Navy SEAL Surrender by Angi Morgan Page A

looked the same as it had the summers he’d played there, with a major exception. No horses. This place used to be full of them.
    “John?” Alicia called from the barn door.
    “Right here.” He swung down and jogged the fifty yards or so back.
    “What were you doing up in the tree?”
    “Grabbing this.” He tucked the board in a safe place inside the half-rotten door. “Where are the horses? Have things gotten so hard around here they were shutting down the horse farm and selling the stock?”
    “Shauna sold it off.”
    “Dwayne’s grandfather must be turning in his grave.” He wanted to tilt her head back to look at him, but he was afraid to touch her. She was vulnerable and attractive, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do. It was not what she needed him to do. “Why are you awake?”
    “Same to you. Why are you awake?”
    “SEALs rarely get eight hours of shut-eye.”
    “Neither do mothers.”
    The teasing in her eyes was gone. A look of hopelessness filled her eyes with tears again. She was thinking about Lauren.
    “These probably seem like empty words to you, Alicia. But you’ve got to be strong. All the time. Never let your guard down and let the emotion get the better of you. If you do...they win.”
    “Right.” She pressed her lips together and joined him leaning on the decaying wood. “What do we do now?”
    “That is a very good question.”

Chapter Eight
    “Are you sure this is the best of plans? I’d rather be looking for Lauren.” Alicia had mentioned that fact in every other sentence, and John had seemed to ignore her. “Maybe we could be doing anything other than illegally entering a house I lived in for a short time.”
    She’d gladly stay in the sun waiting. It was much better than heading inside.
    “Each visit to this house reminds me of how Shauna manipulated Roy into getting married. Visiting after that was horrible. The first Christmas Dwayne and I were here was excruciating. We were forced to listen to Roy compare Dwayne’s mother to every decision Shauna made. I actually felt sorry for her at one point. But I’m still uncertain this is the best way to use our time.”
    “I’ve got a former U.S. Marines specialist looking into the Webers. We’re meeting him at fifteen hundred. He’ll locate every property. Pull their phone and bank records, their emails. We’re going to find Lauren. Trust me.”
    “Then what are we doing here?”
    “It’s reconnaissance. I need to familiarize myself with the lay of the land again. Maybe find a safe place for you to lay low.” He put a pair of binoculars back to his eyes.
    “I told you that the Adams farm is for sale. Shauna lives in Frisco now. The horses are ready to be auctioned tomorrow. She emptied the house of anything worth money and promptly called a local Realtor. It’s still listed, but can’t be sold, much to that witch’s frustration. The house may belong to Shauna, but the land around it belongs to Lauren.”
    “Then why are there three cars here?”
    “It’s probably the cleaning staff.” Alicia knew one was her father-in-law’s. He’d left the classic to her, but it was caught in probate court. It deserved better care, but she couldn’t afford to professionally store it in the garage. Shauna’s lawsuit prevented her from touching it at all.
    She was with John at the edge of the yard, having hiked from the old barn where they’d stayed the night. With no stables to run and no one living in the house, it may have been the safest place for them to hide after all.
    They had enough food for a couple of days, and they weren’t in the wilderness by any means. John had grabbed a fishing pole. Hiding wasn’t the problem. He’d convinced her to come with him because they’d be searching for Lauren. But they weren’t.
    “What do you expect to find?”
    “Man, Alicia. Just trust me. This is what I do.”
    “I have to take your word that you’re good at what you do, John Sloane. But you don’t have carte