The captain smiled. “You might want to hold off on your thanks. The best way I know to punish you is to temporarily reassign you to a special project that has nothing to do with the SEALs. The best way I know to save your ass is to get you the hell out of here for a few weeks and let the admiral cool down. As an interesting point of fact, my brother-in-law is fairly high up the chain of command in the Secret Service. I don’t think you knew that.”

“No, sir,” Joe said, not sure what the information had to do with anything.

“You’ve mentioned you have family here in California,” Phillips said. “The Marcellis. They own a winery just north of Santa Barbara?”

“Yes, sir.” Joe had no idea what was going on, but he didn’t like it. Technically he was related to the Marcelli clan, but they weren’t his family.

“What you don’t know,” the captain said, “is that the president’s daughter was kidnapped yesterday.”

Joe stiffened as he pictured the attractive, curvy blonde who frequently served as the president’s hostess. “Lauren?”

“No. The other one. Darcy. Apparently they grabbed her by mistake-Lauren was their actual target.”

“How could they screw that up?” Joe asked. Darcy was nothing like her sister in looks or temperament.

“No one knows. The point is, both women are being taken out of Washington and sent to different locations. Safe houses, if you will. They’ll have their usual Secret Service protection, but until the kidnappers are caught, they need to lay low. This is all confidential, Joe. You aren’t to discuss this information with anyone.”

“Of course not, sir.” Joe had no problem keeping quiet. What he didn’t understand was what any of it had to do with him.

Captain Phillips leaned forward. “There is some concern about Darcy. She’s not generally cooperative, and frankly no one wants to be locked up in a safe house with her. The thought is if she can be kept safe but still have a semblance of a life, it will be easier for all concerned. Basically a place that is isolated but not solitary. I thought of what you’ve told me about your family’s winery. There’s a large house, plenty of room for the team and Darcy. I wasn’t sure how I was going to convince you to take this assignment. After last night, I don’t have to.”