Elizabeth closed her eyes and prayed she was wrong about all of it.
There was still a chance.
She hoped.
CHAPTER TEN
Georgetown
They drove as if hell had opened up and every demon was now chasing them. In a way, it was the truth. Ethan couldn’t shake that feeling, even as he tried talk himself down from the edge.
This couldn’t he his fault, could it?
He was a Fed, and logically, Mrs. Feinstein should be completely safe from the mess of his world.
Right?
Still, he felt horrible.
His own mom was dead, and for so many years, while living in DC, Kay Feinstein had been his surrogate. He’d attached himself to her because he’d needed that love. It had been missing from his life, and she filled an important role.
She baked him cookies, gave him dating advice, and fell in love with Elizabeth right when he had.
She mattered to him.
Even though they moved, Elizabeth had cupcakes delivered to her. She checked up on the woman weekly, making sure that she didn't need anything.
He knew his wife did it all for him.
Kay mattered.
Now, someone was screwing with them. At first, he thought this entire case was about ‘The Butcher’, but now he knew better. This was definitely personal, and the killer was out for blood.
All he could hope was that they weren’t too late. There was always the chance that this was a mistake. Who would go after someone’s grandma?
Who was that sick?
After all, Kay was an elderly lady who had lived a good life as she tried to be a decent person. The last thing she needed now was to be tortured like this.
Honestly, Ethan didn't have the stomach for it.
All he could do was cross his fingers and get there as fast as possible. He had to have hope.
It was all that was left.
As they rounded the corner, sirens screaming, they garnered attention. The media was behind them and he knew that the chance of Kay being alive was even slimmer.
He knew that the killer had sicced them on him. The media wasn’t his tail out of pure coincidence.
Like Tristan Case’s home, they’d been alerted.
Shit!
He wanted to make someone bleed.
They were being screwed with, and the sick bastard wanted this on the news. He wanted their faces plastered across the media, so he could reap twisted pleasure.
“Don’t react,” Ethan said, driving like a maniac.
She glanced over, holding on for dear life. “What do you mean?”
“If this is her, the media is behind us. If we show anything, they’re going to see it. He’s going to see it.”
She got it.
They were being set up.
It was all too perfect.
The phone going on, them noticing it, and the race there were all part of the killer’s plan. She knew in that moment that Kay Feinstein was likely already dead.
They didn't have a chance.
She didn't have a chance.
The bile rose up in her gut.
“Okay. I can pull it off.”
He slammed on the breaks outside the building he once lived in. It looked exactly the same as it had five years ago. There was a fine layer of snow covering the sidewalks, and Ethan began taking it all in.
There were no marks in the snow leading to the porch. Nothing was disturbed.
Still, he braced for it.
Pulling his sidearm, he raced up the stairs, banging on the door.
No one answered.
He called out to her. “Mrs. Feinstein, it’s Ethan Blackhawk. Open up!”
Elizabeth saw Callen, Livy, and Gabe not far behind them. They were hauling ass through the media to get to their side. As she turned to watch her husband’s back, Elizabeth saw it.
Blood drops.
“Ethan, look,” she said, pointing toward the concrete going down the steps. The snow had absorbed much of it.
“Callen, Gabe, get the media back. We might have a crime scene,” Ethan shouted.
Elizabeth got into position. Her gun was pulled and she was waiting for Ethan to make the decision.
He nodded.
Livy flanked him, also pulling her gun.
They were going in.
As he booted the door, it wasn’t easy to stay calm. This was a part of his past, and he was pissed. Someone was yanking their chains. There would be no way to stop the killer. They’d crossed paths with thousands of people in six years.
They’d never stop this maniac.
The cold truth settled in.
They were screwed.
The door gave way under his boot. It flew back, crashing into the wall. Once inside, nothing had changed in the time they had been gone.
There were all the doilies, teacups, and memories.
It was all there.
They split up, each clearing a section of the house. Elizabeth took the kitchen and dining room, Ethan the second floor, and Livy made sure the back was secure.
The house was empty.
It was eerily quiet.
As they met back in the room Mrs. Feinstein had called her ‘parlor’, Ethan looked haunted.
This was going to be ugly. Elizabeth could feel it.
“I don’t get it.”
She didn't either.
“Ethan, profile it, and fast. This is personal, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. She should be here. He’s putting the victims where it’s personal. Director Donnelly was in Gabe’s yard, because he was the man’s mentor and friend.”
She looked around as he spoke.
“Agent Case was Livy’s partner. He was placed in his home.”
Livy touched his arm. “You can do this, Ethan. We believe in you.”
He was rattled and his brain was a jumble of information. Everything in his head was going a mile a minute. He wanted to profile, but that fear and grief were doing battle to take control.
He wasn’t sure he could do it.
“Kay was like my mother…”
Elizabeth scanned the room. There had to be something there.
