Watching From The Shadows: Trident Security Book 5 by Samantha A. Cole Page A

remove the cover and do what I have to do without an extra set of hands. The wires are too short. The FNG came from the other end and is holding the flashlight, so you’re going to have to come in from the side. Avoid the plank Polo’s standing on and the two on either side of it, for a total of five.”
    Squatting to inspect the lattice covering the space he needed to get to, Mendoza’s eyes narrowed. “Who or what’s an FNG?”
    Ian, Boomer, and Knight all gave the same droll response. “Fucking new guy.”
    “Ah. Gotcha.”
    Marco’s torso was now as sweaty as his face and it was starting to itch like crazy. He wished he could yell at everyone to shut the fuck up, as well as hurry the fuck up, but it would be a waste of breath. It would be done when it was done, and working any faster could kill them all. “Ian, can you check on Harper and Mara for me?”
    While his boss stepped away to make the call, Marco realized it was the first time he’d said his daughter’s name aloud. Up until now, he’d referred to her as ‘the baby’, ‘the kid’ or anything else along those lines. Carter and Brody had been right, and if Marco got out of this alive, he was going to make sure Mara knew he’d always be there for her—and not just financially. Nina would come back from her grave to haunt him if he didn’t man-up. An image of her holding her niece popped into his head and the corners of his mouth ticked upward, despite the situation. Remembering how good she’d been with her school children, he knew Nina would have made an awesome aunt and mother if only things had been different.
    Muffled comments came from below after Mendoza joined the party and it seemed as if hours had passed, instead of only ten or eleven minutes, before Boomer finally announced, “We’re clear! You can move, Polo.”
    Move? Hell, he almost dropped to the ground and kissed it. He didn’t realize how tense he’d been until he sighed in relief and every muscle in his body screeched in pain as they tried to relax. From behind him, someone grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. Turning, he found Brody standing in the doorway, grinning at him.
    “Glad you made it,” the geek teased. “Because I’m still planning my revenge for the whole ‘trunk-junk’ thing, and it would really suck if you weren’t around for it.”
    Marco held out his hand and when his friend shook it, he pulled him in for a man hug with lots of back slapping. “Can you wait a week before you spring it on me? Not sure my nerves could handle anything before then.”
    Stepping back, the man snorted. “No problem. In the meantime, we need to head back to the war-room and check out the video feeds. Hopefully, we got our bomber on film.”
    As Ian hung up his cell, the two teammates joined the others at the bottom of the porch steps while Boomer, Knight, and Mendoza crawled out from under it, all covered in dirt and cobwebs. Even though the bomb had been deactivated, they all moved a little further down the driveway. Marco endured some more back slapping, as he tried to get his heart rate back to normal and his knees to stop shaking. He raised a questioning eyebrow at Ian who nodded. “They’re all safe and secure. I told Foster to tell Harper you’re okay and her house is still in one piece.”
    Well, he wasn’t exactly okay, since he was now going through a massive adrenaline crash, and the shaking in his knees started to spread throughout his body. But it was far better than being dead, so he’d take it. “Thanks.”
    “I’m going to go talk to Doc Dunbar and see if she’s come across any wife-beaters through Friends of Patty, who know a thing or two about explosives. I’ll try to get some names from her if it doesn’t violate the organization’s rules.”
    Devon exited through the front door, side-stepping the planks that the explosives were still attached to, and declared, “House is clear, inside and out.”
    Brushing himself off, Boomer added, “I’ll