“I get that Brotherhood Protectors are bodyguards, but what kind of assignments can I expect?” Vince “Viper” Van Cleave had asked earlier that morning. His first time in Montana and his first official day as a new recruit to the Brotherhood Protectors, and he’d now gotten the answer to his question.

“It varies. For instance, I’m covering a wedding at the Brighter Days Rehab Ranch today. Not only am I providing protection for the bride, I’m driving the limousine with the bride and groom to the airport in Bozeman.” Chuck Johnson went through the arsenal in Hank Patterson’s basement, selecting a Glock nine-millimeter handgun and a shoulder holster. “You can come along as my backup and follow me to the airport to bring me back. I’m dropping off the limo there and need a ride back.”

“That’s it?” Viper stared at the array of handguns, rifles and grenade launchers that would make any Delta Force soldier envious. “All you want me to do is go to a wedding and follow you to the airport?”

“Until Hank tasks you with your first assignment, you can hang with me and see what we do…sometimes.”

Viper glanced around at the arsenal. “A glorified chauffeur needs to carry a weapon?”

“And protective service,” Chuck emphasized. “Even the simplest assignments have a way of getting sticky. You never know.”

“Why do you need to provide protection at a wedding?”

“The bride is a Montana senator’s daughter and physical therapist at the ranch. The groom is one of our own…Taz Davila, a former Army Ranger.”

Viper could appreciate the show of support for a teammate. He had been close to the men in his unit and hated leaving them when he’d retired. He was glad to see the brotherhood had each other’s backs. “How long have you been with the team?”

Chuck grinned. “About a month…not long. I resigned from the DEA to come to work for Hank. I wanted to stay in the area.”

“Staying because of a girl?” Viper lifted a rifle and weighed it in his hands, while imagining the amazing woman Chuck gave up the DEA for. A stab of guilt hit him in the gut. If he’d left the Navy when his wife got pregnant, he might still have a little family.

Chuck grinned. “You bet. The prettiest girl you ever met.”

His chest tightened. “Congratulations. You two going to be next at the altar?”

Chuck barked a laugh.

Viper looked at him over the AR15 he held. “What? Not the marrying kind?”

“I love the girl, but I’m not marrying her. She’s only a baby.”

Viper frowned. “What do you mean?”

“While with the DEA, I provided support to the witness protection program. Baby Maya’s mother witnessed a murder. I had to keep the two of them alive for about a year before the bad guys got wind of their location. Then the shit hit the fan, and we came here. Hank helped me protect them until we could flush out the adversaries.”

Protecting innocents from murderers was the kind of work Viper could see himself doing. His interest captured, he glanced toward Chuck. “How did you know about Hank’s operation?”

“He and I go back to our days as Navy SEALs.”

His gaze swept over Chuck. “You were a SEAL?” The man was older than him, but his shoulders were broad and he still appeared to be in good shape.

Chuck snorted. “I know, it’s hard to believe. An old guy like me.”

“Seriously, you’re not that old.”

“I’ll be fifty-seven next month.”

“That’s not old.” Viper shook his head. “I never thought I’d live to retire from Delta Force. But I proved the younger men wrong, and here I am.”

“Glad you made it.” Chuck pounded Viper on the back. “Us old guys have to stick together. You’ll like it here. Hank has a great setup. I don’t know anywhere else I could get a job doing what I love and still be close to that kid.” Chuck’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “Maya has me wrapped around her little finger. Never considered having kids of my own, but this arrangement is the next best thing. I get to be Uncle Chuck.”

“What about the mother? Not interested?” Viper asked.

“She’s a beautiful, wonderful woman.” Chuck’s lips pressed together. “But she loves another guy.”

“That sucks.”

“For me, yeah.” He shrugged. “But she’s happy. That’s what counts. And he’s a Navy SEAL. I can’t be too mad about that. She could do worse. She could have married a Delta Force puke.”

Viper frowned. “Watch it.”

Chuck laughed. “Just kidding. I worked a number of missions in the sandbox with Delta Force guys. Next to Navy SEALs, they’re the second-best special operations men around.”

“SEALs being first?” Viper harrumphed. “Not full of yourself much, are you?”

“Damn right, I am. I worked hard to earn the right to be an ass.”

