“I suspect Murray got to him early on and turned him,” Scott said. “He was probably a double agent. My guess is that any information Mick gave the Russians, Murray knew about.”
They all took a moment to process what that meant. It hadn’t been a Russian plot. The bad guy had been on their side.
“It wouldn’t have been hard to turn him,” Natalie said, not hiding her bitterness. Scott alone knew why and instinctively put his arm around her. She might not need his comfort, but he was going to give it to her anyway. He loved how she settled in against him as if she belonged there. “Mick’s allegiance was to himself. If the general gave him the right incentive, he would have sold his mother to the highest bidder.”
“Sounds like a charming guy. I’m doubly glad John Donovan had good aim,” Kate said, referring to the shot that had killed Mick and probably saved her life.
Colt’s tight mouth suggested he might have something to say on that subject, but probably wisely he refrained from commenting.
“So what now?” Natalie said. “Is the link enough to take to your commander to prove what happened to the platoon?”
Scott and Colt exchanged a look. It was, but going to Commander Mark Ryan or Captain Trevor Moore wasn’t how this was going to go down.
Twenty-four
Kate saw the look exchanged between Colt and Scott after Natalie asked her question and immediately knew what they were planning. She’d been married to Colt for long enough to know how he thought—how men like him thought. They weren’t going to hand this off now without all the answers. SEALs didn’t leave a mission unfinished; they would see this through to the end.
“No!” she said, glancing back and forth between them. “Whatever you are thinking, no!” She spun on her ex-husband, who looked a lot better than he had a few hours ago but was still pale from loss of blood. “You were just shot, for God’s sake! You aren’t going anywhere!”
Natalie had obviously been around Scott long enough to figure it out as well. “You can’t be planning to confront him?”
Scott’s jaw squared in a way that Kate was too familiar with. She knew when stubborn was setting in. He addressed Colt first. “Kate’s right. You should stay here. Baylor will be here in a few hours with the computer anyway, and I will call Donovan for additional backup.Spivak and Ruiz would want to be here but are too far away for me to wait. I want to talk to the general before midnight.”
“Fuck you, Ace. There is no way I’m staying behind. These were my guys, too. I’m good to go.”
Colt was one of the toughest guys Kate had ever met. He lived the BTF mantra—Big Tough Frogman. Kate knew he’d be “good to go” if every bone in his body was broken and he had ten bullets in him.
Scott had clearly expected the reaction—as had she. Her brother shrugged, and then probably because he was still angry at Colt and knew how much it would piss him off added, “Just don’t get in the way.”
Colt’s eyes narrowed, but he’d obviously realized he was being baited. His reply was more sarcastic than angry. “I’ll try not to let my hobbling around slow you down, Ace.”
Scott turned to Natalie, who was clearly agitated with the direction the conversation was taking. “I promised you that I would keep you and your family safe, and this is the best way to do it. You have to trust me, Nat. I know what I’m doing.”
If Natalie’s torn expression was anything, he was obviously asking a lot. Clearly she didn’t like the idea of him going into danger any more than Kate did. “But what if you are walking into a trap?”
Scott shook his head. “He doesn’t know we are on to him. But even if he suspects, he’ll want to hear what we have to say, and we’ll be ready.” He smiled. “This isn’t our first rodeo.”
“I’ll go with you,” Kate said.
The reaction from Colt and Scott was instantaneous, with differing levels of crudity in the “not a chance” response.
She waited a few minutes for the swearing and male overprotectiveness to calm down before replying, “Itmakes the most operational sense. I will call him and tell him we’re on our way over and need his help. I’ll say something about Natalie being in danger. That should get you in the door without any problems.”
Scott gave Colt a look that Kate read easily enough:you better do something about this. Apparently her brother had decided that Colt had some kind of influence with her. Was it that obvious?
Ever the tactician, her ex-husband had apparently realized that anger and threats weren’t going to get the job done so he decided to go with the “honey, let’s be reasonable” approach.
The cajoling tone from him wasn’t something she was used to, and it wasn’t without effect. “That’s a great idea, Kate. You should definitely call him and tell him we are coming and need his help. The direct approach will keep him off guard and sneaking into the ancestral pile to confront him wouldn’t be easy with his security. But you don’t need to be at Blairhaven in person to achieve the same thing. You aren’t an operator and having you there will make our jobs more difficult.” He paused to let that sink in. In other words,your presence will compromise our safety. “I know you care about him and this is difficult for you, but it will be harder on him to have you there, too.”
Damn him. She could fight anger, but not reason. “But if he’s guilty, he could be like a cornered animal.”
She already suspected that the general was in panic mode and trying to cover his tracks.
“Which is even more reason for you not to go,” Colt said evenly, looking into her eyes with an intensity she couldn’t turn away from. “We’re trained for things like this.”
And you’re not.He didn’t need to say it.
“So the women need to stay back at the castle while the men go off to fight,” she said, not without a little bitterness.
