Page 71 of Her Captivated Hero

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“Mason,do you have any idea what this is about?” Gray asked his counterpoint, the lieutenant of the Midnight Delta SEAL team.

“I’m as much in the dark as you are,” Mason responded.

They looked up as the conference room door opened.

“Hey, guys,” Max Hogan nodded his head.

“Well, this has to be big, if they pulled you in from Virginia. Did they bring in your entire team?” Gray asked the lieutenant of the Night Storm SEAL team.

“Yep. We just got in an hour ago,” he said, taking a seat at the table. He looked tired.

“Weren’t you just on an op in Bolivia?” Mason asked.

Max waved his hand. “Something like that. We got home five days ago. We’re ready for something new.”

“Kane was a real help to us on our last mission,” Gray said. “I really appreciated that.”

Max gave a wan smile. “Don’t think Dex and Clint haven’t returned the favor.”

The door opened and Commander Liam McAllister and Captain Josiah Hale walked in the room. Shit, this had to be big if they were bringing in all three teams, and the captain was the one briefing them.

Captain Hale walked to the head of the conference table and pressed his fists down on the polished surface. He leaned in, his expression grave. “In just a second, men, Lieutenant General Astor of the United States Marine Corp will be walking in here with three scientists. The long and short of it is, we have a major clusterfuck on our hands, and it’s related to the mission Black Dawn was on last month. When the assignments are doled out, I’m sending Gray’s team and the most experienced scientist to the most likely hotspot. Then we’ll—”

The door opened. “Sorry I’m late. Hello everybody. I’m Lieutenant General Astor.” He held the door open and in walked Riya followed by two men.

Gray stood up, and Mason grabbed his arm. “Riya?” Gray’s voice was incredulous.

“Do you two know one another?” General Astor asked, as Riya, the general and two men sat down on the opposite Gray and the other two SEAL lieutenants.

Riya’s face showed no expression.

“Dr. Patel?” The general turned to look at her.

“Yes, I know Lieutenant Tyler. Miranda Porter is married to one of his men.”

Captain Hale cleared his throat. “This could be convenient. Let me introduce my men. Lieutenant Gray Tyler is in charge of Black Dawn. His team completed the mission in Al Khobar last month.”

“Damn good work,” the general said.

Gray gave a sharp nod. He kept his focus on his captain, he couldn’t handle looking at Riya, everything was too surreal.

“Mason Gault is in charge of Midnight Delta.”

“I’ve heard of your team,” the general smiled at Mason. Then he turned to Max. “You command the Night Storm team, right?”

“Yes Sir,” Max nodded.

“What have you told your men?” the general asked Captain Hale.

“Not much,” the captain said as he stood at the front of the table. “I was waiting for you to arrive.”

“Good. Who’s this?” The general nodded toward Liam.

“This is Commander Liam McAllister. He’ll be coordinating the three teams while they’re out in the field.”

The general grinned for the first time since he came into the room. “Your reputation proceeds you, McAllister. Seems like you’ve pissed some people off lately.”