scare her away. “But I love your smile. Love the fact you came this morning to tempt me with your baking. You’re sweet, Avis, and as selfish as this sounds, I need to stand in your light for a while.”
Then he lowered his head and kissed the shocked expression right off her face.
****
Thane sat at his old desk at Base Command. Sure brought back a shit-ton of memories, seeing Red reading a brief and the ops staff in the center behind the one-way glass.
You could always rely on life to throw you a curve ball, but ten years ago he’d returned from deployment to find Kayla Banks had been hired. He’d certainly run the bases with her and never looked back.
“How’s Josh working out?” he asked.
Captain Redding removed his reading glasses and sat back in his swivel chair. “Making his mark, just like his predecessor.”
He’d expected nothing less when he heard Josh Hunter had accepted the position.
Red nodded. “He’s earned the men’s respect, Ghost. They trust him.”
“Good to hear. And you’re on the countdown to retirement.”
His old mentor crossed his arms over his chest. “Lydia approves.”
Red’s wife was an incredible lady, like most SEAL wives. She’d earned her stripes in more ways than one. “Kayla said we’re coming over for dinner with the kids next weekend.”
“That you are, unless something goes sideways with Dixie.”
Thane sighed. “Yeah, that’s a problem.”
“Saw the news this morning. The useless courtroom of social media has decided she’s guilty.”
“She’s not.”
Cracker knocked on the open office door. “Morning, sir.” He bobbed his head. “Captain Redding.”
“Morning, son. Come on in. You need the room, Ghost?” Redding asked.
“Appreciate it, Red.”
When Capt. Redding left and closed the door behind him, Thane pointed toward the guest chair.
“You wanted to see me, sir?” Cracker sat down, his stern features set like clay.
Thane thread his fingers together and placed them on the desktop. “I’m gonna give you about three seconds to come clean, and I guarantee, Mr. Saxton, that’s three seconds longer than I give most people.”
Ed shifted in his chair. “Sir?”
Ghost jerked his head in annoyance. He’d always prided himself that the men who joined Alpha Squad were a cut above any other. Regardless of their training, they were men with one unbreakable truth—their pasts never interfered with a mission. In CDR Hunter’s case, it wasn’t a mission as much as supporting a brother.
Maybe Ed didn’t belong with SEAL Team One.
The ranking officer who sat in Josh’s chair, which was once Thane’s, had one responsibility. To know his men. Their pasts. Their present. SEALs were Special Operators and knew more than most of the serving class in the Forces. Background checks were extensive.
Ed had been raised in a rough part of Detroit. His mother died of an overdose, his father unknown. Cracker had avoided incarceration as a teenager, but Thane knew damn well the guy had just lucked out. At the Kallis estate, Ed had lost control. He’d complied with Lt. Bach’s order, but only barely. He’d been triggered by Chandler raping his sister, Melodie.
Thane glared at Cracker, giving him a second chance.
“I screwed up,” Ed admitted.
Thane settled back in his seat. “Where is she?”
Ed looked stunned for a second then shook his head, staring into his lap. “If you mean Melodie Kallis, I don’t know. Think I was played.”
With a shrug, he said, “Happens. Time to unload. Then I’ll decide whether or not you’ll remain with Alpha Squad.”
Ed’s gaze darted to Ghost’s. “Sir, this isn’t a mission.”
His hand landed with a thundering clap on the desk. “In or out of this fucking base, you are a SEAL, Petty Officer Saxton. The Trident isn’t a pair of congratulatory earrings.”
Ed nodded quickly, his gaze directed at his feet. “Yes, sir.”
Ghost waited until Ed finally looked him in the eyes. “Lay it on the table.”
“Melodie came by my place last night around ten p.m. Said she needed a place to crash. She seemed spooked…” He paused. “And she was high.”
Yeah, pretty much what he surmised. “On what?”
Saxton cleared his throat. “Crack. She, uh, told me that she’d seen Captain Reynolds at the Kallis estate, but Chandler had taken her out last night. When I asked if she thought Gesem was alive, she said she doubted it.”
Thane glanced out the window that looked over Glorietta Bay, like he had done so many times in the past. “Then what?”
“This morning a friend dropped by and she misunderstood what she saw. I followed her outside to explain and when I got back to the apartment, Melodie was