Prologue

      The Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, San Diego, California

      “What kind of trouble have you gotten into?”

      David Holloway, known to his Navy SEAL teammates as Flipper, glanced at the four men surrounding him. They were like brothers to him. More than once they’d risked their lives for each other and they would continue to have each other’s backs, on duty or off. That bond was what accounted for the concerned looks on their faces. He wondered how they’d known he’d been summoned to the admiral’s office.

      “Let’s hope I’m not in any trouble, Mac,” Flipper said, rubbing a hand down his face.

      He had to admit he was wondering what was going on, just like they were. Usually, you were only summoned to a meeting with the admiral when you were getting reprimanded for some reason, and he never got into trouble. At least he rarely did. As the son of a retired SEALs commanding officer and the youngest of five brothers—all Navy SEALs—he knew better.

      “Maybe there’s an event on the base and he wants you to escort his daughter now that you’re the single one among us,” Coop said, grinning.

      Flipper didn’t grin back. They’d seen Georgianna Martin, the admiral’s twenty-three-year-old daughter. She was beautiful, but they’d heard the horror stories from other teammates who’d been ordered to take her out on dates. According to them, those evenings had been the dates from hell. The young woman was spoiled rotten, selfish as sin and had an attitude that sucked. That’s why Flipper didn’t find Coop’s comment at all amusing. He hoped that wasn’t why the admiral wanted to see him.

      It didn’t surprise Flipper that it was Mac who’d asked if Flipper had gotten into trouble. Thurston McRoy—code name Mac—was older than the other four men on the team, who had all started their careers as SEALs around the same time. Mac had been a SEAL five years before the rest of them. Mac seemed to like to think he was the big brother looking out for them, almost like he figured they couldn’t take care of themselves. He was forever giving them advice—even when they didn’t ask for it.

      In addition to Mac and Flipper, their SEAL team included Brisbane Westmoreland, code name Bane; Gavin Blake, whose code name was Viper; and Laramie Cooper, whose code name was Coop.

      Flipper checked his watch. “Since I have a couple of hours to spare before meeting with the admiral, let’s grab something to eat,” he suggested.

      “Sounds good to me,” Bane said.

      Less than an hour later, Flipper and his four teammates shared burgers, fries and milkshakes at one of the most popular eating places on base. They decided to sit outside at one of the café tables in the front instead of inside where it was crowded since it was such a beautiful May day.

      No one brought up his meeting with the admiral again or the notion of him taking the admiral’s daughter on a date. He was glad. Instead, the guys had more important things to talk about, namely their families.

      Bane’s wife, Crystal, had given birth to triplets last year and he had new photos to share, so they passed Bane’s cell phone around.

      Viper’s wife, Layla, was expecting with only a few months to go before Gavin Blake IV would be born. Viper was excited about becoming a father, of course.

      Like Bane, Mac had plenty of photos to share; he was married and the father of four.

      And Coop had a two-year-old son he hadn’t known about until he’d run into his old girlfriend about six months ago. They’d reconnected, gotten married and were now a happy family.

      Earlier in the week, the teammates had gotten word from their commanding officer that next week was the start of a four-month leave. For Flipper, that meant heading home to Dallas and he couldn’t wait. His mother had a birthday coming up and he was glad he would be home to celebrate.

      “I don’t care what plans you all are making for your leave, just as long as you remember my mom’s birthday celebration. I understand you not showing up, Viper, with a baby on the way. The rest of you guys, no excuses.”

      “We hear you,” Bane said, grinning. “And we will be there.”

      When Viper ordered another hamburger, everyone teased him about being the one to eat for two instead of his wife. And then everyone talked about what they planned to do with their four months off.

      It was two hours later when Flipper walked into the admiral’s office. He was surprised to find Commanding Officer Shields there as well. Flipper saluted both men.

      “At ease. Please have a seat, Lieutenant Holloway.”

      “Thank you, sir,” he said, sitting down. He was used to being under his commanding officer’s intense scrutiny, but there was something in the sharp green eyes of Admiral Norris Martin that was making him feel uncomfortable.

      “You come highly recommended by your commanding officer here, Lieutenant Holloway. And the reason I asked to meet with you is that we need you. Your country needs you.”

      Flipper was happy to step up. He was a Navy SEAL, and the reason he’d enlisted, like his father and brothers, was to protect his country. “And what am I needed to do, sir?” he asked.

      “Our investigators have provided intelligence and a preliminary report that says acts of espionage are happening in Key West. Someone is trading valuable government secrets to China.”

      Flipper didn’t respond immediately.

      The one thing he hated was a traitor, but he’d discovered that for the right price, a number of American citizens would perform acts of treason. He understood that. However, what he didn’t understand was why he’d been singled out for this meeting. He was part of a SEAL team. He didn’t work in naval intelligence.

      Confusion must have shown on his face because Admiral Martin continued, “The report was given to me, but I don’t believe it.”

      Flipper raised a brow. “You don’t believe a report that classified documents are being traded in Key West, sir?”

      “Oh, I believe all that, but what I refuse to believe is that this suspect is guilty of anything.”

      “Is there a reason why, sir?”

      “Here is the information,” said Commanding Officer Shields, speaking for the first time as he handed Flipper a folder.

      Flipper opened it to find a picture of a very beautiful woman. She looked to be around twenty-four, with dark, sultry eyes and full, shapely lips. Then there was her mass of copper-brown spiral curls that flowed to her shoulders, crowning a