Protecting Ellis (Loved by the SEAL #1)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

Trip was glad they were done for the day. The SEAL team had gone in, found the guy they needed, and gotten him out of the country. It was all very hush-hush, mainly because the man was second in command of a group who were causing trouble. The operation had to be very delicate, so no one was tipped off about who had abducted the guy.

Now the CIA, or whoever they’d delivered the man to, would get answers to questions. He’d done a few interrogations, but he was thankful he wasn’t deeply involved in that part of the operation.

He checked his messages and saw that he had a message from Ellis. He listened as he made his way down the hall, worry filling him as he heard what she had to say.

Her mom was in the hospital, and she was driving to her parents’ house just north of Los Angeles. He checked his phone. She hadn’t left any other messages, but he had a text from Ginger asking if he’d heard from Ellis this evening. She was worried that Ellis hadn’t given an update on her mom.

He thought about calling Ginger, but he didn’t want to wake her kid, so he sent a text telling her that he’d just finished a meeting and had only received the one call.

His phone rang almost immediately. It was Ginger calling him.

“I’m worried,” were the first words out of her mouth.

“Would she update you?”

“Yeah. We text a lot when we’re nervous. When Nick had a scan, and I was freaking out, I texted her every few minutes. Same with her when things get weird. Once she woke up after the attack and could text me, she sent a bunch of texts.”

“I remember that.”

“She would have texted me after she saw her mother,” Ginger said.

“Do you know which hospital?”

“No. She never said. I’ve called around to a few.”

“What is her parents’ address?”

“I’ll text it to you. Please find her. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t think it’s good.”

“I will. And Ginger, thank you for texting me and saying that you were worried.”

“Sure. I’ll text if I hear anything.”

The call ended, and Trip looked up, realizing that his buddies were standing around him. They’d heard some of the conversation and knew something was up.

Rider spoke first. “What is going on?”

Trip ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Ellis called and said her mother was in the hospital. That message was left closer to three. There are no other messages, nothing else. She never sent any updates to me or her friend, Ginger. I don’t know what is going on.”

Bud pulled out his phone. “Which hospital.”

Trip shook his head. “I don’t know. Ginger called around and couldn’t find her.”

Zip shook his head. “Shit, we need to get on this.”

“Guys, I can’t?—”

Rider’s reply was fast. “Hush. We’re helping you. Let’s head to my place, it’s closer and bigger. We’ll search for information and figure out where Ellis is.”

Trip couldn’t believe his buddies were willing to stay up and help after such a long day. It only took about fifteen minutes to get to Rider’s place. In that time, Rider had sent a message to Tex, asking him if he could help. Trip appreciated any help they could get.

They took turns looking up information while a few of the guys slept. By six the next morning, he’d gotten two hours of sleep, and the rest of the guys had slept about three hours. They were rested and ready to head to Glendale. If they couldn’t figure out which hospital was treating Ellis’s mother, they would trace her path. One way or another, they would find Ellis.