Page 75 of Over the Edge

Leo lifted his head to stare at Cal in misery. “No. I don’t. That’s the thing. The team is my life. It’s my…everything. I should never have married her.”

“Why did you, then?”

“She skipped her period. Was convinced she was pregnant. Told me she’s as regular as clockwork. We didn’t use protection…thought I was doing the right thing.”

Jeez. That was the oldest trick in the book to trap a SEAL into marriage. It explained the hasty wedding. Leo and Janine had only been dating a few months, and got hitched only a few weeks after they announced their engagement.

Aloud, Cal said, “I’m sorry, bro. Why didn’t you say something to me? Did you get her to see a doctor before you raced to the altar?”

“She said she did.”

“Did you go with her to the appointment?”

Leo exhaled hard. “No.”

Hell. Leo almost deserved to be stuck with a wife he didn’t want after being that stupid. “Do you love her?”

Leo shoved a hand through his hair. “I don’t even like her. But I promised. Till death do us part…”

Cal shook his head. “I’ll talk with you more when we get home. You do have options, my friend. There are kind, sensible ways to get out of a situation like this. Trust me. Once Janine gets a good taste of being a navy wife—a SEAL wife—she isn’t going to want to stay hitched to you any more than you want to be with her.”

“You think?” It was the first note of hope he’d heard in Leo’s voice for weeks.

“I know. From personal experience. Don’t worry. We’ll get you out of this mess together. I’ve got your back.”

Leo grabbed Cal’s shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze.

“We take care of our own,” Cal murmured.

“Hooyah,” Leo mumbled.

“You gonna be able to get your head in the game and keep it there for this op?”

“Yeah. I’m good now.” A pause. “Thanks.”

Thank God. Reaper platoon was dangerously depleted as it was. He couldn’t afford to go down another operator. Several trainees in addition to Sherri Tate currently in Phase Three of BUD/S were slated to come his way, but they were still a good six months from operational. Until then, he was making do with the guys—and women—he had. Good thing the Valkyries were ready to spin up. He would be hosed without them.

The boarding call for the Philly flight was called and Leo stood with a new spring in his step. “Let’s go get our guy, boss.”

“Roger that.”

They madeit through the Bagva Pass without incident. He’d turned on the identification radio the CIA had given him so no western contractors would shoot them, and they’d abandoned the truck and driven as fast as the Range Rover would go through the pass itself, making themselves a small, difficult, and not particularly interesting target.

It wasn’t far from the border to the Swat Valley, and Trevor stopped the Range Rover just shy of a ridge in the gathering dusk. He announced, “We’re about five klicks from the mouth of valley. This is the last real cover we’ll have as we approach it. We’ll hump in on foot from here.”

Anna nodded. “Do you want to review the terrain map once last time?”

“No. I’ve got the whole thing memorized.” He studied it while Anna had been taking a turn at the wheel today, and she’d done the same while he’d been driving.

“Night trek?” she asked.

“Affirmative.”

They found a spot behind a cluster of boulders and hid the Range Rover, covering it with camo netting, weighing down the corners of the net with heavy rocks. Trevor passed her the Tavor urban assault rifle, and he took the heavier Russian equivalent, an Ash-12.7.

Donning their packs, they went through the ritual buddy check, making sure everything was properly secured and that no vital gear had been left behind.

“All set?” Anna asked after he got done yanking and poking at her kit and she’d done the same to his.

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