Choices will Destroy (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 14) (50 page)

Finally, Elizabeth kicked the closest metal table, surprising them all.

Everyone jumped.

“Sorry. I had to get that out of my system. This has me running in circles. I feel like I’m being jerked around.”

“You are. That’s the point,” Ethan said. “You’re Director Elizabeth Blackhawk. This is your game. You play with death every time you come out, and the killer knows that. This is challenging you at something you excel at.”

“Someone wants their ass kicked.”

Gabe, who had been silent the whole time, laughed. “Someone wants a bullet to the brain. This is a whole lot of killing to taunt a Fed.”

They didn't disagree there.

“They don’t know me well enough,” she stated. “They would have to know that this pisses me off, and it makes me want to do everything in my power to bury them.”

“Oh, he probably knows,” Ethan offered. “Like I said, you likely caused the person plotting this pain. He wants revenge, and you’re the ultimate goal. You need to suffer.”

“Then why risk getting caught in the act? I don’t get it. Why not just take a damn shot at me? Why jack around until we’re all frustrated?”

Both men stared at her, horrified by her words.

“What?”

Callen shook his head. “If you have to even ask why that makes us all sick, you’re the crazy one,” he stated. “Think about it.”

Elizabeth crossed to him. “I know it scares you. Hell! It scares me, but think about it. If this person really knew me well, they wouldn’t do this. Look at all the cases we’ve pulled, and how many of those killers walked away.”

They knew the numbers.

It was few and far between. Most had their lives ended with a bullet to the brain.

Elizabeth didn't think twice about pulling the trigger. This killer was playing a reckless game. It was suicide, and they all knew it.

“If I find this asshole, I’m likely going to have to kill them, aren’t I?”

Ethan thought about it. Like the note, a line was drawn in the sand.

“It’ll be one or the other. This killer knows who he’s dealing with. He’s cocky, arrogant, and believes he’s smarter than you.”

“That’s crazy. I have the whole FBI behind me. I have the luxury of letting my guard down.”

“Don’t.” Callen stated. While he was trying to stay calm, he wasn’t thrilled that she was wearing a target. Pregnancy excluded, he didn't want his wife shot.

There’d been enough spilled blood.

Zane stood there, filling out the paperwork. “The autopsy is done. Merry’s running his Tox.  Nothing shocking popped up with Doctor Pressman.”

She was frustrated.

When Callen’s phone rang, he recognized the number. “It’s the tech department. The phone must be active again.”

He took the call.

“Whitefox.”

“Sir, we have the phone online again. It’s giving us an address. We’ll send it to you.”

“Thank you.”

There was a pause and some typing on the other end. “Wait!”

Callen did as he asked.

“What’s wrong?”

Everyone moved closer.

“The person with the phone is making a call. I’m getting the cell number right now. Your phone is live.”

“Send me the information.”

Callen hung up, freeing up his phone to get the incoming text. As he waited, Ethan had his tablet ready, so he could do the search.

When the phone chimed, they all looked at the address.

Ethan recognized it.

He didn't even have to run the search.

“Where is that?” he asked.

Elizabeth saw the horror on her husband’s face, and the way he was watching his brother.

“Ethan?”

Callen glanced over. “Where is it?”

“That’s the Black Mountain Reservation.”

His words reverberated through Callen. He never wanted to hear that name again. That place had taken a toll on his life, and he never wanted to go back.

He knew who lived there.

“Shit!” cursed Elizabeth, wanting to hurt someone. They had their answer with who was next to be tormented.

It was Callen.

Gabe didn't get it.

“Who is the killer focused on?”

Elizabeth hugged Callen, holding on to him. They were about to make him bleed—
figuratively
.

“The killer is at Dean Quinlan’s home,” Ethan said.

Livy didn't get it. “Who’s that?” she asked.

No one spoke.

Finally, Callen did. “That’s the man, who for five years sexually abused me as a child.”

They all knew what this meant.

The killer had no soul. Nothing was off limits.

This was going to be a fight to the death.

Chapter Fourteen

Black Mountain

Reservation

The flight there was tense.

Where Elizabeth thought Callen was going to lose it, he didn't. In fact, he was more angry than freaked out. The entire time they were in the air, he paced back and forth, refusing to look at them.

It was worrying her.

Gabe had to stay behind. There were issues there that the Director of the FBI couldn’t bail on. He was just too busy. This was more proof why he needed Ethan to fill the role of Deputy Director.

Livy wanted to go, but she couldn’t. They were leaving active crime scenes behind, and someone had to monitor them. The techs were still pulling Doctor Pressman’s house apart, and she had to run it.

