Free Outcast (SEAL Team: Disavowed Book 2) by Laura Marie Altom

her and her pint-sized guests. Of course, I agreed. We did silly things—showing off supersaturation by making ice pillars. Crushing cans with air pressure. Creating a cloud in a bottle. I’d earlier made a Rubin’s tube that I set up on the lawn. After dark, the children and their parents were mesmerized by the fire dancing in time to Ace of Base.”
    “Thanks for the slide show, pops , but how does any of that prove you’re not just as slimy as the nutball scum who’s been trying to kill my ass ever since I set foot on this godforsaken iceberg?”
    “It doesn’t.” Dane hummed while flipping the burgers. “Eden told me you’re a former SEAL. I would imagine in that line of work, you were faced with all manner of unholy chaos on a daily basis. It must have been hard—determining the black and white of any given situation. Say you were given orders to clear a village of a suspected terrorist cell. But once you got there, you found those men were not only terrorists, but loving husbands and fathers. Sons of moms and dads who loved them every bit as much as any family would. On the one hand, those men were a danger to the very core of all Western society holds dear. On the other, they were the beating hearts at their own family core. Who were you to judge which family was more important?”
    “Save the theological and ethical mind games. I get where you’re coming from, but what about sacrificing one for the good of others? There’s not much gray area to consider when it comes to taking out some bastard who has a hobby of strapping bombs to nursery school kids.”
    “Agreed. My apologies.” He bowed his head. “I failed to make my point. All I’m getting at is that there are always two ways of looking at things. You and I are virtual strangers. As such, considering what you and Eden have been through, I don’t blame you for your distrust. But please understand I love her as much as you.”
    Jasper lowered his gaze. He’d never said anything about loving her. But hell, maybe he did. Why else would he have been crazy enough to come all the way down here to save her?
    His empty stomach launched a growling bitch-fest. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten, and the burgers smelled damned good. Did he risk them being poisoned?
    He hopped down from his seat on the counter.
    “Ah, there you are,” Dane glanced up from flipping the burgers to smile at Eden. “That didn’t take long.”
    “No hot water.” While holding a towel to her wet hair, she winced. “I should’ve stayed dirty.”
    “I’ll love you either way.” Dane winked before adding cheese to the patties.
    “How can I help?” Eden asked.
    Jasper barely held back a snarl when she hugged the guy from behind. In most cases, Jasper liked to think he was a great judge of character, but when it came to Dane, he was having a tough time taking a read. Honestly? The man had done nothing overt to indicate he played for the other team. In fact, his show of shooting that copter team should have been convincing.
    Except for the fact that it wasn’t.
    When the chopper pilot never heard from his team, why hadn’t he returned to check on them? Or, if needed, bring more men? For that matter, it would have been just as easy to follow their trail here. Why hadn’t they? What was keeping Leo away? Or should Jasper be asking who was keeping him away?
    While Eden chummed it up with Dane, Jasper paced.
    He reached a general notice bulletin board where a note written in red Sharpie caught his eye. It had been dated today.
     
    Marabella Station—
    Douglas Anderson failed to return to McMurdo by his estimated arrival time, though his vehicle is absent from your station. Since your comms are down, we’ve left a sat phone. Please contact immediately to confirm station status.
    —Roger Howard
     
    Roger left his number scrawled on the legal pad on the table.
    There was no phone.
    Jasper looked under the table, next to it, on all nearby chairs, but sure