Taming the SEAL

Chapter 9

Grant stepped out of the elevator only to be nearly tackled by Hannah and Lacey.

"What have you done with Monica?"

"What are you talking about?" His confusion was laced with worry.

"One night with you and she's gone AWOL."

"Wait, slow down. What do mean Monica is missing?" No need to panic. They're overreacting. "She's probably just asleep in your room and you missed her."

Hannah shook her head slowly. "Uh-uh. She was supposed to meet us for breakfast only she never showed."

Grant kept his face carefully blank as warning bells went off in the back of his mind. His training had taught him to never jump to conclusions. And dozens of military ops had skilled him in knowing when to trust your gut.

"Come on." He punched the button on the elevator. His phone wasn't registering any calls or messages. Damn. He punched in Tim's number.

"What are we doing?" Lacey demanded.

"To find Monica, retrace her steps."

"Tim here."

"What's your location?" He ignored the suspicious look Hannah was drilling into his forehead.

"Julian's favorite little diner."

Damn. He was hoping Misty would have kept the man busy this morning. "I need you to get Marino back to the room ASAP."

"What's going on?" Tim's easy tone immediately hard.

"My lead from last night seems to have gone missing." He was positive if looks could kill then Hannah would have nailed him to the elevator floor right there.

"And why do you think . . ."

"Call it a hunch." He listened as there was a bit of shuffling on the other end of the line.

"Got it. We're rolling out. Meet you back at the room."

Grant slipped the phone in his suit jacket pocket.

"Your LEAD from last night?" Hannah yelled as the doors to the elevator slid open. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He appreciated her indignation on behalf of her friend but now was not the time. "Which way is your room?"

"To the right." Lacey chirped.

A glance at the floor sent a chill through his body. "Shit." He scooped up the familiar sweater and the phone lying in the hall. Well, so much for tracing her whereabouts though her phone. His gut tightened. Carlisle. They were being followed all this time and didn't suspect a thing.

"You're right. Monica's not here." He grabbed both women by the arms and turned towards the elevator. "And you're not safe out here in the open."

"What? Where are we going?" Lacey pummeled him with questions as Hannah struggled to keep up.

Grant knew he should slow down but time was vital to getting Monica back. She had left his room two hours ago. That was a long head start.

The women continued their questions the entire way up to the penthouse. Grant flipped through Monica's phone hoping for some sort of clue. You honestly think she just snapped a picture of her kidnappers and they left her phone? Keep dreaming man.

He strode through the metal doors, not waiting for them to fully open. The rapid staccato of high heels on the ceramic floor assured him the women were following close behind.

Sam and Carl are standing guard outside the large double doors.

"Where the hell have you been?" Sam barked. "And why are they here?"

Grant clenched his fist as the short, scrawny grease ball marched towards them. It would feel damn good to knock that smile off his face. Not productive, man. "They're under our protection until we find their friend."

"Says who?"

Grant shot him a look that had reduced grown men to tears. "Me."

Sam stepped back, his hands raised in surrender.

He switched his gaze to Carl. "Anything?"

"You won't like it."

"Ransom demand?" I'll pay it if Marino won't.

"No." He nudged a thumb towards the door.

Grant's heart slammed against his ribs. Carl usually just laid everything out on the table, no filter. "Ladies, stay here."

"With him?" Hannah wrinkled her nose at Sam.

"We'll behave." Lacey's soft voice reached through the haze in his mind.

The scene inside the suite only intensified the familiar fear eating at his gut. Tim was pacing the length of the living room arguing with Marino. Arguing was better than the alternative. He had always considered arguing to be terror thinly laced with hope. It was silence that was the true voice. Silence spoke of horrors that could no longer be fixed or repaired. It left only a hollow void that ached to be filled.

He knew what that void felt like. He had lost men before. No man or woman on active duty had escaped the horror of losing a member of their team, their family. But what he felt right now, this was a different level of helplessness. Monica hadn't chosen to put herself in harm's way. She was a small town girl that lived a quiet life and who ended up in the arms of the wrong man.

"What's the commotion about?" Grant folded his arms across his chest and planted his feet apart. Whatever was coming, he wanted to be prepared.

"Carlisle sent me a photo of that Lucas woman." Marino tossed him the phone. "And this fool," he gestured to a stone-faced Tim, "thinks I should beg for her release. That I should even offer to pay the man to release her."

Grant caught the phone and clicked the text messages. "So there isn't a ransom demand?"

Is she as disposable as Victoria was?

Monica's head was limp against her chest. Her right eye was purple and swollen.

He gripped the phone so hard that a crack formed under his hand. There was no ransom demand, no message on how to get her back.

"Look, I feel sorry for the young woman, but it's not my problem."

Grant closed his eyes, channeling his burning rage into the tightest ball possible. Killing the man wouldn't bring Monica back. He needed Marino's cooperation.

"If you don't respond then he'll kill her."

A red haze settled over his eyes as Marino shrugged his shoulders. "She will probably be better off."

Grant stepped forward, fully intending to rearrange the man's square jaw. Tim jumped in.

"What my buddy here is trying to say is that if you don't respond then Carlisle will continue looking for another way to get to you. You will always be looking over your shoulder and if word gets out about the man's need to torture or kill your female companions, well . . . I would imagine that would sorely hamper your ability to get new bedmates."

"Well when you put it like that." Marino stood and adjusted his jacket. "Who knew one woman would be so much trouble?"

Grant was already searching his phone for the number to the hotel security office. "It's not her fault."

"I'm talking about Victoria."

Tossing the other phone to Tim, he clicked the number on his own screen.

"See if Colin can find out where this photo came from. And let me know if any more are sent." He moved to the door.

"What are you going to do?"

"Make a visit to the security office and hope whoever took Monica left their ugly mugshots on camera."