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Aidan arched a brow “I’ve only got three years on you, Froget cocky”

The good-natured Navy SEAL vs Marine banter had been part of the brothers’ lives since their respective un

“Besides the fact that he’s one of your key guys and former MI6, what do I need to know about Philip?” Marc asked, his years at the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit coet as complete a picture of Philip as possible He’d ask questions about Terri later But Philip was first up

“Before he was MI6, he was SAS,” Aidan replied, referring to the Special Air Service, one of the British Army’s Special Forces units “He worked prie rescue”

“Impressive What about personally? What’s he like?”

Aidan considered the question, looking so”

“I’ Ja you”

“Fair enough Philip is like two sides of a coin When he’s entrenched in a Zerularly focused He works round-the-clock, is razor sharp, and won’t rest until we’ve brought things to a successful resolution We call hi and no one exists that he can’t hunt down When there’s no mission to focus on, he’s settled comfortably into his new life as a dedicated retiree who loves life, wealthy, willing wole malt whisky”

“A kept man—nice” A corner of Marc’s uy”

“He thinks so” Despite Aidan’s sarcasm, deep respect laced his tone Philip’s personal life was immaterial His commitment and skill when it came to Zermatt were all that mattered

Marc didn’t ask any more questions—not then The plane was about to land And he was about to get his personal initiation into Zers

San Mateo, California

25 February

Sunday, 10:45 pm local time

The man left his California ranch-style hoh the side door—and walked up the brick driveway toward the hborhood was all tucked in for the night, with just a few lights fro into the darkened street He wasn’t worried about detection Anyone seeing hi his routine ht business dinners were the rule rather than the exception, and arriving ho procedure None of his neighbors would bat an eye if they happened to spot him