Page 70 of Ground Zero

But no Jake.

No obvious Sigma operatives.

No sign of Brass.

It was too quiet. Too perfect.

Either Jake had been delayed, or this was an elaborate setup designed to draw Maverick out.

The smart move would be to leave, to abort, and to regroup. But without cell signal, he couldn’t warn Sheridan or know if she was safe.

Tali hummed quietly at the front counter, oblivious to the danger potentially heading her way. Maverick had spoken to her on several occasions and knew she was a good woman. He’d bought a coffee and a paperback from her this morning, trying to play tourist while maintaining surveillance.

Through the window, he saw movement. A figure approaching the pier from the parking lot side. But the build was wrong for Jake—too tall, moving with a different gait.

Who was that?

The man stepped onto the pier, checking his phone repeatedly, obviously frustrated by the lack of signal. He seemed to be alone, but that meant nothing.

Was this guy here instead of Jake? Or was this another layer of the trap?

Or maybe this guy wasn’t connected at all.

As if reading his thoughts, a woman rushed toward the man and threw her arms around him.

Maverick released his breath and weighed his options.

He could slip out the front of the store and disappear before anyone knew he’d been here. But that would mean abandoning any chance of identifying the traitor, of stopping the attack.

He thought about Sheridan being at Blackout headquarters. About the British submarine. About Danny’s widow.

There was no way he could walk away from this.

Just then, a floorboard creaked behind him.

Maverick’s hand moved to his concealed weapon as he turned, expecting the worst.

CHAPTER 39

Maverick turned slowly, his hand hovering near his weapon as he faced the person behind him.

Jake Laudner stood three feet away, hands visible and empty, his expression grave.

“Easy, Mav,” Jake said quietly. “I’m alone.”

Maverick’s muscles relaxed—but only for a second. He scanned the store, making sure this wasn’t an ambush.

He didn’t see anyone else.

Jake’s jaw tightened. “Listen, I get that you don’t know if you can trust me. But I’m on your side. I know you’re not a traitor. You’ve saved too many lives in your military career to throw it all away now. So whatever’s really going on, we’re going to need to trust each other.”

Maverick studied his team leader’s face, searching for deception.

Finding none, he made a choice that could save them both—or get them killed.

He would trust Jake.

“You wanted to meet?” Maverick started.