All three were tall, the one bringing up the rear standing well over six feet. That guy had short, dark hair and was darker complected than the other two. Like Gabe, he was also built like a fucking brick house.
The man to Nate’s left appeared to be right at six feet—still tall, but definitely shorter than the human tower in the back—and also had brown hair. Though, not by much, he looked to be a bit older than the other two and walked with an air of confidence that made Nate think he was the one in charge.
To his right was a third member of the team. Also standing over six feet, the man’s hair was a bit longer than regulation and his arms were covered in bright ink. Of course, Delta came with its own set of rules, so it didn’t really come as much of a shock.
Much shorter than the others, the man walking in front was dressed in worn jeans, a light blue button-up, and ball cap.
With his head hung low, it was hard to make out his features, but when one of the Delta guys put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a slight nudge, Nate caught a glimpse of the all-too-familiar face.
He was looking at Baron Karos, Ryker’s useless prick of an informant.
“Barry?” he growled. Nate looked over at Matt. “What the hell?”
If Barry was here, it was because he had intel that could lead them to Gracie. It also meant he’d most likely held out on them when they were trying to track down Achim.
“So help me, if he knew something that could have prevented all this…” Nate didn’t finish the sentence, but his unspoken words were clear.
I’ll fucking kill him.
Not waiting for Gabe’s okay, Nate walked around Matt and swung open the wooden door.
“What the fuck is he doing here?”
Hearing his sharp tone, the Delta men stopped their forward progress and began to reach for their guns. When they saw Nate’s gaze was honed in solely on Barry, they relaxed a little.
Hiding his head—Nate wasn’t sure if it was in fear or shame, nor did he give a flying fuck which—Barry took a couple steps backward, bumping into one of the other guy’s chests.
“Watch it,” grumbled the man he’d hit.
“You Carter?” The man to Nate’s left asked.
Nate gave him a single tilt of his head. “You are?”
“Ghost.” He stepped forward and held out his gloved hand for Nate to take. “Good to meet you, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”
Nate shook his hand and muttered, “Thanks for coming.”
“No problem. Always happy to help our brothers out, active duty or otherwise. Especially if it means rescuing an innocent woman from the clutches of a couple shitfucks like Akmar and Yavuz.”
Damn. The guy actually seemed okay.
“This is Fletch,” Ghost pointed to his teammate on Nate’s right. “The big guy back there is Coach, and from the sounds of it, you already know our new friend, Barry.”
“Yeah,” Nate bit out. “We fuckin’ know him.” The chicken-ass bastard was still focused on the dirt at his feet. “Not sure why you bothered bringing him here, though. This guy doesn’t know shit about shit. Isn’t that right, Barry?”
“Actually,” Fletch came forward. “I think you’ll be surprised to hear what good ole’ Barry knows.”
Ready to kick the pipsqueak’s ass, Nate started to take a step forward. A strong hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“Gabe Dawson.” Reaching around Nate, he held his hand out for Ghost. “Bravo Team Leader. This is Matt, our medic, and Zade’s one of our snipers. Appreciate the assist. Come on in.”
Nate stepped aside to let the four men enter the small space. It took everything he had not to grab ahold of Barry as he passed by and squeeze his scrawny little neck.
“Well,” Ghost spoke as they all chose a spot to stand inside. “McQueen and I may not have been on the exact same team back in the day, but we worked enough joint ops for me to know the kind of man he is. So, when our commander called to fill me in on the situation with your office manager, I didn’t hesitate to offer my help.”
“She’s a hell of a lot more than that.” Nate didn’t elaborate, but then again, he didn’t need to.
Ghost nodded. “Jake filled me in on that part, as well. Don’t worry, Carter. My team and I have been where you are. We won’t stop until we have your woman back in your arms, safe and sound.”
