Maddie waved as Derek drove away an hour later. She couldn’t believe her luck. She’d reunited with her high school sweetheart, and her sister was missing.

Life seemed to be that way, giving and taking. Her heart ached for her sister at the same time it thrilled at what she’d just experienced with Derek. What they had might only be short-term, but it made her feel good, alive and optimistic for the future.

She and her sister had dreamed of meeting their own Prince Charmings and of how their lives would be with families. They had been so busy over the last few years with their shop and their schooling that there really hadn’t been a lot of time for relationships.

Janie had been more daring than Maddie with her online dating, which had landed her in her current predicament. Thinking of Janie reminded Maddie of what she had to do the following night.

Derek had told her not to worry, and that they would come up with a plan. He had a contact from his military days that he was going to ask for assistance. Maddie trusted Derek, but she wanted to come up with her own plan, too.

She looked around the living room. The cream colors were very soothing, but she and Derek had made a mess with pillows and cushions strewn everywhere, and a blanket was bunched on the floor.

Once they had gotten passionate, poor LouLou had disappeared, probably hiding in her kennel. She didn’t come out until had Derek left, and the house was once again silent. Now, the dog stood like a sentinel next to Maddie.

“Come on LouLou. Let’s clean up this mess and eat some supper.”

LouLou followed Maddie around the living room as she set the room to rights. Then they moved into the kitchen.

Maddie realized that she hadn’t fed LouLou. She poured dog food into her dish and freshened her water.

LouLou licked her hand and dug into her meal with gusto.

While she watched LouLou eat, Maddie formed a plan. She had to go alone. If she didn’t, the kidnapper might kill her sister and the other girls he’d taken. She would go to the meeting like planned, but ahead of Derek. There could be no question of whether someone had followed her. Somehow, she would help rescue her sister and whatever girls had been captured.

She would hide a gun and knives on her person and fight her way through. Because of the training they’d both received from her dad, the fact of her sister’s disappearance was all the more shocking. She must have been taken by surprise and hurt, for her not to have fought back. Tomorrow night, Maddie would assess the situation, and then she would free her sister.

As Derek drove back to his apartment to check on Jacob, he dialed his buddy he’d known from his Special Forces days.

His blue tooth activated on his car speaker. Derek’s thoughts wandered back to a day a year ago when he had gotten off active duty and had gotten a call from his old buddy, Hank. The former Navy SEAL was recruiting ex-military members that had been in different branches of the services, but mainly in spec ops units. Many of the men he recruited had retired, been injured or could no longer serve in the military and needed a job. Realizing a need for trained professional protective services, Hank had created an organization called the Brotherhood Protectors. The highly skilled fighters turned their special operations skills to protect civilians, or to hunt down insurgent’s in the US.

Hank based his company out of a ranch in Montana that served a dual purpose to recuperate his new recruits as a well as a training base. Hank’s wife, Sadie, was a movie star and helped with funding as needed and brought in work through her rich contacts.

The phone rang once, and Hank Patterson’s deep voice came on the line, “Hey, Eagle, how are you doing in Colorado? Have you changed your mind about coming to work for me?”

Derek laughed. “Sorry, but no. I like working as a detective in Colorado. And thanks for getting me set up here. I’m glad to be back home. Actually, we have a situation, and we’re getting push-back from local government. I was wondering if you could help.”

Hank didn’t hesitate. “What’s going on, and what can I do?”

Derek pulled into the parking area at his apartment and shifted into PARK before he began. He drew in a deep breath, and then told Hank everything that had happened. “Based on the fact the women are young and pretty, and we haven’t found any bodies, I think we might be dealing with some kind of human trafficking or sex trade with women to be sold.” From their mutual experience in the military and everything they had seen overseas, Derek knew Hank understood. He’d do everything he could to help stop what was happening. “Any information you can dig up or any leads would help.”

“I’ll get my best computer analyst on this and get back to you in the morning with what we can find. I have three guys available I can send out. They can be there for Maddie’s rendezvous tomorrow night.”

“Who are you sending?” Derek asked. “Anyone I know?”

“You probably don’t know these guys. I’m sending Bear, Taz and Kujo, with his dog Six. They’re a great bunch of guys, and Six can sniff out bombs and he's good at tracking, so he’ll help with whatever you might need and keep y’all safe in the explosives department.”

Derek sighed. “Thanks, Hank. This really means a lot to me. Tell Sadie I said hi. I’ll have to bring Jacob out there some time. He’d love to see the animals and meet the guys.”

Hank chuckled. The blue tooth in Derek’s car crackled with the sound of Hank’s deep voice. “Sure thing. Anytime. Just give us a heads-up, so we can make up a bed for you guys. Sadie would love a little one running around. She keeps nagging me about having kids around for Emma to play with. Will get back to you later.”