“And while the Delta Force soldiers are preserving your freedom by fighting the good fight on foreign soil, you’re chauffeuring a bride and groom through their wedding and off on their honeymoon.”

Chuck grinned. “Damn right. I did my part while on active duty and then with the DEA. Being with the Brotherhood Protectors is a damned good job. And I get to be home tonight to watch the Cowboys play ball on the big screen at the Blue Moose Tavern. You’re welcome to join me, if you’re up to drinking a beer.”

“You’re on,” Viper said. “But I’ll be rooting for the New Orleans Saints.”

“Then forget it. I retract my invitation.”

Viper chuckled. He liked the easy camaraderie he’d found with Chuck. When Viper retired from active duty and didn’t know what he’d do next with his life, Hank had given him a job.

Hank and his wife, Sadie, welcomed him into their home while he looked for a place to live in Eagle Rock, Montana. The other members he’d had the pleasure of meeting had all been like brothers. “Hank has all this equipment for the Brotherhood Protectors?”

“Only the best,” Chuck said. “Like I said, you’ll like it here.”

Later that night, after the wedding of the senator’s daughter to one of his new teammates, Viper followed the limousine Chuck drove. The happily married bride and groom were on their way to their rendezvous with an airplane that would whisk them away to Maui, their honeymoon destination.

Viper wasn’t well-versed on weddings, having only gone through one. His own. But, as far as Hannah Kendricks and Taz Davila’s nuptials went, the event had gone off without a hitch. All of Hank’s team that weren’t deployed to various engagements showed up in force. The wedding was casual, the bride glowing, and the groom happier than any man Viper ever knew. And the groomsmen were an array of rehabilitating veterans with missing limbs, PTSD, and nothing but good things to say about Hannah and Taz in their many toasts.

It did Viper’s spirits good to see so many people laughing and enjoying the celebration of two people who were obviously in love getting hitched. The couple’s joy gave Viper hope for other veterans who were having difficulty finding their way in their post-war civilian lives.

Viper had given marriage a shot, but it hadn’t ended the way he’d planned. While he’d been deployed on a super-secret mission, his wife had died. He’d never quite gotten over the tragedy. He still lived with the guilt of not being there for Emily when she needed him most. From that point forward, he’d committed himself to being a bachelor. Special Forces soldiers had no business being married. They were on call all the time and gone from home more months out of the year than they were present.

Now that he was retired and not subject to long-distance and long-duration deployments, Viper might consider finding someone to share his life with. But he wasn’t ready to jump into marriage with just anyone. His wife had been special. Any other woman would have to measure up, and then some.

He studied the taillights of the limousine in front of him as they traversed the mountain roads, heading southeast to Bozeman.

Viper’s parents had been the model for a happily married couple. His father worshipped his mother. The woman could do no wrong. She was the kindest, most caring woman Viper could have asked for as a mother. And she loved his father completely. His father treated his mother with tremendous adoration and respect and never had a cross word to say to her.

Viper had been lucky to find Emily, a woman very much like his mother. Kind and nurturing. She’d deserved a better man than him. One who could have been there every night.

Viper wanted that perfect union and wouldn’t settle for anything less.

As he considered the woman he could potentially fall in love with, he added more qualifications to the list that started with kind, gentle and loving.

She didn’t have to be beautiful, but petite, with long, flowing blond hair would be good for a start. And well-endowed. Yes. He liked a woman with curves in all the right places.

He focused on the road ahead as the hairpin twists grew tighter, and what he could see of the shoulders of the highway dropped off into darkness. He’d driven the route the day before to arrive at White Oak Ranch, the base of operations for the Brotherhood Protectors.

The roads had been dangerous in the light of day. They were even trickier in the darkness, requiring much slower speeds to navigate them safely.

Viper maintained several car-lengths’ distance from the limousine ahead. He didn’t want to intrude on the newlyweds’ privacy by shining his headlights into their back window.

The limousine rounded a sharp curve, disappearing out of sight for a moment.

Viper didn’t worry too much but increased his speed and then slowed as he took the curve. When he could see the limo’s taillights again, he wondered at the distance between the two vehicles.

They were heading down a mountain, which explained the increased speed, but he couldn’t understand why Chuck wasn’t using his brakes more to slow their descent.

