SEAL INVESTIGATIONS: A 5-Books SEAL Romance Series Read online

  Yet another bouncer stuck his head outside the door. “What do you want? You got to stand in line like everyone else.”

  “No. I just came from in there,” she insisted. “My friend is missing! Can I talk to a manager or something?”

  “Lady, when people go missing from a club like this it’s because they hooked up and didn’t tell their friends.” He looked purely annoyed now. “Go away. Your friend will turn up tomorrow morning doing the walk of shame and still wearing tonight’s dress.”

  “But…”

  Cassidy never got to finish. The guy slammed the door in her face, and that was that. Turning around, she wrapped her arms around her midsection and tried to think of what she could do. Rachel might be one to make a few bad choices, but this was different. Cassidy knew it was.

  Chapter Two

  Romero would be the first man to say that he loved his fellow SEALs like brothers. However, this bond occasionally came with stuff Romero would file under the heading PAIN IN THE ASS.

  The email he’d gotten this morning was a perfect example. Romero had known Lieutenant Alexander Trapp for years. In fact, Trapp had been Romero’s CO on every overseas deployment Romero had had in the last five years. That was a lot of history. In that time, Romero and the other three guys in his four-man fire team had watched Trapp bail his baby sister out of what seemed like a thousand bad decisions. Rachel had become like a little sister to the whole team. More often than not she was a bratty sister.

  Now Romero was marching up the front walk of Rachel’s apartment building because her roommate swore she was missing. Romero was pretty sure Rachel had shacked up with some loser she’d met at the club. But since Trapp was a fellow SEAL, Romero was willing to indulge him in his worry for his younger sister. Especially since the guy was stuck overseas on the last leg of a long tour in Afghanistan.

  He quickly found the apartment. It was on the second floor near the end of the hallway. The lighting was bad, and Romero wondered what sort of idiot building super didn’t worry about replacing lights when young women were coming and going. He grunted. It wasn’t really his problem.

  Banging on the door, he waited for Rachel’s roommate to answer. He felt twitchy standing there in that hallway with his back exposed to a dark stairwell. Sucking in a deep breath, he shoved his uneasiness into the part of his mind he often labeled “the kill-box”. He needed to be calm and rational because, most likely, the roommate was going to be a basket case.

  The door finally swung open. “Hi. Are you Romero? Trapp said you would be coming by. Thank you so much for being willing to hear me out.”

  Romero found it difficult to breathe. The only word that came to mind was “wow”. Trapp had described Rachel’s roommate as young. He’d failed to mention that she had an athletic body with the sort of curves a man would die for. Then there was her waist-length curly black hair, a set of brilliant blue eyes filled with intelligence, and skin so flawless that she might have been a statue. The woman was hot. She looked like every man’s dream girl come to life, and suddenly Romero realized he’d been standing like a deaf mute in her hallway for more than a few seconds.

  “Won’t you come in?” She took a step back, inviting him into her apartment. “My name is Cassidy, by the way. Cassidy Cross.”

  “Ms. Cross,” Romero murmured as he finally remembered how to walk. Where was all that famed SEAL self-control? At this point he felt like a teenaged boy with his first crush. “Thank you.”

  “No, really, I can’t thank you enough for coming.” Cassidy shut the door behind him. “Nobody will believe me.”

  Romero shut down his libido and slammed the lid on all of the totally inappropriate feelings he was experiencing. Cassidy was very obviously not the type to overreact. She looked worried, but not frantic or panicky. In fact, she seemed a very practical woman.

  She perched on the edge of an overstuffed chair and waved vaguely at the sofa. “Please have a seat. Can I get you a drink?”

  He sat, but waved off the offer of hospitality. “No, thank you. Could you just tell me what happened the last time you saw Rachel?”

