CHAPTER ONE
The bastards tried to kidnap my baby sister. Just thinking about it filled Eddie Calabretta with a combustible combination of concern and rage. Since his sister was now safe, that left him with mostly rage.
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He checked his watch again. Seven hours and thirteen minutes—that’s how long it had been since he’d gotten the call.
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Someone tried to snatch twelve-year-old Violetta, his youngest sister, from right in front of his Mamita’s house. The home he’d help build for her after his Papi died. The place where his family gathered to celebrate and reminisce.
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His day had started like most others. He was in the locker room talking smack to his teammate, Boone Langston. They were about to set off on a morning training run with the rest of their team when Eddie’s phone rang in his locker. Before he’d even ended the call, he was already running to his boss’s office. He’d explained the situation to Cole Lambert, who was not only his boss at the Dark Ops division of O’Halleran Security International, but an old friend from their days working deep undercover at the National Security Agency, the NSA.
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Cole and Luna Pannikos, their incredible ops center specialist, immediately went to work to get Eddie to South Texas as soon as possible. They offered to fly him in the corporate jet, unfortunately, it was currently at OSI’s location in San Francisco, and it would take too long for Eddie’s liking to get to the Dark Ops airstrip in Virginia. Instead, Luna got him on a commercial flight into Valley International Airport. From there, it was an easy fifteen-minute drive to his mom’s house.
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Eddie stared out the plane window at the flat landscape, made up of a patchwork of fields in varying shades of brown, tan, and green. They came closer and closer until he jostled in his seat when the plane touched down on the tarmac.
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They taxied to the gate and rolled to a stop.
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The pilots deep voice came over the PA. “Ladies and gentleman, please remain seated.”
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The pilot, first officer, and flight attendants had all been given a heads up regarding the urgency of Eddie’s trip, and agreed to let him get off the plane first.
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He unclipped his seatbelt, grabbed his duffle from the overhead compartment, and hiked the strap onto his shoulder. He made his way to the front and waited until the lead attendant stood and unlocked the door.
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“Thank you, and please pass my thanks on to the rest of the crew.”
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“You’re welcome.” She swung the door open. “Good luck.”
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He nodded, took off down the jetway, and flew past the gate agents. He maneuvered his way around through the mass of humanity lined up and waiting to board their flight, ran past the multi-tiered fountain in the middle of the main terminal, and didn’t stop until he arrived at the rental car lot.
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Luna arranged to have his rental car waiting up front, so he wouldn’t have to waste time zigzagging the lot trying to find the right one. The employee went through his spiel, handed Eddie the key fob, and told him to have a good day.
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He thanked him, tossed his duffle bag onto the back seat, and climbed in behind the wheel of the SUV. He fixed the mirrors, fired up the engine, and left the lot as quickly as possible.
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There was no need for a GPS—he knew this area like the back of his hand. For a year, almost every weekend he’d made a two-plus-hour trip that took him right past the airport.
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Memories of shuffling back and forth, making that long drive just to see Lucia at college, were bittersweet. They’d been so fuckin’ in love—
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Eddie tightened his grip on the steering wheel, pushed away the painful memory, and turned onto the highway ramp that would take him to his mom’s house.
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Fifteen minutes later, he pulled up to the curb in front of her place and cut the engine. He checked up and down the street. In his rearview mirror, parked by the curb three houses down, he noticed a dark green, four-door pick-up with lights on the roof and a gold badge emblem on the door. He reached to the back, yanked his duffle over the seat, and climbed out of the SUV.
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Eddie made eye contact the deputy who gave him a slight head nod letting him know he’d been anticipating his arrival.
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He made his way up the paved walkway to ring the doorbell. He had a key, but since he’d never actually lived in this house, it felt weird just walking in like he did when he was a kid coming home from school or from playing outside.
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She would say he was being silly, but, whatever.
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The door swung open and his Mamita, stood there, arms wide, a big smile on her face.
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“Eduardo!” Blanca Calabretta stepped out and wrapped her arms around his body. “It is so good to have you home.”
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“Hi, Mamita.” He held her close and, since she was smaller than him, her face only came to the middle of his chest. “I got here as fast as I could.”
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“So many times, I have told you to just let yourself in, you silly boy.” She squeezed him good and tight.
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“How is Violetta?” He held her at arm’s length and bent his legs to bring him to her eye level. “And be honest with me, Mamita.”
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“She is a little shaken up, but you know our little Violetta, she is so strong-willed.” She patted his chest and there was a proud twinkle in her eyes when she spoke of her youngest child.
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Who was he kidding? She had the same twinkle no matter which child or grandchild she happened to be speaking about.
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His mom and dad always referred to Violetta as their happy surprise, since she came much later than their other children. Eddie was twenty and already in the Marine Corps when she was born. And there was thirteen years between Violetta and their next older sister, Fernanda.
