling slightly relieved. Gideon wasn’t exactly a person she’d choose to be around, but it was better than walking around by herself, feeling vulnerable. At least she knew him, even if he’d been Shawn’s friend, and he hadn’t said or done anything to make her suspect he held a grudge. If anything, he’d gone out of his way to put her at ease.

Even now, he kept a respectable distance, not crowding her.

At this point, Carly just wanted to get the hell out of this garage, away from all the people milling around on the streets. And she couldn’t deny the thought of only making one trip down to Food For All sounded really good right about now. If she took Gideon up on his offer, she could be back in her car and on her way home in ten minutes. Tops.

“Okay,” she said before she could change her mind.

“Great. It’s a very nice thing you’re doing, donating food, I mean,” Gideon said.

Carly nodded and headed for her trunk. She’d still had her keys in her hand, positioned to hurt someone if they attacked her, and now she stuck the key in the lock to open the trunk.

She leaned over to grab the box—and something hit the back of her head. Hard.

Carly let out a muffled grunt and found herself falling. She hit her face on the edge of the trunk and practically bounced off. But she didn’t hit the ground.

“I’ve got you,” Gideon said.

For some reason, his words sounded funny. Carly squinted at him as he lifted her into his arms. He wasn’t a large man, about Jag’s height, but he had the strength to carry her without too much trouble.

He was walking away from her car, but Carly was having trouble keeping her eyes open. Her head was throbbing and she felt as if she was going to throw up. It wasn’t until she felt something against her back that she opened her eyes wide. Gideon was laying her down on something. Turning her head, she was confused for just a second.

Then everything finally registered.

Gideon had hit her. And now he was putting her inside a trunk.

Gideon Sparks was the man they’d been looking for all along. The mild-mannered zoo worker was kidnapping her!

Carly opened her mouth to scream, but before she could make even the smallest sound, Gideon’s fist flew forward and struck her face. She passed out and knew no more.





CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE





Jag was exhausted. He and the rest of the team had worked through lunch as they scoured maps and intel to try to figure out where Boko Haram might have stashed the kidnapped boys. There weren’t a lot of choices in the area, and five hundred people or more weren’t exactly inconspicuous.

The Nigerian military was scrambling to rescue the boys, and there was a chance Jag’s team would be sent out without too much notice, and they needed to be ready.

Around three-thirty in the afternoon, they’d gotten word that the boys had been found and a rescue attempt was in progress. They’d sat in the conference room, tense and silent, as reports trickled in.

By four-fifteen, most of the boys had been rescued with minimal casualties, and would be returning to their families as soon as possible.

It had been a roller coaster of a day, and all Jag wanted to do was go home and see Carly. She had a calming effect on him, whether it was when he got too far inside his own head and couldn’t shake his past, or if he’d just had a bad day at work.

Once the team was released, Jag pulled out his phone to check his messages, his first opportunity to do so. He hoped to find something from Carly. She had a tendency to send him cute texts throughout the day, letting him know she was thinking about him or just to chat about something or other.

Today he only had one text…and it had been sent more than eight hours earlier. She said she was helping Alani and that she’d let him know when she returned home.

But she hadn’t. She hadn’t even said where she was going in the first place, just that she was doing a favor for her boss.

“Aleck!” Jag yelled, jogging to catch up to his friend. The team had separated after exiting the building, all heading to their own vehicles.

Aleck turned. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Have you heard from Kenna today?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Was Carly with her?”

Aleck shrugged. “Not that I know. She was going downtown with Lexie and Elodie to do that Food For All thing.”

Jag turned and stuck his fingers in his mouth, whistling loudly. It was the easiest and fastest way to get the rest of the team’s attention.

Within moments, the guys were headed his way. As soon as Mustang was within earshot, Jag asked, “Has Elodie seen Carly today?”

Mustang looked confused, but shook his head. “I don’t think so. Elodie said she got home not too long ago. Said she was tired, but that the day was good.”

“Midas?” Jag asked.

“No. What’s up?”

“Maybe she went to see Monica?” Jag asked Pid almost desperately.

“Mo was working at the Head Start Center all day. What’s wrong? Where’s Carly?”