Horribly abused by his mother, Van eventually goes in search of his father. When he finds him, his life is radically changed. His father works for the FBI, and has contacts to a covert group, run by the Old Man, that goes after the worst of the worst criminals. Van is recruited to join both -- and does. Van handles every job he's sent on with cold efficiency, letting nothing stand in his way of gaining the information he seeks and stopping his foes. Eventually, he's offered a team of his own within the Old Man's organization. He accepts, with one caveat -- none of them can be female. Because of his mother, the only woman he has ever trusted is his handler, Makie. His attitude takes a hit when he meets Ginna, a cop, while on a job for the Old Man. When it's over, much to the shock of everyone involved, he requests that she be added to his team if she's willing -- which she is, as long as the organization can promise to keep her young son safe while she's on assignments. Ginna fits in well with the team, and though she is appalled at some of the tactics Van uses to gain information, she finds herself attracted to him. Can she break through the walls he's erected around his emotions? If so, then what? Only time will tell.

A Shattered Life

“Ginna next, or lunch,” Stuart asked, when Vance and Frankie returned to the limo.


After checking his watch, Vance decided to deal with Ginna first. “It’s lunch time so her shop should be bustling with business, or would be if people had the money to spend. It’ll look realistic for her to be desperate because she and her clerk are pretty much watching people who are checking it out but not buying anything.”


“I’ll brace her, you keep the clerk occupied,” Vance told Frankie fifteen minutes later, as Stuart dropped them off on a busy street in the Village.


Chapter 90