Pledging to Die (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 11) (3 page)

Johanna knew about them from word of mouth, but as a woman, she couldn’t get access. When she reported to the Blackhawks, they said they’d handle it.

She only hoped they did. At that point, three women were missing, scooped right up off the face of the map, leaving no trace.

No, that’s not true. Poppy Gauger, the latest victim, had left behind her ID and a shoe. To Johanna that proved one thing—she was definitely taken.

Now the race was on to find them. Three weeks had passed, and they still hadn’t been found. Johanna was really beginning to worry that this job was bigger than she and her new partner could handle. Agent Jason Blaise was working the daylight angles, and she was trying to get into the fraternity by way of sex and booze.

She was getting too old for this, and she knew it.

Glancing down at her pink watch, she checked the time. Soon, she would be heading out to another party. In all honesty, she was sick of them. As she paraded herself around in slutty gear, she was forced to endure copious ass grabs, a few suggestive whispers, and many phone numbers shoved into her shirt.

It was getting old.

This was exactly why she preferred being in homicide division. The dead didn't try to get into your panties.

Instead, your incredibly hot partner did.

Damn it!

He was back in her head again. Pulling open her dresser drawer, she found the one other memento she’d put away. It was a single selfie.

In it, she was smiling brightly as Broderick Seaton did the same, only he was staring at her. His eyes told the tale.

There was love there.

Seeing it made her want to weep.

That’s why she kept the one picture. They’d taken it on a case, and she didn't want ever to forget what it felt like to have someone want her.

To have Brody see something in her that she couldn’t—it was miraculous.

When Johanna heard the knock on her door, she tucked the photo away as she fought for composure. She couldn’t do this here and now. This was the job, and personal issues had to come second to work.

Besides, if she blew her cover, they’d be screwed.  There would go three weeks’ worth of undercover work down the drain. The Blackhawks would have her ass in a sling. It wasn’t easy to get her into the sorority and with a cover story.

Now she had to keep up the charade.

“Come in,” she called, running a brush through her straw colored hair. Johanna only prayed no one noticed she looked like hell.

“Hey! Are you ready for tonight?” Lori Denny asked from the doorway.

“Yeah, I am, but we both should be studying for that psych test.”

She laughed. “You’re such a geek. Don’t you want to have some fun with the boys from Beta Phi Ti?”

Yeah, she really didn't.

Unless Broderick Seaton went back to college, she didn't care to lock lips with anyone there. In fact, she would rather kiss a snake. Who knew what venereal diseases that frat was spreading around? There was nothing less appealing than some drunken horny man, trying to lure you into a STD ridden, frat bed.

Yeah, no thank you.

“Sure I do,” she said, bullshitting her sorority sister. Hopefully, Lori wouldn’t see through her sarcasm.

“Well, if you want one of them to notice you, then you have to dress better,” Lori stated, coming into the room. When she flopped on the bed, the big pink bear fell off onto the floor.

Johanna immediately rescued the precious treasure.

“Tonight you could cuddle up with a real man,” Lori teased, “not some bear.”

She’d take that bear any day, especially since it was from someone she loved.

“Yeah, I hope I find a winner tonight,” she stated.

Oh, and she hoped that they tried to take her. They’d be in for a surprise when they found out that she was lo-jacked. Her partner would be monitoring her location all night long.

If she was lucky, they’d make a grab for her, and she’d lead the FBI right to the missing women.

“You better get ready.”

“I am,” Johanna protested, looking down at her clothes. She was already dressed like the village harlot. How much more sluttiness could she possibly pull off without looking like a twenty dollar hooker on a Friday night?

“Hike up your skirt, unbutton that top, and take off your panties.”

“WHAT?” she hissed, her mouth agape at that sick suggestion. Over her dead body was she going to a frat party buck naked beneath her skirt. It was like asking to get raped.

Yeah, not happening in this lifetime.

