Sins of the Flesh

by Caridad Piñeiro

  “Easy, Mick. You have a hairline skull fracture and concussion. Several broken ribs and a punctured lung. You almost didn’t make it.”

  He was thankful that’s all it was, because he remembered feeling as if a Mack truck had run him down. But the pain was mitigated by the knowledge that he had found his sister.

  “Liliana,” he said, not realizing he had said it out loud until Caterina replied.

  “She had to leave a few hours ago to do her rounds, but she’ll be back.”

  “How are you?” he asked and closed his eyes, the light in the room too bright to his concussion-sensitized sight.

  Caterina ran a cool hand across the side of his face and said, “I’m fine. When we brought you to the hospital your cousin Ramon was waiting for us. I explained what happened—”

  “He called in the Feds,” Mick jumped in, recalling the dead park ranger.

  “As well as the local and Camden PDs,” he heard and opened his eyes to see Ramon strolling in, wearing his summer khakis, his sheriff’s hat in hand.

  Ramon came to stand by the railing of his bed and smiled at Caterina. “Glad to see you decided to join us, primo.”

  “What’s going on?” he asked his cousin.

  Ramon’s lips tightened into a thin line before he said, “Feds are coordinating with the locals, since it seems the MO for the park ranger’s murder is the same as for Wells. There’s also a DNA match to the goon you plugged between the eyes.”

  “Santiago,” Caterina said and the name struck a discord with his cousin.

  “Rob Santiago, the cop killer. Seems they reduced his sentence if he agreed to participate in the Wardwell study.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Mick cursed and glanced at Caterina. “You saved my life. You and Lil.”

  She twined her fingers with his. “I couldn’t lose you.”

  Mick tightened his hold on her hand and faced Ramon once again. “Cat didn’t kill Wells. We’ve got—”

  “Caterina’s been released on my recognizance, but I suspect they’ll be dropping all charges shortly,” Ramon advised.

  Mick’s major mission had been accomplished, but something still gnawed at his gut. “Did you get Edwards and Morales?”

  Ramon looked away, unable to hold his gaze, and Mick repeated, “Did you, Ramon?”

  His cousin jiggled his hat up and down in his hand before finally meeting his gaze. “Edwards and Morales have disappeared, along with the remaining four patients in the gene therapy program. They’ll need lots of space and equipment. It’ll make it hard for them to hide for long.”

  Mick thought about how much money Edwards had paid him and Franklin. How much they must have offered Mad Dog to eliminate all of them. With that much money…

  “Those families need closure. Someone’s got to find the missing patients.”

  Caterina echoed Mick’s sentiment. “Someone will.”

  Ramon nodded. “Definitely. And soon. Trust me.”

  Mick glanced at Caterina and knew she understood. After Ramon excused himself, he squeezed her hand and said, “I’m glad you’ll be cleared of any charges.”

  A confused look crossed her face. “That’s sounding a bit too much like a brush-off.”

  Mick shrugged. A big mistake as pain lanced through his side, but he bit back a groan and said, “You and Liliana are safe now. You’ll be able to go back to your regular life.”

  “What if I don’t want to?”

  Now it was his turn to be confused. “Your music is your life.”

  Caterina nodded and pulled her hair back, trained those stunning blue eyes on his face. “Music is a big part of my life, but I’ve found something else I want in my life. Something that makes it complete.”

  Mick’s heartbeat did a funky beat that registered on the monitors, drawing Caterina’s attention to the machines. “You okay? Should I get a doctor?”

  “Actually, if I’m the something else you want, I think you should go get a priest.”

  Caterina narrowed her eyes and examined his face.

  “A priest?” she repeated.

  Mick allowed a slow grin to spread across his face as he said, “Well, I’ve either died and should get last rites or I need to make this relationship more permanent before you change your mind.”

  Caterina chuckled and shook her head, sending her long dark locks shifting with the motion. “Not what I would call a romantic proposal.”

  “I love you, Cat. Heart and soul. Flesh and bone. Every part of me is yours, querida.”

