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Back The Neighborhood Save as PDF
Chapters (59)
  1. Part I Reconnaissance
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Part II Incursion
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Part III Under Siege
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Part IV Course Correction
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Part V Balance of Power
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. Chapter Eighteen
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Chapter Twenty-One
  27. Chapter Twenty-Two
  28. Chapter Twenty-Three
  29. Chapter Twenty-Four
  30. Chapter Twenty-Five
  31. Chapter Twenty-Six
  32. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  33. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  34. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  35. Part VI Spy versus Spy
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Part VII Winds of War and Flame
  41. Chapter Thirty-Four
  42. Chapter Thirty-Five
  43. Chapter Thirty-Six
  44. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  45. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  46. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-One
  49. Part VIII Strong to the Finish
  50. Chapter Forty-Two
  51. Chapter Forty-Three
  52. Part IX Spy Games
  53. Chapter Forty-Four
  54. Chapter Forty-Five
  55. Chapter Forty-Six
  56. Part X What Goes Around
  57. Chapter Forty-Seven
  58. Chapter Forty-Eight
  59. About the Author

In one quick move, he rolled to the right, yanked the Glock from inside his vest, and pointed it at the looming figure of Griffin Huntsmen. His former operative had turned away to look back over his shoulder, exposing himself to the new threat that lay several feet in front of him.

Barrett Connolly had also been distracted by the sudden sounds of combat, but unlike Griffin, his focus was always on the tactical situation, which was why he’d quickly glanced at the figure on the ground just in time to see the Glock move into position, duct tape attached to its side. Smart bastard, Barrett thought, and raised his own Glock. “Move!”

The sound of Barrett’s voice spurred Griffin into action, and he lunged to the left, but not quickly enough, as both weapons fired simultaneously.

Brandon Harper’s bullet struck Griffin Huntsmen in the right shoulder, tearing through cartilage, ligaments, and tendons. The Glock Griffin held fell from his right hand to the grass.

Given the circumstances, it was a worthy shot and a valiant effort to end his former protégé’s life. He would’ve been satisfied with the result, had it not been for the more precise fire from Barrett Connolly that struck him in the side of the head. Brandon Harper—legendary clandestine operative, retired deputy director of the National Clandestine Service, husband, and father—was no more.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter
THIRTY-SIX

Killing the guard hadn’t been the hard part. The shot had been a question of aim, and Nick, an expert marksman, had had the luxury and the time to exhale, expelling all breath as he slowly caressed the trigger backward until the suppressed Glock had bucked and coughed loudly in his hand. The guard had been standing one moment and in the next had collapsed to the pavement, motionless.

The act of killing the gunman, as easy as applying six and a half pounds of pressure on the trigger, troubled him, as it was more of an execution than a straight-up gunfight with an enemy combatant, but it wasn’t as troubling as the thought of these men terrorizing his brother’s neighborhood.

The hard part had been finding the keys to the Ford Explorer. They’d assumed, incorrectly, that the key fob would be in his pants or in the vehicle. After a panicked minute following a fruitless search of the vehicle and the dead man’s pants, Nick noticed a small coil attached to a loop on the Kevlar vest that disappeared inside a magazine pouch attached to the front of the vest. He’d yanked the coil and pulled out the keys to the SUV.