“You heard me. The men in Beta Phi Ti like bareback babes.”

“Well, that’s not happening. What if there’s an accident? I think I should keep my panties on.”

“Well, suit yourself. I’m out to attract Arman tonight. He’s going to take notice of me.”

When Lori stood, Johanna knew what would be catching their attention. The girl was braless, and if she wasn’t wearing that, chances were she was going naked beneath the tight skirt.

“You’re asking for more than attention,” Johanna stated.

“Lighten up, Mom,” she said, fluffing her hair in the mirror. “I’ve shaved, creamed, and gotten myself prepped to party.”

Johanna wanted to smack some sense into her. Working for the FBI, she’d seen so many victims who did stupid shit, and this girl was the poster child. A part of her wanted to save the woman from herself, but the other half knew she couldn’t break cover.

“We should stick together tonight,” Johanna stated. Then she could babysit the idiot.

“Joey, you’ll get in my way. I’m going to the basement with Arman if it’s the last thing I do.”

She rolled her eyes. At this rate, it could be the final thing the woman did.

Jesus! What happened to girls when they went to college? Did someone suck out their brains?

When Lori approached her, she yanked Joey’s skirt up another three inches. Her pink panties peeked out from underneath.

“Hell no!” she stated. “It’s not happening. I’d prefer not to be on the evening news as a victim of some frat gang bang. Girls have been going missing or have you forgotten?”

She shrugged. “They were stupid. Besides, for all we know, they ran away and ditched college. Poppy always said she wanted to head to Hollywood to make movies.”

Yeah, that was the problem. For all they knew, she was being forced into the sex industry at that very moment. That was why Johanna was there.

“Just be safe, okay?” she asked, wishing she could take a gun to the party. Johanna would shoot the first asshole that tried to cop a feel.

“Blah, blah, blah. You’re a downer, Debbie.”

She grabbed her keys to the dorm and followed her ‘sister’ out into the hall. If she survived this assignment, she swore she was never going back to college.

Ever.

In fact, if she had it her way, she was swearing off anything Greek.

It was leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

Chapter One

FBI West

Friday Night

Broderick Seaton was in a bitch of a mood. Some of it was because of the case they’d just wrapped, and the rest had everything to do with his new partner.

She was a pain in his ass.

Since losing Johanna, he’d been in one hell of a funk. Every day, he tried to get through the workload without thinking about her, but it wasn’t easy.

Johanna was at the forefront of his mind.

She was in his dreams, his waking moments, and everything in between. He’d even called his new partner ‘Joey’ by accident.

He was all consumed, and it was pissing him off.

What he wanted was to know where the hell she was. He’d stalked her house, and yes, he was stooping to that level now too. It angered him that she wasn’t there. So much so, that he’d broken in, telling himself that she was hurt and needed him.

Instead, he found her house silent and nothing out of place. While in her sanctuary, he made sure to check out her bedroom. While he told himself it was to make sure she was safe, it had nothing to do with that.

He was looking for signs of any other men.

When he found none, his heart ached when the big pink bear, he’d so lovingly picked out for her, was gone. She’d obviously thrown it out.

That said it all.

Since that day, he’d been miserable.

He couldn’t find her.

She wasn’t answering her phone, and Joey wasn’t at work. No one would tell him anything except Ginny, the Blackhawk’s secretary.

All he could get out of her was that the woman he loved was undercover with her new partner Jason Blaise.

It was eating away at his gut that he’d actually researched the man. He was buff, tan, and made Brody want to shove him down an elevator shaft. Right now, he was pretty sure the new partner was ogling Johanna.

His Joey.

Not only had the woman he loved pushed him away, but now she was off playing Fed with some other man. Brody’s heart actually hurt.

He couldn’t understand what he’d done. Was it him?

Had the sex been that bad?

Did he smother her?

These were the questions that plagued him every night when he had a moment to think. It was driving him insane, and if there wasn’t resolution soon, he was going to lose it.

