He stared at her, and she stared back. Oddly enough, she did seem to get how frustrated he was to be stuck here when his brothers were winging off toward a dangerous mission.

“You won’t be sidelined with us women forever,” she ventured.

“Seems like I will.”

“Go for a ride with me?” she murmured.

Why not? It wasn’t as if he could sit still right now, anyway. Not with how jacked up his adrenaline and irritation both were. He nodded tersely, and Sherri started the engine. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, fighting down the fury as she headed down a dirt track toward the back end of Camp Jarvis.

Tall, kudzu-draped trees closed in around them, and a little of his fury subsided. It was damp tonight. The air felt heavy. Like it wanted to storm. Perfect. Stormy weather to match his black mood.

A chill hung in the air, and he tugged the hood of his sweatshirt up around his ears. It would be a hell of a lot colder than this in Pakistan.

Sherri zipped the flexible plastic windows closed on her side of the vehicle, and he did the same. She turned up the heater, and it gradually beat back the cold.

They drove for a while in silence. Sherri seemed to understand that he was too mad to talk about it, and even if he could, he didn’t want to talk about his damned feelings.

She surprised him, however, by veering down a side road paved with broken, crumbling concrete. Weeds grew up between the cracks, and she slowed the Jeep to a crawl, bumping along slowly. The road was only traversable because they were in a sturdy utility vehicle.

“Where does this go?” he asked.

“To the old base hospital and building complex around it.”

“I thought all that stuff was torn down when Camp Jarvis was decommissioned.”

Sherri replied, “The wooden buildings were taken down. But several dozen concrete block buildings still stand. The girls and I explored them before you guys arrived. We figured you would use them for urban assault training at some point, and we wanted to get the jump on knowing our way around.”

He flashed her a grin. “You know what they say. Cheat, but don’t get caught. You definitely shouldn’t confess to having cheated.”

“It’s not cheating to have a look around the place where we live and work,” she retorted. “Aren’t SEALs supposed to become familiar with any environment they find themselves in?”

“It’s good to know you’re paying attention to my words of wisdom.” He added wryly, “I’ll make sure to compensate for your knowledge of the layout of this place when we bring you over here to play Cowboys and Indians.”

She stopped the Jeep and turned to look at him. “It’s not politically correct to call Native Americans that anymore.”

“Black Hats and White Hats?” he replied.