Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(94)

“Probably trying to be more dramatic than Keyes,” Mustang said with disgust.

“Well, I’d say he accomplished that,” Aleck returned dryly.

“But where’s Carly?” Jag asked.

That was the million-dollar question. They might know who took her now, and from where, but not what Sparks had done with her.





Carly lifted her head and couldn’t hold back the moan. She hurt. All over. Her head was still throbbing and every muscle in her body screamed in pain as she moved. Pushing herself up, she immediately regretted it as her hand felt as if it were on fire. Looking down, she saw a slice through her palm that definitely needed stitches.

She vaguely remembered cutting herself with the knife as she’d sawed at the rope holding the weight to her body. She still had the remnants of said rope hanging off her ankle. She couldn’t tell what time it was, but the sun was almost fully over the horizon. She’d survived the night.

Smiling, despite the amount of pain she was in, Carly couldn’t help but feel overwhelming relief. Gideon might’ve kidnapped her, but she’d outsmarted him and escaped. She was damn proud of herself. Of course, she wasn’t out of danger, but as long as she didn’t have someone else determined to drug and drown her, she thought she was doing pretty well.

Sitting up and shifting on the uncomfortable lava rock under her ass, Carly assessed her situation. The island she’d found was nothing more than a jagged mass sticking up in the middle of the water. It was maybe fifty meters long and twenty meters wide. And it was covered in bird shit. There were no trees, no source of fresh water, nothing but birds staring at her accusingly, as if they were pissed she’d disturbed their peace.

The sky was overcast and it looked like it was going to start raining again at any second—but the best thing Carly had ever seen was the outline of a mountain in the distance. She wasn’t that far from land. She assumed she was looking at Oahu, but couldn’t be sure. If it had been a sunny day, there probably would’ve been lots of people on the water already, fishing, snorkeling, and simply enjoying a beautiful Hawaiian day. But because it was crappy out, Carly didn’t see anyone.

She couldn’t be bitter. The storm had saved her life last night. It seemed fitting that Gideon had lost her in a storm, when Shawn had failed at killing Kenna in the same kind of conditions.

Carly thought about getting back in the water and swimming to shore, but she knew distances could be deceiving, especially in this kind of weather. It could be one mile or ten, and while she might be able to make it a mile, there was no way she’d be able to go any considerable distance.

Her best bet was to stay put and wait for someone, anyone, to go by.

Then she had the awful thought that maybe Gideon was still out on the water looking for her. Wanting to make sure she’d died. The last person she needed to flag down was the man who wanted her dead.

Shaking her head, Carly refused to believe she’d made it this far, only to be recaptured. Gideon was probably back at home, thrilled that he’d succeed in finishing what Shawn had started. The man was certifiably insane. She hadn’t done anything to him—or Shawn, for that matter. There was absolutely no reason for Gideon to hate her so much.

But what was clear was that Shawn had been grooming him just as he’d once done to her. He obviously got off on manipulating people, and he’d taken Gideon under his wing and done the same, just in a different way. When she’d broken things off with Shawn, it had apparently angered Gideon just as much as it had her ex. They’d both taken her rejection as a personal affront. It didn’t make a lot of sense, but nothing about Shawn or Gideon did.

Carly scooted farther up on the rock and did her best to hobble to a flatter part of the island. It was excruciating to walk on the sharp rocks in her bare feet, but the alternative was her death, so she sucked it up and did what she needed to. The amount of bird crap was almost impressive. The stench, though, left a lot to be desired.

She was extremely thirsty, in pain, stuck on Bird Shit Island…but she was alive. Things could be far worse.

Carly settled down on a spot that seemed to have a little less bird crap than the rocks around it and hugged her knees to her chest. She didn’t care how long she had to sit here, she wasn’t going to die. No way. Not after everything she’d been through.

Kenna and the rest of the women were probably completely freaked out. Then her thoughts turned to Jag…and she almost cried. He was probably going out of his mind with worry. He’d move heaven and earth to find her. He and his team. She had no doubt they’d figure out what happened. She imagined their apartment being a kind of central hub for the search. The guys would all be stone-faced, concentrating on their phones and computers.

They’d track her movements. Alani would tell them that she’d been at Duke’s and had picked up the produce to bring to Food For All. They’d figure out that she never did drop off the food, and they’d find her car in the parking garage…but then what? How would they know Gideon was the one who took her? And how would they know he took her out on a boat?

Panic nearly overwhelmed her, but Carly shook her head. No, she had to stay positive. Jag was smart. One of the smartest men she knew. He and his teammates would find her. She just had to be patient.

Her mind strayed to what had happened to Jag when he was a kid. He must have been so terrified and confused every time his babysitter came over. But he ultimately didn’t give up. He’d been so strong, and Carly wanted to be just like him. Make him proud of her. And in order to do that, she had to stay alert so if a boat did go by, she could get their attention and get back to Jag.