Protected by a SEAL: Hot SEALs (Volume 5) (11 page)

It might just work—to get her out of the building at least. One question remained. “Then what?”

“My car is parked right outside.” Darci held up the keys. “You get in and drive down the block. Turn right at the first light. Rick will be waiting there for you.”

“How will he get out of the building without being spotted?”

“He should have already left by now. He and Brody were going to leave here together and hop into Brody’s truck. He figures anyone looking will think they ran out for food or whatever. Then they’d wait around to see when you come out.”

“But I never will because I’ll be already gone.” Sierra could see how this plan might just work. “What about you?”

“I’ll just walk out. I’m in different clothes that I carried in, inside the bag.” Darci pulled the rubber band out of her hair and it cascaded to her shoulders. “No one will think anything of it. I could be an employee who’s been inside working for hours. I’m going to take Rick’s truck home since you two will have my car for the foreseeable future.”

Foreseeable future? “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know. Rick wouldn’t tell me. As if I would ever tell anyone. Whatever.” Darci rolled her eyes.

Sierra had to smile feeling a kinship with this woman who found Rick as frustrating as she did. “Thank you for helping me.”

Darci dismissed the thanks with a wave of one hand. “It was nothing. I’m happy to help.”

“Seriously. If there’s anything I can ever do for you.”

The young blonde smiled. “An autograph when you’re back and safe would be great.”

Sierra laughed. “I can probably do a little better than that but okay, you got it.”

Hell, if GAPS actually managed to find this crazy stalker who Rick believed was shooting at her today, she’d get them all tickets for the red carpet for the movie release.

These guys probably looked pretty good in tuxedos—if they could find any that fit. Roger would eat that up.

She smiled at that thought as she moved into one of the stalls to get changed in private in case anyone else came into the bathroom.

CHAPTER 13

“What are you doing?”

Sierra glanced up and saw Rick’s eyes wide. “I’m checking the posts on my Fan Page on Facebook.”

She had to hold on to the door’s armrest as Rick hit the breaks and swerved the car onto the shoulder of the highway, bringing it to a stop and rocking Sierra forward.

As he let out a string of curses that might make a less worldly woman blush, she asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Your phone’s not off?”

“No.” She held it up for him to see the display.

More cusses followed as he extended his hand and said, “Give it.”

“What? No.” Frowning, she pulled the phone away and out of range of his grasp. “And nice language. Do you talk that way to your mother and sister?”

“If either one of them were putting our lives in jeopardy by doing something stupid, yeah, I sure as hell would.” His nostrils flared with each fast breath. His eyes looked hard and angry beneath brows that were drawn low.

This guy was more dramatic than she was and she was the one who was an actor. “How is checking Facebook putting our lives in jeopardy?”

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Sierra, there could be a tracker on your phone.”

“How would they have gotten access to my phone?”

“How did they get access to the inside of your trailer? And your hotel room?” He cocked up one sandy brow. “And with today’s technology, they won’t even need access to your device. They can track your location by which cell towers the signal is bouncing off.”

Her eyes widened as she wondered if what he said was true.

She stared down at the phone in her hand, seeing it in a whole new light now that it might be a way for someone to spy on her. She was getting pretty tired of having her privacy invaded by whoever this nutcase stalker was.

“So what do I do?”

“Turn it off. Just power it down for now. When we stop somewhere, I’ll take it apart. Remove the chip and the battery. Then we’ll be certain there’s no way anyone can track it.”

“Okay.” She powered down the phone, to Rick’s obvious relief.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The idea of him dismantling her phone wasn’t exactly appealing, but there was a newer version out and it came in a new color. She’d been meaning to upgrade anyway. And if he broke it, she’d have something to hold over him until they parted ways, for however long that was.

That raised another question. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“Someplace safe.” He checked the side mirror and pulled back onto the highway now that his panic over her cell phone was over.

“You won’t even tell me?” Jeez. She knew he hadn’t told Darci, but keeping it secret from her seemed really ridiculous. Unless he blindfolded her she’d know where they were.

“Would it make a difference if you knew?” He shot her a sideways glance.

Not really. Rick was behind the wheel speeding somewhere. He was in the driver’s seat both literally and figuratively. She had to go with him, a slave to his whim, but that wasn’t the point. She wanted to know where they were going.

“Yes, it will make a difference.”

“Fine. We’re heading for North Carolina.”

“North Carolina? Why?”

“Because the Outer Banks is a tourist destination. No one will think twice of a couple of people coming or going, or keeping to themselves. And mostly because we were able to rent a cottage on short notice. Three bedrooms at the beach and only two hundred bucks a night.“ He grinned at her, looking very smug about his bargain shopping.

“Two hundred a night total? For a three bedroom house at the beach?”

“Yup.” He looked singularly pleased with himself. “But don’t expect the Taj Mahal. The owner referred to it as a surf shack in the ad.”

A shack?
The price made much more sense now. She frowned at their destination and what would be her accommodations for the foreseeable future. “Are we on that tight of a budget? Aren’t you billing me for all your expenses, including this beach shack?”