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When she was a baby, all of his sisters treated her like their own personal baby doll. Eddie doted on her, too. To say she was spoiled would be an understatement, and still, she was such a sweet kid with a huge heart. But she was no pushover, either.
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“Where is she?” He looked around the front room and toward the hall leading to the bedrooms.
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“She is at Fernanda’s house, helping her with the baby.” Fernanda was one of his sisters, and she’d just had a baby about six months ago. “We felt the distraction would be good for her.”
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Eddie was the oldest of eight children, and the only boy. In age order, his sisters were Reina, thirty-one, Olive, thirty, the twins, Teresa and Elena were twenty-eight, Paloma, twenty-six, and Fernanda, who was twenty-five, then finally came Violetta, who just turned twelve a few months ago.
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His folks had been very busy for a very long time.
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Growing up, their house was always crowded and full of noise and so much female drama. For the most part, Eddie just did his own thing and didn’t give it much thought. Except when their menstrual cycles all seemed to sync up at the same time. That hadn’t been so easy to ignore. He likened it to being caught up in a sea of crashing emotions.
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His father had definitely been the head of the family in all of the right ways. And, man, did he love his wife. Ere go, their eight children. He used to stress to Eddie that when he was gone, his only son would become the head of the family. After his dad died from a massive heart attack a few years ago, Eddie stepped up to do his best to fill the very large shoes his papi left behind.
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Since Violetta was the only child still living at home, his mom decided to sell the house they all grew up in to her oldest daughter, Reina. Eddie had helped build the house his mom lived in now. It was slightly smaller, had only one story, and all of his sisters lived within five miles of her front door.
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After he left to join the Marine Corps when he was nineteen, he never moved back. Then he’d gone to work for the NSA and basically disappeared from their life for three years. Now, his job required him to live in Virginia and to be gone a lot to parts of the world no one could ever know about.
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He missed seeing his family regularly and enjoying their big gatherings, but he loved his job with the Dark Ops too much to make a change.
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They were a division of the well-respected O’Halleran Security International organization, a premier global security outfit that specialized in a wide array of services like close protection, private security, national and international hostage retrieval, tracking, and cyber security.
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The specific mission of Dark Ops was to identify, locate, and liberate victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking, and to destroy and dismantle the individuals and organizations responsible.
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It was incredibly rewarding work, but it made watching over his family a bit of a challenge sometimes.
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“Come in. Come in.” His mom took his hand and started tugging him inside. “You must be hungry. Let’s get you something to eat.”
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“Mom, you don’t always have to feed me, ya know,” Eddie said.
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“Did you hear that, Daniel?” Her hand went to her chest in dramatic fashion and she looked up at the sky. “Your son, your only son no longer enjoys my cooking.”
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“Seriously?” Eddie rolled his eyes. “You’re tattling to Papi?”
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“Hey, whatever it takes.” His mom winked and headed toward the kitchen. “I just made a batch of tamales and was about to take some enchiladas out of the oven.”
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“You started cooking as soon as I said I was coming, didn’t you?” He stepped into the giant kitchen he built exactly to her specifications. And there were many, because she was happiest in the kitchen when surrounded by her family and friends.
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“Oh … hush up and wash your hands.” She pointed toward the sink, grabbed a hot pad from a drawer, and opened the oven. “Ah, perfect, if I do say so myself.” She lifted out the same roasting dish she’d used for years and set it on a trivet on the large island.
Cheese and sauce bubbled and the aroma of home cooking filled the room.
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She lifted the lid off the crockpot and steam rose from the tamales.
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“Oh, man, that smells amazing.” Eddie closed his eyes and filled his nose with the incredible aromas that reminded him of his childhood. His mouth began to water in anticipation of that first bite, and he hurried over to the sink and washed and dried his hands.
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He grabbed a plate from the stack set out on the large granite island, and picked up a napkin and fork from the pile next to it.
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“I take it by the number of plates set out that you’re expecting more people.” He dished up some enchiladas and used the tongs to grab a tamale.
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“Your sisters and their families are coming over.” His mom went to the fridge and pulled out a gallon of milk. She filled a tall glass and set it in front of him. “Drink that. It’s good for your bones.” As far back as he could remember, she would say that every single time she handed one of them a glass of milk.
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He pulled back one of the six chairs lined up on one side of the island, set his plate down, and sat.
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“So, where is everyone?” Eddie filled his fork with enchilada, blew on it, then shoved it in his mouth. His eyes rolled back on a sigh.
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Damn, that’s good.
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“You know where Violetta is, the rest of them are either at work or home.” His mom served up a smaller portion for herself and moved toward him. “They’ll all be here soon.”
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That explains the enormous amount of food she’s prepared.
