Epilogue
By the time dinner was over, Derek had completely lost count of how many people were inside his house.
Not that it mattered. Every available chair had been dragged into the dining room at some point, several of the kids had abandoned the table entirely and migrated to the living room floor, and Juliette had somehow managed to feed what felt like half the United States Navy without looking remotely stressed about it.
Christmas music played softly from the speakers, plates of half-eaten desserts covered the kitchen island, and somebody had already started a second pot of coffee even though it was nearly eight o’clock.
Derek stood near the edge of the living room with a mug in his hand and took it all in.
Alpha and Bravo teams were scattered everywhere.
Some of the guys were talking near the fireplace while their wives occupied the couches and chairs, and the kids had taken over every remaining inch of floor space.
Amira and Sienna were sitting suspiciously close together beneath the Christmas tree, whispering about something while occasionally looking around to see if anyone was watching them.
Derek had learned over the years that when those two got that quiet, someone should probably intervene before property damage occurred.
He considered volunteering, then decided he had already served his country enough.
Across the room, Jay Bird sat on the couch with Lily tucked against his side while Willow talked with Mia and Riley nearby.
The engagement ring on Willow’s finger had been noticed approximately thirty seconds after they had arrived, and Jay Bird had endured exactly the amount of harassment Derek expected.
Joker had nearly choked on his drink when Willow announced that Jay Bird had proposed that morning, while Playboy immediately wanted to know whether Jay Bird had actually managed to use words or had just handed her the ring and grunted.
Aussie had asked whether Lily had helped with the proposal, and Bear, proving once again that he possessed more common sense than most of the men in the room, had congratulated them and wisely stayed out of the rest.
Derek had mostly sat back and enjoyed watching his last bachelor take the abuse.
Something about it felt incredibly satisfying.
For years, Derek had watched the men under his command walk into situations that should have broken them and somehow come out stronger on the other side.
He had seen them injured, grieving, angry, and occasionally so damn stubborn that he had seriously considered requesting reassignment for the sake of his blood pressure.
Now, when he looked around the room, he didn’t just see the men who followed him into battle. He saw husbands and fathers surrounded by people they loved.
Even Jay Bird. That one still got him, though, judging by the way Jay Bird was helping Lily operate some noisy Christmas toy that would probably drive him insane before New Year’s; Derek didn’t think the man had any complaints.
“You’re doing it again.”
Derek glanced sideways and found Juliette beside him carrying a glass of wine. “Doing what?”
“Watching everyone like a proud father.”
Derek frowned. “Don’t ever say that in front of them.”
Juliette leaned against him, clearly enjoying herself. “Why? Commander Dad has a nice ring to it.”
“Absolutely not.”
“What about Commander Grandpa?”
Derek slowly turned his head and stared at her until she started laughing.
“That’s worse.”
“I thought you’d like it.”
“I’d like it if you never said either of those things again.”
She slipped an arm around his waist. “You know I’m right.”
Derek looked around the room again, and as much as it pained him to admit it, maybe she was.
Something felt different about seeing both teams together like this.
Alpha and Bravo had started as separate units, each with their own dynamics, missions, and headaches, but somewhere along the way those lines had blurred.
When they were together like this, they weren’t two teams anymore.
They were one giant, loud, and occasionally dysfunctional family that seemed to attract trouble at a rate Derek suspected the Department of Defense should probably study.
“At least they’re all settled now,” he said.
Juliette looked up at him. “Settled?”
“Relationships, marriages, kids. Everybody’s happy.”
“You sound relieved.”
“You have no idea. I swear I’ve spent the last several years feeling like a damn relationship counselor who occasionally got to command SEAL teams.”
“Commander Cupid?”
The voice came from behind him, and Derek closed his eyes.
Of course it was Bear.
When Derek turned, the asshole was standing several feet away with a grin spread across his face.
“I thought we were clear about that?”
Bear laughed while Juliette nearly spilled her wine.
“I kind of like it,” she said.
“I blame you for this.”
Juliette smiled sweetly before kissing his cheek. “You love me.”
Derek smiled despite himself, but before he could say anything else, movement near the hallway caught his attention.
Tink stood there watching him, and he wasn’t smiling.
He’d known Tink too long and served beside him through too much not to recognize that expression. Something was wrong.
Tink caught his eye and tipped his head toward the back door. “Walk with me.”
The good mood Derek had been enjoying disappeared almost instantly.
Derek leaned down and kissed Juliette. “I’ll be right back.”
Derek followed Tink through the kitchen and outside.
The cold air hit him the moment the door closed behind them, and the sounds of Christmas music and laughter became muffled through the glass.
Patio lights cast a soft glow across the yard, while through the large windows behind them, Derek could still see everyone moving around inside.
For several seconds, Tink didn’t say anything.
Derek shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Whatever it is, spit it out.”
“I found something.”
“That usually means you’re about to ruin my night.”
“Probably.”
Tink reached inside his coat and pulled out his phone. “I’ve been going back through some old files.”