“I’m sure Jon is, but accounting isn’t my department. We’re going there because no one would expect Sierra Cox to be staying in an inexpensive cottage on Ocracoke Island.” 

“No doubt. And that’s a terrible name, by the way. Ocracoke.”

Brow cocked, he shot her a sideways glance. “I’ll be sure to inform the chamber of commerce when we arrive.”

“Is it beach front, at least?”

“Yes, princess. It is beach front.” He rolled his eyes.

“Don’t call me princess.”

“Don’t act like one and I won’t.” He didn’t even bother glancing her direction as he issued that directive.

She didn’t have a suitable retort so she chose the silent treatment.

That plan worked for about five miles of highway, before she had more questions. Holding them in until he talked first became impossible. Finally, Sierra asked, “Does Roger know where we’re going?”

“No.”

“No? Why not?”

“We don’t know who to trust right now.”

“Not even Roger? Are you crazy? You really think he had anything to do with those photos or the bug in my room?”

“I don’t know. He certainly had access.”

“Okay, even if he did, you can’t believe he took a shot at you today. If anyone actually did shoot at you at all.”

“You don’t believe me?” His eyes widened as he turned to glare at her.

“Keep your eyes on the road, please.”

“I know how to multitask. And I damn well know when a bullet comes within an inch of my face. Don’t have any doubt about that. I’ve been shot at enough.”

She would have asked how and why he’d been shot at so much, but she was too flabbergasted he suspected her manager. Her closest friend. And the nearest person she had to family for years now.

“No. I won’t believe it’s Roger.”

“That’s fine. You don’t have to. We’re still playing this cautiously. He’s been told you’re safe but there’s no need for him to know where you are. Until we catch this guy, and as long as I’m in charge, we’re not taking any chances.”

It must be a very nerve wracking existence to live in a constant state of paranoia. Sierra didn’t trust many people, other than Roger, but she didn’t actively go around distrusting everyone either. Unlike Mr. Tough guy here.

“Do you trust anyone at all?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Sierra didn’t believe him. She twisted in her seat so she could face him without turning her neck. “Oh really? Who?”

“My teammates. Every one of them would kill or die for me.”

That was certainly a dramatic statement. “You say that but you don’t know that for sure.”

He leveled a stare at her. “Yes, I do.”

The low, ominous tone in his voice and the flat stare of his eyes had her feeling uncomfortable. Who the hell were these guys?

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“You didn’t. It’s just the way things are. I know they have my six no matter what. Even guys you don’t like very much you’d do anything to protect and you trust them to do the same for you.” He shrugged. “And then there’s my sister. I trust her.”

Sierra let out a burst of air. “Now I know you’re lying. You wouldn’t even tell her where we were going.”

He shot her a sideways glance. “I’d trust her with my life, not with yours. There’s a difference. And besides, it’s safer if she doesn’t know where we are. Someone is after you, and I’m not sure they’d stop at hurting others to get to you. Yes, Darci drives me nuts most days, but we’re family. I know when push came to shove she’d be there for me. You can always trust blood.”

No, you can’t.
She knew that very well. She’d paid the price, in money and a piece of her soul.

“I don’t have anyone like that.”

“What? No family?” He glanced at her.

She snorted. “Family, yes. Family I trust. No.”

Not as far as she could throw them.

“Well, I’m sorry for that. That’s a sad way to live.”

She bristled at his pity and settled into an unhappy silence, until Rick reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone.

After he had yelled at her about her cell, he had one of his own?

Rick answered the call. “Hey, what’s the sit rep?”

Sierra watched open mouthed. “You have a phone?”

When Rick shushed her and continued with his phone conversation, she nearly crawled out of her skin. Waiting for him to hang up only served to ramp up her already high blood pressure.

Of all the gall. To lecture her about her cell. Make her power it off. Tell her he was going to dismantle her six hundred dollar phone. And he was talking on his?

“Yes, princess? You were saying.”

She grit her teeth. He was provoking her. He didn’t need to. She was already ready to boil over. “You have a cell phone?”

“Burner phones. Brand new. Untraceable. Jon bought one for him, Chris and me on his way to the police station.”

She eyed the phone in his hand critically. He could tell her anything. How would she know if it was true or not?

“I want one too.”

He lifted a brow. “Why? Who are you gonna call?”

“I don’t know.”

“The only way it stays untraceable is if you don’t call anyone’s phone that could be monitored. If we weren’t together, then yes, I’d get you one that you could use just to call me. But I have no intention of leaving your side for the near future. And if I have to leave to go back to my job, Chris is taking over.”

She rolled her eyes. “And after Chris, is it Jon’s turn? Or Zane’s? And wait, what job? Isn’t this your job?”

What else could he be full-time if this was only part-time?

“This isn’t my only job. No. Just one of them. We aren’t all earning six million a year, you know.” He shot her a cocky look that told her he’d seen in the media how much she’d signed for on her next movie and he thought it was ridiculous, before he continued, “And Jon and Zane will be leaving for Africa shortly, so Chris and I will be covering the schedule until whenever the bosses are back in country.”