Page 31 of Loved by a SEAL

Ryan nodded. “Some big-wigs up in Washington thought they could keep it under wraps. Prevent any leaks. The Pentagon shut that down immediately. Our mission; our terms. We have details on the operation the Senator himself won’t even be privy to.”

“Well, hell,” Matthew drawled. “It’s not like we’ll be going over details of the op with CNN.”

“And they’re exactly who the Senator doesn’t want getting word about it. If the media learns it’s Senator Stone’s daughter, her life will be in imminent danger. The terrorists will up their demands and be willing to do something big to make a statement.”

“Do we have any communications from amongst the terrorist group?” Christopher asked. He could hack into anything and probably would dig up information himself if they didn’t have the intelligence they needed.

“Affirmative,” Ryan said. “Chatter indicates they’re guarding a package.”

“That’s her,” Patrick said.

“That’s the most likely scenario,” Ryan said. “Mike, we don’t know the condition of Ms. Stone.”

“Understood. We’ll have all the supplies necessary to treat combat wounds and do what we can on the scene. Whatever shape she’s in, we’ll get her to the extraction point and onto the helo.”

“Are we suspecting she’s injured?” Evan asked.

“Not at this point,” Ryan said. “Just making preparations in case.”

“When do we leave?” Brent growled. “We’re wasting time sitting the fuck around here. I want to get a piece of those terrorist mother-fuckers.”

“Cool it, Cobra,” Ryan snapped. “Just like you, I follow orders. A chain of command. We’re waiting on word from the Pentagon. It looks like we’ll be sent in along with another SEAL team for rescue and recovery.”

“Who are we going with?” Patrick asked, his cool blue gaze sweeping Ryan’s way. “The guys in Bravo?”

“SEAL Team Delta—Hunter ‘Hook’ Murdock’s team.”

“Colt’s on that team,” Matthew said, glancing toward Evan and Brent.

“Hell yeah. Colton’s a good guy. We met him down in Florida,” Evan said, filling in the others. “I thought he was stationed down in Pensacola?”

“Just for a one-year TDY,” Matthew drawled. “C-4’s back on SEAL Team Delta now.”

“’C-4’ huh?” Brent asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yep. Colton ‘C-4’ Ferguson,” Matthew affirmed. “Those assholes won’t know what hit them.”

“They’re a good group of men,” Ryan affirmed. “Our team will come in on the side of camp by the mountains. Murdock’s team will be sweeping in from the desert. You’ll rendezvous at the camp—don’t be expecting an engraved invitation.”

Patrick smirked. “And the woman?”

“With your team. Unless shit goes south—then Murdock’s team will escort her to safety. Otherwise you’ll head into the mountains and wait for pick-up.”

“Roger that,” Patrick said.

Mike creased his brow. “What is it, Patch?” Patrick asked, calling him by his nickname.

“Just a bad feeling.”

The other men on the team exchanged a glance. Mike was known for his ability to have a sixth-sense about things. All the men on the SEAL team were trained to be intuitive, have situational awareness, and the ability to read people. Without even realizing it, people gave off small tells all the time that indicated whether they were telling the truth or lying, and it could mean life or death in certain situations. Yet Mike’s sense had always extended beyond even that—if something was going down on a mission, he always seemed to know it.

“My sister said the same thing,” Patrick said. “And I told her we always have everything under control.”

Ryan’s ears perked up as his gaze swept to Patrick, but he kept his face expressionless.

“Sarah?” Evan asked, glancing over. “What do you mean?”

“She told me she was worried at the barbeque. That’s not really her style, actually—she’s usually rather flippant about everything. Hell, she was over an hour late. How hard is to show up at 1700? She had the entire day to get ready.”

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