  Caterina stood and bent over him, her lips barely an inch from his. “I love you, Mick. You are the music of my heart and I never want to be without you.”

  She closed the distance and kissed him, her lips warm and mobile against his. The intensity of the kiss growing until a cough sounded from the doorway, yanking Caterina away from him.

  Caterina jerked upright and turned, but slipped her hand back into Mick’s.

  His mother stood at the door bracketed by two men who could only be his father and brother, since the resemblance was so strong. Liliana had called them as soon as they knew Mick was out of the woods, but it had taken some time for them to return home from Chicago.

  Obviously they’d arrived and, from the worry etched on his mother’s face, hearing the news about Mick’s injuries had clearly taken a toll on her.

  “Mariel,” Caterina said and walked toward the woman, took her hands in hers, and offered a reassuring squeeze. “He’s feeling better than he looks.”

  “Good, because he looks like shit,” said the man she surmised to be his younger brother.

  “Mi’jito, watch your language. Caterina, this is Antonio—”

  “Tony will do,” he said, a broad welcoming smile on his face. “Are you Mick’s girl?”

  Mick’s girl, she thought and glanced over her shoulder at Mick before returning her attention to his family.

  “Actually I’m Mick’s fiancée; that is, if you approve,” Caterina said and watched as surprise flickered across the three faces.

  His father finally mastered that shock and spoke up. “Welcome to the family, mi’jita.”

  EPILOGUE

  One month later

  The summer sun beat down mercilessly, and not even the tinted windows on the SUV could fight its assault. The heat in the interior of the vehicle had been steadily rising as Morales sat there waiting for them. Slowly baking while the three of them were probably off somewhere cool.

  He drove his thoughts away from the heat. Ignored the trickle of sweat down the side of his face as he told himself that they were bound to arrive soon.

  It would be time for Ms. Shaw to have another plasmapheresis treatment, and a crisp hundred paid to one of the orderlies had confirmed that she would be arriving today.

  As a black Jeep pulled into the parking lot for the hospital, Morales tracked its passage to an empty spot at the far side of the lot. Held his breath as he waited for the occupants to emerge and was not disappointed.

  Caterina Shaw slipped from the vehicle, along with a handsome Latino man. Carrera, he supposed, since he had never encountered the man in person.

  The couple met at the back of the Jeep and embraced. Shared a kiss before joining hands and walking together toward the door to the hospital.

  As they neared the entrance, the automatic doors swooshed open and a young woman exited the building. Petite. Wearing a lab coat and badge that identified her as one of the hospital personnel. Her dark good looks, so similar to the man with Shaw, identified her as family.

  Beneath the canopy of the hospital’s entrance, the three embraced, happiness and love radiating from one and all.

  Sickening, Morales thought, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. Itching to rush out and grab Shaw. Finish what he had started.

  But not today, he thought as the clueless trio walked into the hospital together, believing themselves safe. Believing that the nightmare was over for them, only…

  Morales started the engine, cranke
d up the air-conditioning and drove away, his smile as chilly as the air coming from the vents of the SUV as he thought, It’s only just begun.

  Prequel: The Making of the Man

  Atlantic City, New Jersey

  Late Winter

  He normally didn’t take jobs involving kids. They were too troublesome a commodity, Mick Carrera thought.

  But his sister Bobbie had asked for the help, making it almost impossible to say no. Especially since in a couple of days she was heading off for her second tour of duty in Iraq.

  Mick wanted her safe and sound which meant he needed Bobbie free of worry about her friend’s missing daughter. After obtaining information from Bobbie’s friend on the custody agreement her ex had violated, he had started investigating the man.

  In no time Mick had tracked the sleazeball to one of the casinos in Atlantic City’s Marina area. Rumor had it that his target was holed up in a VIP suite where a very private, very high-stakes poker game was occurring. One where the stakes sometimes included young girls.

  Although Mick held out hope that the deadbeat dad cared for his eleven year-old daughter enough not to turn her into the ante for a poker game, he had seen too much in his thirty-something years to rule it out.

