I spent 15 years training Marines in hand-to-hand combat, and my rule was simple: never lay a hand on a civilian

By 3:00 a.m., Pier 14 was glowing under the flashing blue and red lights of thirty Federal Bureau of Investigation vehicles and state police cruisers.

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Marcus Brody—a man I had served with during our joint task force days in Iraq—stood beside me on the dock, watching as federal agents loaded Victor Vance, his nephew Dustin (who had been picked up from his private clinic in handcuffs), and eighteen members of Vance’s crime syndicate into armored transport vans.

Brody took a deep drag from his paper cup of coffee, looking at the mountain of evidence sitting on the hood of my truck.

"Noah," Brody shook his head, a mixture of awe and exasperation in his eyes. "You brought down a multi-million-dollar organized crime syndicate in less than four hours. The Justice Department has been trying to build a case against Vance for six years."

"He touched my daughter, Marcus," I said simply, leaning against the bed of my truck.

"I know," Brody said softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Dustin Vance is looking at twenty years in federal penitentiary for extortion, aggravated assault, and felony battery. He will never set foot inside an MMA gym again. And Victor... Victor will die behind bars."

"What about my family?" I asked. "Are we secure?"

"I've placed Sarah and Marcy under full federal witness protection status for the next seventy-two hours until the indictments are unsealed," Brody assured me. "Not that they need it. After what you and your Raider boys did tonight, word has already spread through the underworld. Nobody in this state will ever go near the Miller family again."

Bull, Ramirez, and Jackson walked over, carrying their Pelican gear cases. They were tired, their faces streaked with ocean spray and sweat, but their eyes were bright.

"We good, Top?" Bull asked, clapping my shoulder with a hand the size of a skillet.

"We're good, Gunny," I said, looking at the three men who had stood beside me when the world turned dark. "I owe you boys. All of you."