Royal Lockdown. Rebecca York

to the complex before the rest of the team had been ready. His premature action had resulted in the death of the U.S. secretary of state and some innocent citizens.

      He’d been court-martialed, dishonorably discharged and sent to jail for the screwup, though he’d maintained all along that someone had given him the visual signal.

      Because methodical habits had saved Shane’s life more than once, he had kept tabs on Shea over the years. Not that he’d thought the man was going to come after him. Still, he knew exactly when Shea had gotten out of prison.

      And he knew that the jailbird hadn’t stayed around. He’d gone underground almost as soon as the prison gates had closed behind him.

      Shane had thought it was because he was no longer equipped to function in society. Now he wondered if Shea had had big plans that he hadn’t wanted to reveal.

      Was he back now, out for the sickest kind of revenge his twisted mind could conceive?

      Shane crawled to his right and craned his neck, trying to get a good look at the leader of the men who had set up this terrifyingly well-executed scenario.

      He couldn’t tell if it was Liam Shea. In the goggles and gas mask the man was unidentifiable.

      Plus, Shane hadn’t seen Shea in years. On the mission the man had been one of the older members. Then he’d been locked away, which had probably sped up his aging. Shane wondered if he’d even recognize Shea.

      Shea had insisted all along that he was innocent, but the court hadn’t believed him. So was this the desperate act of an innocent man who had decided the only way he’d get justice was through revenge?

      If so, who were the men with him?

      He’d had three sons, Shane remembered. Could he have convinced them to go along with his revenge plot? Were they so loyal to their father that they were willing to kill for him?

      Of course, that brought up a whole other issue. If Liam Shea had really been innocent, who had made him the fall guy for the failed rescue attempt?

      There had been eight men on the mission, although one of them—Commander Tom Bradley—was dead now.

      The four who had joined Shane in Eclipse were above suspicion. He would trust any one of them with his life.

      Yet a lot of them were here tonight, he suddenly realized, as he put the evening into a different context.

      Chase might be outside in one of the limousines. Ty was guarding the vice president. Only Ethan was absent. But Shane knew he was in Boston, suffering in the same blackout as the rest of them. Maybe he was frantically trying to protect his young son from dangers Shane could only imagine.

      Another man who had been on the mission was Vice President Grant Davis. He was here tonight, too. The eighth member of the team, King Frederick of Beau Pays, was absent, but his daughter was standing in for him tonight.

      Maybe they’d all been brought here on purpose. And maybe that would work to Shane’s advantage.

      Perhaps he and Ty could do something if they could link up…

      Shane balled his hands into fists. He was getting way ahead of himself. This wasn’t an Eclipse operation. There might be a room full of people at risk, but Ty had to focus on his primary duty: protecting Vice President Davis.

      Hopefully, he’d already gotten Davis out of the building.

      Which meant that Shane was on his own.