Page 110 of SEAL Summer Escape

“Normally I’d be against eating something like that, but when in Rome...”She took another bite, trying not to gag.

Noah handed her a bottle of water, and she twisted the cap off.“These are the last ones,” he said ruefully.“We’ll fill the empty bottles and my canteen at the waterfall.Luckily, it’s not far, so we can go back and forth if needed.”

“Is the water safe to drink?”she asked.

“I’ve got water purification tablets.We’ll drop those in to be safe.”

She watched as Noah wolfed down one of the protein bars.He was a big, muscular guy and had to be hungry with only that for breakfast.“How many more protein bars do you have?”

“Just a few,” he admitted.“We might have to fish today if we don’t see signs of anyone searching for us here.”

“Ironic since we already caught plenty of good fish.”

“That it is,” he agreed.“We’ll see what we can catch.It’ll be tricky without a fishing pole.I don’t think I have anything to make a net out of in my backpack either—just a few basic supplies.”

“Do people ever fish with their hands?”

“It could happen,” he said, taking a long pull of his water.“It’d be hard to do unless a big school of fish swims close.We’ll investigate after we head to the waterfall.”

“There are coconuts up in the trees, too,” she said, glancing up at the palm trees.

He nodded.“We can drink the coconut water if we can manage to get any down.Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll find some that fell down in the storm.”

She eyed the rough bark of the tree.“I don’t think we can climb it.The coconuts are all the way at the top.”

“It’ll be hard without climbing gear.Or shoes.I can attempt it if we have to, but let’s see what else is around and hope like hell we see signs of the Coast Guard today.”

Bailey rose from where they sat, walking over to the remains of yesterday’s fire.It was a soggy, disappointing mess full of waterlogged driftwood and wet ashes.“This doesn’t look like it would catch fire at all,” she said.

Noah followed her over.“Nope.That’s why I said we’ll have to wait a few hours for everything to dry.The waterfall’s not far, but I’ll bring my backpack full of supplies.If we hear a helicopter or small plane, we can hurry back to the beach and shoot off the flare gun.”

“All right,” she said.“I guess there’s not much else we can do.I’d kill for a cell phone right now,” she muttered.

“We need a sat phone.”

“A what?”she asked, glancing over at him.

“Satellite phone.There’s no cell service out here in the middle of the ocean, sunshine.But on missions, we bring sat phones with us to stay in communication with each other and our CO.”

“Wow.Well you’d know better than me, I’m sure.How about I wish we were back on the boat, relaxing with Mason and Taylor, and none of this ever happened?”

He chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.“I wish like hell I could make that true for you.”

***

BAILEY GASPED IN SURPRISEas Noah pushed away some branches, and they stepped into a clearing in the trees.A waterfall from a rocky cliff poured into a small pond, the sound filling the area.The trees and wooded foliage completely surrounded them, and it didn’t even feel like they were on the island anymore.The beach was completely out of sight.

“How’d you find this yesterday?”she asked, looking around.Tall palm trees swayed in the slight breeze, a bird swooped through the air, and sunlight danced through the leaves.

“I heard the water.It took me a hell of a long time to get here through the brush, but then I spotted those smooth stones that form a path of sorts.It was easier today coming around that way.”

“It’d be easier to get around if we had shoes,” she said ruefully.

“That it would, sunshine.Just be careful where you step.”

Noah took her hand, and they edged down toward the small pond.“Is it safe to go in?”she asked.“What if there are alligators or something?”

“It’s too small for an alligator to hide in,” he assured her, tightening his grip on her hand.

---