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come to hell. The chaos of screaming for help and the sense of powerlessness as he watched the paramedics load Pop into an ambulance. Having a paramedic tell Niko that he, too, had been shot. The bullet had torn out a section of Niko’s arm, while his father had received multiple gunshot wounds, including, they discovered later, one that had nicked his spinal cord.
    Riding in the ambulance as the paramedics continued to fight for his father’s life. Praying to every god he could think of, and vowing to become the perfect son if only Pop lived.
    The sorrow of watching his once active Pop arrive home a thin shell of his former self, now confined to a wheelchair.
    Looking back with the eyes of a man, Niko recognized the strength his father had shown. Pop hadn’t railed at fate. Instead, he’d thrown his considerable will and intellect into making the best of his situation. He’d taken the DEA up on their offer of an administrative job and had proved invaluable in analyzing data that resulted in several convictions.
    Money had been tight for several years because of Pop’s high medical bills, but throughout it all he’d kept his sense of humor, his love for his family, and his belief in the importance of honor.
    Dios , Niko couldn’t wait to see his family again. Alvarez had enjoyed taunting Niko with progress reports, so he knew that Rafe was in Army Ranger School and Maria was in her senior year of college, majoring in education.
    Niko was damn proud of them, but doubted they’d return the sentiment. Of all the family, he could only say for certain that his father still loved him, because the few times Niko had checked in with his DEA contact, the man had passed on a message of love and support from Niko’s father. The rest of the family probably hated Niko. Considered him a traitor.
    It didn’t matter.
    Niko just wanted to see their faces and know that they were safe from Alvarez forever. Even if he had to speak to them from the other side of protective glass inside a jail.
    He sighed. Maybe his restlessness came from his secret hope that he’d get a chance to kill Alvarez during the raid. His boss was currently in residence. If Niko was very, very lucky, the raid would occur before Alvarez left.
    What better way for the crime lord to die than during a massive gunfight?

Chapter Three
    Andes Mountains, Peru
    T wo days later, Niko was working at his desk and scowling at the stack of reports in front of him. Who’d have suspected that running a criminal organization required so much damn paperwork? The place—
    Bam! A heavy impact shook the building. Dust rained down from the ceiling. Seconds later, the warning system that indicated a hostile attack blared its distinctive alarm over the public address system.
    Niko rushed to the window and saw military helicopters swooping across the back edge of the property. As he watched, one of the helicopters fired a missile toward the upper level of the giant stone fortress.
    Idiots! Hadn’t they received the word that there were women and children living here?
    Cursing, Niko quickly activated the special link to the security system that he’d painstakingly set up with a little help from a hacker recommended by his DEA contact. He typed a series of commands into the system, then logged out. The commands would disable the security system and take down the phones. Then it would start transmitting all of the data on Alvarez’s computers to a secure DEA server.
    Niko grabbed his pistol, made sure his knife was still strapped to his ankle, and headed out of the room at a run, staggering as another blast shook the building. Alvarez’s emergency plan called for Niko to head to the security room and take control of securing the inside of the building, while Alvarez would make his escape through a tunnel that led to a distant helipad.
    Screw that. Niko was done following orders.
    As far as he was concerned, this attack set him free. He might die trying to get himself and his aunt