Viper punched the accelerator on the straight stretches in an attempt to catch up to the now racing limo. What was wrong with Chuck? Didn’t he realize the roads were too crooked to take at such a high rate of speed?

The limousine didn’t even slow as it entered the next curve. Nor did the brake lights blink on.

By then, Viper’s pulse had picked up. His gut told him something wasn’t right. He wished he’d opted for some of the radio equipment Hank had stored in his basement. At the time he and Chuck had been looking through the array of devices he hadn’t thought communications equipment would be necessary for a wedding.

But as he raced down the mountain behind the wedding limousine, plunging down the road at an increasingly dangerous speed, he wished he could communicate with Chuck to find out what the hell was happening.

Chuck hit the next curve going so fast the limousine’s backend spun sideways. The rear wheels skidded across the pavement, heading for the guardrail.

Viper held his breath, his foot on the brake, bracing himself for the wreck he suspected would happen in the next second.

Somehow, Chuck managed to keep the limousine on the road, the rear bumper scraping the guardrail as they swung around the curve.

But the descent continued to be steep and the curves tightened.

At the next bend in the road, the limousine wasn’t as lucky.

Viper guessed the limousine was traveling at fifty or sixty miles per hour as it plowed into a curve with caution signs indicating half that speed as necessary to negotiate the turn. With no protective guardrail to keep it on the road, the rear of the limousine swung wide, the back tires sliding off onto the dirt shoulder.

When the back fell off the road, the rest of the limousine followed and the entire vehicle slipped into the darkness.

His heart in his throat, Viper slammed on his brakes in the middle of the curve, pulled onto the narrow shoulder and brought the truck to a screeching halt.

He leaped out onto the ground and ran to the edge where the limousine had disappeared. He couldn’t see anything but a black abyss. Pulse pounding, he ran back to the truck, punched the hazard lights button and fished in the glove box for a flashlight. Thankfully, he found one and ran back to the roadside.

This time, when he looked over the ledge he was relieved to see the limousine about thirty feet down a steep incline. It appeared to be wedged up against a small tree, bent at a dangerous angle.

If he ran down the hill, he could slip and fall, adding to the weight of the heavy vehicle and pushing it against the tree. His weight could be the straw that broke the tree and sent the limo crashing farther down the slope and over the cliff below.

He needed a rope and some help. Back at the truck, he checked for reception on his cellphone and cursed when it displayed No Service.

With no one looking for them for the next couple hours, Viper was responsible for handling the situation to the best of his ability.

He searched the truck bed, under and behind the backseat and finally found a rope and gloves. He tied the rope to the trailer hitch at the rear of the truck then tossed it over the edge. Stuffing the flashlight into his shirt, he wrapped his gloved hand around the rope and eased his way down the steep hillside to the limo. Surprisingly, the engine was still running.

He reached the driver’s door first and shined the flashlight through the window.

Chuck lay slumped over the steering wheel, the air bag having deflated beneath his cheek. A fine layer of dust covered his face and chest.

Using the hard, plastic end of the flashlight, Viper tapped the window without using too much force. He was afraid even the slightest weight on the vehicle could cause the little tree holding it precariously in place to snap, and send the limo plummeting the rest of the way down the cliff.

Chuck didn’t move.

Again, he tapped the window with the flashlight.

The limo shifted, slipping farther down the hill, bending the little tree practically in half.

Then the back window lowered, and Hannah Davila’s face appeared, her eyes wide, a gash on her cheek bleeding. “Help us,” she pleaded.

“Taz?”

“He’s coming to. But he hit the window pretty hard.” She glanced toward the driver’s seat. “Chuck isn’t responding to the intercom and the glass is up between us. Do you know…is he okay?”

“I can’t tell. He’s slumped over the steering wheel. But the airbag deployed, so hopefully his injuries won’t be life-threatening.” As long as they got him out of the vehicle before it plunged the rest of the way down the hill.

“You all have to help me. The slope is too steep for me to carry any of you away from the wreckage.”

Hannah bit her lip. “How bad is drop-off?”

“You don’t want to know,” Viper said, a frown pinching his forehead. “But the sooner we get you three out of the car and up the hill, the better.”