Then, her eyes settled on the picture on the piano.
It was of her and Ethan on their wedding day. Kay wasn’t able to attend the wedding, which they had on the reservation, but they sent her the picture. There was a bloody X across Elizabeth’s face.
She got it.
Kay wasn’t only about Ethan.
This woman’s pain was on her too.
Ethan stared at the picture. “I don’t know what to think,” he said, closing his eyes. “I don’t know where she’d be.”
Elizabeth walked toward the door.
Staring down the street, she saw the sale sign blowing in the snowy breeze.
It was her old Brownstone.
She got it.
“I know where she’s going to be, Ethan. I know what the next move in the game is. He’s going to have put her at my old home. She’s going to be in there.”
Heading outside, Gabe was getting the Capitol police in place. The entire street was closed off, and no one was coming or going.
Ethan followed her.
He trusted her abilities to solve cases. Right now, he couldn’t think. He was numb.
Elizabeth began running, sliding all over the place. She couldn’t let her husband walk into that mess. She knew he was right beside her, but all Elizabeth wanted was to be wrong.
She prayed to be wrong.
As they approached the door, she knew her prayers weren’t going to be answered.
There was blood leaking out from beneath the doorframe, tainting the snow on the stairs.
“Don’t,” she said, bracing her arm across his torso to stop him. “Let me do this for you,” Elizabeth offered. “She’s going to be in there, and she’s going to be destroyed. For once, Ethan, let me protect you the only way I can.”
He stared into her eyes, tears filling
his.
“She didn't deserve this, Lyzee. She was a kind, sweet lady. She deserved better. Dying because she knew me is...”
“Stop,” she said, facing him. “You can’t react! Not here! Later, let it take you to your knees. Now you can’t let the killer see that this is hurting you. I need you to dig deep and find that icy chill that you pull out when you’re pissed.”
He listened.
She was right.
“Get mad and run this like you’re a Blackhawk.”
He took a deep breath. “I can do this.”
Elizabeth knew he had no choice. The cameras were rolling all around them.
“Switch with Callen and handle the media. Let me do this, Ethan—for her and for you.”
She was giving him an out.
And he was taking it.
Hugging her, Ethan buried his face in her neck. The scent of cookies assaulted him and there was a little more peace than he’d had the second before.
“Thank you for this. I can’t…”
She touched his cheek. “Go.”
Elizabeth broke it all down to Livy. “If that’s her in there, it’s going to be even worse. This killer is making it personal. All the people I love are being targeted. This killer knew that Gabe mattered to me and that you were part of my heart.”
She got it.
“Now Ethan too. We’re in the middle of a fucking chess game, and I don’t like it.”
“We’ll take the sicko down. We can do this, Lyzee. We’re tougher than this,” Livy promised.
She believed her.
If anything, now she was pissed. An angry Blackhawk was a dangerous one.
Callen jogged up the stairs, gun in his left hand. “I’m ready.”
She pointed at the door. “Boot it for me.”
He did what she asked.
They didn't even have to step into the house. The foyer held the body, and it was Kay.
She was beyond mutilated.
The killer had destroyed her. On the big, white wall that had once held all of Elizabeth’s pictures, there was a message written in blood.
‘Welcome home. Three of Seven. This one was for your husband. Are you having fun yet, Elizabeth? Catch me if you can, or maybe I’ll catch you. Kay begged for her life. You’re the reason this happened. Here’s your payback, one life at a time.’
She let it all go.
Elizabeth couldn’t let it be personal. If she did, the asshole behind this had won.
This killer wanted her rattled and off her game. There was no way that was happening. This maniac wanted her loathing herself, so she’d slip up. Only, this killer did something that would prevent that.
This killer hurt her husband. Now, it was personal, and she wouldn’t stop until this was over. Oh, there would be payback, but it wasn’t going to end quite the way this asshole wanted.
Elizabeth was running this her way.
From here on out, she was taking care of this the way she normally would.
No holds barred.
“Gabe, get me a full tech team. I want this place pulled apart and Mrs. Feinstein’s home too. I want every piece of trace they can find, and I want it done in three hours. The clock is ticking.”
Callen pulled on a pair of booties, so he could walk through the blood to clear the house.
Elizabeth followed. Already, her mind was spinning with possibilities. She was going over every case she’d touched the last couple of years.
Now she needed to figure out if this had anything to do with her life before Ethan, or after.
Was she the only target?
Was this all her fault?
God knew she’d pissed off countless people over the years. There’d been clergy, teachers, nurses…
Hell!
She’d probably pissed off God too.
This was daunting.
“What are you thinking?” Livy asked, getting her attention.
“I’m trying to pull this all together. I need a break. I need to figure out how this is related to me. I need to figure out if it’s all about me, or if it’s all about Ethan.”
“What about us?” she asked.
