Page 26 of Stranded with a SEAL

“A while back Mason and Hunter were on R&R in London. We were on our way back from an op, but those two took some time off”

“Oh, that’s how Hunter meant Emma, isn’t it? I met them a few weeks ago at that beach bonfire. I think she mentioned meeting him in London.”

“Right, she would’ve been there. I didn’t make it to that one, because I definitely would’ve remembered you.”

Bailey felt warmth rising within her. It was flattering to know he’d have remembered her. Not that it mattered. She’d have flirted with him then, maybe. But she wouldn’t have dated him. Just like she wouldn’t now.

They were friends.

Closer than they were before having been stranded in the ocean together. But still friends and nothing more.

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” she teased.

“So anyway, they were in London when they ran into Emma in a pub. They were just supposed to be enjoying a few days of time off. It ended up that she had terrorists chasing after her. She’d gotten some papers on an archeological dig that belonged to them. They’d tracked her back to her flat in London.”

“Holy crap. And Hunter and Mason helped rescue her?”

“Yep. It wasn’t exactly a relaxing vacation. They were on the run and then came back to the States.”

“And Taylor was just kidnapped last month,” Bailey said, thinking of her own best friend’s ordeal. “How about the rest of the guys on your team? Did they have any strange situations with their girlfriends?”

“Colton met Camila down in Bogota. Her father was a cartel leader.”

“Oh my God. Really? I mean, I knew she was from Colombia because of her accent, but wow. I can’t say I expected that.”

“Yep. She was kidnapped by a rival cartel. After we rescued her, she ended up moving to the States to be with Colton. And now you’ll have your own adventure to tell—being tossed overboard on a fishing trip, stranded with me in the middle of the ocean.”

“I would’ve been happy with no story, to be honest.” She glanced at the island, which still seemed so far away. “Do you think we’re any closer?”

“Getting there,” he assured her. “It’s got to be just over a half mile now.”

“And we still haven’t seen anyone,” she lamented. “No boats, no helicopters. No sign of Mason and Taylor.”

“They’ll start at our last known location and then spread out. Typically they’d use a grid approach to thoroughly search the entire area. The good news is that when we’re on land, we’ll be able to signal them more easily. Hopefully we can light a big bonfire if we can find enough dry wood or materials. And we still have the flares in my bag. The second we see a helicopter, we’ll shoot one off.”

“I’m scared, Noah.”

“I know,” he said, looking back over his shoulder. “But you don’t need to be. I have supplies for us to get through a few days.”

“A few days?” she asked in shock.

“They should find us long before then,” he assured her. “But if they don’t for whatever reason, we’ll be okay. I’ll take care of you, sunshine.”

She nodded, swallowing. None of this adventure was what she’d signed up for.

Chapter 10

Noah kicked through the water, relief coursing through him. Ten more minutes, and they’d be on the island. He’d have Bailey on dry land.

It was harder swimming with her holding onto the back of his waist, but he wasn’t about to risk losing her in the middle of the Atlantic. Even with her life vest on, he didn’t want them separated. They’d come too far for her to be swept away now.

He gripped his backpack more tightly in his other hand.

His muscles burned from pushing harder for the last stretch. He didn’t want to worry Bailey, but he had a feeling they were a couple of miles from where the boat had been. They hadn’t seen this island when they’d left on their fishing trip this morning. And there were lots of small islands scattered throughout the area.

Logically, the Coast Guard would start searching near where they’d gone overboard.

“We’re almost there, sunshine,” he said, glancing back at Bailey.

---