Page 47 of Summer with a SEAL

He aimed the gun at them, and they quickly filed out of the office in a single line, the two bank tellers leading the way. Jessica trembled as they walked to the vault in the back, knowing the man behind her would be the first person likely shot.

What would happen if they were locked inside a vault? How much air was in there? Would the police be able to get them out if the teller had the key?

A moment later, the heavy metal door swung open, the bank teller stepping aside.

“Inside. All of you!” the man growled. “Stop wasting my goddamn time!”

Shaking, Jessica followed them inside. She still had her cell phone nestled in her pocket, but would it even work locked inside the bank vault? Hopefully the mother and children who’d escaped could provide the police with some information.

Her friends didn’t even know where she was though—she hadn’t mentioned she’d be going to the bank. And Jacob? Tears welled in her eyes. She’d broken up with him, never even letting him know how much she cared about him. Never telling him she’d made a mistake. What if she never saw him again? Never felt his muscular arms wrap around her?

She wanted to apologize, to tell him she’d been crazy to call things off. And now?

She choked back a sob.

She might never see him again.

Chapter 20

Jacob strode down the hallway on base, ready to change into his PT gear. Their briefing from their commander had been short and to the point, and he was thankful for that. He was in no mood to sit still. At the moment, he wanted to punch out his frustration sparring with one of his buddies or run a few laps around base, getting rid of some of his pent-up energy. Anything was better than sitting in the bullpen, listening to their CO, when he wanted to get up and move.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see an alert from security on base.

City-wide alert. Robbery in progress at the Virginia Beach Bank on 57thstreet. Stay away from the area.

Jacob frowned, his gut churning. They’d gotten the alert last weekend about the robbery of a woman at an ATM and hadn’t heard any updates since. Could this be the same culprit?

“Hell,” Hunter said, falling into step beside him. “Did you see that alert? Another damn robbery. I’m going to have to tell Emma not to go to the bank alone for a while.”

“Seriously,” Jacob said. “If it’s the same dude, I guess he stepped it up a notch from simply robbing a woman at an ATM.”

Ryker followed behind them, and the three men went into the locker room. “You gotta be desperate to pull a stunt like that,” Ryker said. “With security cameras at the bank, cell phones, traffic cams, there’s no way you’ll get away unidentified. Even if you’re in a disguise it’s a lost cause.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Jacob said, opening his locker. Worry niggled at the back of his mind, and he almost called Jessica. It seemed crazy since she’d told him she didn’t want to see him anymore, but there was something tugging at the back of his thoughts that he couldn’t ignore.

“What’s wrong?” Hunter asked, eyeing him as he stood there holding his PT gear in one hand.

Jacob shook his head. “Not sure. Just a bad feeling.” He stripped off his uniform shirt and grabbed a tee shirt, pulling it down over his head. His phone buzzed from his locker, and he did a double take as he saw Jessica’s name on the screen.

“Hey. Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice as he answered. “I was just thinking about you.”

Ryker and Hunter’s gazes swept his way, but he turned away from them, staring at the closed lockers around him.

“Jacob,” she said, letting out a small sob.

Instantly he was on full alert. “What’s wrong?” he asked, suddenly all business. “Are you okay?”

“I’m locked in a bank vault,” she said, choking out the words. “A man with a gun locked us in here. I’m scared!”

His heart thumped in his chest as adrenaline began to race through him. “Are you at the bank being robbed?” he asked, his voice steel. “We just got an alert on base about a robbery in progress downtown.”

The others stopped what they were doing as he turned back. Ryker started putting his boots back on, ready to move. Hunter slammed his own locker shut.

“I was standing in line when the guy at the counter pulled out a gun. He let a woman with her two kids go, but I’m locked in the vault with three other people.”

“Is the robber still there?” Jacob asked, his mind racing through a million different possibilities. Were they being held hostage? Locked in there simply to be kept out of the way?

“I guess. We heard sirens coming, so he locked us in here. I don’t know if he could’ve escaped since the police were arriving.”

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