Quick & Dangerous

Roberto Cahill is all too familiar with difficult missions, but this particular one is proving to be the most challenging. Struggling to fit back into civilian life after retiring as a Navy SEAL, he started his own private investigation company, charging a small fortune to find people and their secrets. Recently hired by the wealthy McAllister brothers, finding their long-lost sister should be an easy assignment, right? Wrong. Skyler McAllister is one tough woman who's on the run for her life. She has the smarts, skills and funds to keep herself on the move, and no matter how hard Rob tries, she always seems to always be one step ahead of him. Can Rob find her before whoever’s chasing her does? Can he deliver her to her brothers and out of harm's way without letting the green-eyed vixen with a stubborn streak get captured? Or will letting his guard down be his most dangerous assignment of all?

“Fuck!” Rob Cahill yelled as he leapt off the powerboat into tropical seawater that immediately filled his combat boots. “Son of a bitch.”

“Miss the landing a bit there, eh, mate?” an Aussie tourist commented with a chuckle. He’d managed to make the jump and remain dry. Lucky prick.

Rolling his eyes and scrunching his toes in his soggy socks, Rob slung his backpack over one shoulder and trudged up the white sandy beach of Gili Air. From everything he’d read about this tiny little island off the coast of Lombok in Indonesia, it was a divers’ haven, laid back and the perfect place to unwind … or remain hidden.

There were three islands clustered together, known by most as “The Gilis.” Trawangan was the party island, Meno the island for lovers, and Air the island for everyone else. And that was Rob. His partying days were certainly over, and as for a love life … he took female affections when they were offered to him but had no time for anything serious. At least that’s what he told himself. Having retired from SEAL Team Six last year, he was somehow now busier than ever with his freelance PI business, finding people, their secrets and all for a pretty penny. So much for retirement. He hadn’t played one round of golf yet.

But he had a job to do. He’d been hired by the McAllister brothers, three billionaires, to find their long-lost sister. And she was proving to be a challenge. Nobody had ever given Rob a runaround like this woman. He’d been on her tail for nearly six months. His longest investigation yet. Just when he thought he’d tracked her down, the trail would go cold. She was running from something. But what?

His buddy and fellow SEAL Aaron had gotten a match through face-recognition software when he’d hacked into the Denpasar airport security cameras. They matched the blurry photo of twenty-seven-year-old Skyler McAllister that Rob obtained from her last known location on Koh Chang. The woman was certainly getting around. Never staying in one place for more than a few months, sometimes a few weeks. But Aaron had traced her here. She was in the background of someone else’s vacation Instagram post three days ago, and the location placed her on Gili Air. Now all he had to do was find her.

Shouldn’t be too hard.

He always finished the job. Always came through. Always found a way. He’d meet every person on the entire island if he had to. And if he turned up empty-handed, he’d move on to the next island.

He would find her. That was a promise.

But first, he had to find a place to crash for the night. Soggy, squelching boots and all, he made his way up the beach to a well-worn path wide enough for one vehicle. He needed to get the fuck out of these boots. Sure, he’d been in the trenches and worn filthy, wet, blood-covered clothes for days when he’d been a SEAL, but now he was a respectable PI, and this wet foot shit didn’t fly. He began making the circle around the island, hoping his instincts would kick in and draw him to his target.

Guest houses and hotels, bungalows and cottages lined the road on the left side, while the beach followed him on the right, calling him out for a swim.

Later. First, he had a job to do.

A dive shop on the left drew his attention. It had a large fake manta ray with a wide grin hanging up above the front door and a dozen or more scuba tanks standing sentry in front of the big picture window that said “Smiling Manta Dive” in stark white window paint.

“We’ve got a diving level for everyone,” came a friendly, melodic voice from inside. “Beginner, advanced, masters. You want to get your teaching certification? We offer that too.” There were a few chuckles from other people before the woman continued, “Or, if you’d prefer to simply float on the surface with a mask and snorkel, we rent those as well. Whatever your comfort level, we have it.”

Rob wandered inside, having to duck under the big manta ray to avoid hitting his head.

“Hi. Welcome to Smiling Manta Dive.” The voice belonged to a striking blonde behind the counter.

Rob blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the dimmer lighting, only to cause him to walk straight into a cardboard cutout of a scuba diver.

Abandoning her patrons, the woman raced out from behind the counter. “Whoa, you okay?” She grabbed him by the elbow to keep him from falling over. His backpack was throwing his balance all out of whack.

She snatched up the cutout and propped it back up.

By this time, Rob’s eyes had adjusted to the light inside, and he nearly swallowed his tongue. He’d never met anyone like her. And probably never would again.

She had a ring in her left nostril, grass-green eyes, rosy cheeks, freckles, dimples and the best smile Rob had ever seen.

She was staring at him curiously. “You okay?”

“Maybe he doesn’t speak English,” the female patron suggested. “Dude, do you speak English?”

For fuck’s sake.

Get ahold of yourself, man. You’re a thirty-seven-year-old Navy SEAL. Pull it together.