Ben Mercer is an ex-cop, lamed, framed, and thrown off the force for a crime his partner committed. Now homeless, he has no expectations for a better life until he's recruited by Durand, head of Vanguard Security, to join a team that deals with problems the police can't or won't touch. All Ben needs is the approval of the team leader, Zach Turner.<br><br>To get it, Ben has to prove to Zach that he still retains his skills as a sniper, and that he can handle any job thrown at him, despite the still painful damage to his knee. He does, and is immediately pulled into a job with the team, rescuing a kidnap victim.<br><br>Ben had one big secret, or did have until Durand drew it out of him. Before his life was drastically changed he had denied, even to himself, that he was gay. Now that he's accepted it, and learned that Zach is as well, can the two men forge a bond beyond that of being teammates and friends? It will take several more jobs before Ben gets his answer.

A Second Chance

“Okay, let’s go back and let Hayley and Ben know what we found,” Zach said.


“Now all we do is wait it out,” Ben said when Zach and Ez reported what they’d learned.


“Yep,” Zach replied. “Starting tomorrow evening, one of us will be listening for the hijacker’s phone call to his buddies; the rest of us will be ready to move when it happens. We’ll use either my jeep or Ez’s van, pick up whichever one of us is doing surveillance, and head out as we planned, once we know which truck they’re going to target.”


“One of many plans,” Hayley pointed out.


“True. We had to cover all contingencies. Now we know what’s what, so we’ll go with that one.”


She nodded. “We still have to settle on the final details about what we’re doing once the whole thing goes down.”


“It’s late. How about we do that in the morning?”


“Sounds good to me,” Ez replied. “I my mind works better if I’ve gotten a few hours’ sleep.”


Chapter 28