Page 41 of Guarded By the SEAL
He went downstairs, feeling his way down the darkened steps from memory and heading for his office, fully intending to pour himself a glass of scotch. A beeping from the kitchen caught his attention, and he went there instead. His cell phone sat on the counter where he’d left it, a black and white video feed rolling on his home screen. Something had activated the motion cameras around his property.
Adrenaline shot into his bloodstream.
Probably just a deer.
He picked up the device, fully expecting it to be nothing. Instead, three different camera feeds rotated on the screen, clearly showing police setting up a perimeter on his property.
Immediately he was in motion, racing to get Teslyn and wake Ivy as his mind considered what to do next. The camera by the water had yet to be activated, though Georgia State Patrol was surely headed there next, and he hoped the three of them would be able to slip through the weak spot before it was fortified. He snapped a leash onto Jett’s collar.
This was asinine, he thought, craziness at the height of its form, and he wondered if he was doing the right thing as he raced to a small boathouse with the dog, the sisters on his heels. Troopers meant business. They were bound to be heavily armed. If they caught Wyatt and the girls trying to leave, his only choice would be surrender.
He lifted a small rowboat and silently put it in the water, gesturing for Teslyn to get in quickly.
She climbed in, his arm steadying the vessel as she settled on the seat. “Where are we going?” she whispered, holding her arms out for Ivy, who scrambled in beside her.
He lifted Jett into the boat, then gave it a small push and climbed in himself, his pant legs getting wet. The four of them barely fit, but beggars couldn’t be choosers at this point. The boat had a small engine, but he didn’t dare use it for fear of alerting the police to their escape, and he pulled out a wooden oar, beginning to row. “There’s a park across the lake. I can have a friend pick us up there.”
Teslyn’s voice shook. “I don’t know how to swim.”
“There are lifejackets in the back bin. Put one on Ivy, too.”
Cowboy was holding down the fort at HERO Force since Jax was in Colorado, which meant he would be close by and should be able to lend a hand. Of course, that would also make his friend complicit in the felony Wyatt was committing, and he racked his brain to come up with a different way to get them out of here safely.
Damn it all to hell. How had the police found them?
“Did anyone see either of you while I was gone?”
“No,” they said in unison.
“Someone had to see something. They knew you were at my house. How else could they have known that?”
Teslyn turned to Ivy. “Did you see anyone on your walk with Jett this morning?”
Ivy shot wide eyes to Wyatt, then back to her sister. “I stayed away from the road like you said.”
“We’re not mad at you, sweetie,” said Wyatt. “But did someone see you?”
Ivy’s voice was quiet. “Jett pulled me to her house. He wanted to go.”
Wyatt’s eyes squeezed shut. He knew before he asked the next question. “Was it the lady who lives through the trees? Molly?”
Ivy nodded. “She was nice. She gave me cookies.”
Teslyn cursed under her breath. “She must have seenDatelinetonight.”
“Dateline?” hissed Wyatt. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Does it matter at this point?” she hissed back. “It’s not like they knew you’re involved.”
He pushed the water behind them, propelling the little boat into the inky darkness of night. “Yeah well, they know now.”
“I’m sorry, Wyatt,” said Ivy.
She sounded so contrite, he couldn’t blame her for this. “It’s okay, sweetie. You didn’t know. Besides, Jett loves her house. I should have warned you he’d try to take you there.”
The beam of a searchlight hit them from behind. “They found us,” said Teslyn.
Wyatt cursed under his breath and paddled harder. He considered whether or not to use the engine. They were halfway across the small lake, the lights on either side of the dark park plainly in sight. If the troopers could see them, the engine wouldn’t matter. But it was hazy out, and he wasn’t convinced the light allowed the police to truly see his small boat. “Maybe,” he said. “Maybe not.”
