Pledging to Die (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 11) (14 page)

He looked offended. “Come on. You think I’d…?”

Ethan cut him off. “We don’t think. We warn first, and then deal with the ramifications later.”

He sighed. “Okay. Fine. I won’t say anything.”

It was good enough for her. “Chris, finish with our victim Lori.”

“What’s COD?” Ethan asked.

Chris laughed. “Well, Director Blackhawk, you’re about to have more fun. This girl, our fourth victim, was stabbed in the heart.”

He closed his eyes, trying to make a connection. “Seriously?”

“Yep. One shot, and it did her in. She didn't have a chance.”

Pulling back the sheet, they saw that she was the worst of them all. It looked like some sick animal had peeled back her entire torso and dug around like a madman inside her.”

“Oh my God,” muttered Nick, as he rushed to the other garbage can. He began puking for all he was worth.

“Not happening,” stated Elizabeth when Ethan held out his hand, expecting his money back. “It’s first to puke. The deputy went down first.”

He grinned. At least he tried.

“Focus on the case,” Elizabeth suggested, “and maybe I’ll buy you lunch with my ill-gotten gains.”

That worked for him. “I don’t know what to do with all the different methods of killing.”

“You people are sick,” stated the sheriff. “You can stand over that mess and not feel anything?”

Elizabeth went to say something, but her ME beat her too it.

“Want to know what I feel?” he asked. “I feel sorrow. Here is someone’s daughter, and she’s gone forever. You come in here, judge us, and think that we’re heartless. We do this day in, day out, and we don’t get a break. We’re not heartless, Sheriff. What we are is out for justice. If we didn't stand for these women, who would? You and your puking sheriff? You take one look at her ruined body, and I know what you’re thinking.”

The man looked shocked at the ME’s lecture.

“You think,
‘Shit! I’m glad the FBI is here to pick up the slack on this one’
.” Before the man could protest, Chris went on, “We stand in this. We dig in this, and we see it at night when we go to sleep. You may see us joke around, but the only reason we do it is because if we didn’t, we’d all stand here and cry. She had a name. She had a face. We’re going to give her dignity, despite what you think of us.”

Elizabeth was proud. “I love my team.”

The sheriff didn't say anything.

“He’s right, Nick. We close almost every case we touch. This team, they’re the best. If you want to solve something, then you want them doing the work. I trust them with my life, and if we need to joke around to get through it, so be it. It’s laugh or burn out, and no one can afford the latter. Last year, my techs dug through a hundred dead bodies to find the truth. I give them latitude, and expect the same.”

“I didn't mean to offend,” he finally said. “You just seemed to be taking it lightly.”

She laughed. “I have four kids at home. I just had a baby less than four months ago. I take this so seriously, that I put the dead before my own children—Ethan too. We sacrifice to do the job, and it doesn’t matter how we get the results, just that we get it done.”

“Again, I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “It’s no big deal. Normally, and what my people are expecting, is for me to tear you a new one because of what you just said. We go way back, Nick, but if it comes to them or you, I’ll protect them any day. Friendship only gets you so far in this room. Results get you to the end.”

He understood.

“We should continue,” he stated.

Chris picked up where he left off. “She was stabbed, and he took her lungs and spleen. In the process, he hacked his way through her liver and pancreas.”

“No finesse?”

He shook his head. “This wasn’t a doctor, that’s for damn sure. He got in and got out. Since we know that Agent Madden found her still warm, he moves fast.”

“What kind of knife?” she asked, out of curiosity.

“Not sure, but we’re working on it,” stated Merry. “I’ll have it soon. I promise.”

That was good enough for her. If her team was working, that meant there would be results.

Ethan was quietly standing against the wall.

“This has you screwed up, huh?”

He laughed. “Yeah, it does. This is all one hot mess. I’ll have something for you later. I need to mull this around in my head.”

“Just one question,” she stated.

“Yeah?”

“Conductor of the crazy train?”

He nodded. “He may own the whole damn railroad.”

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

Beta Phi Ti

Standing in his newly set up frat bedroom, Broderick Seaton got prepared for what was to come that night. His palms were sweaty, and he was thinking about Johanna.

He’d seen her on the campus while he was out pretending he was going to get acclimated with the area.

She just appeared out of nowhere, and luckily for him, she didn't see him.

Tonight, he’d surprise her. He only hoped he could keep them safe. There was no doubt in his mind that he’d die for her. She was meant to be his, and now he was going to start building that back up. Later, he was going to show her that she’d been wrong.

He’d stand by her.

Brody would hold her hand.

There was more to them than a future family.

As he doused himself with his body spray, there was a knock on his door. Already, he figured it was time for the festivities to begin.

And he was ready.

“Come in,” he called, pulling on his button down shirt. When he turned, not only was he getting one ‘brother’ he was getting them all.

“Can we talk?” Arman asked, stepping inside the room carrying a folder. “It’s about you.”

He shrugged, even as the nerves quivered in his gut. This would be make or break time. By now, they’d done a check on his cover story. All Brody could hope was it held up. Staring into the mirror to fix his hair, he tried to be calm. “Sure, about what?”

