Finding Kenna (SEAL Team Hawaii #3)(90)

As pissed as Aleck was, he was proud of Kenna. She hadn’t panicked. Hadn’t done anything rash. Was staying reasonably calm under the circumstance, probably waiting to see how he would get her out of this.

The bitch of it was—Aleck had no idea. Shawn had the upper hand.

The second Aleck stepped onto the beach after leaving the shelter of the restaurant, he was soaked to the bone. If the situation hadn’t been so precarious, he might’ve been awed by the power of the storm currently raging around them. The normally calm and serene Waikiki Beach was anything but. The ocean surged and frothed angrily. While the waves weren’t quite North Shore worthy, they were as high as anything Aleck had ever seen on this side of the island.

It was the one thing working in his favor. The storm might hinder any quick escape Shawn had planned.

Jag and Pid hadn’t gone far when they’d exited the bar. He knew they were at his back as he stalked his target. But Aleck had no idea what they could do to help mitigate the situation. There was no place for them to hide on the beach; Shawn would see every move they made. His mind raced as he attempted to come up with some sort of plan, but at the moment, all he could do was wait for Shawn to hopefully screw up—and not start shooting again.

Shawn and Kenna were about thirty feet in front of him. Aleck was scared to get any closer. Scared Shawn would hurt Kenna.

“Let her go!” Aleck yelled, making himself heard over the howling wind.

“Fuck you!” Shawn shouted back, dragging Kenna as he shot off another round.

Aleck felt the bullet graze his leg, but he didn’t even stumble. He wasn’t going to die here. No fucking way. Not after all he’d seen and done in his lifetime. He’d faced down some of the worst terrorists the world had ever seen. Men and women who held no respect for human life. He’d been beaten and tortured, hiked for miles and miles through every type of terrain, had gone a week without eating…had even been shot before.

No, this asshole wasn’t taking him down—not when this was the most important mission of his life. Keeping the woman he loved safe. He hadn’t found Kenna, only to lose her now.

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t survive it.

Shawn was backing into the water—and dread swamped Aleck. The crazy asshole knew how little it would take to set off the bomb. Why was he risking going into the rolling waves and possibly losing his balance?

Nothing the man was doing made sense.

“Easy,” he muttered, more to himself than to the insane man in front of him.

“You want me? Come at me, asshole!” Shawn yelled. “You won’t take me alive, and if I’m dead, so is this bitch!”

Aleck heard more people now. The police had finally arrived. When they didn’t immediately begin shouting at Shawn, or threatening to shoot him, he knew they’d been briefed on the situation. Probably by either Jag or Pid, who were still somewhere behind him.

“Stand back now, sir,” the closest officer said. “We’ve got this.”

But Aleck didn’t retreat; instead, he took a step closer to the water. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, fighting with the anger and frustration, urging him to act. To rush toward the woman he loved and snatch her away from danger. But he couldn’t do anything, not without possibly hurting or killing her.

He wasn’t in a position to help Kenna.

He’d never felt more helpless in his life.

Sheets of rain were still coming down from the sky with a vengeance, as if Mother Nature herself was pissed off on his behalf.

Shawn looked behind him at the ocean again, and Aleck realized he was searching for a boat. That was his escape plan. Either his partner was late or he’d capsized in the storm. Aleck couldn’t help but hope it was the latter. It was a bloodthirsty thought, but anyone who was in cahoots with Shawn, who’d planned to help him kidnap an innocent woman, deserved to die.

Pain and regret filled Aleck as he watched Kenna struggle in Shawn’s grasp. What use was all his SEAL training if he couldn’t employ those skills when he desperately needed them most—to save the woman who meant more to him than anyone else on the planet?





Kenna wasn’t as calm as she seemed on the outside. In her head, she was screaming bloody murder. But letting Shawn see how petrified she was wouldn’t help her or the situation.

She kept her eyes on Marshall, mourning everything they’d never have a chance to do…

Shaking her head, Kenna banished any defeatist thoughts. She wasn’t dead yet. Neither was Marshall. If anyone could get her out of this, it was him.

But even from a distance, through pounding rain, she could see the fear and frustration on his face.

Marshall and his teammates couldn’t risk charging them. The bomb would definitely go off, killing them all in the process.

Shawn backed them right into the surf, and Kenna frowned in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Shut up,” Shawn said.

But she ignored him. “Are you going to swim away? That’s insane! You’d be killed. This storm is unlike anything I’ve ever seen and—”

“I said, shut the fuck up!” he snarled. “I’ve got a plan. We’re getting out of here, gonna have some fun together. When Carly’s delivered to me, you’re dead. And I’ll make sure that bitch knows she’s the reason. My word is law. She’ll regret even trying to break up with me…”