anyone you’re the one who had the dream,” Zane told her, aware that Cosky and Rawls had gone still.
They’d probably already figured out where he was going with this. From the tight expressions on their faces, they didn’t like it. Which was no surprise. The real question was whether they’d go along with it.
“But we have to,” Beth’s voice rose with each word. “How will we get anyone to search the plane if we don’t tell them about my dream?”
He smiled at her words. She’d linked them together with we . She didn’t realize it yet, but she was already coupling them in her mind. It was a start. A toehold he could build on.
“You’re telling Mackenzie you had the dream.” Cosky’s face turned stone-cold.
Zane didn’t deny it, just let the silence build. Let them think the ramifications through without fast talk or fancy words. He counted the two men across from him as his closest friends, trusted them implicitly. They were brothers in every way that counted.
What he was asking went beyond the bonds of brotherhood, beyond the bonds of friendship. Hell, it slashed right through the creed they lived by. You didn’t lie to your team. Ever.
Yet he was asking them to deceive their commanding officer, a man they respected, even considered a good friend—a man who’d had their backs every single time it mattered. Yeah, they’d been planning on telling Mac about Zane’s visions, but this was different. The bulk of their information had come courtesy of a woman they knew nothing about. A woman they couldn’t be certain wasn’t involved. A woman who would be wanted for questioning if the truth were to leak out.
He, at least, had the benefit of the bond forming between them. He could sense her emotions when they touched. There was no duplicity in her. There was fear, yes. Sensual heat, yes. Confusion, absolutely. But no dishonesty.
Cosky and Rawls didn’t have that advantage.
Zane hated the idea of lying to Mac as much as they did. But he’d lie to the whole damn fleet if it kept Beth safe.
Rawls was the first to break the throbbing silence. He scowled at the wall above Zane’s head, his face carved into the implacable mask Zane thought of as his the-shit’s-about-to-fly face, because he rarely saw it outside of battle.
“Mac’s been in on enough of your—” Rawls glanced at Beth “—hunches. He’ll believe you without question.”
“Yeah.”
“Fuck.” Cosky studied Beth’s face intently, before scrubbing a hand over his head. “It would get that plane searched, and hijackers captured without bringing her into it.”
“Who’s Mackenzie?”
“Commander Jace Mackenzie. Our CO—Commanding Officer,” Zane explained as confusion registered on her face.
Although Mac was more than their CO. He was one of Zane’s best friends. He’d served under the commander at HQ2 before Mac had reluctantly agreed to rank up and take a desk. He’d followed the man over to HQ1 and up to Coronado. Zane wouldn’t even be here, if it hadn’t been for Mackenzie. And in the twelve years they’d served together, he’d never lied to the commander. Never.
Which was one of the reasons he’d be believed now.
Son of a bitch. He didn’t like this any more than Cosky or Rawls did. It went against every instinct he had. But it was lie, or serve Beth up to some glory-seeking pencil-pusher out to make a name for himself. These kinds of cases drew publicity like fresh roadkill drew crows. They destroyed innocent lives.
No way was he letting Beth take the fall for this. Even if that meant lying to his team.
If he told Mackenzie about Beth and her nightmare, the commander would make a round of calls which would result in that plane being searched. But Mac would turn her in. During the best of times, he had little use for women—apart from the obvious. When it came to national security, he wouldn’t even hesitate. Nothing Zane said would convince the commander to withhold her name.
Rawls cut loose
They’d probably already figured out where he was going with this. From the tight expressions on their faces, they didn’t like it. Which was no surprise. The real question was whether they’d go along with it.
“But we have to,” Beth’s voice rose with each word. “How will we get anyone to search the plane if we don’t tell them about my dream?”
He smiled at her words. She’d linked them together with we . She didn’t realize it yet, but she was already coupling them in her mind. It was a start. A toehold he could build on.
“You’re telling Mackenzie you had the dream.” Cosky’s face turned stone-cold.
Zane didn’t deny it, just let the silence build. Let them think the ramifications through without fast talk or fancy words. He counted the two men across from him as his closest friends, trusted them implicitly. They were brothers in every way that counted.
What he was asking went beyond the bonds of brotherhood, beyond the bonds of friendship. Hell, it slashed right through the creed they lived by. You didn’t lie to your team. Ever.
Yet he was asking them to deceive their commanding officer, a man they respected, even considered a good friend—a man who’d had their backs every single time it mattered. Yeah, they’d been planning on telling Mac about Zane’s visions, but this was different. The bulk of their information had come courtesy of a woman they knew nothing about. A woman they couldn’t be certain wasn’t involved. A woman who would be wanted for questioning if the truth were to leak out.
He, at least, had the benefit of the bond forming between them. He could sense her emotions when they touched. There was no duplicity in her. There was fear, yes. Sensual heat, yes. Confusion, absolutely. But no dishonesty.
Cosky and Rawls didn’t have that advantage.
Zane hated the idea of lying to Mac as much as they did. But he’d lie to the whole damn fleet if it kept Beth safe.
Rawls was the first to break the throbbing silence. He scowled at the wall above Zane’s head, his face carved into the implacable mask Zane thought of as his the-shit’s-about-to-fly face, because he rarely saw it outside of battle.
“Mac’s been in on enough of your—” Rawls glanced at Beth “—hunches. He’ll believe you without question.”
“Yeah.”
“Fuck.” Cosky studied Beth’s face intently, before scrubbing a hand over his head. “It would get that plane searched, and hijackers captured without bringing her into it.”
“Who’s Mackenzie?”
“Commander Jace Mackenzie. Our CO—Commanding Officer,” Zane explained as confusion registered on her face.
Although Mac was more than their CO. He was one of Zane’s best friends. He’d served under the commander at HQ2 before Mac had reluctantly agreed to rank up and take a desk. He’d followed the man over to HQ1 and up to Coronado. Zane wouldn’t even be here, if it hadn’t been for Mackenzie. And in the twelve years they’d served together, he’d never lied to the commander. Never.
Which was one of the reasons he’d be believed now.
Son of a bitch. He didn’t like this any more than Cosky or Rawls did. It went against every instinct he had. But it was lie, or serve Beth up to some glory-seeking pencil-pusher out to make a name for himself. These kinds of cases drew publicity like fresh roadkill drew crows. They destroyed innocent lives.
No way was he letting Beth take the fall for this. Even if that meant lying to his team.
If he told Mackenzie about Beth and her nightmare, the commander would make a round of calls which would result in that plane being searched. But Mac would turn her in. During the best of times, he had little use for women—apart from the obvious. When it came to national security, he wouldn’t even hesitate. Nothing Zane said would convince the commander to withhold her name.
Rawls cut loose
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