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The rescue hadn’t gone according to plan. Nico Midnight, a leader in the American Cosa Nostra, tried to prevent them from rescuing the pilot his men had shot down in southeastern Asia. Tried being the operative word.

Boone and his elite team were trained to take out any and all obstacles. They’d eliminated the threat with no casualties, at least to his team, and rescued the pilot. Midnight had lost several men but had managed to escape.

At halftime, Boone headed out on a beer run. Before he even reached his car, Cara bopped onto the front porch. The way she stood, hands stuffed in the back pockets of her cutoff shorts and rocking back and forth, he knew she was in her Little headspace. She was adorable. Since all five men in his living room were also Daddies, it worked for all of them.

Showing off her bratty side, she wore a Seahawks jersey, knowing they were all pulling for the Cardinals. Where she’dgotten it, he had no idea. It practically swallowed her. She’d tied the extra length into a knot at the front, exposing plenty of skin. Even though it was an obvious ploy for attention, they’d all played along and given her a hard time.

“Where you goin’?” she sang out to him.

He had no hope of holding back a smile. “Just to the corner store for beer. What do you need? I have to hurry so I can get back before the second half starts.”

A mischievous smile danced across her lips. “I need a pack of tampons, Booney. You think you could pick some up for me?” Reaching into her front pocket, she held up some cash.

The open window made the guy’s hoots of laughter easy to hear.

Boone pretended to be irritated, growling, “Get back inside, Cara Bear.”

When on an op, she was as deadly as any of them. But once the retrieval was over, she was the Little sister to all the men in their group. She did so many things to let them know how special they were to her, always making cookies or crafting something for them. They all loved her.

At his order, she got serious. “Hold on a sec. If I give you some money, can you get me a couple of Dr. Peppers?” Nothing was more serious to their Cara Bear than her Dr. P, as she called it.

He didn’t miss a beat. “I don’t know. Have you been drinking your water today?”

Typical Little, she wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, but water sucks.”

He wagged a disapproving finger at her, repeating the crede of all Daddies. “Water’s good for you. And don’t say sucks. Yes, I can get you a couple of drinks. But you have to drink a bottle of water between each soda. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He headed for his truck.

She hopped off the porch. “Wait! You forgot my money.”

“You try to hand me any money, little girl, and I’ll tan your hide right out here in the front yard.”

She poked out her bottom lip. “But you bought rounds last night at Dirty Pete’s, and I need to pay you back.”

He leveled her withthe look. The one that made all Littles squirm and cover their bottoms with their hands. It worked like a charm.

Hands in the air in mock surrender, she laughed. “Okay, okay.”

Current Day…

He could remember everything like it was happening right in front of him.

That was his Cara Bear. She had always been smiling and laughing. She’d had more joy in her little finger than all the rest of them put together. A damn site more than they’d had for the past three years.

His phone alarm dinged, reminding him to take his sleeping pill. He needed them now for any semblance of rest. Shutting the memories down, he shook his head. As he continued to stare at the picture, his anger boiled.

Snapping the back off the photo frame, he took the picture out and put it in his duffle bag. She’d been there at the beginning. She deserved to be there at the end. He’d make sure she was the last person Midnight saw before he died.

He took his medication and crawled into bed. Usually, the meds took a while to kick in, if they worked at all. But at least he could be comfortable pretending to sleep. Tonight of all nights, he didn’t have much hope for the real thing.

A car enginerevved down the street behind him. “Check it out!” a voice in his head screamed. “Look, for god’s sake!” He tried, but his body was frozen as he watched Cara come out of his front door.

The voice in his head screamed again, “Tell her to go back inside! Tell her now!” but his lips wouldn’t open. He tried to pull them apart with his hands, but they wouldn’t budge.

The screeching of tires sounded behind him as the smile slid from Cara’s face. Then, her eyes widened in shock.

“Run!” He attempted to warn her. “Get down!” Once again, his body failed him.

“Gun!” she screamed, reaching out to him. He reached for her, too, but the harder he tried to reach out, the farther away she got.