Derek ended the call, thankful for Hank’s promise to help. The military had been so much a part of his life, calling Hank had been like calling a brother. The military family was always there when you needed them.

He turned off his car, grabbed his stuff and headed to his caregiver’s apartment.

Mary had been his mother’s best friend throughout Derek’s childhood. When he came to work at the police department, he’d asked her for help with his son. He’d started as a beat cop working long nights, and then was promoted to detective. He could be called out at any hour. Mary was his backup.

The woman was like a grandmother to Jacob. Since he stayed with her so often, she’d even had a room set up for him in her apartment.

Derek had sent a text to Mary, so she knew he would be over to check on Jacob before he called it a night. She let him into her apartment.

“Tough day?” she asked.

“Yes.” His lips twisted. “I won’t keep you up with the details, but it wasn’t one of my best days.”

She nodded toward the spare bedroom. “He tried to stay awake to see you, but he couldn’t hold out.”

“Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Derek hugged Mary.

She patted his cheek. “You were always like a son to me. Jacob is like the grandson I never had.”

He covered her hand with his and squeezed. “It means a lot to me, knowing Jacob’s well taken care of and loved when I’m not around.”

“It really is my pleasure.” Mary smiled. “He’s such a good boy.”

Derek walked into the little room Mary had set up for his son, which was covered in super hero’s just like his room in Derek’s apartment. Jacob had latched on to super hero’s once he realized his father was a police detective. Mary had told him police and firefighters were heroes.

Jacob was all curled up in the bed, his longish, blond hair falling over his brow.

Derek pushed back a strand of hair from his son’s face and kissed his cheek. His heart swelled with his love for the little guy. He still couldn’t believe he’d missed the first few years of his son’s life.

Jacob mumbled in his sleep and turned over. They were still getting used to each other, but Jacob was finally warming up to Derek.

He wished he’d known he had a son from the beginning.

Upon learning of his fatherhood, Derek left the Army to care for Jacob and his dying mother, while working as a beat cop in Denver and going to night school.

Derek loved the little boy with all his heart and only wanted to be the best father he could be.

He had grown up without a father and knew how hard it was for a child. He’d been fortunate that his mother had been a very strong woman and taught him about life and hard work.

Because of his work ethic and his can-do attitude, Derek had been selected for special forces, where he perfected his rifle skills and became a sharpshooter. His success as a sniper had earned him the name “Eagle Eye”, which had been shortened to “Eagle”.

He wondered how his life might have turned out if he’d had a father. He hoped he could be as good a father as his mother had been as both a mother and a father. His son deserved his very best effort.

Derek kissed his son’s forehead, thanked Mary again and went to his apartment for a much-needed shower. The living room had been done in different shades of blue and gray, reminding him of the sky and Maddie’s eyes.

Thinking of Maddie and their lovemaking brought back memories of their high school days. They’d been crazy about each other and tried to be together every minute.

Things had changed so much since then.

Maddie’s father had retired from the Army and taken a job with a civilian contractor. He’d made certain he was home in the States during his daughter’s high school years. After all his deployments while in the service, he’d wanted to be there for them.

Her father had known how crazy Maddie and Derek had been about each other and liked Derek, treating him like a son. And Derek felt like he was the father he’d never had.

He and Maddie had broken off their relationship when Derek left for college, giving each other permission to date and get on with their lives while they were separated.

When Derek had to drop out of college after his first year, Maddie’s father had helped him get into the military and later into Special Forces.

Once Maddie and Janie had graduated high school, their father’s contracting company shipped him overseas.

When Derek had gotten off active duty, Hank attempted to recruit him to join the Brotherhood Protectors. But that’s when Derek learned he had a son.

His life, his choices, shifted around Jacob. He didn’t want to leave the little boy without a father, and he couldn’t take him with him overseas. Instead, Derek joined the Adamstown Police department and moved to his old hometown to raise his son.

As he showered, he thought through the choices he’d made. Joining the army had been the right one. Even sleeping with Jacob’s mother hadn’t been completely wrong. If he hadn’t slept with Alicia, he wouldn’t have the little boy who’d stolen his heart. If he didn’t have Jacob, he wouldn’t be in his hometown, and he wouldn’t have run into Maddie again. Perhaps fate had a hand in the direction his life had taken.

Derek shut off the water, stepped out of the shower and toweled dry. He dropped into bed and fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. In his dreams, he made love to the beautiful Maddie, laughing and reliving the joy they’d had as teenagers. Life was all sunshine and happiness, until darkness crept in around them. One moment Maddie was smiling and holding his hand. The next moment she slipped from his grasp and was swallowed by a terrible dark fog. The screams of young women echoed in the swirling mist.

No matter which way Derek turned, he couldn’t find Maddie. She had disappeared.