“It’ll wait for me.” Zander pushed out his chest and grinned.
Braden hid his own smile as the other man shrugged in response as if he agreed but didn’t want to admit it. He gestured the other three men on.
“Sorry.” Zander turned to him. “SEALs. Good guys, but everybody’s the alpha male, right?”
“I bet. There are so many egos in the military, it’s a wonder we don’t all take each other out.”
Zander laughed. “How are you? You look great.”
“I’m doing great. Except my house got blown up and …” He waved a hand. “Crazy story, but I’ve got to find a spot to stay.”
“Hey, take my room.” Zander took a key card out and handed it to him. “They flew us here for a special job, gave us a quick debriefing, and all of the sudden it’s ‘urgent’ and we need to strike early tomorrow morning.” He rolled his eyes, but his dark eyes glinted. He obviously loved what he did. “They have to wait for me, or they’ll never blow the cave door open. They’d probably get it open but ruin the weapon we’re supposed to pick up. Never expected to be running ops like this in the Rocky Mountains.” He laughed again. “We’ll see. Sounds a little Indiana Jones to be believable.”
Braden should’ve smiled, but his insides had gone stone cold. Cave door. Secret weapon. Rocky Mountains. Had the military decided they needed the Delta weapon, or was somebody using an elite SEAL team and getting the secret for King Frederick?
“Zander …” He grasped his friend’s arm. “Who ordered this mission?”
Zander studied him, frowning. “You know I can’t tell you that.” He looked him over. “I’ve probably said too much already. What do you know?”
Braden looked around and eased closer. If he couldn’t trust Zander, the world might as well end. Yet he felt the same about Admiral Seamons. Could Seamons have possibly ordered this? Braden’s world felt out of whack and he was questioning himself, which he never did.
Who else would know about the Delta secret? Maybe Frederick was spreading the word and offering a huge sum that had turned some usually loyal heads? Maybe somebody high up had gotten wind of the secret and thought it would be safer in military care.
“If you’re going after the Delta secret weapon, I’m begging you to stop or to lead your team in a wild goose chase and tell whoever sent you that it’s not there.”
“Excuse me? Braden … what do you know about the Delta weapon? We have to secure it as soon as possible.”
“For who?” Braden hissed, glancing around again.
“I can’t tell you,” Zander insisted.
“Oh, so you want me to share what I know, but you won’t even tell me who issued this mission?” Braden’s neck was hot. He was seconds away from taking down his friend and then going after the rest of the men assigned to secure the secret. Elite SEALs. He knew Maddie and her family were well-trained—one cousin was a SEAL—but Zander’s level of experience and an elite SEAL team coming for the secret weapon … this was a nightmare.
Zander folded his arms across his chest. He was intimidating, but Braden wasn’t intimidated. He might not have Zander’s level of training or in-field experience, but he was fighting for the woman he loved and her family. He said a brief but heartfelt prayer in his head, simply,Please help.
Zander eased closer to him and said quietly, “Walk with me.”
Braden nodded and fell into step with him. How much time did he have? The chopper would probably take them to Scott Air Force Base and then fly them to Buckley near Denver, Colorado before another chopper would take them to Summit Valley. If he couldn’t talk Zander down, who could he call first to warn Maddie and her family? Had he saved Bailey’s number?
This was insane. What if the most loyal American family he knew had to fight against dedicated and lethal Navy SEALs on an assignment? SEALs that didn’t know the meaning of quit.
He wracked his brain to know what to do.
“The mission was issued high enough up they flew us here from an assignment in the Middle East to take care of it,” Zander said quietly.
Braden’s stomach rolled. “Zander.” He stopped and turned to his friend, waiting.
Zander turned to him and arched an eyebrow. “You need to read my eyes, really? After all we’ve been through?”
Braden didn’t say anything but studied him.
Zander met his gaze unflinchingly. His friend was still in there. He could trust him. He had to trust him. No matter how confident he wanted to be, Braden couldn’t take out five elite SEALs and he couldn’t get to Colorado before they could.
He said another prayer and then he leaned closer and admitted, “Zander. I’m trusting you.”
“You can.” Zander nodded for him to proceed.
Braden hoped this wasn’t a mistake, but he didn’t know that he had another option and him running into Zander before his friend went to take the weapon from Maddie’s family had to be a sign.