So, Ethan, Callen, Elizabeth, and their two staff hit the skies. The race was on.

Only, Elizabeth didn't want to get there in time. A part of her wanted Dean Quinlan to be a victim. Yes, Ethan had kicked his ass, breaking his arm, but that wasn’t nearly enough.

Yes, he’d had his life threatened by a Fed, but a little piece of her found this poetically just.

She wanted him to bleed.

He’d sexually molested a child for numerous years. Callen had to suffer in order to survive. That sick, angry, bitter part of her wanted Dean Quinlan to scream in pain as a serial killer took his body apart.

Obviously, she wasn’t the only one thinking it.

Ethan had that same look on his face.

Truth be told, she was glad she wasn’t the only one. At least she could find some solace in that.

As they drove there in two vehicles, Zane and Merry following somewhere behind them, Callen finally broke his silence. “Just say it.”

“I hope he suffered.”

There.

She did it.

It was out in the open.

“Me too,” Ethan stated. “It’s going to be hard to search for his killer. If this wasn’t a serial nutjob, I’d laugh and call it a day.”

Callen glanced over at his brother and back at his wife.

“Don’t let him make you like him. He was a cold heartless fuck. Don’t let him taint you too. If you do, he wins.”

“Callen.”

“Elizabeth, I mean it. He can’t hurt me anymore. I’m asking you not to let him hurt you. He sexually abused me. He raped me. He violated me more times than I can count, but he’s not going to hurt me from the grave. If he’s dead, he’s dead. We won’t stoop to his level. We’re better than him. I’m asking that you try to find justice, even if the dead don’t deserve it.”

Ethan wished he could be so magnanimous. “Callen, you’ve come to terms with it, but we haven’t. I want to order you to the hotel. I don’t want you to see this.”

He took his brother’s hand in his to convey how serious he was about this. “I have to see this through. I need you both to know that I’m fine. If anything, I let this go. I won’t let him hurt me anymore. I was that scared little boy, but he’s gone. I’m a man. I have a family, and I will survive facing down the man who stole my innocence.”

Elizabeth wiped her eyes. “Callen.”

“Sweetheart, he’s been dead to me long before now. If this killer stole his life, we’ll get him justice. You think he doesn’t deserve it, but I do. Two wrongs don’t equal a right.”

She ran her fingers down his shoulder and through his long brown hair. “I love you.”

Callen grinned. “I love you too.”

As they pulled up to a cabin, Ethan looked around. “We’ll clear it, and then let the ME in when they get here.”

Elizabeth got out and placed herself at Callen’s side. While he said the words, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure that he meant them.

He’d done therapy.

He’d talked it out.

But still…

As they approached the house, the woods around them were alive with the sound of the reservation. Winter had fallen in The Black Mountain Reservation, and it was cold.

Bone chilling.

It was the kind of chill that worked its way through everything you wore. There was no defense from it.

“I don’t see any movement,” she whispered.

Callen didn't either. He was attuned to the area around him. He wanted to make sure his woman was safe. What lay inside didn't matter. Who walked beside him did, and he’d vowed to protect what was his, and Ethan and Elizabeth fit that bill.

Callen stood perfectly still as his brother walked around the back of the cabin.

Elizabeth went to move until Callen touched her arm. He was watching three deer run toward them.

That was wrong.

Deer didn't run toward people unless someone was behind them with a gun. 

Then Callen heard the faint snap of twigs in the distance.

He knew what was coming.

“GUN!”

And then he dove for his wife.

 
         
* * *
  B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *

From the trees, they were in the crosshairs. While this wasn’t part of the original plan, why not go for it? It was hard to be this close to the enemy and not take the shot.

Elizabeth needed a little kick-start to her day. A bullet to the brain would be too easy, but why not scare them?

It was perfect.

Elizabeth Blackhawk needed to realize one thing. She wasn’t in control. This time, she was the pawn, not the queen.

Her time as the almighty ruler was over. There was a new reign beginning, and it would start shortly.

The fame would belong to the person who could dethrone her.

This shot was the one freebie in the game. It was important that she know how close she could be to death.

Elizabeth needed to be afraid.

So, making enough noise to scare the deer, the gun was aimed.

Oh, it wasn’t at her.

No, it was at a much better target. Once it hit its mark, it would be one hell of a clue. What fun was it if she didn't let the enemy know who was watching?

It was time to see how good she was at her job.

The end was coming.

If she didn't figure out, it would be disappointing.

Finger on the trigger, the countdown began.

Three.

Two.

One.

