Free Navy SEAL Noel by Liz Johnson Page A

him. And maybe she didn’t. But she had him, anyway. At least until she was safely back in San Diego with her father watching over her. Preferably in plenty of time for Christmas. They had an escape to make and a lot of jungle to cover in just two weeks.
    Will led her to the shadow of the security wall behind the house and slipped to the corner.
    â€œNo, really,” she whispered. “What are we going to do?”
    A glance around a corner showed that all was clear, and he bolted for the protection of the next building, hauling her behind him. “First, we’re going to take advantage of any intel we can find.”
    â€œLike what? Memorizing the guard rotations?” Her words were still quiet, but marked by panting breaths.
    â€œYes. And getting our hands on a map of this jungle, if possible. We have to figure out exactly where we are, to get to where we need to be.” He pulled her across another alley, always listening for the sound of footsteps.
    â€œWhere exactly are we going?”
    â€œPanama City. If we can get to the U.S. Embassy, we can connect with the DEA and get home.”
    She nodded, rested her head against the wall, then shot up straight. “The DEA?”
    â€œYes. I told you about that.” Her expression told him that she didn’t remember, so he explained. “My friend who arranged for me to be invited here—” Jess snorted at this choice of words “—is DEA. She put a GPS tracker in my shoe. But it pings off of cell towers, and I have a feeling we’re too far from the nearest tower for them to get more than a general location. Even if they do, they’ll have to put together an official op to come for us. We can’t count on that. Especially before Juan Carlos gets back.”
    Jess’s eyes narrowed, creating a little wrinkle at the top of her nose. “Why didn’t she put one of those high-tech satellite trackers on you?” The skepticism in her voice rang loud and clear.
    â€œThis isn’t an official op, for the navy or the DEA.” He tugged her away from the wall. “She couldn’t afford to lose an expensive piece of equipment, and I couldn’t risk having our hosts find that on me.”
    They fell silent as they wound their way back toward her room, but when they reached the door, she stopped just before sliding inside. “So after we gain all this intel, how are we going to get to Panama City?”
    â€œWe’re going to use your plan.”
    â€œMine?” Her dark eyebrows rose in twin arches.
    He gave her a little push inside. Just before he closed the door, he said, “We’re going over the wall.”
    * * *
    Jess sucked air through her nose and let it out in a slow breath as she stared at the lab equipment in front of her without really seeing it. Even after a mostly sleepless night, and at least a couple hours contemplating Will’s idea to jump the fence, she was no closer to seeing how it was possible.
    â€œYou okay?” His voice was right in her ear, and she jumped, nearly yanking the hot-plate cord off the machine. “You seem tense.”
    â€œReally? I can’t imagine why.” She shot him a sharp glare, but immediately regretted her sarcasm. “Sorry. Guess I’m just tired. Didn’t sleep well after...well, you know.”
    â€œI do.” Sparing a wink for her and a glance at Sergio, their lone lab guard for the day, Will dropped his voice even lower. “I was thinking last night, when I was outside your room—”
    Despite the muggy afternoon, goose bumps exploded down her arms, and she abandoned all pretense of paying attention to the boiling water in front of her. “You didn’t go back to your cell last night?”
    â€œâ€™Course not.” He was so matter-of-fact about it that she wondered why his words had surprised her.
    â€œHey!” Sergio leaned against the wall, one knee bent and foot pressing flat to