Page 43 of SEAL's Secret

“I’ll try calling her,” Hudson said calmly. “Maybe there was an issue at the showing. Do you know the address of her open house?” he asked Emersyn.

She looked distraught. “No. Sorry. We can probably look on her website to see where she is today.”

Hudson exchanged a look with Aaron, muttering under his breath. If someone was looking for Layton, she’d be damn easy to find with her schedule posted online. Hopefully she just got tied up with something and didn’t get a chance to call. Aside from Emersyn watching her daughter, though, she’d known Hudson was coming over. It was hard to believe she wouldn’t get a chance to touch base with either of them.

He tried her cell, but the number rang and rang. “I’ll shoot her a text,” he said.

“Did she say anything about the clients she was expecting today?” Aaron asked. “I guess she wouldn’t know given it’s an open house,” he added as an afterthought.

“I know she thought a client the other day was a little iffy, but his background check was fine,” Hudson remembered.

“He was clear,” Emersyn said. “I thought he could potentially have ties to the drug trade on the island given that he keptasking about how private the property was. She gave me his name, and I checked to make sure we weren’t monitoring him. Layton’s always cautious. I didn’t speak with her for long earlier. Someone kept trying to call her and hanging up this morning. She told me she had to go.”

Hudson’s ears perked up. “Layton mentioned some client of hers in D.C. that was a problem. He kept wanting her to show him the same house repeatedly and was calling even after she moved here.”

“That’s…odd,” Emersyn said.

“You know the guy’s name?” Aaron asked.

“No idea. I think he was part of the reason she changed her work number. She didn’t want to waste time fielding calls from people looking to buy in Virginia.”

Hudson drummed his fingers on the table, agitation growing within him. Something was wrong. He wasn’t sure how he knew, he just did.

Emersyn scrolled through her phone, smiling in triumph. “Here it is. The open house is listed right on Layton’s website. We can go check it out.”

“Why don’t you stay here with Caroline,” Aaron suggested, giving her a kiss on the forehead. “Hudson and I will make sure everything is good.” He looked pointedly at Caroline, clearly not wanting to say more in front of the little girl.

“Yep. We’re on it,” Hudson agreed. He hesitated, unsure what to say to Layton’s daughter.

“We’re fine,” Emersyn said, shooing him away. “Let me know if you guys find her. I’ll keep trying her phone.”

“Roger that,” Hudson quipped, and then he and Aaron were hurrying toward the door.

***

The sound of the door locking felt ominous. Final. The open house sign was still in the front yard, so maybe someone would come by. She had no hope of the homeowners returning since they were out of town for the weekend. Tony Harris still had the gun pointed to her head, his arm wrapped around her.

He’d seemed intrigued as he realized she was pregnant. She had a definite bump that hadn’t been there the last time she’d seen him.

Tony reeked of cigarette smoke and stale sweat, and she wondered how long he’d been wearing these clothes.

“Now that that’s taken care of, let’s discuss the item of mine that you have.”

“What?” she asked in surprise.

He pulled her toward the kitchen, away from the front windows. “When we visited that home in Arlington, I acquired some data—data I hid on your person,” he said in a calculated manner. “Hand over the thumb drive, and we’ll call it a day.”

“What thumb drive?”

“It’s in your large tote bag. Well-hidden, I presume, if you’ve yet to notice it. Is the bag here?” he asked, scanning the area.

“No.”

“It’s at home,” he assessed. When she didn’t answer quickly enough, he chuckled. “We’ll stop and get it.”

“What? No!” she said, trying to pull away.

Tony pressed the gun to her temple again, holding her close. “Maybe I need to remind you who’s in charge here, Ms. O’Connell. I’ve never fucked a pregnant woman before,” he saidthreateningly. “It’d be a shame if your baby got hurt in the process.”

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