Nate looked at Gabe. The powerful man was leaning against the wall to his right, legs casually crossed at his ankles. If it wasn’t for the M16 resting in his hands, Gabe would look like he was just hanging with his buddies.
“If these guys can’t be trusted to show up on time, how the hell are we supposed to believe they’ll have our backs?”
Gabe glanced at his watch then to Nate. “They’re two minutes late, Carter. They’ll be here.”
“Seriously, dude,” Matt sided with Gabe. “We may not know these guys, but McQueen does.”
“He’s right,” Zade chimed in from the window at the back. “Jake said he and the one guy...what was it he called him?” He looked to Matt for the answer.
“Ghost.”
“Right. Jake said he and Ghost worked some ops together back when Jake was still Delta. Said these guys are the best.”
“Well,” Matt smirked. “Aside from us.”
Zade wore a smug grin. “Duh.”
Both men snickered, but Nate wasn’t in the laughing mood. This was the most important mission of his life, and they were getting into bed with a team they’d never worked with. Plus, they were a man down.
Kole had chosen to stay behind to ensure Sarah’s safety. It was just a precaution and Nate got it, but right now he couldn’t help but wish his best friend was here. With him.
“I don’t give a shit how good these guys are,” Nate looked at Matt. “If their intel on Yavuz’ location isn’t solid, all we’re doing is wasting time.”
Gabe pushed himself off the wall and walked over to him. “We’re all worried about her, Carter. But, you know as well as I do, Jake wouldn’t have sent us all this fucking way if he wasn’t certain these guys could help us bring her home.”
With a loud sigh, Nate turned to his team leader again. “I know. Logically, I know you’re right. I just wish we were doing something besides sweating our asses off in this crackerjack box.”
It was nothing more than a one-room clay structure on the outskirts of Gaziantep. The city itself was quite large, but where they’d been sent to wait was isolated.
With the exception of the occasional tree here and there, the land around them was all but baron. They were like sitting ducks in a very small pond, which did nothing to help Nate’s already hyped-up anxiety.
“You know how Delta guys are. They’re as secretive as they come.”
Zade smiled. “Unlike you SEALS.”
Gabe raised a brow at the former Marine. “Yeah? What are you implying, King?”
With an incredulous expression, Zade provoked the formidable man. “You’re kidding, right? I mean, you do know how to tell whether a group of guys are SEALs, don’t ya, Dawson?” When Gabe remained silent, Zade teased, “Wait long enough, and they’ll tell ya.”
“You’re a real funny guy,” Matt smarted off, sticking up for his fellow Navy serviceman. “For a jarhead.”
“I’ll take being a jarhead over a frogman any day,” Zade spouted back.
Gabe gave Zade an evil smile. “Keep it up, King. You’ll joke your way right into an extra week’s worth of training.”
“Oh, come on, Boss,” Zade looked to Gabe. “You know I love you and your sexy frog legs.” He kissed the air, and then waggled his brows a few times, making Matt laugh.
“Christ,” Gabe groaned. “It’s like working with a bunch of twelve year olds.”
Nate started to smile, too, but something outside caught his eye. It took him a few seconds to realize there were two black jeeps with tinted windows coming down the dirt road.
“Look alive, boys,” he announced to the others. “We’ve got company.”
Instantly on alert, the men positioned themselves on either side of the door. Nate and Matt took the left, while Gabe and Zade covered the right.
With guns in their hands, the men of Bravo Team watched and waited to see who would step out of those two vehicles. Parking a few feet from the building, the drivers and passengers began exiting the jeeps.
Four men approached them. Three wore matching desert camo and vests much like what Nate and his team had on. Also like Bravo, their long guns were secured in straps running diagonally across their chests.