‘BANG!’

 
               
* * *
  B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *

Damascus

Chris Leonard was having a really good day. It started with sex, continued with a huge breakfast filled with fat and sweetness, and now entailed him pulling his wife and daughter on a sled toward the Blackhawk’s home.

He was going to take Elizabeth up on her offer.

Chris wanted to take his wife out for the day. As he laughed, pulling them down the street and toward his best friend’s house, his heart was light.

He needed to find better balance in his life.

It would start today.

“Okay, ladies, the ride is over. Daddy is beat.”

Cyra laughed. “Too bad. I wanted to go for another ride later.”

“Daddy was wrong. He’s definitely not too tired for that. I stand corrected.”

She snorted.

As Chris approached the door, he reached for the handle. Before he could even touch it, the door swung open, and he was faced with two guns.

He gasped.

Immediately, they were lowered.

“Sorry, Doctor Leonard,” Agent Seaton said. “We heard someone approaching, and we were being cautious.”

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Johanna stepped back, letting them in. “The bosses wanted us to watch the house. They feel like Wyler and the kids are at risk.”

Chris saw Charlie chewing on some toys. Maybe leaving Bethe here was a bad idea. The last thing he wanted was to risk his daughter.

“Are you okay?” Brody asked. “Did you need something?”

Wyler appeared. “Hello, Bethe, my sweetness, how are you?” he asked, opening his arms for the child.

She went to him without an ounce of hesitation.

“Elizabeth texted that you might be coming,” Wyler offered. “I got so wrapped up with the kids that I forgot to tell the agents. Come in.”

Chris took Cyra’s hand in hers. “Wyler, if it’s too much to handle…”

He grinned. “It’s never too much. Charlie is bored. She can’t play with the others. She needs her best friend.”

The second he stripped her out of her snowsuit, Bethe crawled over toward Charlie.

“Go and have fun. We have two armed guards. What could happen?” he asked.

“Are Elizabeth, Callen, and Ethan okay?” he asked, getting that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Is she safe?”

Wyler let out a pent up breath.

He was worried.

Then again, when it came to his children’s professions, he always was.

“You know how it is, Christopher. She’s stressed, and I’m worried about her and the baby. At some point, this has to be a heavy cost for her.”

Chris understood. He was worried too. It was bad enough when Elizabeth wasn’t pregnant, but this far along, it had to be wearing her down.

She was only human.

“Where are they?” he asked. “Are they still in DC?”

“No, they just left. When she texted, they were in the air. There’s another body, but she didn't say anything else.”

Cyra tugged at his hand before he could be sucked into the work mess. While she had to deal with it, today he promised her a break, and she wanted it. There would be plenty of time for her husband to worry about his co-workers.

Today was about them.

“We should go, Christopher. The movie starts in forty minutes.”

He didn't want to leave his daughter. There was fear brewing in his belly, and Elizabeth always told him to follow his gut.

“Chris?”

He glanced over at his wife.

Instead of staying, he let her win. “We’ll pick Bethe up in a little while. If you need me, just call. I’ll be back here as fast as I can.”

The older Blackhawk patted him on the shoulder. “It’ll be fine, son. Go and have a good day with your woman. I have this under control. By ‘I’, I mean the armed Feds.”

Chris relaxed a little bit. He knew Agents Seaton and Madden were dedicated. He trusted them.

So, they headed out.

Chris was quiet the entire walk down the street.

“What’s wrong?” Cyra asked.

He couldn’t put his finger on it. “I’m not sure, but I feel a little off balance.”

She didn't like the sound of that. So, she offered to do the right thing, even if it killed her to do it. “If you want to stay home, we can. I don’t mind.”

Chris heard the disappointment in her voice.

Yeah, his wife was lying.

He recalled what Elizabeth had said, and he couldn’t do that to Cyra. She was looking forward to spending time away from their child.

He owed her that.

“No, let’s go.”

She smiled as they walked hand in hand across the snowy road back to their home. Her husband was keeping his word, and that meant the world to her.

 
         
* * *
  B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *

Callen kicked out her feet and caught her against his body as they slid into the snow. Immediately, he rolled over her torso, offering her protection as the light above her head shattered apart.

It happened in seconds, and it was too damn close.

At the gunshot, Ethan came running, gun out. He could hear snowy footsteps in the distance as whoever shot at them was on the move.

“Stay down!” he ordered, heading after the shooter.

Elizabeth stared up at Callen, and he looked worried. “Hey! Come here often?”

So many things came to mind. He wanted to rage, weep, and send her home.

None of them came out.

Instead, he kissed her.