  “It was two nights ago now.” Cassidy’s pupils dilated, and Romero could tell she was deeply worried for Rachel. “Rachel insisted on going to this club. It’s a place in downtown Richmond called Upswing. I’m not much of a party girl. I don’t go out much.” She seemed embarrassed about that. Romero cracked what he hoped was an encouraging smile to urge her to continue. She gave a little shudder. “Finally she convinced me I was being a bad friend for refusing to be her buddy and keep her from doing something stupid, like going home with a stranger.” Cassidy offered a wry grin. “A fat lot of good that did, right?”

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Romero said gruffly. “Rachel was always a wild one.”

  “I know, but she’d been trying to make better choices. That’s why I was so surprised when we got separated on the dance floor.” Cassidy’s tone became almost monotone as she recited the events from her memory.

  CASSIDY WAS RATHER surprised that she could remember her own name, let alone what had happened two nights ago at Upswing. When Rachel’s big brother Alex had said he was sending one of his SEAL buddies to help, Cassidy had pictured some grizzled veteran with nothing better to do during his retirement.

  Romero was definitely not a grizzled veteran. The man was so sexy he should be required by law to wear a warning label. His obvious Latino heritage gave his skin a warm brown hue that complemented his short black hair and deep brown eyes. His shoulders were broad, but tapered down to a narrow waist and long legs. Even through the layers of denim and cotton she could tell that he was packed with muscle. And his voice! She could have listened to those dulcet tones all day long. Or all night long, as her long-dormant libido was suggesting.

  In fact, she was having a little trouble trying to decide exactly what was going on below her waist. Just having him in her apartment made her feel all warm and melted inside. He exuded safety and certainty like some kind of pheromone. It was intoxicating!

  Now what had she been talking about? Oh yes, Rachel! That was why Romero was here. Cassidy needed to get her head out of the clouds and stop acting like a lovesick teenaged girl.

  “Like I said,” Cassidy managed to say. “Rachel and I got separated on the floor. There were so many people. It was like being in a meat grinder or something. I hate crowds like that. They’re awful! So I spent all my time trying to find Rachel, but it was like she was in the ocean and the sea just kept moving her farther away.”

  Romero nodded, his dark gaze unflinching as he listened like a man who truly heard everything that was said and everything that was not.

  Cassidy sighed. “The next thing I knew, I spotted Rachel being led away from the dance floor by some strange guy. She was looking right at me. So I know she saw me. Then she pointed at the guy and waved her hand in front of her face like she wanted to tell me he was the best thing since sliced bread.”

  “Where were they going?” Romero asked gently.

  “To a lounge marked VIP.”

  He cocked his head with obvious curiosity. “Did you go after her?”

  “As best I could. Yes.” For some reason it was really important to her that Romero didn’t think she was some empty-headed moron. “I managed to convince the bouncer to let me in. I checked over all the groups and couples in the room, but she wasn’t there. I even asked the bartender if she’d left out the back, but he said no.” She paused, recalling the bartender’s almost odd behavior.

  “What were you thinking about right then?” Romero asked suddenly. “Just now. Your expression tells me that it was significant.”

  “Oh, I don’t know that. It was just odd.” She thought about the short conversation with the bartender. “The bartender seemed to want to avoid me pretty badly after he found out what I was up to. It seemed weird. That’s all.”

  “Do you remember what the guy looked like?” Romero asked.

  “The bartender?”
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  He chuckled. The sound was low and enticing. Cassidy felt her belly tighten in response. She tried to brush off her instant physical attraction to this man. That wasn’t what was supposed to be happening here.

  “No,” Romero clarified. “I meant the man that Rachel disappeared with.”

  “Oh. No. I didn’t really get a close look.” She shrugged. “Sorry.”

  “Sometimes our minds can recall things that we saw, even if we didn’t focus on them specifically. It just takes some work.” Romero reached out very gently and brushed her knee with his fingers. “Will you try something for me?”

  She could hardly breathe, let alone respond. His touch was absolutely electric. She wondered instantly if he felt it too, or if it was just her. Finally she managed to nod. “I’ll try.”

