He pulled his gun and raced off.
“Are you really okay?” Merry asked, knowing that the men tended to lose it when Elizabeth was injured.
“Yeah, I am. I landed on Callen and my ass. The baby is good.”
She stared up at the light.
It had been right above her head.
Why did that seem familiar?
Then it hit her.
Salem.
Her brother had tried to shoot her too, only he’d missed and taken out the light on the lamp pole.
Well, shit.
This couldn’t be her brother, could it? She’d turned his brain to mush. As far as she knew, he was sitting in an assisted living facility eating Jell-O and babbling to the nurses.
“We need to get you inside,” Zane said.
“I’ll clear it first. We don’t know if this nut is working alone. This might be a trap. I want you to stay behind me, and watch yourselves.”
Elizabeth knew the men weren’t going to be happy, but she was safer inside than out.
“Come on.”
They entered, and the second the door was open, they were faced with the remains of Dean Quinlan.
“Holy shit,” muttered Merry.
Yeah, she could say that again.
Someone had gone off the reservation, and was headed right for Crazy-ville.
Here was the proof.
Callen finally caught up to his brother.
Ethan didn't move as fast through the woods, since he was still wearing dress shoes. No one expected a shootout the second they had gotten out of the vehicle.
“This feels all so familiar,” Callen stated.
This wasn’t the first time that Elizabeth had been shot at.
Hell!
It wasn’t even the tenth time.
“The shooter got away. I didn't get a look at him. He moved fast. I heard the vehicle. It sounded like an SUV or truck.”
Callen knelt and stared at the footprints.
“This wasn’t a man.”
Ethan checked it out. With Callen’s hand beside it, he could see he was right. This man was either very small, or it was a woman.
“Blonde hair and a small feet,” he said.
Callen pulled out his phone and snapped some pictures.
“Someone may be screwing with us. Look how perfect these footprints are,” he stated.
Callen agreed.
They checked out the ones where the shooter was running. They weren’t measurable. The snow fell in on them, burying them.
“I’m worried.”
Callen was too. “That was an easy shot. She was right there. I shouldn’t have been able to save her.”
That didn't sit right with either man.
The killer was getting too close.
“Let’s go. I don’t think leaving her alone is a good idea. From here on out, she needs protection. This isn't about us. It’s about her,” Blackhawk stated.
Callen agreed.
So, they headed back. When they got there, Callen checked out the shattered porch light.
It had been three feet above Elizabeth’s head. He was right. That was an easy shot from the trees. Either the shooter sucked at using a gun, or he never wanted to hit her.
It freaked him out.
“Where are they?” Callen asked.
“Knowing her, they’re probably inside.”
They headed in to find their wife.
Once the door was open, the men stopped. Someone had a field day with Dean Quinlan. His hair was cut off, parts of his flesh were gone, his penis was severed, and there was a white feather braided into the discarded hair.
Yeah, this was familiar indeed.
It was like a page from their casefiles.
“Boys, welcome to the fun. We have a killer reliving each and every one of our assignments. It started with ‘The Butcher’, but, as you can see, it’s progressed.”
She was crouched beside the dead man’s body and began pointing all the injuries out.
“Missing skin and a white feather would be ‘The Skinwalker’ case, and then the missing penis was one more of our personal favorites. Sound familiar?”
Callen swallowed. “Jesus, we’re going to relive James Duffy and ‘The Red River Killer’ too?” That had been the case where he and Desdemona had gotten engaged.
He’d also nearly lost his life.
“His heart is gone,” Merry said, helping Zane document everything.
Elizabeth pointed to a wall. On it, in blood, there was a message.
‘Four of Seven. This one is for you, Callen.’
“Welcome to our worst nightmare, boys. Someone is playing with us, and they mean business.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
They were screwed.
Big time.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Hoover Building
Gabe was in his office. When he heard a commotion outside his door, he peeked his head out to see what was going down. What he saw surprised him.
Paulina was blocking his wife’s path, and Livy didn't look happy.
“Gabriel, will you please tell your secretary that I can talk to you, even if you’re busy!”
Paulina objected, still blocking the woman. “Director Rothschild asked not to be disturbed. I’m just doing my job.”
Livy tried to move around her, and once more, the woman blocked her approach.
“Gabriel, I’m going to deck her in about two seconds. Unless you want to fill out a report, I suggest you tell her that I’m permitted in your office whenever I damn well please,” Livy warned. She put the files down on the desk and got ready.
Paulina looked worried.
“Livy, please don’t kick my secretary’s ass, and Paulina, my wife has access to this office any time she wants. She’s the ONLY person who doesn’t need an invite. Let her through.”
The young woman moved out of the way.
“Yes, sir. Anything you say, sir.”
