Trevor emerged from the crowd of men as Griffin walked her back toward his truck.

“Hey, Blondie!” Trevor swept her off her feet in a big bear hug.

She smiled warmly at the Brit who had always been kind and respectful to her and the other women. “It’s good to see you. Just not under these circumstances.”

Trevor nodded, his gaze somber. “This won’t be the last funeral you attend.”

“How are Anna and Lily?” she asked.

“Progressing well. Anna’s here somewhere. I think she went to pay her respects to Sam’s family.”

Sherri scanned the crowd eagerly for Anna’s lean build and lush brunette hair. No surprise, she spied a crowd of SEALs around Anna, talking with her. Even from this distance, it was obvious that several were hitting on her.

“Oh, for the love of Mike,” Trevor muttered. He must have spotted Anna and her retinue of would-be suitors.

“She could probably use a rescue,” Sherri suggested to Trev.

He flashed her a supremely irritated look. “I’m not her knight in shining armor.”

“You sure about that?” Sherri shot back.

For an instant, something raw and painful flashed in Trevor’s green eyes. “It’s not that simple,” he mumbled.

She glanced briefly at Griffin. “It never is, Trev. But the good ones are worth fighting for.”

Changing subjects, Trevor asked, “How are you faring among the wolves?”

“I finished INDOC yesterday. It was a squeaker, but I made the top half of my class.”

“Well done. Brilliant!” Trevor exclaimed warmly.

She shrugged. “We’ll see how BUD/S goes. I have a feeling the instructors are really going to be looking for ways to break me.”

Trevor smiled. “You know what they say. Never quit. Never consider it.”

“I’m not planning on doing either.”

“Make us proud, Minnow,” Trevor murmured as several more SEALs strolled up.

“Hey, aren’t you that girl trying to be a SEAL?” one of the men blurted out.

Sherri froze. Crap. Nobody was supposed to know that she’d had months of pretraining with a bunch of SEALs. Operation Valkyrie was highly classified. “I am that girl, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make a fuss about it. Today is Sam’s day.”

“You knew him?” another guy asked.

“I am in the Navy,” she retorted. “I know quite a few naval personnel. Like these gentlemen, for example.”

Cal Kettering materialized beside Griffin, commenting blandly, “She’s done some public affairs work for the Reapers in the past. She’s family.”

The defensive posture of the other SEALs melted immediately. Family to one SEAL was family to all.

Griffin leaned close to mutter in her ear, “Let’s get out of here.”

She was all over that.