Page 61 of Rescued By the Alpha SEAL

"And?"

A muscle ticks in my jaw. "Handled it. For now."

She huffs a breath—not quite a laugh. "That's vague."

"It's temporary," I admit. "But it buys us time."

Sloane's steps falter slightly. When I glance at her, there's something vulnerable in her expression. It hits me like a physical blow.

"I think..." She swallows hard. "I think it's time I told them everything."

The words hang between us, heavy with implication. Part of me wants to protect her from this—from exposing herself to more risk, more judgment.

But I recognize the steel in her spine, the quiet certainty that says she's already made up her mind.

"You sure?" I ask, even though I know the answer.

She nods. "They deserve to know. After everything... after what you've all been through..." Her voice trails off, and something in my chest constricts.

What does she know?

Before I can ask, we round the corner into the main hall. The team's gathered around the central table—Caleb perched on its edge, Knox standing rigid by the window, Eli and Asa bent over a laptop while Ryker paces nearby. Rosa stands with them, arms crossed, expression grim.

They look up as we enter. The air thickens with unspoken questions.

"Listen," Caleb starts, pushing off the table. "We've been talking, and we think?—"

"Wait." Sloane steps forward, chin lifted. "Before you say anything... there's something you need to hear. All of you."

I watch the others exchange glances. Knox's posture stiffens further. Eli straightens, giving her his full attention. Even Ryker stops pacing.

"The reason I'm here," Sloane continues, her voice steady despite the slight tremor in her hands, "isn't just because I was running. It's because I found something. Something that got my contact killed."

The room goes still. I can feel the weight of everyone's attention, the way they lean in despite themselves. Sloane takes a deepbreath, and I resist the urge to step closer—to shield her from what's coming.

Because she doesn't need my protection.

"My name is Sloane Carter," she says. "I'm an investigative journalist, and before I came here, I received a thumb drive containing classified military documents. Files about an operation called Blackout."

The name hits like a thunderclap. Knox jerks as if struck. Caleb's easy smile vanishes. Eli closes his eyes briefly, pain flashing across his features.

"The deeper I dug," Sloane continues, "the more I uncovered. Corruption. Cover-ups. A civilian targeted for knowing too much. Sound familiar?"

Her eyes find mine, and in that moment, I know—she's seen it all. The mission logs. The kill orders. The betrayal that haunts us all.

"My father..." Her voice catches slightly. "He disappeared twenty years ago. Another truth-teller silenced. I thought if I could expose this, maybe I could understand why. But the more I learned, the more dangerous it became."

She tells them everything—about Max, her source, found dead in his car. About the chase across state lines, the burner phones, the nights spent looking over her shoulder. About ending up in Iron Hollow, half-frozen and desperate.

"I didn't know then," she says softly, "that I'd stumbled into a sanctuary built by the very men who tried to stop it. Who chose to protect instead of execute. Who paid the price for doing what was right."

The silence that follows feels electric. I watch my team—my brothers—absorb her words. See the recognition dawn in their eyes. The understanding that's been missing.

Caleb speaks first, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "So what now? We just... what? Take on the whole system?"

"No," Sloane says. "We expose the truth. But carefully. Strategically." She glances at me. "Together."

I feel something shift in the room—a subtle realignment of loyalty and purpose. Knox's shoulders relax fractionally. Eli nods, a small smile tugging at his lips. Even Asa looks up from his screen with newfound interest.