Page 125 of Three of a Kind

Locke drives the SUV inside the massive brick fence and pulls off to the side. He, Noble, and Maverick jump from the vehicle, masked and ready to go.

The six of us break off into our two teams, with Soren, Ranger, and Locke heading for the study entrance.

Maverick, Noble, and I aim for the back deck that leads to our breach point.

Noble is a massive fucker, so we stick him in the back of our upside-down triangle configuration as we cross the grass toward the back of the house.

I hit the steps first, staying as light on my feet as possible. Keeping my Glock raised, I scan to the left side of the porch.

It’s instinctual to know Maverick is going to have the right.

We just need to put in some time with Noble to start to learn his style.

Maverick’s head slides side to side as he stretches his neck and flattens his back against the wall next to the door we’re set to breach.

I shimmy up to the wall on the other side of the glass doors. “K-9 is in position.”

Several voices volley their agreement as everyone finds their locations.

Noble glances between the two of us. He’s the only one of us with an assault rifle, and he’s going to take out the glass when we need to enter, but I’d love it if he slid to the side, so no one on the inside has a clear shot at him until we’re ready to move.

I wave him over to my side of the door, but instead of moving to the wall, he stays three feet away.

Jesus Christ.

We should have strapped him into a bulletproof vest. His height makes him too big of a target.

There’s clearly a difference between straight-up murder for hire and shit like this.

I’m about to tackle his ass when Merrick comes over our comms.

“Front door is being breached in…” He counts down from five, and right on time, the sound of exploding wood fills the air. “You’re a go for all secondary entry teams. The kitchen is a hot zone.”

I frown, twisting to shield my eyes as Noble takes out the glass on the French doors.

I don’t think Merrick has access to cameras inside, but I’m guessing Ranger has someone with thermal. Maybe multiple someones based on the way Merrick continues to spit out different areas to use extra caution.

Sometimes, I wonder how he manages to watch three computers and listen to the massive amount of information being spilled over the comms at any given time, but that’s why he’s the genius tech superstar and not me.

Noble kicks away several pieces of jagged glass and climbs through the doorframe.

“Come on,” Maverick growls, following Noble inside. “Hey, big guy, after this, we’re giving you a lesson in tactical commands.”

I sigh, scanning the porch and the yard. It’s clear, so I climb inside, but silenced gunshots ring through the air.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Maverick

Son of a bitch. Noble and I are going to have a serious conversation about how to be a good team player. We enter into a weird area with a decent-sized table to the left and the massive kitchen to the right.

Everything in me wants to plant a hand on Noble’s shoulder and follow him around, watching his ass. But I also know my role well enough that I ignore the gunshots to my left and slide up to the small wall to my right.

I don’t hesitate when I see the holsters.

This is a straight-up, execution-style cleaning house.

My left hand comes around the wall, and I take my shots one after the other.

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