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

“We’re fine. What about you?” his eyes shimmered with emotion as he stared at her, studying her face. “I was so worried.”

At that moment, she’d felt her heart well up inside her until she’d thought it would burst from the intensity of her feelings for him. “I’m fine,” Sam had replied, and then she’d blurted out uncontrollably, “except I killed a man earlier in my house. It was awful.”

Ben had looked at her, seen her for who she was and who she would become, and hugged her fiercely. “That seems to be going around tonight,” he’d whispered into her ear. “But it doesn’t matter. All that does is that we’re back together. And I mean what I said on the walkie-talkie earlier.”

She’d felt tears in her eyes, and she knew in her heart that she felt the same. “I know. I feel it too.” Sam was once again just a teenage girl, like the day she’d first met Ben, fiercely gripping the hand of the boy she loved, and all was right with the world, even as it burned down around them.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter
THIRTY-NINE

Zack’s solution was straightforward—break through the fire barrier with the SUV without bringing the entire flaming structure down upon the heads of his brother, neighbors, babysitter, and one unconscious enemy combatant. As he pulled away from the burning pavilion, he’d considered driving straight up the stairs, but he didn’t know what kind of load the floor could bear. The second option was slightly safer, if there was such a thing when crashing an SUV into a building inferno.

As the SUV shot backward, he glanced to his left and saw the other Explorer with Griffin and Barrett slowly move around the circle toward Hidden Refuge Drive. He forced himself to turn away and kept the vehicle in reverse. Once he was approximately fifty yards away from the pavilion, he slammed the brake, and the SUV dug into the wet grass. He shifted into drive and floored the accelerator, glancing left one last time, shocked to find the SUV had stopped in the street. Bastard is probably watching to see how this will end. Stick around, and you’ll find out. I promise.

His neighbors had cleared a path and stood on both sides, watching in awe and fear as they’d realized his intentions. The SUV rocketed forward, gaining speed as he aimed at an area ten feet to the right of the steps. The pavilion grew larger in his windshield, and he braced himself for the impact. Malta flashed through his head. You and SUVs don’t seem to end well.