Livy wanted to rip off her lips. She knew when a woman was checking her husband out, and Paulina was staring a little too much. If she wanted to think sexy thoughts about her husband, Paulina had better get a better poker face.
When Gabe headed back into his office, Livy was right behind. She closed the door, hitting the lock.
“You can’t threaten employees, Livy. You know that. You’re not going to make it a week if you do that. Things have changed over the last fifteen years. The government is less forgiving over violence.”
She crossed her arms. “She’s a little too protective of my husband. She needs to learn boundaries.”
He laughed. “Honey, I love you, but she doesn’t want some old man.”
She checked him out. Her gaze slid down his suit-clad body, and then back up again.
Gabe was clearly out of his mind.
Her handsome husband was far from old. He was at that sexy stage men got to when they aged really well. He was like some fine wine at its peak of perfection.
“You’re not old. She wants you, and it pisses me off.”
He leaned against his desk, grinning at her. “I happen to be happily married. In fact, I was thinking about the sex last night.”
Livy moved closer, running her finger down his erection. He wasn’t lying. He was thinking about sex.
“What about it?” she asked, getting into his personal space. As their bodies bumped, Gabe’s responded by tightening in lust.
“That my wife is out of control. I like this wild, impetuous side of you, Livy. It’s sexy. There’s something erotic about knowing your wife is plotting your sexual demise.”
“So you like when I do crazy things, huh?”
He laughed. “Yes. I think I do. Well, as long as your life isn’t in danger. It’s a short trip from hot to insane.”
She leaned against him and pulled his face down by using his tie. Her mouth sought his, and she stole his breath.
The kiss was off the charts.
Gabe l
et her have her fun. If his wife wanted to kiss him, who was he to stop her? Usually, the hottest thing in this office was his reheated coffee. All work and no play made Gabriel a very dull boy.
He moaned at the way she worked him into a frenzy with just her lips.
“Livy.”
Her fingers then began wandering.
His buckle was open before he knew it.
“Olivia!”
She flicked her wrist and tugged his dress pants open next, still saying nothing.
He watched her as if she was crazy. Was his wife going to…?
She pulled his erection free from his boxers and dropped to her knees. Right there, she took him in her mouth.
Gabe forgot how to think.
He had to be asleep at his desk. This couldn’t be real. God knew that he had this fantasy a few times in his life, and there had never been a chance in hell it was coming true.
Until now.
“Livy!” he hissed as she worked him hard.
It reminded him of the previous night. Gabe didn't stop her because he wasn’t insane.
His wife was giving him a blowjob at work, in his office, with his secretary right outside.
She was marking her territory, and he was more than okay with that.
She worked him at a brutal pace, her hand sliding across his rock hard erection as her mouth worked him beyond his control. Gabe wanted to beg her never to stop.
Livy glanced up, as she made him breathe heavily. This was a rush. She was enjoying the power she had over her husband.
Why hadn’t she done this sooner?
As he braced himself against his desk, he knew he wasn’t going to last long. This had to be quite the picture.
His pants and boxers were around his ankles.
His wife was on her knees.
His dick was slick…
Then his phone rang.
Livy stopped, giving him the chance to answer it.
“Yes, Paulina?” he asked, praying his voice sounded normal. He didn't doubt she’d stroll on in if he sounded the slightest bit off.
Maybe that was Livy’s plan.
She heard the secretary’s name, and Livy got pissed. Instead of waiting, she started blowing him again.
Gabe’s eyes went wide, and he actually dropped his head back. She would have smiled had her mouth not been full.
“Sure, Paulina, my normal salad is perfect. Okay. Yeah, that’s great. I’ll buzz you when I’m ready for lunch,” he muttered, hanging up his phone.
He immediately pulled free from her mouth, startling her.
“Olivia!”
She stood up, thinking she’d done something wrong. Suddenly, she was worried. With Gabe, there was a fine line, and you never knew when you were fast approaching it. He took work very serious, and she…well, she didn’t.
He grabbed his pants, yanking them up. As Livy went to say something, he grabbed her and pulled her against him. He found her mouth with his, and he kissed her.
Livy held on.
She didn't expect it. Then again, Gabriel was accustomed to being in charge. She’d surprised him, and that meant she was opening herself up to his game.
When he tore his mouth from hers, he was wild. “You want to play, Livy?” he whispered, letting his mouth move across her throat.
“Gabriel.”
He moved them to his couch. Sitting, he pulled her to the floor between his knees. “Get me off. Now!”
She was shocked.
“What’s wrong, Olivia? You’re the only one who can initiate sex in MY office? You wanted to play this game, and now you’ll finish it.”
He didn't give her a chance to speak. Instead, he pulled her mouth to his erection and forced her head into place.
Setting her free, he enjoyed the way she devoured him. “Oh, Olivia, I love you so much.”
