They’d set up a headquarters of sorts in an alcove created by a large fallen tree that draped at an angle as it was propped up by a large, thriving Douglas fir. Sheets of moss provided cover that had been embellished with ferns and forest-patterned camouflage sheets.

“We’ve got two men patrolling. One in a tree on lookout. He caught you with his NVGs ten minutes ago.” One corner of Flyte’s mouth curled up. “If I were grading you, Mr. Rivera, that would be a fail.”

She knew the official address for a warrant officer was “mister,” but it sounded odd to her ears given the military hierarchy present. This was her first time seeing Xavier in this element. She could swear his posture was straighter. He’d let her see his pained shoulder, his unpolished edges. But none of that would be on display here.

She felt a surge of emotion at the realization Xavier had let her see beneath the surface to the wounded SEAL.

She shoved her feelings aside and paid attention to the report Flyte gave Xavier. As a commissioned officer, the lieutenant held the higher rank, but it was possible Xavier was in charge here because he’d been in command of the training exercise.

She settled on a log as she tried to make sense of the jargon. Flyte’s team had found a dead body in the woods with a broken neck, and Xavier pointed to the weapons he’d acquired from that encounter. Her belly twisted when Flyte reported that one Fire Team never made it to the rendezvous and had yet to be located.

Xavier let out a low curse that was echoed by Flyte and others in the circle.

“On a positive note, we have a ghost who took out two tangos when he blew up a boat earlier.”

Never in her life had she imagined she would smile at hearing a boat explosion on Lake Olympus had killed two men, but her life had changed a lot in the last thirty-plus hours. “Good job, George,” she whispered.

Flyte did a double take. “You know the ghost?”

She nodded and met the man’s gaze. “Even better, I know where he is now and what he’s planning.”

And with that, Xavier began his report. The team gathered to strategize their assault on the lodge armed with three match guns, an assortment of Molotov cocktails, two pistols, and one assault rifle, in addition to two dozen handguns and rifles loaded with paint pellets.

Jae wasn’t a fan of going against his boss’s wishes, but he’d been getting the runaround all day from both the park hierarchy and the Navy. Luke Sevick was equally fed up with Navy brass. When both the park and the Navy refused to offer up a key to the gate, they came up with their own plan.