Hannah shook her head slowly, as if weighing her options. Then she pressed her lips together in a tight line. “We’re getting out of here.” She ducked from sight for a moment.

Viper heard the sound of ripping fabric and Hannah’s voice calling, “Taz, sweetheart, you have to wake up enough to help us move you.”

“What happened?” a groggy voice sounded.

“We were in an accident.”

“Did we get married?”

Hannah laughed like she was choking back a sob. “Yes, darling. But we have to leave this vehicle. Now.”

“You tore your dress?” he asked.

“To hell with it. I’d rather live than worry about a silly outfit.”

“Is the accident that bad?” Taz said.

“Yeah,” Viper answered loud enough Taz could hear him through the opening. Holding onto the rope, he walked sideways to where he could peer in through the open window. “You need to exit the vehicle and get Hannah up the hill. The sooner the better.”

Because of the angle of the limo, Taz lay scrunched against the other door with Hannah leaning against him.

She fumbled with the seatbelt and unbuckled the clasp.

“Viper?” Taz frowned up at the open window. “Are you going on our honeymoon with us?”

Viper grinned, his blood humming with a surge of adrenaline. “No, but you won’t be going either, if you don’t wake up and get out of the limo, pronto.”

Taz touched a hand to his temple. “Must have hit my head harder than I thought.”

Hannah nodded. “You have to get it together because we have to climb to reach the road.” She tugged on his arm, attempting to get him out of the cramped position he maintained against the door.

“I can get up on my own,” he said. “You need to get out first.”

“I’m not going until you’re out, so get moving,” she ordered.

If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Viper would have laughed at the sternness of Hannah’s command and that she was yelling at a man who probably had put fear in the hearts of the Taliban and ISIS.

“I’m going. I’m going,” Taz muttered and pushed himself upright, bracing his feet against the door. He reached for Hannah, grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her through the open window. “You’re going first.”

“Damn it, Taz. You’re in no condition to argue.”

“I’m not arguing.” He looked to Viper. “Do you have her?”

Viper slipped the flashlight into his tethered hand, extended his free hand and took Hannah’s. “You’ll have to help yourself. I’m holding onto a rope with the other hand.”

“I’ve got this,” she said, but she let him guide her hand to the line.

“Follow the rope to the top of the hill and wait by the truck,” Viper instructed. “And whatever you do, don’t lose your grip.”

“Believe me, I won’t.” She climbed a few feet upward and glanced back, her brows wrinkled.

“Don’t worry,” Viper said. “I’ll make sure the groom gets out okay.”

“And Chuck?” she asked, nodding toward the driver’s door. “Will he be all right?”

“I’ll do what I can,” was all Viper could promise. Until Chuck regained consciousness, he would be impossible to extricate without the help of a rescue team with mountain climbing equipment.

Taz reached upward, grabbed the edges of the window and hauled himself onto the side of the limo.

The vehicle shifted suddenly and slipped another couple of inches down the slope, bending the small tree at an even more precarious angle.

“Now would be a good time to get out of the limo,” Viper said in his calmest tone, though his jaw hardened and his heart beat so fast he thought it might leap out of his chest. He reached out to Taz. “Take my hand. I’ll guide you to the rope.”

Taz shook his head. “You can’t get Chuck out by yourself.”

“I’ll help,” Hannah offered, backing down a step.

“No!” both Taz and Viper said as one.

“Okay, okay, you don’t have to yell,” she said. “Just get Chuck out and climb the hell up the hill.”

“We will. But we can’t be worrying about you,” Taz said. “Knowing you’re safe will make our jobs easier.”

“I’m on my way, then.” She started up the rope, pulling herself hand over hand. “Please, don’t do something stupid and get yourself killed. Because I love you, dear husband. Not to mention, I’m too young to be a widow.”

“Love you, too, Mrs. Davila,” Taz called out after her. Then he turned his attention to the driver’s door. “We need to get that door open.”

“It doesn’t appear to be dented.” Viper lowered himself by the rope to get closer to the limo without adding his weight to the vehicle. “With the direction the limo is tilted, gravity will make opening it difficult.”

“Yeah, but we’re not leaving Chuck.” Taz reached for the handle and pulled. It didn’t budge. “Damn. It’s locked. Chuck!” Taz yelled. “Wake up, Chuck!”

