Page 7 of SEAL's Target

And then she’d been free, sliding into the dark night and the waiting arms of first responders.

She shook her head, pulling into traffic as the memories continued to churn. Wyatt had found her later that night, too. He’d come to make sure she was okay. She’d been in pain from her broken arm, and for some reason the big, gruff man had sought her out amongst the hundreds of people there.

This was just too much though. Seeing Wyatt here in Hawaii was impossible. It went against any sort of logic. Of course, men like him deployed around the world, but he wasn’t staging a rescue or fighting terrorists. He was grocery shopping like he lived here. She knew there were military servicemembers stationed in Pearl Harbor, but the men who’d rescued her all those months ago were from Coronado. She was sure of it.

Callie shrieked as her cell phone buzzed and then let out a shaky breath, mentally chastising herself. She was way too paranoid these days. It’s not like Wyatt was calling her up. He’d probably forgotten all about her after that day. Just because she’d seen his lookalike in the parking lot didn’t mean he’d remembered her, found her number, and called her out of the blue.

She pushed the button on the dashboard to answer the call. “Hey.”

“Hey girl!” her neighbor turned friend Alexa said. “Want to grab dinner tonight?”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah. I finished up my wedding early. It was just a small, intimate ceremony on the beach—no big reception afterward. I photographed the wedding and got some amazing pictures of the bride and groom, but I’m free. So, what do you say?”

Callie glanced in the rearview mirror at the disappearing parking lot. The moment was already behind her, and even if that had been Wyatt, it was too late to do anything about it. He’d be in his SUV and gone. She didn’t even know his last name. What would she say anyway—hey, thanks for saving my life? I’m haunted every night by the assholes who shoved me into the cockpit and broke my arm, but hope you’re doing well?

She clenched her jaw, trying to tamp down those thoughts. She was safe. She’d escaped.

“Callie?” Alexa asked.

“I’m here. Dinner? Sure. I need to swing by my apartment and drop off my groceries first. Where do you want to go?”

“I’m dying for the mahi-mahi at Coconuts.”

Callie huffed out a laugh. She wasn’t so sure if Alexa was dying for the mahi-mahi or the cute bartender she liked to flirt with there. He seemed harmless enough, showing no interest in Callie, so she went along with it. Alexa had been a good friend since Callie had moved to Honolulu. She was fun but low-key, living a laid-back life photographing weddings. There were certainly an abundance of locals and vacationers alike who liked to tie the knot in a tropical setting, and Alexa was crazy talented. Callie had told her about the hijacking, and as far as Alexa knew, Callie was here in the islands for a fresh start.

She never dared mention that someone was looking for her. That she’d never be safe.

“It’s just the mahi-mahi you want, huh?” Callie teased.

“Well, I could be persuaded to order a Mai Tai. While sitting at the bar.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’m just going to ask him out,” Alexa decided. “I know he probably flirts with everyone, but there’s no reason to dance around it anymore.”

“If you say so,” Callie said, biting back a grin.

Alexa let out a sigh. “I know. I said I was playing hard to get. He’s not really getting it though. Men are dense.”

“Well, you’re certainly right about that,” Callie said, flicking on her turn signal and pulling into her apartment complex. Palm trees swayed in the breeze, and she smiled despite herself. While she didn’t love that she was essentially hiding out in Hawaii, giving up her travels around the world and somewhat nomadic lifestyle, she had to admit, there were plenty of worse places to spend her time. Every now and then she felt like her old self—carefree, adventurous, safe. If she pretended hard enough, she could imagine she gave up her career by choice. No one could find her if she kept her head down, staying offline.

Callie resisted the urge to shudder. She had no idea who the mystery person was anyway or why they’d sought her out. “What time to you want to meet? Seven-ish?” she asked.

“Sounds perfect. I need to change into something sexier. You know he works Thursdays.”

“Why else would we go there tonight?” Callie said without missing a beat. “I’ll probably change, too. See you soon!” She pushed the end button and pulled into a parking space, feeling somewhat surprised. She’d managed to drive all the way home without being paranoid. Not that anyone would be following her here. Who would even think to look for her in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? She was a travel blogger. She traveled. Staying in one place wasn’t her game, which was exactly why this was the safest thing for her to do. She might’ve gone dark on all her social media channels, but the pictures and information was still floating around out there on the Internet. Hopefully her followers assumed she was simply planning something big—amazing.

Callie bit her lip. Would she ever go back to her old lifestyle?

More and more, memories of the hijacking were coming back—things she’d forgotten in her sheer terror and panic. Things she pushed to the recesses of her mind, so she didn’t have to think of them. Tonight, she’d go out with Alexa and have fun. Forget about her troubles. And tomorrow she’d put one foot in front of the other and move forward, just like she’d always done.

Chapter 5

WYATT CHOKED BACK HIS laughter as he finished the swig of his beer. Sawyer was laying it on thick for the tourists in town, trying to persuade two women to come back to his place. They were enjoying his flirtations, batting their eyelashes and beaming at him as they sipped their fruity drinks. Sisters. Wyatt shook his head. Sawyer wasn’t really into threesomes, but he seemed to enjoy teasing the two women about one.

“We don’t have vacation flings,” one said with a saucy smile.

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