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with a curse sharp as a gunshot. “We better pray he never finds out about this. Otherwise we’re up shit-river.”
    Cosky stared at Beth for a long moment, before turning to Zane. “I won’t lie to him point-blank. If he asks me about your dream , I’ll tell him the truth.”
    Zane nodded. Neither man would have agreed to this if they’d suspected Beth was involved.
    “I don’t know.” Beth’s lavender eyes were brimming with guilt and worry. “How much trouble will you get into if you get caught lying?”
    Surprised, Zane turned his attention her. He’d given her an easy out, one that would take the responsibility off her shoulders. Yet she was worried how it would affect him and his men. Warmth spread through his chest.
    “None,” he assured her, which was another lie.
    If Mac found out about the switch, Zane would be in a shit-pot of hurt. He could protect his men by telling his CO that he’d misled them too. But who’d had the dream wasn’t the issue. The problem was withholding Beth’s name. Protecting a suspect in a terrorist attack was a court-martial offense. And Mac would consider Beth a suspect.
    When Beth didn’t look convinced, Zane reached out to stroke her cheek. He smiled when she didn’t pull away. “I’ll tell Mac the same thing you told us, so the meat of what I’m telling him is true.”
    She apparently assumed that meant Mackenzie would understand and forgive if the lie was exposed. The worry and guilt smoothed from her face. Zane let her believe it. It was amazing how that one deception kept bleeding into others.
    “So you’re in the Army?”
    Rawls chuckled, although it sounded forced. “Bite your tongue.” His gaze lingered on her mouth, and his grin eased into a more natural cast. “I’d be offended you’d confuse us with those dustbowl wannabes, if you weren’t so damn cute.”
    Zane stiffened. That son of a bitch better find someplace else to stare or he wouldn’t be flashing his killer grin again until the bones in his face knitted. He almost stepped forward to block Rawls’ view, when the absurdity stuck him. Christ, he was acting like an idiot. Rawls wouldn’t poach on a teammate’s woman. Once she was spoken for, she was off-limits.
    And Beth was his. The only one who wasn’t aware of that fact was Beth.
    “I’m sorry. I just assumed.”
    “We’re with the Navy. SEAL Team 7.” Zane cocked his head and waited for her reaction.
    He rarely mentioned his profession to strangers, particularly women. Invariably they reacted in one of two ways. With distaste, as though the fact he was Special Operations dropped him into the same category as your average serial killer. Or they’d get this gleam in their eyes, something resembling sexual avarice, as though making it through BUD/S had endowed him with some mystical prowess.
    When her expression cleared, Zane relaxed. Until it occurred to him she might not know what being a SEAL entailed.
    “The SEAL program is the Navy’s version of Special Forces—” he started to explain.
    “I know,” she broke in. “Deployed from sea, land and air. I’ve read some… ah…” She coughed, her cheeks flushing pink. “…books that had SEALs in them.”
    “No kiddin’,” Rawls drawled, a mask of innocence plastered across his face. He braced his elbows on the shelving behind him, and eyed her with a lazy smile. “Can I borrow them? I’m always interested in seeing how the public views our profession.”
    When Beth’s cheeks blazed from pink to bright red, Zane’s eyebrows climbed. Maybe he should borrow those books too.
    “It occurs to me,” she blurted out, obviously trying to sidetrack them from her reading habits, “even if I cancel the standby listing, it will still show up when they run the passenger manifest. I’ll still be a suspect.”
    “Yeah, well.” Zane rubbed his chin, and tried not to look satisfied. “I’ve got a plan to make you look less suspicious.”
    Rawls started laughing.
    Zane snapped