His scowl deepened considerably, which sent warm fuzzies through her. It was awesome that he craved her fully as much as she craved him. He threw his arms around her, drawing her into his lap as he sat on the sofa. “I can still steal a fast snuggle while we talk, though.”

With Vidmeyer’s stopwatch in mind, she got right to business. “I have a small problem I need your advice on. Grundy tried to kill me today.”

“What the hell?” Griffin exclaimed, staring at her in disbelief. “How?” Thunder was gathering rapidly on his brow, and a cold calculation entered his gaze that didn’t bode well for Grundy’s long-term health. His arms tightened around her protectively.

“During the water retrieval evolution, he didn’t grab my arm. Instead, he shoved my head under the boat. I barely got clear of the propeller. Ended up getting stuck under the boat and couldn’t surface.”

“Any witnesses?”

“I have no idea. I didn’t want to talk to anyone until I ran it past you. It’s a serious accusation to make of a fellow trainee.”

“Hell, yeah, it is. I expected someone to take a potshot at you during the course, but I didn’t think anyone would try to kill you outright.” He shoved one of his hands through his hair, a sure sign he was worried. “Who was driving the boat?”

“I don’t know. Peevy jumped in after me and fished me out, though.”

Griffin frowned thoughtfully.

“What’s the deal with him, anyway?” she asked.

“Cal asked him to come here, observe you, and give him feedback on whether or not you’ll make a decent SEAL. Peevy’s as well known as any operator ever was or will be. Cal figures if he gives you the nod, just about every other SEAL on the teams will give you a chance. Peevy will be your toughest critic, but he can also be your greatest ally.”

Made sense. “Do I tell anyone about Grundy trying to drown me? Surely attempting to kill a classmate crosses some sort of line.”

“Ya think?” Griffin snorted. “I’d take Grundy out myself if it wouldn’t get me tossed off the teams.”

Griffin stared off into space, clearly thinking through options. Finally, he said heavily, “Lemme have a chat with Ray. Find out if he saw anything on the boat today. He doesn’t miss much. Legit, he’s one of the smartest operators I’ve ever run with.”

“You worked with Ray Peevy? I hear he’s, like, legendary.”

Griffin shrugged modestly. “We worked in DEVGRU together until I broke my back.”

She already knew Griffin had the full respect of his Reaper teammates…and now she knew why. “DEVGRU, huh? Badass, Caldwell.”

He rolled his eyes at her. “You keep doing your BUD/S thing. I’ll find out what Ray saw. Then we’ll figure out how to proceed.”