“I don’t know, Livy. I haven’t a freaking clue. That note is only addressed to me. I need to focus and figure this out.”
“You’re not alone in this. You have your family to watch your back.”
She didn't hear her partner.
Elizabeth was staring outside and directly at her husband.
What was she missing?
It had to be here.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
It was fun to watch.
The whole thing was amusing. The way Ethan Blackhawk looked rattled, his precious wife covering for him.
It was sickening, and it was due.
It had been a while since they’d had someone haunting their every step. While they believed they were perfect, above the law, and could do no wrong, the truth had to be told.
The world needed to see them for what they were.
They broke the law.
They bent it on whim.
It wasn’t fair, and all of them had to pay. Gabriel Rothschild protected them.
Ethan Blackhawk lied for them.
Elizabeth LaRue Blackhawk was a bitch who deserved to bleed.
They thought they were above justice, but no one really was. Their secrets weren’t hidden all that well.
Before it was over, they’d pay.
Now, it was time to switch it up. This location was getting boring.
It was time to move.
Next stop, they were going to have some real fun and mess with their heads.
No one was immune from payback.
No one.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
The scene was a bitch to maintain. Ethan stood there, ignoring the media as they shouted question after question at him. He just wanted to get this over with so he could get out of the spotlight.
No, that wouldn’t be enough. What he wanted was to go home and see his kids.
As he stood there, the wheels began turning.
His kids.
Ethan wanted to be sick.
Pulling out his phone, he called the office. When their secretary answered, he laid the groundwork for protecting his family. If Kay was tagged for being his surrogate mother, that meant his real blood was in danger.
He couldn’t sit idly by.
“Ginny, I need you to do something for me.”
“Sure thing, Mr. B. What do you need?”
“Are Agents Madden and Seaton available or are they out in the field?”
She scanned her roster of agents back from fieldwork. She saw their name at the bottom of the list. “They came in last night. They’re off duty today and due in tomorrow for reassignment.”
“Put them on the clock. I need them to do something for me. I’ll make the call.”
“Okay, boss. Are you okay? You don’t sound well.”
He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. “It’s a tough case. How is everything going there?”
“I filled out that paperwork for Doctor Leonard. I can’t believe he’s leaving.”
“Yeah, about that…hold it in a file. He has vacation time, so let’s use that up first. I’m going to try to work on that when I get back. I think his decision was made in haste.”
He wanted to save his wife’s heart—like she did for him. It was only fair.
“Oh, okay, Mr. B. I can do that.”
“Thank you, Ginny.” He hung up and began dialing Broderick Seaton’s number. All he could hope was that the two agents wouldn’t mind playing babysitter for him.
When Brody answered on the second ring, he sounded like he had been sleeping. Ethan glanced at his watch. It was a little earlier there.
“Agent Seaton?”
“Sir!” he said, coming awake.
“I need a favor.”
Brody elbowed Johanna awake. “Yes, sir?”
>
“We’re working a case here in DC, and I need help with something that’s popped up.”
Brody began pulling on his jeans as he balanced his phone on his shoulder. “What can we do, sir? We can be on the next transport out.”
“Actually, I’m going to be blunt. The killer we’re chasing has targeted us. We’re losing people we know. I need you and Johanna to head to my house—the new one. I’ll send you the address. My father, our housekeeper, and our kids are there. I want you to bed down with them, and shoot anyone who comes near them.”
Brody got it. “Yes, sir.”
“If you keep them safe, I’m going to ignore that you two got married at Christmas and have yet to tell your bosses and HR.”
There was a swallowing sound.
Blackhawk almost wanted to laugh.
Almost.
“Sir, I can…”
“Zip it, son. If you do this, I’ll forget that I know you’re married, breaking FBI rules, and being sneaky.”
“Yes, sir!”
He paused. “Oh, and son?”
“Yes?”
“Congratulations. We’re happy for you. You picked a good wife. Now, keep my kids and father safe.”
“Yes, sir!”
When Blackhawk hung up, he immediately called his father. The man was up, and there was pandemonium going on in the house.
“Dad?”
“Son! Are you okay?” he asked, worried about all of them. He’d only gotten sporadic texts the last two days, and he was freaked out.
“We have a huge problem. Someone is targeting us. I need you to keep the kids safe. I have two agents coming there. Ask for their badges at the door before you let them in.” He gave him their names. “Only then let them in. They’re to stay with you the entire time we’re away.”
“Is Elizabeth safe? Callen?”
“Yeah, Dad, I’m here with them, as are Gabe and Livy. When Agents Seaton and Madden get there, I want them to be the only people who answer the door. Don’t go anywhere without one of them, and under no circumstance are you to believe I’ve sent someone to pick you up. If you don’t hear from me, or one of them, don’t buy it. In fact, shoot them.”
“Okay, son. Please be safe. I want to meet my next grandson.”
Choices will Destroy (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 14) Page 29