  Taking a sip of bottled water, he swept the binoculars in his hand across the length of the VIP suite across the way from his hotel room. He smiled as he took note of the room service wagons being wheeled into the space. When he had overheard one of the players placing the order earlier that night, he had managed to intercept the delivery and slip some bugs onto the service carts.

  With room service in place, he engaged his laptop and tuned into the conversation in the room while continuing to observe the activity through his binoculars, vigilant for any sign of the missing girl. The child wasn’t there, which brought both relief and worry.

  Where had the deadbeat left his daughter?

  The delivery of the food brought a break in the gambling, but less than half an hour later, the five men around the table were back at it.

  Mick listened and watched as the men played. It became quickly apparent that his target was in over his head. He lost hand after hand, dropping thousands until he had no chips sitting in front of him and, apparently, no cash either.

  “Seems you’re out,” one of the other gamblers said, his voice sandpaper gruff and brooking no disagreement. The gambler had a thick accent. Eastern European, Mick concluded.

  “Actually, I have one more thing I think will interest you. I just need a moment to get her.”

  Grabbing his smartphone, Mick slipped in his earpiece and forwarded the audio feed from the bugs to the device. With a quick toggle of keys, he flipped over to the elevator bank controls he had hacked earlier. One elevator went to the floor for the suite and then headed for the ground floor.

  Damn. With three towers joined together by an assortment of restaurants, shopping and gaming areas, he feared losing his target on the busy main level.

  He raced out of his room and to the elevator, impatient as he waited for it to arrive and take him down. Once on the first floor, he pushed forward through the crowd in the halls and the gaming areas. As Mick neared the central lobby, he noticed the deadbeat dad walking toward him. The man’s steps were rushed and as he kept on looking behind him, as if he expected that someone would be following.

  No one was. As Mick stepped aside to seemingly place a bet at one of the slots, his target scurried past.

  Mick waited a beat and then followed, careful not to be seen. When he arrived at the elevators, his target had already entered along with an older couple. Mick sneaked in just as the doors were closing and turned his attention to his phone, making believe that he was texting while all the time keeping tabs on his target from the corner of his eye.

  The man had his hands in his pockets and was jingling keys and some change. He tapped one foot constantly. A fine line of sweat gathered above his upper lip and the along the edge of his hairline, even though the air in the hotel was downright frosty.

  When his mark got off the elevator, Mick delayed enough to make it seem as if he hadn’t been paying attention. Then he hopped off in the opposite direction, still seemingly engrossed in his cell phone, while the man headed to the far end of the floor.

  With only a quick glance down the hall, the man entered his room.

  Mick rushed close and listened carefully. He heard some scuffled steps and crying from within. A louder slap carried through the glass by the front door and was followed by more intense sobs.

  “Shut up you! Or I’ll give a reason to cry!”

  Mick’s jaw tightened at the man’s words. He rapped his knuckles forcefully against the door.

  The door flew open to reveal the man holding the struggling young girl with one hand. The man’s other hand was tucked behind his back in a too-familiar stance.

  “Mark Smith?” Mick asked, but saw the tell-tale twitch in the man’s arm.

  With a lightning fast move Mick delivered a punch that knocked Smith away from the door. As Smith stumbled, the gun he had been holding behind his back clattered to the floor and he released the girl, who hurried away.

  Mick hated the show of violence in front of the child, but Smith was not going down easily. The man lunged for him and Mick connected with another shot to Smith’s face that had him falling to his knees. Despite being momentarily dazed, the man was soon scrabbling on all fours toward the gun.

  Mick kicked the gun away and then delivered a punishing knee to Smith’s face that brought the sickening crunch of bone. With that, the other man finally dropped unconscious to the ground. Quickly Mick pulled handcuffs from his jacket pocket as he closed the hotel room door and met the young girl’s tearful wide-eyed gaze.

  “I’m your mommy’s friend,” he said, worried that the girl would create a ruckus that would bring hotel security running.

