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watching the streets. They heard sirens in the distance. Jack thought back to Sammy’s father constantly berating his kid, beating any sense of worth from his poor young body. Even when he became a Marine, he wasn’t an officer, he wasn’t a medal winner. Getting his father’s approval was a fool’s errand: he would never be good enough. When Sammy fell into the bottle, Jack tried to help. But Sammy didn’t want it, especially after the accident. He wanted to hide, not in a military unit but behind a bottle and a clown’s makeup. Jack just gave up. He had his own problems, then.
    â€œI’m thinking you’re going to have a few other fronts to fight on,” Sol opined.
    â€œI know,” Jack said.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Sammy asked.
    â€œRight now someone is busy finding out who you are, who your relatives are—”
    â€œMeaning my boat might not be a good permanent place to stash Sammy and Anastasia,” Jack said. He lived on the Sea Wrighter in the Sausalito Marina. Its only protection was Eddie, a poodle.
    â€œThen where do we go?” Sammy asked. “A hotel?”
    â€œRight now, let’s just worry about putting some distance between us and here,” Jack said. “Keep an eye out for a black Ford Explorer Limited.”
    They started to cross the street to where Sol was parked when Anastasia’s words froze him in midstep. “Like that one?”
    Several things happened at once. Jack’s head snapped to where the woman had been pointing. The Ford Explorer roared forward like a lion charging. And Anastasia Vincent shot off down Sansome Street like a frightened gazelle.
    Sol had fallen back. The hit squad might not have seen him, might not know he was with the group. He peeled off and crossed the street.
    Sammy was taken more by surprise than Jack, whose recent experiences made him physically prepared for pretty much anything. Sammy froze. Jack took his arm.
    â€œCome on,” he said.
    â€œAna—”
    â€œWe’ll get her,” Jack assured him. “Come on.”
    Jack glanced back. Sol’s Benz came to life. He fell back to meet it as it sped toward them.
    The Ford squealed to a sudden halt. Whoever these guys were, they were definitely instructed not to attract the attention of the police or they would have smashed into Sol’s car without a second thought. No matter how well the Mercedes was made, a tricked-out Explorer would make quite a dent. Jack pulled the back door open. He did not doubt the Mercedes had bulletproof glass. He was equally sure the attackers wouldn’t realize that.
    Jack jumped in first and pulled his half brother behind him. Sol stayed idling at the curb, his gun on the passenger’s seat. Both men were ready for what came next; they didn’t care if they attracted the police. As the SUV’s doors opened, Jack lowered his street-side window and leaned out. Other traffic stopped and pedestrians scattered as his silenced automatic started chewing up the Explorer, keeping the killers inside. Jack hadn’t counted on the rear door opening, however, and an assassin rolled out and took off after Anastasia.
    Sammy grabbed Sol’s gun from the passenger seat and jumped out as Jack swore. “Once a Marine…” was fine, but now he knew that Sammy was also in love.
    Jack laid down covering fire.
    Take him down, Jack thought as he kept up the covering fire on the SUV’s passenger door. But Sammy didn’t fire. He was too busy closing the gap between himself and the pursuer.
    Anastasia was as good a runner as she was a witness. She was nearly to Levi Plaza, the small industrial park that bridged Sansome with the Embarcadero. But her pursuer was in far better shape than Sammy. He was forced to stop, aim, and—
    Nothing happened.
    â€œYeah, I shot my load,” Sol said.
    â€œHe’s outta my range!” Jack snapped, about to get out.
    â€œI know. Stay