  “Thank you,” he murmured. “Close your eyes for me, Cassidy.”

  She let her eyelids flutter closed, almost wishing that he would lean forward and barely brush his lips over hers, which was insane. Rachel was missing! This was no time for Cassidy to be salivating over Rachel’s brother’s military buddy. It was time to be serious.

  “All right.” Cassidy was determined to stay on track. “What should I do?”

  “Picture in your head that scene when you last saw Rachel. Think of everything. Remember how crowded it was, and how hot, and how much you really wanted to get out of there. Remember all the people, and what it felt like to push your way past them while trying to get to Rachel.”

  “All right.” The words barely slipped past her lips. In her mind she was right back at the Upswing. She had just seen Rachel. She was jumping up and down trying to see details. Now she just looked for a few more.

  “What do you see?” he asked softly.

  “A man with black hair. I think he’s Asian. Yes. I can see his face. He’s tall though. Taller than Rachel, maybe your height? He’s leading her into the VIP lounge. He has on black leather. Like head to toe biker clothes or something. And his ears are pierced. No. Not pierced. He has gauges in his ears. Oh! He’s got a tattoo. Some Chinese character on the back of his neck.”

  “Perfect, Cassidy,” Romero said in a soothing voice. “That was awesome. You gave me a lot to go on.”

  “You?” Cassidy frowned at him. Surely he didn’t think she was just going to give up? “Don’t you mean us? I want to help. I’m worried about Rachel. If I don’t do something proactive, I’ll just go nuts.”

  Romero looked startled. “I don’t need help.”

  “Yes. You do,” Cassidy said primly. “You don’t know where the club is, or where she was inside the club. You need me. “

  He started to argue, and then seemed to rethink his protest. “All right. Fine. I need your help. But let me make a few things clear.”

  “That’s fair. What do I need to know?”

  His lifted his chin, suddenly appearing a little more arrogant and in control of himself. “I’m in charge. What I say goes. And if I tell you to go home. You go.”

  “Wow.” Cassidy wondered if her apartment needed to be fumigated for testosterone overload. “You’re a regular Neanderthal, aren’t you?”

  “Only when I need to be,” he grunted. “And really I’m just a SEAL, ma’am.”

  Nice. She’d just signed up to work with Mr. Bossy Pants. He might be hot, but she had a feeling he was a pain in the butt.

  Chapter Three

  “So what now, oh mister high and mighty mission leader?” Cassidy said with thinly veiled sarcasm.

  Romero had been on a lot of ops with a lot of different guys. He’d even worked with some women in the field. He had never encountered someone who could make him want to kill her one minute, and tuck her into his pocket the next. Being with Cassidy was like stepping onto a carnival ride he could not get off of.

  “Well?” she prodded.

  Romero remained silent, studying the building where the club was located. It was before opening, of course. It was early afternoon, and the whole street looked sleepy. Romero studied the surrounding areas for telltale signs of drug houses, or other rough elements that might be using the club as a hunting ground of sorts. If they accepted the idea that Rachel had gone missing and wasn’t just sleeping off a bad night on some guy’s couch, they needed to cover all the angles.

  “Well…”

  She never got a chance to finish. Romero held up his hand and pinched his fingers together to mime closing a mouth. “Enough. I realize that I pissed you off earlier. You made it clear. All right?”

  Her eyebrows lifted as though she were surprised by his admission. “I am slightly mollified by this explanation. Thank you.”

  He hid his smile, because that would have likely made things worse. “You’re welcome.”

  “This is wrong.”

  Romero raised an eyebrow, turning to stare at her. “What’s wrong?”

  Cassidy was staring at the club itself. Her beautiful face was set in a thoughtful expression. “I mean that the whole facade is wrong. It didn’t look like this the other night.”

  Romero knew that most men would have blown off what she was saying and file it under “crap-women-say-that-makes-no-sense”. In fact, Romero could practically hear his SEAL buddy Bones’ voice now. But Romero was different. Cassidy seemed to be a very direct, very intelligent woman. He could respect that.

