He glanced back at her, then frowned faintly as if he sensed her hesitation. “Surely after everything we’ve shared, you know you can talk to me about anything.”

“I hope so.”

Now she had his undivided attention. His gaze was laser-sharp, taking in every nuance of her body language and expression all of a sudden. Gulp.

She said firmly, “When we get back to Camp Jarvis, I’m going to tell Commander Kettering I’m volunteering to be the one to go to BUD/S.”

Griffin’s eyes popped wide with surprise. “Why?”

“Because it’s not fair to ask you to stay here training me any longer. You need to get overseas and be with your team. They’ve just suffered a devastating loss. And besides, if I know you and your guys, all of you will be out for revenge. The Reapers could use your help to nail Haddad.”

“As true as all of that may be, why would you throw away your shot at being a real SEAL? You’re every bit as good as Anna and Lily.”

She shrugged. “It’s the right thing to do.”

“But is it what you want?” he persisted.

“Hey, aren’t you the guy who told me last night you didn’t want me anywhere near real operations? That you were terrified I would die if I went out in the field?”

He scowled. “That’s not the point. The point is you’re good enough to have a shot at it for real. Why would you throw that away? You’re not the kind of person to settle for second best. I know you.”

She supposed he did. The stress of the training he’d put her through had a way of stripping away all the artifice and revealing a person’s essential being. But that sword swung both ways. She knew him, too.

Which was why, as sure as she was sitting here, she knew he would start to resent her going forward, for keeping him away from his brothers-in-arms.

She pushed her own plate back, planting her elbows on the table and matching his stare head on. “I want you to teach me how to survive BUD/S. I’m not talking about more screaming and logs and freezing in the ocean. I’ve got all that stuff wired. I need you to tear apart the mental aspects for me and talk me through the ultimate lessons I’m supposed to draw from it all.”

“That would be cheating,” he replied shortly. “BUD/S is not only a rite of passage, but also carefully designed to weed out those who can’t cut it as SEALs.”

“Yes. But it would get me out of your hair fast so you can get back to your team.”

He frowned.