In all honesty, if he didn't get the answers, Brody could see himself doing something bad. He would find her, toss Joey over his shoulder, and lock her away until they had a long talk. The frustration was months in the making, and he couldn’t let it go.

He needed to know.

Broderick Seaton was pulled from his daydream by a familiar voice—an irritating one at that. “What?” he said, not even looking up from his laptop.

Agent Heidi Flowers was getting accustomed to his miserable mood. It had been three weeks, and she’d not been able to break through the shell even a little bit.

Yet, she kept trying.

“It’s Friday night,” she stated, giving it another shot.

He shrugged. “And?”

“Want to grab a beer? We closed a case, and we should celebrate.”

“No, thank you.”

She didn't know what to say. Out of all the agents to get stuck with, how did she end up with one with a huge chip on his shoulder?

“Are you sure?” she asked, grabbing her gun and badge from her desk. “You look like you need to decompress.”

Brody wouldn’t even look up. There was nothing more painful than watching another woman sitting in Joey’s chair. It pissed him off to the point that he wanted to rage around the room like a petulant child.

“I don’t drink with my co-workers.” Which was absolutely true. Instead, he went home and drank his way through a bottle of scotch just to forget.

“Maybe you should…”

He glanced up, his eyes firing with anger. “Listen. It’s past end of shift. I have to do my job, and then I don’t have to deal with the FBI. I don’t want a drink. I don’t want a friend, and I certainly don’t want a nosy partner who is trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with me.”

She stared at him openmouthed. “All right, Agent Seaton. I’ll be going. Maybe you should swing by the shrink. You’re half a box short of your sanity. I’ll see you on Monday.”

With that, she was gone.

He couldn’t blame her. After all, he’d just been rude. Maybe Heidi had a point.

What if he was crazy?

Taking a deep breath, he noticed that the office was clearing out. It was time to bail. What he wanted was to go home, call Joey about forty times as he got shitfaced drunk.

Maybe she’d have pity on him.

Maybe this time she’d answer.

Maybe…

Standing, he violently yanked open his top desk drawer to get his gun and badge. What caught his attention nearly took him to his knees. The violent motion caused everything inside the drawer to slide to the front.

That’s when he saw it.

With shaking fingers, he lifted it from the drawer. His heart thumped in his chest. Here was Joey and him on his last birthday—almost a year ago. So much had happened since then. They’d gone out for dinner, and she was feeding him a piece of cake.

He laughed, running his fingers over the picture. After that selfie was snapped, she proceeded to shove it up his nose. It was payback for what he’d done on her birthday. It had become their thing. Every birthday, they spent it together. No fail, one of them would show up with a movie, cake, or dinner plans.

It gave him hope that he’d one day have someone who he could rely on. That moment, locked in time, made him believe that there was someone out there for him.

His heart ached.

It all came tumbling down around him.

“Joey, where the hell are you?” he whispered to no one in particular. “I love you. I’d die for you. You just have to let me in, and we can fix this.”

Before tucking the picture into his pocket, he gently kissed her smiling face. “Let me find you,” he whispered, making an early birthday wish.

Then he grabbed his gear and headed out.

Broderick Seaton had never felt so alone in all his life. If given the chance, he’d sacrifice anything to have her back—just to see her one more time.

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

Friday Night

Nearly Saturday

Johanna was getting worried.

She’d lost track of her new friend, Lori, in the crowd. The party at the frat house had been hardcore and beyond belief. There were people everywhere, and they were drinking, doing drugs, and having sex.

It was so bad that she’d barely made it out with her clothes intact. The sex starved male sharks were circling anything with a vagina.

It wasn’t pretty.

No sane, sober person wanted to watch horny college boys copulating in corners and on furniture.

It was horrifying.

Before getting ready to leave, Johanna had scoured the entire party, and even tried to get down into the basement. The brutes at the door wouldn’t let her by, even when she put on her best smile. She wanted to kick the shit out of them, but it would mean blowing her cover.

