Chapter One

Grant Colton leaned against the wall and watched as Quinn Billings put the young Belgian Malinois through his paces. Camo was a beauty, mahogany with a black mask and ears. He responded to Quinn’s commands and didn’t so much as blink as he passed two other dogs evaluating his performance with critical eyes. He was laser-focused on his task.

Quinn, brother of fellow COBRA Securities agent Hillary, was an expert dog trainer, a skill he picked up in the military. He now operated his own business within the compound, training dogs for police and fire departments and other companies that requested them. He could tailor the training to specifics from bomb and explosives detection, to drug sniffing to accelerant detection, used for arson investigations, to tracking humans for search and rescue or body recovery, used for things like earthquakes or natural disasters.

Quinn was also a trained field agent and he could go out on a case if necessary, especially if a specialized dog was required. With Luke and Logan’s approval, he’d hired three former MWDs, or military working dog handlers, to assist with his operation. Sabrina Bradford, Morgana Irving and Justin Atwell had also passed Dante Costa’s intense training regimen and could assist with cases as needed.

Quinn worked strictly with German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois. They were beautiful dogs and Grant coveted one. A Malinois had been his SEAL teammate for the last couple of years. Blackhawk. Damn, he missed that dog. Smart as a whip and fearless. He was seriously considering getting one from Quinn, but right now, he was living in one of the apartments within the compound. It was comparable to staying in a luxury hotel, but it wasn’t the place to keep a dog. When his brother Luke and his partner Logan Bradley founded COBRA Securities and purchased the land to build the compound, Luke had deeded him and his brother and sister a plot of land on the lake and Logan had deeded a plot to his brother, Dan. Now they all had their houses built and professionally landscaped but there was an open space between Luke and Ben’s place, just waiting for Grant to build. The plot Luke deeded to Kaitlyn had been sold to Sawyer Oldham since Kait married Dan and they built their house on his acreage.

Grant decided it was time to start construction on his forever home. Whenever he came home during deployment, he crashed at Luke’s house but that was now out since his oldest brother was a newlywed with two ten-year old children running around. Luke and Layla had adopted Sean and Tiffany, Layla’s half-siblings after the twins’ father murdered their mother. A United States Senator, Eugene Mullins almost got away with the crime. But thanks to a joint operation between COBRA Securities and the FBI, he was caught and arrested before taking the coward’s way out and killing himself in prison.

His brother’s family would welcome him with open arms, and he loved visiting, but he didn’t want to interfere. Same with younger brother Ben and his ready-to-pop-at-any-minute wife Rachel. And no way in hell would he live with newlyweds Kaitlyn and Dan. He loved them both dearly, but they’d drive him to drink. So, temp housing was his best option.

He didn’t see himself marrying anytime soon, so there was no sense on waiting to build. He’d seen too much in the world, done too much to live a happily ever after. He’d save that for his siblings. War was harsh. He’d lived through it, but not without a boatload of scars, both physical and mental. He’d witnessed three of his teammates—brothers—killed in front of his eyes. When DeAndre, Hector and John died, so did Grant’s desire to continue as a member of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU, formally known as SEAL Team Six.

Life was short, something he was intimately familiar with since he’d lost both of his parents when he was a teenager. Luke had given up a football scholarship and a lock as a National Football League pro to come home and take care of Grant, Ben and Kaitlyn so they wouldn’t be separated. Wanting to help take care of his siblings was the impetus for Grant to join the Navy. But he’d been away from his family for too long and he missed them dearly. Coming home had been an easy decision.

A small body plopped beside him and mirrored his stance with arms crossed and one bent leg anchored against the wall. “He’s my favorite.”

Grant glanced down at Kai Costa as the kid stared out at the arena. “Yeah? Which one?” There were several dogs in the vicinity, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot…

Kai shrugged. “All of them.”

Grant smiled. Kai was a huge dog lover and even volunteered to help with Quinn’s operation, though it was mostly in the pooper scooper milieu. “What would Midas say to that?” Kai had his own golden Labrador Retriever and usually the two were inseparable.

Kai’s eyes widened dramatically and he glanced around. “Shh, don’t tell him. He gets jealous when I come home smelling of other dog.”

Grant chuckled as Quinn brought Camo over to stand in front of them. The dog was in full work mode until Quinn gave him a command and he turned into a big ol’ puppy, attacking his buddy Kai until the two were wrestling on the ground, laughing.

Grant and Quinn smiled at their antics. Currently, Camo had Kai pinned to the ground by lying his body atop the boy’s, and he was attempting to wash Kai’s face with his tongue.

“I heard it was pretty intense in Coslos.”

Grant nodded, thinking back to his last assignment. A country ravaged by drugs and war, the innocent citizens caught in the crossfire. “It was like being back on the Teams,” he said, referring to his SEAL squad. It had triggered nightmares of his last deadly mission. Thankfully, they’d managed to locate and rescue Harlow Duquesne, the granddaughter of the President of the United States. In the process, his teammate Sawyer Oldham and Harlow fell in love.

“You up for a couple of beers later?”

Quinn understood. He’d been there, done that in the military, too. “Absolutely.”

“Camo, work.”

The dog jumped up, all seriousness, and followed Quinn. Grant reached down a hand and helped Kai up. The kid’s short black hair was sticking up at all angles and he was wiping his face with the sleeve of his t-shirt. “How about I school you on the Parkour course?”

“Ha! You wish, old man!”

Kai took off running while Grant just stood there and shook his head. Old man? The years were creeping up on him. He thought he’d be a SEAL until at least forty, if not later. He served with a teammate who’d been forty-three and that guy could take down an entire cadre of terrorists by himself. But that plan had ended several years early when he’d lost three of his brothers.

Kai came running back and wrapped his arms around Grant’s legs. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that. You aren’t old.” He sprinted off again before stopping and turning. “Are you coming?”

“What do you think?” He took off after Kai, who let out a startled yelp and dashed away.

Some days Grant felt as old as Methuselah. Thank goodness he had Kai and Sean and Tiff around to keep him young.