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He hopped up, slid out the chair next to him, and waited for her to sit before returning to his own seat.
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“Thank you, cariño.” Sweetheart.
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They sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying her cooking.
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“Are you going to see Lucia while you are here?” She tossed that question out like it hadn’t been years since they were together.
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“Hadn’t really considered it.” Eddie took a long swallow of milk to keep from having to say more.
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“She’s divorced now, you know.”
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His fork stopped halfway to his mouth, and he gave his mother a side-eye.
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“I am aware.” Reina had felt the need to fill him in on that little detail.
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As if her being single would change anything. It would never undo the way she’d betrayed him and made him look like a fool.
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“I sure wish I knew what happened between you two. Your sisters won’t tell me. They said it has to come from you.” He made a mental note to thank them, especially since he knew all too well how relentless their mother could be. “One day you were in love and talking about a future together, the next day, poof, you were broken up.”
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His sisters only found out why they’d ended things because Lucia’s … indiscretion ended up on social media.
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“Mom.” His voice held a hint of warning.
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“Alright, alright.” She lifted her hands in surrender and went back to eating.
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Eddie finished up his food, drank the last of his milk, and carried his dishes over to the sink to rinse them off.
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“I’m going to put my stuff in the guest room before everyone gets here.” And he needed to make some phone calls without being overheard.
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He loaded the plate, fork, and glass into the dishwasher and started to leave the kitchen, but stopped when his mother spoke.
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“Eduardo, I am glad you are here,” she said. “We all are.”
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He stalked back over to kiss her on the cheek, then went to the door to grab his bag, before heading back to the guest bedroom. Once the door was shut, he pulled his phone from his pocket and called his brother-in-law, who worked for the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department.
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Because San Salsillo was a small town without its own police department, it fell under the jurisdiction of the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department.
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“Detective Collins.” Mark Collins was the lead detective for the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department and a longtime friend of Eddie’s.
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“Mark, it’s Eddie.” They met when they were ten and played on the same Little League baseball team.
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“Hey, man. You in town yet?” Mark was also married to his sister, Reina.
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“I’ve been in town just long enough for my mom to feed me.” Eddie had called his friend as soon as he found out about what happened to Violetta.
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“Yeah, she likes to keep everyone fed. Hell, I’ve had to add two miles to my morning run just to keep the extra weight off.” Mark chuckled. “But it’s totally worth it.”
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“Why do you think I played so many sports when we were kids?” They shared a laugh then Eddie got to the reason for his call. “I wanted to check-in to see if you have any new information since we spoke earlier?”
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“Actually, I do. Your mom and Lucia were able to give us a pretty damn good description of the guy—”
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“Wait, Lucia saw the guy, too?” His mom had a houseful of folks over last night, but he was surprised to hear Lucia was one of them.
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“Yeah, she and Reina are really tight, so she was there with her daughter, Lillian.” Computer keys clicked in the background.
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Since when was Reina, the queen of holding grudges, back on good terms with Lucia? Fuck. That meant she would probably be around more. Part of him hated the idea, another part of him looked forward to it.
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“Hell, I was there, too,” Mark said. “A bunch of us were hangin’ out in the backyard, and we heard Vi screaming. By the time we got to the front of the house, Lucia had already pulled your sister aside and had her arms wrapped around her. And your mom, she’d already chased the guy off with that old baseball bat she keeps in the coat closet by the front door.”
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“I can’t believe she did that.” He shook his head. “What was she thinking?”
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“She was thinking someone was hurting her child, and she wasn’t going to let that happen,” Mark had spent a big chunk of his life around Eddie’s mom. “You know how she is.”
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Yeah, he knew, and just thinking about what could have happened to Violetta or his mom made Eddie want to jam his fist through a wall.
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He was a naturally protective guy, but things were different—more intense—now that it was his own family in the bulls-eye. And despite their complicated history, he wasn’t keen on the idea of Lucia being in harm’s way either.
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“Anyway, I put your mom and Lucia in separate rooms and had them go through some photo arrays. They both picked out the same photo of a Hispanic guy with a very distinctive mohawk. His name is—”
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“Tamarin Rios.” Eddie couldn’t believe that piece of shit was involved.
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“You familiar with him?”
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“He used to run with Alejandro Munoz, Jr., but AJ is dead.” AJ was a spoiled coke-head who loved terrorizing women. “Rios was one of the guys who grabbed my boss’s wife a while back. He's a moron and too stupid to work independently. My guess is, since AJ and his dad, Alejandro Sr., are both out of the picture, he must be working for the brother, Rodrigo.”
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Shit.
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During his time with the National Security Agency, NSA, Eddie had gone deep deep undercover within the Muñoz cartel for just over three years. Long enough to work his way into AJ’s inner circle.