So, she had to leave.

Outside, she searched for her ‘sister’ with no luck.

She’d vanished.

How?

They’d been at the party and Lori went off with Arman. She’d got her wish, and now she was gone. This made her skin crawl, and Johanna knew she had to find her.

Turning on the com, she softly whispered. Now she had to hope her partner was paying attention. “Did you see her leave?” she asked her hidden partner.

“Negative,” came the reassuring voice. “She didn't leave by the front of the building. Are you sure she’s not still in there? If she went off with that asshole, she might still be with him. Did you find him?”

“Negative. I couldn’t get into the basement.”

Well shit!

They just lost another girl.

“Why don’t you head back to the dorm?” offered her partner, Jason Blaise. “I’ll keep a look out for her as the rest of the partiers head out. If I see her, I’ll text you.”

She nodded, feeling his eyes on her. She didn't know where he was parked, but he was near. That gave her a little reassurance. If the woman stumbled out drunk, disoriented, or hurt, he’d rescue her.

“If she’s in that basement, they’ll let her out sooner or later,” he reassured. “Don’t worry. We’re still good, Johanna. I’ll stay until the last partier goes.”

She had to believe that. If not, they were going to have one hell of a report to give their bosses.

That wouldn’t be pretty either.

Someone’s head was going to roll, and they both knew it. A pissed off Blackhawk was a very bad thing, and calling them this late at night was nearly as bad.

Almost at her dorm, the hairs on the back of her arms stood on edge.

Something wasn’t right.

The air was tinted with something foreign, and yet very familiar. It was like her gut was screaming in protest, trying to tell her something. Johanna took a deep sniff and tried to pinpoint what the hell was going on around her.

Then it registered.

There was blood.

There was death.

Her old buddies were back, and from the smell of it, with a vengeance. Immediately, she knew something had gone down nearby. As a trained Fed, who did her time in homicide, there was no mistaking it.

Someone was dead.

“Jason, we have a situation,” she whispered into the com, as she headed around the back of the building. From the shadows, being cast behind the library, Johanna already knew what was going to be there.

In the darkness, she saw a foot.

It was bloody and shoeless.

Well, it was good to see her gut was still on target. Now, if she only had a gun to keep herself safe, Johanna might make it through this alive.

“Jason, I need you.”

He hustled her way, trying not to look suspicious. It didn't take long to arrive at her side. When he did, he understood. “Is that…”

She nodded.

“We gotta call this in.”

Her hand went to his arm. “We can’t do it as the FBI. We have to stay under—now more than ever. I’m going to have to be the one who does it. We have to keep our cover no matter what. This took the Blackhawks weeks to set up.”

He stared down at the woman’s broken body. She had gashes and holes in her flesh where it looked like some animal had been digging into her corpse.

He agreed.

Leaning down, Jason touched her throat. “She’s still warm, so she’s been dead only a short time.”

Yeah, this sucked.

“You must have interrupted the killer.”

Great.

That was just awesome.

“Well, you’re the lead on this one, Joey. What do you want to do?” he asked, looking around. No one was there, and that meant they were in good shape.

“Get out of here. I’m going to get some attention.”

He lifted a brow. “Okay,” he said, escaping away from the scene, making sure no one saw him.

When he was across the quad, he heard her terrified screams. They were blood curdling. They pierced the night and sounded just like a woman who’d stumbled across a body.

His partner was good.

Damn good. 

Lights flashed on in the dorms as Johanna earned herself an academy award that night. In the shadows, she drew the maximum attention when people came rushing from the safety of their buildings.

In the meantime, he called the cops to report it.

Well, this answered a big question. 

It looked like the missing women didn't end up in the sex trade.

If this was any indication, they were dead.

They had one hell of a problem on their hands.

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

Quantico Recertification

              Training

      Monday Morning

The bitch was back.

She was in her glory.