Free Lock and Load (SEAL EXtreme Team) by Kimberley Troutte Page B

guys were not the kind of men her dad would send. Not in a million years.
    A speed boat went by and the waves splashed into her face. While she was wiping the water out of her eyes, Charlie grabbed her. “Gotcha.”
    Big mistake. After the day she was having, she never wanted to be manhandled again.
    “Let go!” She fought.
    She kicked as hard as she could and her boot slammed into him. By the way he grunted and doubled over, she’d hit the primary target. Oops. It was her best chance to get away. 
    If she could swim for help…
    The nearest boat was about a hundred yards away with an American flag painted on the side. A man and woman were onboard with their backs to her. They were focused on the sinking ship. It wasn’t every day that a billion dollar yacht sunk to the bottom of Victoria Harbour. When she got closer, she’d yell for help. Putting her face in the water, she swam as fast as she could with that stupid life vest on. She couldn’t beat her best high school free-style record in these clothes and life vest. Still, she was eager to give it a try.
    Seventy-five yards.
    She was panting for a breath. Her boots were full of water and so damned heavy, but she kept swimming as hard as she could.
    Fifty yards.
    The sound of a powerful, fast-moving speedboat hummed nearby. She couldn’t stop now. Keeping her head down, she wind milled her arms past the vest, and pulled through the water.
    Twenty-five yards.
    She could see the couple on the boat pretty well now. She lifted her exhausted arms out of the water and forced them to wave. “Hel—!”
    Strong hands gripped her vest and spun her around. She found herself nose-to-face-mask with Charlie. She didn’t hear him coming. The bastard wasn’t even breathing heavy.
    He pulled the breathing thingy out of his mouth and took the mask off. “What are you doing?”
    “Getting away from you.”
    “Not happening,” he growled. “Be a good girl and put this mask on. We’ve got to dive. Now.”
    “News for you handsome. That’s not happening, either.” But she might still have a chance to get away if the couple on board saw she was in trouble. “Help—!” She began again, but to her great surprise, he shut her up.
    Not with his gun, nor his fists.
    Charlie’s full lips smothered her cry
     

CHAPTER six

     
     
    C harlie had been silently stalking his target in the water. Why’d she try to get away? Sometimes there was no understanding a woman and this one was completely spooked. The team was trying to save her. Didn’t she see him eliminate the guy on the yacht?
    She was a pretty good swimmer, all things considered. The vest kept her so buoyant that her stroke went wonky and the clothes and sexy boots weighed her down. She’d tire out in no time and he’d grab her. He smiled at the thought.
    Sure, Amber Fitz was damned stubborn, irritating, and hell, the woman knew how to use those sexy boots for savage ball-smashing underwater kicks. But she was also amazingly brave for a civilian. Few women Charlie knew outside of the Navy could’ve handled themselves half as well as Amber had today. She was a beautiful scrapper. He liked that. He also liked her smoky voice and the way the tension lines around her mouth eased back and her eyes softened when he’d mentioned her dad.
    She was tough on the outside and soft in the middle—like the Tootsie Pops he and Willy used to fight over as kids. As he swam after her, silent as a shark, he planned ahead. How many licks would it take to get to her yummy center? Mixing business with pleasure was more Willy’s style, but Charlie loved challenges. Amber Fitz was a puzzle he itched to solve. A brilliantly gifted hacker wouldn’t break through the D.O.D’s multiple firewalls and stash the data in a barrel of drying tea leaves. It made no sense. If she was after the money, why didn’t she sell it to the Chinese? They would have paid trillions for the memory stick.
    Shit. Up ahead, she’d spotted a boat and was