Jake had noticed pieces.
He assembled them incorrectly.
Emma understood more.
Briggs had not protected her.
If anything, he had been protecting Jake.
Jake did not know it.
Emma could have said so.
She remained silent.
Jake stepped toward her.
“You knew he’d save you.”
Briggs spoke sharply.
“Turner.”
Emma raised one hand.
Briggs stopped.
She looked at Jake.
“You really believe that?”
Jake spread his arms.
“He’s been hovering since you walked in.”
Emma glanced at Briggs.
“That’s true.”
Briggs looked uncomfortable.
Jake smiled.
“See?”
Emma continued.
“But I don’t think he’s worried about me.”
The smile disappeared.
Briggs closed his eyes for a fraction of a second.
Jake turned toward him.
“What does she mean?”
Briggs opened his eyes.
“Nothing.”
Emma watched him.
It was the first lie he had told.
A small one.
A protective one.
Jake heard uncertainty.
His expression sharpened.
“What does she mean?”
Briggs looked toward the soldiers.
“Everybody clear the mat area.”
Nobody moved.
Jake laughed.
“Oh, now you want privacy?”
“Turner.”
“No.”
Jake stepped toward Briggs.
“You stood there while she made me look stupid.”
Briggs’s face hardened.
“You did that yourself.”
The room went dead silent.
Jake stared at him.
Even Emma seemed surprised.
Briggs realized what he had said.
He looked away.
Jake took a slow breath.
“What did you just say?”
Briggs remained quiet.
Jake moved closer.
“You knew something.”
Emma’s attention shifted fully toward Briggs.
Jake pointed at him.
“You’ve been acting weird since she came in.”
Briggs looked at Emma.
That glance answered more than words.
Jake saw it.
“What do you know?”
Briggs said nothing.
Jake turned toward Emma.
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing.”
“When?”
“I didn’t tell him anything.”
Jake laughed harshly.
“You two expect me to believe that?”
Emma nodded toward Briggs.
“Ask him.”
Jake turned.
“I am asking him.”
Briggs rubbed one hand over his jaw.
The room waited.
He looked suddenly older than he had ten minutes earlier.
Jake took another step.
“Did she set this up?”
“No.”
“Did command set this up?”
“No.”
“Then why are you acting like you knew what would happen?”
Briggs looked at him.
“Because I did.”
The sentence dropped into the gym.
Nobody moved.
Jake’s face emptied.
Emma remained still.
Briggs lowered his whistle.
Jake stared at him.
“What?”
Briggs looked toward Emma.
Then back at Jake.
“I knew.”
Jake gave a short laugh.
“You knew what?”
“That she could handle herself.”
A murmur moved through the room.
Jake shook his head.
“From what?”
Briggs hesitated.
Emma watched him carefully.
The reveal had begun.
It was not supposed to become theatrical.
Nothing about her history needed applause.
Yet Jake had forced the question into the open.
Briggs seemed to understand that.
He chose his words carefully.
“You remember Tuesday?”
Jake frowned.
“What about Tuesday?”
“You were in my office.”
Jake said nothing.
Briggs continued.
“You were complaining because Carter corrected your training roster.”
Several soldiers exchanged glances.
Jake’s expression changed.
Briggs looked at him.
“You called her an administrator.”
Jake scoffed.
“She is.”
“No.”
Briggs’s voice remained calm.
“She does administrative work in her current assignment.”
Jake folded his arms.
“Same thing.”
Briggs shook his head.
“No.”
Emma looked down briefly.
She had not wanted this.
Briggs continued.
“You asked why someone like her was allowed to question your combatives scheduling.”
Jake’s jaw tightened.
“I remember.”
“I told you to leave it alone.”
Jake stared.
The soldiers nearest them became completely still.
Briggs looked toward Emma.
“I told you she had prior experience.”
Jake laughed.
“You said she’d trained before.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t say anything special.”
Briggs’s expression hardened.
“I said you were making assumptions.”
Jake’s breathing changed.
Emma remembered the warning Briggs had mentioned indirectly that morning.
She had not heard it herself.
Now the missing piece became clear.
Briggs had warned him.
Jake had kept pushing anyway.
Jake pointed toward Emma.
“You’re telling me she has some civilian martial arts background?”
Briggs looked at him.
“No.”
Jake waited.
Briggs did not continue immediately.
That pause unsettled everyone.
Emma lifted her eyes.
“Briggs.”
He looked at her.
She gave him a small shake of the head.
Jake saw it.
“No.”
He stepped between their sightlines.
“No, you don’t get to stop him now.”
Emma’s expression remained calm.
Jake turned toward Briggs.
“Say it.”
Briggs looked at Emma again.
She said nothing.
Jake raised his voice.
“You’ve been standing there acting like somebody’s about to lose a career.”
Briggs’s face tightened.
Nobody breathed.
Jake spread his hands.
“So say it.”
Briggs looked directly at him.
“She spent years assigned to units where close-combat proficiency wasn’t optional.”
Jake stared.
Briggs continued before he could interrupt.
“She trained soldiers before she ever came to this section.”
The room shifted.
Several spectators looked at Emma differently.
She disliked that immediately.
Jake noticed.