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The things he’d witnessed still linger in the form of occasional nightmares. They had been the darkest three years of Eddie’s life, and the only reason he’d survived was that he knew his family needed him.
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And now it was starting to look like his past might’ve opened the door for that same evil to slip in and violate the sanctity of his family’s safe haven.
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“Are you telling me the Muñoz cartel is operating in San Salsillo?” Mark did not sound happy about that idea, and rightfully so.
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“I’m not sure, but I know someone who can find out.” He would get Luna working on it and she’d have an answer in no time.
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She really was brilliant, and at the age of only twenty-five, she’d invented some of the cool electronics the team used in the field. She was also hopelessly in love and living with Boone Langston, a real-life cowboy and another one of his teammates.
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The Muñoz cartel dealt in every kind of drugs imaginable, and had begun to dabble in human trafficking until AJ decided it would be a good idea to have Rios kidnap Cole’s girlfriend. Big mistake on his part made worse by the fact he shot Cole while doing it. His boss and the Dark Ops team went in after her, and Eddie blew his cover to help get her out safely. AJ and a couple of his thugs were killed during that op.
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Good riddance.
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After that all went down, Rodrigo decided it would be best to ditch their trafficking operation—too unseemly to have that connected to his pure and innocent drug manufacturing and trafficking enterprise.
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Apparently, he must’ve somehow figured out Eddie’s connection to the whole thing and was now coming for his pound of flesh in the form of targeting his family. If that was true, this situation just went from bad to nightmarish, and things could get very bloody very quickly.
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“You sure seem to know a lot about that family. Why is that?” Mark never knew any details about Eddie’s undercover work, but it sounded like he might be starting to put the pieces together.
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“Let’s just say our paths crossed in my previous career and leave it at that.” He’d told his brother-in-law about certain aspects of his job with the NSA, but nothing that would break protocol or put his friend or anyone else in danger.
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“Well, if what you’re speculating is true, it might explain another situation we’ve been dealing with down here,” Mark said.
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“Situation?” Eddie didn’t like the sound of that.
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“Yeah, I didn’t want to say anything until you got here, but beginning in August, we’ve had three girls who have gone missing. One eleven-year-old, one twelve, and the third is thirteen.” Mark tapped some keys. “And all of them lived within a five-mile radius of your mom’s place. I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe that is a coincidence.”
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“Nor do I.” He would have to reach out to Cole about possibly getting some back-up from his team. “Would you have a problem with me bringing in my team to help out with your investigation of the missing girls?”
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“Are you kidding?” There was a hint of excitement in his words. “I’ll take any help I can get, especially from an outfit with a reputation like OSI.”
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“We’re prepping for an op out of the country, so I’m not making any promises, but I’ll see what I can do,” Eddie said.
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Someone spoke in the background.
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“Eddie, I’ve got to head out.” Mark sounded upset.
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“What’s up?”
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“We’ve got another missing girl.” He ended the call.
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Eddie immediately dialed Cole’s number.
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“Lambert.”
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“Cole, I just found out that another girl went missing last night," Eddie said.
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“Do you need to skip the mission?” Cole asked. “I understand if you do.”
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“No, there’s not much I can do at this point.” Eddie pushed up off the bed and paced the small room.
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“If you’re concerned about your family’s safety, I can arrange for private protection.” Cole knew people across the security spectrum.
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“You sure that won’t be a problem?” Eddie made damn good money working for OSI and had invested pretty much all of the money he was paid while undercover with the NSA. He could easily afford a private protection detail.
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“No problem at all,” Cole said. “His name is Caine Bennett. He owns Iron Shield Collective. I’ll make a call and give him your number.”
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“Thanks, Cole.” Eddie trusted Cole’s judgment in this and many other things.
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“The team will be leaving from Joint Base Charleston in two days,” Cole said. “If something changes and you can’t be there, let me know. Otherwise, we’ll see you in two days.”
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“I’ll be there.” Eddie would be of more use on their op in Pakistan than sitting around here getting fat from his mom’s amazing cooking.
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“Luna will be briefing the rest of the team and will send you the details.”
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“I’ll be ready.” Eddie needed an outlet for all the frustration he was feeling over this whole fucking mess, and taking down a piece of shit trafficker in Pakistan would satisfy that need.
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“Cole, there’s something else you need to know about what’s happening down here,” he said. “Tamarin Rios is the asshole who tried to grab my sister.”
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There was a long silence. No raging string of expletives, no questions, just … quiet. But Eddie could practically feel his old friend’s seething anger vibrating through the phone.
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“I’ll deal with Rios.” Cole was a champion of keeping his emotions firmly in check, but those four words were a vengeful promise. “See you in two days.”
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“Roger that.” He ended the call.
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Eddie would take care of business with his team, then they could focus on figuring out what the hell was happening in his peaceful little hometown.
