Jake shrugged. “I guess we’ll never know since that’s exactly what we intend to do.”
“I can’t believe you all came.” She looked at the badass black ops security team. “Thank you!”
“Don’t thank us. Thank Ryker. He’s the reason we’re here.” Jake tipped his chin to the man standing behind her.
Sophie swung around, her eyes finding Jason’s. “You arranged all this?”
“My office received intel about a possible uprising in the area. I was given a list of American volunteers serving here. I saw your name, and I—”
“Speaking of gettin’ outta here,” Coop interjected. He nodded toward the bodies on the floor. “We should probably get a move on before their buddies decide to show up.”
“There are more?” Christine stepped over the body of the man who’d nearly killed them and came to stand by Sophie’s side.
“There are always more,” Jason muttered emotionlessly as he also joined the group.
Sophie’s mind was reeling. She wanted to ask him what he’d meant when he’d said that about seeing her name on the list. Surely, he hadn’t come all this way solely because of her. Had he?
Don’t be ridiculous.
Just then, McKenna “Mac” Kelley—the only female member of R.I.S.C.—poked her head in the door. “The other SEALs are here. We should be good for exfil.”
“Exfil?” Sophie instinctively looked to Jason for an explanation.
“Exfiltrate. It means we’re getting the hell out of here.”
“Thank God.” Christine exhaled loudly. “For a second, there, I really thought we were goners.”
For a second there, so did she.
Out in the hallway, she saw the rest of Alpha Team. Next to Mac was Derek West, the team’s computer genius, and Trevor Matthews, Jake’s former Delta Force teammate.
With Jason hovering closely beside her, yet being careful not to touch her, Sophie and Christine followed the men and Mac down the hallway. Away from the carnage.
“Wait.” Sophie stopped suddenly. Her gaze fell upon the entire group as she asked, “What about Master Chief Warren? He was in the stairwell heading to the first floor.”
“Yeah.” Christine nodded. “He held these men off so we could get away and hide.”
The team’s matching expression said it all.
Oh, no.
“He didn’t make it, did he?” Sophie’s eyes welled as she turned to Jason.
With his jaw tight, he shook his head. “Master Chief Warren gave his life for his country.”
No, he’d given his life to save her and Christine.
Her heart ached for the brave man who’d lost everything to protect two women he didn’t even know. “What about his team?” Sophie swiped at a stray tear. “He said they were in the building, too.”
“They were,” Jake confirmed. “We sent them out with the rest of your volunteer group so they could get them to safety.”
“And Mr. Warren?” Christine asked quietly.
Jason looked at her and said, “He’s with them.”
Once outside the building, Sophie and Christine were shuffled into one of two armored SUVs. The team split up, half in one vehicle, half in the other.
Jason chose the seat beside her.