  Taking a deep breath, he prepared to dive in. “Can you describe what you mean by ‘wrong’?”

  “There were a bunch of containers sitting next to the building,” she answered. “I remember walking up to the building and thinking that it made no sense to stack a bunch of shipping containers so far from the docks.”

  Romero hadn’t ever seen this place before. That sort of detail was beyond his ability to know. He had been focused on external threats from the neighborhood. Yet Cassidy had pointed out something that could be very significant.

  CASSIDY TRIED NOT to be distracted by Romero. It was a difficult task at best, considering the guy was smoking hot and actually not being a jerk. Any other man would have scoffed at her thoughts about things being different. He was not only taking her seriously, but something about his manner made her feel validated. It was—well, it was incredible.

  “What else?” Romero prompted. “What else do you notice that’s either missing or new?”

  Cassidy stared at the building again. “The containers were covering that alley access.” She suddenly realized something. “See there?” She started to cross the street, but Romero caught her arm.

  The electricity between them was instant and devastating. Cassidy gasped, inhaling sharply as a pleasurable tingle flew through her whole body. She grew warm inside. And if the way he snatched his hand back was anything to go on, he had felt it too.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I’m not ready to make our presence known just yet. Are you saying that the containers were positioned to cover that basement access?”

  “Yes. Exactly!” She felt weirdly giddy without understanding why. Her cheeks were on fire, and she wondered if he could see the sweat beading at her hairline. She resisted the urge to fan herself. What was this? A hot flash?

  “All right.” He seemed to be gathering himself, though she couldn’t imagine what for. Still, the way he straightened up made him look twice as intimidating. If that was even possible. “Let’s head on over and make ourselves known.”

  “Is that wise?” Cassidy suddenly felt oddly off kilter. “Will that put us in danger?”

  “There’s no way to know without knocking on the door,” he announced. “So let’s go get it over with.”

  “All right.” She set her chin and gathered her things, preparing to follow along.

  “Let me do the talking, please?” he requested. “No matter what I say. Just keep quiet.”

  Cassidy had to think that one over a bit. She dawdled as they made their way up to the front of the club.

  “Cassidy, promise me,” he said huskily. “It’s very important.”

  “Fine. I promise.�
� She snorted irritably and rolled her eyes. “I’m not a complete idiot, you know.”

  “Of course I know that.” Romero didn’t even sound sarcastic. “I’m just afraid we’re dealing with something a little bigger than we first thought, and I don’t want to step in it and let them know what we’re up to until it’s time.”

  “Fine. I suppose I can’t argue with that.” Cassidy followed along in Romero’s wake, trying not to notice how delectable his butt looked in jeans.

  ROMERO COULD FEEL Cassidy’s gaze caressing him with every single move he made. The awareness was almost primal in nature. He felt the blood rushing to his groin, and he knew he needed to lock down what he was thinking and get control before he wound up walking into this club sporting a massive hard on.

  Just as they walked up to the front entrance, a guy stepped outside to light a smoke. He leaned against the railing with the cigarette hanging from his lips. Romero raised an eyebrow at Cassidy, but she shook her head. Apparently this was not one of the men from the other night. At this point it didn’t matter. Romero just wanted to see what sort of answers he could get from this place.

  “Hey, man,” Romero said casually. “Can I ask you something?”

  The smoking bouncer flicked his cigarette ash to the ground. “The club doesn’t open until eight o’clock pm.”

  “Cool. Thanks.” Romero paused only a foot or two away from the man. He didn’t want to make him feel crowded. “Actually though, I wanted to ask you about something that happened two nights ago.”

  “Two nights ago?” The man frowned. “What do you want to know?”

  “My little sister went missing two nights ago. The last time anyone saw her was at this club. Is there a manager or something I can talk to about that?” Romero kept things low-key for the moment. Letting the situation escalate would just make the bouncer nervous and less willing to divulge anything useful.