The man behind the steering wheel didn’t move.

“I could crawl inside and check if I can get the window to lower between the front and the back.” Taz eased toward the rear window, holding onto tree roots and rocky outcroppings as he moved.

“No,” Viper said. “You need to stay outside the limo in case it breaks free of the tree holding it.”

“But we can’t leave Chuck in there.”

“We won’t.” Viper pulled the Glock nine-millimeter pistol from the holster beneath his jacket.

Taz’s eyes rounded. “You’re not shooting out the window, are you? You might hit Chuck.”

“No, I’m not. But this weapon is heavier than the flashlight.” He dropped the magazine out of the handle, cleared the chamber and turned the gun to hold it by the barrel. Then, with a firm hand, he hit the window hard. The butt of the pistol made a small crack in the glass.

Praying he didn’t put too much force on the vehicle, Viper swung again. This time, the window shattered, but remained intact. “Three’s a charm,” Viper muttered and hit it again. The glass collapsed inward. Using the pistol, Viper cleared the broken shards away from the frame and reached in to feel Chuck’s neck for a pulse. Several seconds later, he let go of the breath he’d been holding. “He’s alive.”

“Thank God.” Taz made the sign of the cross on his chest. “Now, how do we get an unconscious man out of a car before it falls the rest of the way down this hill?”

“We have to wake him up. We can’t do this without his help.” Careful not to put too much of his weight on the limo, Viper leaned in and lightly slapped Chuck’s face. “Hey, buddy, you have to wake up.”

The man didn’t even flutter an eyelash.

Viper tried again, this time applying more of a pop to his slap and shouting, “Chuck! Wake up! The house is on fire! You have to get Maya out!”

Chuck jerked awake, his eyes rounding. “Maya. Where’s Maya?”

“She’s safe, Chuck, but we have to get you out of that car and up the hill behind me.”

“What happened?”

“Doesn’t matter now. What matters is helping you out of the car.”

He looked at the steering wheel and the deflated airbag. “I can’t seem to move.”

“You have to release the seatbelt,” Viper said. “And be ready, because you’ll fall as soon as you do.”

Before Viper could finish his sentence, Chuck clicked his belt button and slid to the other side of the vehicle. The limo shuddered and teetered on the little tree.

Taz wrapped his hand around the end of the rope Viper clung to. “Chuck, grab my hand.”

Chuck fumbled as if making heads or tails of where he was. When he looked up, he frowned. “You can’t pull me out of this.”

“No, but I can help,” Taz said.

The limousine slipped, tilting toward the front end, the back rising. If it tilted much more, the limo would slide right off the little tree and continue down the hill.

“Take our hands.” Viper leaned down, extending his free arm beside Taz’s. “Now!” he commanded.

Chuck reached up and clasped Viper’s hand. Taz grabbed his other arm.

The limo shifted and slid several inches.

“Get him up!” Viper yelled, dragging Chuck out through the window as the vehicle slipped farther and rolled free of the little tree anchoring it to the side of the steep hill.

Chuck’s feet caught on the window, dragging him backward with the force of the falling limousine.

Taz and Viper held on.

Viper’s muscles strained with the weight of the big guy pulling on his left arm.

The limousine continued down the hill, crashing over rocks and small trees and finally falling over the end of a drop off.

A couple seconds later, a loud metallic crunch sounded, echoing off the hillsides.

Chuck dangled for a moment, kicking his feet to find purchase on the rocky slope. When he did, he quickly grabbed for the rope and hauled himself up beside the other two men. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here.”

“No kidding. That was entirely too close,” Taz said.

Viper dragged in a deep breath and shook out his aching arm. “Let’s do it.”

Taz went first, followed by Chuck. Then Viper pulled himself up the rope to the top of the hill where the bride waited anxiously for her groom to join her.

Once all three men stood with Hannah, Chuck clapped a hand against Viper’s back. “And that’s what I meant by things don’t always go according to plan.”

Viper shook his head. “That’s all jacked up.”

Taz and Chuck laughed.

But Viper didn’t see anything funny. His knees wobbled and his heart raced with the residuals of his adrenaline rush. “What the hell did I sign up for?”