“We need to talk to you about the game. It’s been brought to my attention that you’re interested in joining,” Arman said, as his ape of a guard Nels closed the door.

“I’ll admit that it intrigues me. What do I have to do?”

He handed him the folder. “Inside are four women. You have to pick one, seduce her, bring us proof, and then it’s on to the next level.”

He didn't open the folder. For his sake, he prayed there was a picture of Joey in there. If not, this was going to be awkward. “What’s the next level?”

Arman laughed. “First you have to show us what you’re made of,” he stated. “Then we’ll let you know what’s up for grabs in the bonus round.”

Sutton winked at him. “I think he can do it.”

Brody opened the folder. Inside, he found himself faced with four women. The first three were strangers, but the last one was the love of his life. It pissed him off that they’d taken her photo without her consent.

It infuriated him that someone was using her as a mark, and nothing more than a sex toy.

Since the picture wasn’t from a party, but out on campus, that meant they were stalkers. There was his Joey as she sat in the cafeteria with some of the other sorority girls.

“Her,” he said, handing Arman the picture of Johanna.

He started laughing. “You’ll never get in her pants. Nels tried, I tried, and even Hervey gave it a shot. She’s gotta be a dyke.”

Brody wanted to make the man bleed, but instead, he kept his cool. “How long do I have?” he asked.

“There’s no time limit. You can have all semester, if that’s what it takes. The only caveat is the longer you waste trying to bag her, the less time you have with all the bonus babes.”

He wouldn’t need a long time. First, Johanna would play along, even if she was pissed at him. Lastly, they weren’t going to be there for an extended period of time. Once this case was closed, they were heading out.

“I can crack her.”

Sutton pulled out a fifty. “My money is on him. I think he can do it.”

The other two men did the same thing.

Brody yanked out one hundred bucks and tossed it on the folder. “I’ll get in her pants. You three didn't romance her first. I like to make my girls feel like they matter.”

God.

There was a special place in hell for assholes who talked like this. Heaven help him for having to pretend to be this sleazy.

“We’ll see,” stated Arman.

“I’m telling you that romance works.”

Arman began laughing. “Please. A wife is for romance. These sluts are for sex. I won’t waste my time. They’re begging to get into heaven.”

“What happens there?”

The man grinned, elbowing his compadres. “It’s only the hottest sex ever. These babes beg to be down there, and once we get them in our game room, they’re putty in our hands.”

He stared at him. “Are they?”

Arman simply nodded. “We’re not taking anyone down there tonight. We need to lay low.”

“Really? Why?”

They looked around at each other. “Let’s just say that there have been some issues. Tonight, we’ll find the next babe to take that trip with us, but she’s going to have to wait.”

He tried to get more information out of them, but they shut him down. No one was going to spill any more details.

“Let’s just say that the heat is on, and let’s leave it at that.” He shut up on the topic. “If you score, report it to Nels. He’s our record keeper. He’ll let me know when you prove it.”

Brody went back to grooming.

“Hey, can I have that picture of the babe? I want to study it and see if I can work out a good strategy.”

Arman laughed. “You’re a freak, and I happen to appreciate that in a fellow predator.”

Yeah, if this ass only knew who the prey was and who was the hunter, he might not look so smug.

When he handed the picture to Brody, he waited until they were gone. When they were, he slipped it into his laptop bag beside the one of Joey and him. They weren’t keeping it—not if he had anything to say about it. The mere idea of men ogling his girl was enough to make him want to vomit.

Staring in the mirror, he hoped she was ready.

Oh, he was going to get her attention, romance her, and make Joey his.

Getting in her pants wasn’t a priority.

Making her fall in love with him definitely was.

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

Across Campus

She really hated playing student.

There was nothing worse than having to go back to school and pretend you gave a rat’s ass. Johanna didn't care about history, or even math. She was a Fed, and all she wanted to do was go back to her old life.

Yeah, she went there.

She missed Brody.

This job sucked. At least when she was working with him, they had fun. They’d laugh, joke…and have sex.

Shit!

She couldn’t go there. Johanna wouldn’t. That boat had sailed, and she wasn’t on it. Right now, as she raced across the quad to get to her dorm, he was probably laughing it up with his new partner.

Wasn’t that what she had wanted?

Wasn’t that the gift she’d left for him?

Yet, it still hurt.

Johanna was so lost in her thoughts that as she raced down the stairs to the dorm, someone grabbed her arm. It caught her off guard, making her drop her books. Before she could react, the stranger was bending over to pick them up.

“Who are you?” she asked, backing up.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. I just needed to talk to you.”

She watched him warily as he picked up her Calculus book. “About what?”

“You found her, didn't you?”

She backed away more as he approached with her books in his arms.

“What?”

“Lori Denny. You found her body, right?”

“Why do you want to know?” she asked, afraid to look away.

“I’m Archy Saba. I work for the school paper, and I want to do an interview with you. I’ve already asked the cops for information, but the sheriff’s department is being close lipped. I thought I’d ask the woman who found her what she saw.”

It was time to put on the act.