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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

He kept walking, deep in his own thoughts, unaware of the skeptical glances and concerned looks from those who suspected he might not be completely on the sane side of the tracks.

“As long as you do what we tell you, there will be no problems.”

Unfortunately, before the night was over, Barrett Connolly would be proved a liar.

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter
SIXTEEN

James Donovan—Jimmy to his friends since fifth grade at All Saints Catholic School in Cincinnati—opened his eyes and was greeted with shades of gray and a throbbing face. He was fairly certain his nose was broken, and blood still ran slowly in rivulets down his face, parting around his mouth like a miniature red sea. He tasted the acrid coppery taste of blood on his tongue, and he realized his bottom lip was split where he’d been hit with the buttstock of his own weapon.

This isn’t what you signed up for, Jimmy. Unlike most of the other men on the team, while he’d externally expressed enthusiasm and the all-in attitude that Griffin and Barrett demanded, internally, he’d been hesitant about it. Hidden Refuge wasn’t a village in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan or a suburb of Baghdad. This was American soil occupied by Americans, civilians with families that he’d once sworn an oath to protect as a young squad leader in the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the legendary 10th Mountain Division.

The figure of a man, the one who’d killed several members of his team, swam into focus. The man was good looking, fit, but had the look Jimmy had seen in soldiers, Marines, and Special Forces countless times—the look of hard experience.

Jimmy’s hands were extended over his head and tied to the banister railing with his own zip ties. His tactical Kevlar vest had been removed and lay on the floor in front of him next to the M4 5.56mm assault rifle he’d been carrying. His shoulders ached from the awkward angle, but he thought that might be the least of his worries, especially once the man started quietly talking to him.

“I don’t have much time, a few minutes at the most. So here’s the deal. I need some information, and I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to get it. But before we get there, I have an easy one for you—what’s your name?”

Jimmy hesitated for a moment too long, and blinding pain shot through his face from the soft punch to his broken nose he hadn’t seen coming. It wasn’t intended to do more damage, just trigger excruciating agony. He let out a low moan, closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth through it. This man is not playing around with you.