When Day Breaks

“Jesus,” Raid breathed. “And? Did you? Did you find him?”

Eddie was silent a long moment before finally nodding. “Guy went after him. He didn’t want me involved. I gave him all the intel I had. I called in a lot of favors to get the information he needed.”

“So he killed him,” Ryker said bluntly.

Again Eddie nodded.

“Christ, Dad. And you didn’t think we deserved to know all of this sooner? And why tell us now? What’s going on?” Raid demanded.

Eddie paled, suddenly feeling years older. The weight of a lifetime of regret settled like a ton of bricks on his shoulders and his heart.

He reached up to the mantel and picked up the photos and the note he’d received. With shaking hands, he shoved them toward his sons, simply waiting for them to look them over and draw their own conclusions.

“Holy fuck,” Ryker exploded. “Eden is being threatened?”

“His son,” Eddie said in a strained voice. “It has to be the son. We weren’t able to find him. Just Raul. But his son would want revenge because not only did he lose his mother and sister but then Guy took out his father and now he’s looking for revenge. By hitting me where he knows he’d hurt me the most. Through Eden.”

“Son of a bitch,” Raid swore. “What the hell are we going to do? Where is Eden now? What are we going to do? She’s not safe even for a minute. What if he’s already found her? What if he’s going after her as we speak?”

“It’s why I called you both to come. I spoke to Eden earlier today. She seemed fine. I don’t want to scare her. I don’t even want her to know all of this. It would upset her. But we have to close ranks around her. Tighten security. What we have now isn’t going to cut it. These people are ruthless. They have resources beyond our imaginings. She isn’t safe. We have to figure out a way to make sure she’s safe at all times.”

Ryker went silent a long moment, his expression thoughtful. “I know people who could help us. It’s what they do. They’re all ex-military. I served with two of the brothers. Nathan and Joe Kelly. They got out when I did. That last mission that went all to hell. Some of us didn’t make it back. Joe was injured and Nathan and another teammate were held prisoner for months in the mountains of Afghanistan. But their brothers run a special ops group. Some of it’s private sector, but they also do a lot of government contract work. Jobs that no one else can or will do. Hostage recovery, rescue, protection. You name it, they do it. And they’re damn good. Nathan and Joe work with them now as does Swa

“How good?” Raid asked bluntly. “Because good isn’t good enough. Not when it comes to keeping Eden safe. We need the fucking best.”

“I’ll call them. Set up a meeting immediately. We may need to fly out there so we can get the ball rolling sooner,” Ryker said grimly.

“You do that,” Eddie said. “I’m not losing Eden. Or you. Those bastards have taken enough from this family.”

The phone rang, interrupting the tense discussion. Eddie glanced down to see that it was Eden calling.

“Hey, baby girl,” he greeted, holding his hand to his sons.

“Daddy?”

At the tremble he heard in her voice, his blood went cold.

“Eden? What’s wrong? Are you all right? What’s happened?”

Raid and Ryker immediately came to attention, rushing over to stand closer so they could hear what was transpiring.

“There was a shooting,” she said, her voice wobbling precariously. “But I wanted you to know I was okay. I didn’t want you to hear about it on the news and worry.”

“What do you mean there was a shooting?” he roared.

“I don’t know anything yet, Daddy. The cops are coming to question me. David and Micah got me into the car and to the hotel. We’re staying in a different suite. Micah and David were concerned that this could be personal.”

Hell, Eddie knew it was personal. Son of a bitch, but he hadn’t expected it to start this soon. He’d only received the threat today. His blood chilled in his veins. But the timing was impeccable. Had the killer pla

Helpless rage gripped his throat, squeezing until he could barely breathe. Raid wrenched the phone from his hand, ignoring his father’s immediate protest.

“Eden, this is Raid. Tell me where you are and we’ll catch the first flight out we can,” he said calmly.

There was a pause and then Raid said, “Okay, honey. Stay where David and Micah put you. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

He ended the call and handed his father back the phone, his eyes nearly black with rage.

“So it’s begun, then.”

Eddie could only nod, fear and fury waging war in his mind.

“Then let’s get the fuck out of here,” Ryker said tightly. “I’ll call Nathan and Joe on the way and have them meet us there if they can make it.”

CHAPTER 4

DARYL “Swa

“Hey, can you get that?” Joe called from the bathroom.

Swa

“Hello?”

“Can I speak to Nathan or Joe Kelly? It’s urgent.”

The male voice sounded vaguely familiar, but Swa

“Can I tell him who’s calling?” Swa

“This is Ryker Sinclair. We served together. It’s important I speak to one of them immediately.”

“Sin?” Swa

There was a pause and then Ryker replied. “Swa

“We’re all doing fine. Nathan is married now. But hey, what’s going on? You said it was urgent. Anything I can do to help?”

Ryker breathed out heavily over the phone. “Yeah, I need your help. I need KGI’s help.”

“Hang on, let me get Joe and I’ll put you on speakerphone.”

Swa

The door swung open and Joe appeared, a frown on his face. “Sin?”

“Yeah, get in the kitchen so I can put him on speakerphone. He said it was urgent and he needed KGI’s help.”

“Fuck,” Joe muttered.

They strode back to the kitchen and Swa

“Hey, man, we’re both here,” Joe said. “What’s up? How the hell are you?”

“Not good,” Ryker said grimly. “I have a problem. I need your help. KGI’s help.”

“You know we’ll do whatever we can. Give me the rundown.”

“I don’t have time to get into it on the phone and I don’t have all the details myself. We’re on our way to where Eden is. She’s in trouble. It’s a long goddamn story and I know I’m not giving you much to go on, but I need you for this. Can you come?”

Swa