Page 47 of Seduced by a SEAL

She wished she could curl up into a little ball and disappear. There was nothing appealing about being vulnerable in a strange city—not after what had happened only days before.

“Hey there, beautiful!” one of the men who’d jogged by called out as he turned back around, heading over to her.

“I’m not interested,” she muttered, walking back toward the busier part of the strip.

“Do you need to get out of the rain?” he asked. “We’ve got a couple of hotel rooms a block over.” His gaze fell to her chest, and heated embarrassment washed over her.

“I’m not interested,” she repeated, picking up her pace.

“Hey beautiful, don’t be like that,” he said, lightly touching her arm.

She screamed and jumped away from him, watching as he backed away in surprise. “Chill out, lady,” he said.

She trembled, taking another step away from him, and then turned and ran. She didn’t even care where she was headed, as long as it was far away from both of them. Racing toward the first covered area she spotted, she ran into a large parking garage attached to a luxury hotel. She didn’t want to rush into the lobby and make a scene, soaking wet and panicked, but the garage would shelter her from the rain at least while she called Emma.

Rubbing her damp fingers on her soggy dress as she tried to dry them, she swiped the screen on the phone Colton had given her with a trembling hand. Hunter’s name was right at the top as her most recent contact, with Emma’s right below.

She glanced up as a car pulled into the garage, its headlights cutting through the dim light. Hesitating only a second, she scrolled down to Colton’s name.

She froze as she listened to it ring on the other end of the line, debating if she should just hang up altogether. She hadn’t even spoken to him for a few days, when she’d made it clear he’d betrayed her. Her heart pounded in her chest, and just as she almost lost her nerve, Colton answered, his deep voice ricocheting right through her. Doing funny things to her insides. Making her feel warm and safe despite the chill.

“Kitten, are you okay?” he asked. “Hunter said Emma was looking for you. You were supposed to meet up for lunch? Where are you?”

“There were these guys,” she gasped, choking back a sob. “I was on the boardwalk, in the rain. I was walking—” she cut off, taking a deep breath, realizing she wasn’t making any sense.

“What guys?” Colton asked, immediately sounding alert. “Are you okay?”

“They just—they were following me. They wanted me to come back to their hotel to get out of the rain. He touched my arm, and I panicked. Now I’m soaking wet in a parking garage somewhere—I don’t even know where I am. What if they come back?”

“I’ll come get you,” he said immediately. “Are you right by the beach? Did they follow you?”

“No, I got scared and ran away. I’m in a parking garage,” she repeated, looking around as she wiped her eyes. “I ran in here to get out of the rain. I’m not sure where exactly—I think it’s attached to a hotel. I walked and walked after Emma dropped me off—the boardwalk ended, and there were just houses.” Unable to stop herself, she burst into tears.

“Kitten, what’s the name of the hotel? Are you at the north end of the beach?”

“I don’t know,” she gasped, taking in big gulps of air. “I can go look, I guess. I’m scared. I just don’t know what to do.”

“I’ll ping your phone,” Colton said.

“What do you mean?” she asked, taking another deep breath.

“Track your location. We’ve got computer guys on base—should take just a minute or two. I’ll be there in twenty minutes”

“But why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you willing to come? I told you the other day that I didn’t even want to talk to you, no? And now you’re willing to drop everything and come find me?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I want you to be safe, kitten. Hell, if you don’t want to stay with me, I’ll drive you back to Hunter and Emma’s. Drop you off at another team member’s house. Wherever you want to go. Wherever you’d feel safe. But I’m not about to leave you alone and scared.”

“Okay,” she whispered, looking around as a car engine started. “Please hurry.”

That seemed to snap Colton back to attention, because suddenly he was all business again. “I’m on my way, kitten. Don’t move. I’m coming to get you.”

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