'NCIS: New Orleans' season 3 spoilers, news: Agent Pride protects friend from NCIS suspect; Agent Gregorio's dark secret to be revealed?

Things get personal for Agent Pride (Scott Bakula) on the upcoming episode of the hit CBS procedural drama "NCIS: New Orleans" season 3.

Titled "Follow the Money," the show's winter premiere will see one of the team's friends become involved in a case. According to the official synopsis for episode 10, Agent Pride must protect a beloved family friend when he figures out that the person is engaged to the lead suspect in an ongoing NCIS and FBI cartel case.

"NCIS: New Orleans" got off to a bit of a shaky start when it was launched as the third "NCIS" series in the network, but it certainly has come into its own since as the storylines and cast picked up. Now approaching the back half of its third season, the series shook up its cast by introducing a new character with a dark past. FBI Agent Tammy Gregorio joined the team earlier this year, but her secrets will soon be revealed.

Speaking with TV Guide, series executive producer Brad Kern teased about Gregorio's secret, which will be explored in the coming weeks. "The gods have a way of bringing us back, in way, of what we're trying to run from," the EP hinted. "She will be confronting that emotionally and literally as the season progresses," he went on to say.

Spoiler reports note that her secret may be related to the arrival of her former husband. Season 3 kicked off with Gregorio making it clear that she didn't like the idea of living in the Big Easy, for the most part, because of her ex-husband. However, rumor has it that he will have a huge role in her life when the series returns next year.

Making Gregorio's life more complicated is the fact that her ex-husband is involved in a scheme to siphon money from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) projects. As a result, Gregorio's name and career as an FBI agent will be put in jeopardy. As much as she wants to bury her shady past, it will continue to haunt her in the days to come.

The third season of "NCIS: New Orleans" returns to the small screen on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.