Something in his tone immediately tightened Derek’s stomach. “What old files?”
“The mission.”
He didn’t need to explain which one.
Even after all these years, Derek remembered that mission with a clarity he sometimes wished he didn’t.
He remembered the terrain and the oppressive heat.
He remembered the first burst of gunfire coming from a position that intelligence had told them would be clear.
Most of all, he remembered the confusion as his men began taking fire from multiple directions and the horrible realization that they had walked straight into something none of them had anticipated.
He remembered the man who didn’t make it home alive—Jacob, his best friend, and Alex’s biological father.
Derek’s jaw tightened. “Why the hell are you digging into that again?”
“Because something about it has never sat right with me.”
“A lot of things never sat right about that mission.”
“I know, but I’ve been able to access information recently that wasn’t available to us back then. Financial records, shell companies, old aliases, and movement by people connected to the region who disappeared after the ambush. I started putting pieces together, and one name kept surfacing.”
Tink unlocked his phone and handed it over.
A photograph filled the screen.
It wasn’t particularly clear. Whoever had taken it had been some distance away, and the man in the photograph was older than Derek remembered. His hair contained more gray, and his face had changed with time, but some things weren’t so easily disguised.
Derek enlarged the image and felt every muscle in his body tighten.
“Scorpion.”
“Yeah.”
Derek stared at the photograph. “We thought he was dead.”
“We assumed he was dead because he disappeared again after Hannah’s ordeal.”
Derek lifted his gaze. “When was this taken?”
“Six weeks ago.”
That answer landed harder than Derek expected.
For years, Scorpion had been the name attached to the ambush.
The intelligence they had gathered afterward had pointed in his direction, but the trail had disappeared before they could ever confirm exactly how deeply he had been involved.
Eventually the official investigation went cold, and everyone did what men in their line of work learned to do when there were no more answers to find.
They had moved on. At least that was what Derek had told himself.
He looked back at the picture. “You said you found something. I’m guessing a photograph isn’t the only reason you pulled me away from Christmas dinner.”
“No.” Tink slipped his hands into his coat pockets. “I went back through the mission planning and started comparing the original timeline with the information I’ve uncovered.”
Derek handed him the phone. “And?”
“The route was definitely compromised.”
For a moment, Derek thought he had misunderstood him. “What do you mean, compromised?”
“I mean the ambush positions weren’t established after somebody spotted us entering the area.
Based on what I’m finding, those positions were set before we ever got there.
They knew the direction we would approach from, they knew approximately when we would arrive, and they knew the exact route we were supposed to take. ”
A cold feeling worked its way through Derek as memories of that night rearranged themselves in his head. He thought about where the first shots had come from and how quickly they had been pinned down. Every time they had tried to move, another position had already been waiting for them.
At the time, they believed the enemy knew the terrain better and had gotten lucky. Now Derek wondered if luck had never had a damn thing to do with it.
“You’re telling me someone knew our mission plan.”
Tink’s expression was grim. “I’m telling you they weren’t sitting out there hoping a team crossed their path. They were waiting for us, Derek.”
“Who gave them the route?”
Tink shook his head. “That’s what I need to find out.”
Derek rubbed a hand across his jaw as he looked toward the dark yard. For years he had carried the guilt of wondering if they had missed something. But if Tink was right, they had never been given a fair chance to begin with.
Someone had purposely sent them into an ambush.
“Does anyone else know about this?”
“No. I came to you first.”
“Good. Keep it that way until we know exactly what we’re dealing with. I want everything pulled again—the original mission reports, personnel files, intel sources, and every person who had access to that route, no matter how far removed they seemed at the time.”
Tink nodded. “Already started.”
“Of course you did.”
“You know me.”
Derek looked at him. “And Scorpion?”
“I’ll find him.”
Derek did not doubt that. Tink had always possessed an irritating ability to uncover people who had spent years making sure they couldn’t be found.
“What happens when we do?” Tink asked.
Derek didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked through the windows again at the people gathered inside his home. They were laughing, eating, chasing kids and enjoying Christmas without the slightest idea that a ghost from Derek’s past had just resurfaced.
For years, Alpha and Bravo had fought their own battles. Each team had suffered losses, faced enemies, and protected the people they loved, but this felt different. Scorpion wasn’t connected to one of the teams.
He was connected to where it all began. And if someone had betrayed Derek’s old team from the inside, then finding Scorpion wasn’t simply about revenge. It was about finally learning the truth behind a mission that had haunted him for years.
Derek turned back toward Tink.
“Find him. Find out who gave him our route. I know that bastard had something to do with it.”
Derek looked once more toward the house, at the men he had spent years commanding and the families they had built around them.
Whoever had orchestrated that ambush all those years ago had taken people from Derek once. He wouldn’t get another chance.
Tink slipped his phone back into his coat. “So, what are you thinking?”
Derek opened the back door, and the warmth and laughter of his family spilled out into the cold night.
He glanced back at Tink.
“I’m thinking it’s time we finish what he started.”