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“So, what’s your plan?” Greg asked.

“I got a job where he works. That way I can get to know him better before telling him why I’m here,” I explained.

“Atta boy.” Brandon smirked.

“Why can’t he just ask the guy if he’s Zane?” Trevor, another one of my coworkers, asked.

“Because, if it is Zane, we can’t risk him getting spooked and taking off again. We need him brought back here, but without using any force. He has to agree to come on his own,” Micah warned. “There’s a lot riding on this, so it’s important that you be absolutely sure it’s him.”

I’d never seen my boss look so serious and I wondered once again who this Zane was and why it was so important to bring him back to Chicago. It wasn’t my place to question my assignment though, so I swallowed my curiosity and nodded my head in agreement.

We talked for several more minutes, each man taking a turn to update the group on where he stood with his project. We were just finishing up when the conference room door opened behind Micah and Mary popped her head inside. I smiled when I saw her friendly face. She looked at the screen in surprise when we all called out a greeting and her face lit up when she saw us.

“Well, hello there. If it isn’t my heroes,” she exclaimed in a teasing voice. Brandon and Nolan each groaned at her words and Greg buried his face in his hands.

“What’s she talking about?” Carlos asked.

“You didn’t tell them?” Mary laughed at the exasperated look Micah gave her then stepped closer to the screen, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“These three thwarted a would-be bank robber a few days ago on their way back from lunch,” she explained, pointing to Brandon, Nolan and Greg. “The news stations got ahold of the story and ran with it. Once they discovered you were all former military, they dubbed you ‘Hamilton’s Heroes.’ Now, that’s what they’re calling you all over the city. I even heard the ladies talking about it down at the beauty parlor.”

My jaw dropped, and a chorus of groans could be heard around the room. Both in our jobs in the military and in our current line of work, we did the things we did to protect people and make sure that justice was served. None of us considered ourselves heroes. In fact, we were embarrassed by the notion. Not Mary though. She preened like the proudest mama.

“I know none of you like to be the center of attention, but you have always been heroes to me. I couldn’t possibly be prouder of my boys and it’s about time the rest of the world sees it too,” she said, looking each of us in the eye to make sure we were paying attention.

We’d all known that Mary cared about us, but the emotion in her eyes and her heartfelt words made it very clear just how much she loved us. It was quiet for several seconds and then Micah stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

“Thank you, Mary,” I said, swallowing around the lump in my throat. Everyone else followed with their own thanks and then Micah announced that it was time to get back to work. We said a quick goodbye and then my screen went black.

I sat there for a few minutes, thinking of how grateful I was to work with so many incredible people. It was nice to have someone be so proud of who you were, and it gave me even more reason to make sure I handled this job with the utmost care.

After I got my laptop put away, I grabbed my bag and, with one more glance around the room, I locked the door behind me. On the drive over to the lake, I thought about the task ahead of me. First, I needed to figure out if Zach was actually Zane Wilkinson and then I had to ask him to go back to Chicago with me, all without either of us knowing why he was wanted back there. While I trusted Micah’s reasons implicitly, Zane would have no reason to. Which meant that I was going to have to get him to trust me instead.

I pulled into the entrance of the lake and drove slowly up the lane towards the bait shop. I parked to the side of the building and got out, looking around as I walked to the door. The lake was surprisingly busy for a Monday morning, many of the same campers I’d seen the day before were still there. There were also several lone fishermen scattered around the lake, taking advantage of the beautiful day.

The smell of fish was strong as I opened the door of the bait shop and I had to force myself not to grimace. The owner of the lake was behind the counter, scooping something out of a bucket with her bare hands and transferring them into smaller containers. As I stepped closer, I realized they were leeches.

“They make good bait,” she said nonchalantly without looking up.

I watched as she finished and slapped lids over the containers, marking their contents with a permanent marker and then sticking them in a small refrigerator marked, Bait Only. She washed her hands and then turned around and faced me with a serious expression.

“You’ll have to get used to handling squishy, slimy things if you’re going to work here. You sure you’re up for it?” I could see the challenge in her eyes.

“Yes, ma’am. I worked alongside the medics in the Air Force. I’ve seen my fair share of squishy and slimy,” I responded.

She stared at me for a moment and then her lips quirked up in a half smile. “Okay then,” she replied.

I smiled back at her. I’d liked Edith as soon as I met her. The silver streaks in her dark hair and the subtle lines around her eyes were the only indications of her age. Other than that, she was as fit and trim as any woman half her age. In just the brief time we’d talked, I’d already seen that she was feisty, with a devilish glint to her eyes. I could only imagine what a wild-child she must have been as a teenager.

“I’ve got Zach over at your cabin, getting it set up. You can head on over there. I’ll give you some time to get your stuff moved in and then I want you to work with him while you learn the ropes. I already told him what I need done today,” she told me.

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said.

Edith narrowed her eyes at me. “And don’t call me ma’am. I’m not that old,” she said, sternly.

“Yes, ma’a…sorry, it’s ingrained from the military. I mean no disrespect,” I rushed to explain. That’s when I saw the sparkle in her eyes and I realized that I’d been had.

“Oh, you’re going to be fun,” she said with a smirk. I couldn’t help but laugh as I shook my head.

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