  Instead she came up to Mick as he kneeled by Smith’s prone body to snap on the handcuffs. She encircled Mick’s neck with her spindly arms. Cuddling close, the girl sighed peacefully and Mick had no choice but to awkwardly embrace her.

  Damn and double-damn, he thought as he held the little girl close. Never take a job that involved a kid.

  His sister Bobbie stood by him as he watched the reunion between mother and child.

  The sound of a weepy sniffle came from beside him and he glanced at his sister as she wiped at her eyes. He hadn’t figured Bobbie for the emotional type, but then again, even he was feeling more than a scintilla of happiness.

  “I have to go,” he said gruffly and with a curt nod, extricated himself from the gathering. He had already left Bobbie’s friend with the name of someone who could help her deal with her ex in the courts.

  He rushed out the door, but Bobbie was immediately beside him.

  “I appreciate what you did for my friend,” she said as she zipped her leather jacket tight against the cold blustery wind outside.

  Mick shrugged and said, “Just doing a job.”

  “Right. I forgot you’re a big bad-ass gun for hire,” she replied, but a teasing lilt colored her tones. Before he could say anything else, she said, “My going away party is on Saturday. Will you be there?”

  Bobbie’s going away party. Just a couple more days before she was off to war.

  He glanced at his sister while they walked shoulder-to-shoulder.

  “Maybe,” he answered honestly. He was brave enough to face down most anything. Except his mother who would likely start in on him again about settling down and leaving his current occupation.

  Bobbie laughed loudly and playfully nudged him with her shoulder. “You’re afraid of mami? You are so not a bad ass.”

  He slipped his arm around Bobbie’s shoulders and gave an affectionate hug. His little sister might be nearly as tall as he was and probably as tough, but he still worried about her.

  “I’ll try to be there,” he replied as they paused at the corner to allow a car to go by on the nearly deserted avenue, then c
rossed over to the boardwalk and strolled to the metal railings separating the walk from the beach. The wind was even stronger here, angrily whipping the dried stalks of dune grasses and occasionally tossing sand up while they stood there, staring out onto white-capped waves.

  Bobbie turned to lean back on the railing and faced him. “You should visit the family more often. They miss you.”

  He missed them as well, only… There was still too much he had to do and too many wrongs to right.

  “I’ll try,” he said, but then a second later his cell phone rang.

  He glanced down at the caller ID. Wardwell Laboratories. It was the second time today that they had phoned and he wondered what they could want with him. He hadn’t done corporate security in quite some time.

  Bobbie asked, “Do you need me to go so you can take that?”

  Mick shook his head and snapped the phone shut, ignoring the summons, although he knew Bobbie would understand if he had decided to take the call. Out of all of his family, Bobbie was the one most like him. Or maybe it was better to say most like the old him. The man who had once understood the meaning of honor and duty.

  The new him was a different creature and not above bending the rules to finish a job that he had been paid to do. But as he met Bobbie’s gaze, he realized she still saw him as a hero. A heavy burden to bear and one which he wasn’t sure he could shoulder.

  “Be safe,” he said and hugged her, harder than before.

  It was his way of saying goodbye before he walked off alone into the cold winter day.

  Enjoy this exciting peek at

  THE LOST by Caridad Piñeiro!

  Adam Bruno is no ordinary millionaire. The heir to an ancient race possessing a dark, powerful magic, he can shapeshift and create energy. His gifts make him a living weapon and have forced him to live in seclusion. But now an inhuman force hunts down Adam-just when he finds someone who makes him feel more human than he ever imagined possible…

  Home from combat in Iraq, Bobbie Carerra wants only peace, yet soon joins Adam in a terrifying battle against paranormal enemies who hide in plain sight. She’s drawn to his strength of mind and body; he’s attracted to her courage and intoxicating energy. Their scorching passion can either transport them to the heights of ecstasy or-if Adam’s powers rage out of control-destroy them. But when an invisible brotherhood tightens its nets and someone Adam trusts betrays him, only a heartrending decision can save them.