The stranger smiled, but he still hadn’t said a word, so I took him for a potential client. He was dressed impeccably in a charcoal suit, a red power tie, and fancy shoes that I wouldn’t want to walk any distance in. His features were strong, and his eyes held an edge. Whatever he did, he was no doubt the alpha of the pack.
Lucas looked up and down the street. “Boston PD is really hot on catching this guy, and the sergeant we talked to, O’Connor, sent a message saying he was flying out himself, first thing this morning. He should be joining us here soon.”
I nodded. “Copy that.”
Likely having noticed me eyeing our guest, Lucas decided on an introduction. “This is Yates Sinclair. Yates, this is Zane March, former DEVGRU and primary protection on the current assignment.”
Yes, I puffed out my chest at that introduction. Since Lucas used the official DEVGRU designation instead of the news-media term of SEAL Team Six, this guy was probably ex-military.
Yates shook with me. “Pleasure to meet you.” His grip was firm in the extreme, and I returned the pressure. He was clearly much fitter than your average boardroom wuss. “MARSOC, Raider Regiment. I wasn’t smart enough to get into the Navy.”
The Raiders were no ordinary Marines. I liked him already.
Then the name registered. “You’re that Sinclair?” The Sinclair companies spelled money, the serious billionaire kind the rest of us could only dream of.
He chuckled. “I get that a lot. Yeah, but beyond the money, I put on my pants one leg at a time, just like you.”
Sure, a billionaire could joke about being just like the rest of us, only with an extra gazillion dollars in the bank. At least he could afford to hire us.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” Lucas said, leading the way inside.
“Don’t try that power grip on Duke,” I warned our new guest. I’d seen many a grown man cry after trying on Duke’s vise-grip shake. “He’s also a SEAL.”
“Noted,” Yates said.
I followed Lucas, Jordy, and Yates Sinclair inside.
Jordy stopped me before we reached the kitchen. “He already bested Duke. He said being a rock climber builds grip strength.”
Adequately impressed, I followed him into the kitchen.
Mom turned. “Ah, some late arrivals. I still have a few pancakes left. The best this side of the Mississippi, if I do say so myself. How many would you like?”
The entire Hawk crew was eyeing our new guest, nonverbally asking who he was.
I didn’t enlighten them.
Yates stepped forward. “I think two will be sufficient for me.”
She plopped two on a plate and handed it to him.
“Thank you, Mrs. March.” He sat at the table and cut into the first one.
“I guess one for me,” Lucas said.
“You won’t be able to stop at one,” she predicted and used her spatula to flip one onto a plate.
Lucas picked it off the plate with his fingers and bit into it.
Mom whacked his hand with her spatula. “Did you grow up in a cave?”
Duke gasped.
Everything moved in slow motion as Lucas spun.
I lunged forward. In that moment, I saw the epitaph on my headstone—died protecting his mother from the most lethal man in spec ops.
CHAPTER 27
