BooksBarbecue
Back The Neighborhood
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

His brother’s SUV raced across the grass toward the three shooters, who in turn unleashed a stream of gunfire at the attacking Explorer. Zack instantly made a tactical decision—assist his brother and deal with Griffin and Barrett afterward. Family first, always.

He shifted the scope to the right and reacquired the two men who’d walked through his field of view. They’d both stopped walking and were in the process of bringing their M4s to bear on Nick’s vehicle. Zack placed the red dot of the EOTech on the man closest to him and pulled the trigger.

The first round went wide, and Zack cursed under his breath, but the second and third shots caught him in the right shoulder and the side of the neck. Even as the first gunman began to fall, Zack adjusted the sight and placed the dot on the head of the second shooter, who, to his credit, had spotted Zack and was moving to return fire. There just wasn’t enough time for him.

The sounds of carnage continued, and he forced himself to ignore the two loud thumps as his brother stopped the Explorer near the steps of the pavilion. First things first.

A single shot to the man’s head ended his futile attempt to engage Zack, and he fell to the grass, already dead, beating his friend into the afterlife as the blood and life still flowed from his friend’s ruined neck.

A flash of light flared from behind the pavilion, and flames bloomed up from behind the structure as if the gates of hell had been opened beneath it. The flames spread quickly, encircling the structure. Zack ran toward the chaos, when more gunfire erupted from his left. What now?

He scanned the hub, his eyes moving across the abandoned vans, the playground, the two dead shooters, and the Falling Rock PD Ford Explorer that had been parked behind the van at the mouth of Forest Edge Court. Bingo.

The driver’s door was open as a man—it’s Barrett; has to be—fired at Nick’s SUV, striking the hood and the steps of the pavilion. Unfortunately, Zack had no clear shot since the door provided cover, and Barrett appeared to be sitting on the edge of the driver’s seat, facing the pavilion as he fired with an M4. There was enough light for Zack to see a passenger in the right front seat.

Zack glanced at the pavilion as he ran toward the Explorer, praying that Barrett’s fire would find no innocent victims. It’s a diversion. The fire and the suppression. They’re just trying to buy time to make their escape.