He buried his hands in her hair, finding just the right tempo. He was close, and he couldn’t wait to explode.
She ran her teeth up his erection, and he couldn’t hold back. Instead, he closed his eyes and let the wave of pleasure pull him under.
He came, and Livy didn't stop.
She was overheated, hoping they’d have more moments like this. Before this last week, she’d never do something so out of character. She’d never show up at the Hoover building, get on her knees, and pleasure her husband at work.
Never.
Now she saw how it drove him wild.
This wasn’t over.
She’d be back for more.
When she set him free, he started laughing. Opening his eyes, they were filled with love and humor. “You’re lucky I’m the boss. The FBI frowns upon this kind of thing in the office.”
“Well, then maybe my husband will have to spank me later.”
Gabe choked on his own saliva. “What has gotten into you?” he asked, praying it would never stop. He liked this side of her. The unpredictability was back.
It was sexy.
Livy stood and fixed her hair. “You will be later, and hopefully repeatedly.”
With that, she headed toward the door, leaving her husband staring. Outside, she stopped at his secretary’s desk and pulled an Elizabeth Blackhawk.
Her friend was wearing off on her.
“Paulina, he needs a minute before you bring him lunch. In fact, I’m not sure if he’s going to be hungry. He just had dessert.”
Livy walked away, leaving the husband-poaching woman staring in her wake.
Oh, she was glad she was coming back to work. She didn't like what was going on, and as Gabe’s wife, she was going to stop it.
Only, now, she had the nerve to do it.
She had backup.
Her best friend was going to have her back once more.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Dean Quinlan’s
Home
They searched the place as Zane and Merry finished up with the body. One thing was for sure.
Dean Quinlan’s home was a hot mess.
It looked like the man didn't have a clue on how to clean anything.
It was a biohazard in the making.
Callen found a glass with enough mold to make penicillin for a whole third world country. He didn't have cleanliness OCD, but this filth was freaking him out.
“What did we find?” Elizabeth asked, digging through the drawer.
“Drugs,” Ethan said, lifting a bag. “I also have some needles, so don’t blindly reach into dark spaces,” Ethan warned. “Be careful.”
“How he didn't give me HIV as a child is a miracle,” Callen muttered. “Someone above was watching out for me.”
Elizabeth didn't respond because she wanted to cry. She couldn’t help it. The whole thing upset her. When Callen made light of it, her heart twisted into a knot in her chest. She knew it was a coping mechanism, but it didn't work for her. She kept seeing that wounded little boy, and she wanted to protect him.
It was the mother in her.
Only, he’d told her to stop. He wanted to let it go, and she had to let him take control of his life.
She kept digging.
In the bottom of one drawer, she found a baggie. In it, she found some Polaroids. They were old.
Like thirty years or more.
They were stained with age, and she couldn’t help but be curious. Pulling them out, she realized what they were.
They were porn.
Child porn.
In the vile photos was Callen as a child as the dead man violated him. It appeared that his mother had taken them for her then boyfriend.
She wanted to puke.
In that moment, she needed to throw up. There was no way around it.
Elizabeth had no choice. She had to get out of there, and fast. The walls were closing in on her, and she was going to toss her cookies on a crime scene.
That hadn’t happened in years.
Shoving the photos into her pocket, she headed toward the door.
“Elizabeth!” Ethan c
alled.
“I need air.”
Callen went to follow, but he’d already dove onto Elizabeth to save her. Ethan knew he was up to bat.
Outside, he found her on her knees in the snow, vomiting up everything in her stomach.
Okay, this wasn’t right.
Elizabeth had a stomach like a steel ship. It was impenetrable.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, crouching beside her to hold her hair back. He touched her forehead to see if she possibly picked up a bug.
“Ethan,” she whispered, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out what she found and handed it to her husband.
He was confused.
“It’s Callen. His mother took pictures of him when Dean was raping him.”
The words rattled him.
No, they sickened him.
Truth be told, Ethan wasn’t sure if he could look at them, but he forced himself to do it. For his brother, he would endure it.
Sliding them out, he saw his brother being used and abused. In the faded photos, the tears were clearly there in the familiar brown eyes. There were demons hiding there too, and suddenly, he wanted to hurt the dead man inside.
“I wish I killed him. I wish to God that I was the one who did this to him. Had I known about these, I would have.”
Elizabeth stood, not sure if she could do this. “He was just a child. He was so afraid. I don’t understand how Charlene could let that happen and participate in it. Drugs or not—how did she let that animal rape her baby?”
She sobbed, unable to unsee what was in the pictures. It went against everything in her.
Ethan held her. Together they mourned what had happened to Callen. Yes, he told them, but to see it?
It was horrible.
Just then, the door opened, and Callen stepped out.
“What’s going on?” he asked, staring back and forth at the two people he loved. They looked like hell. Elizabeth had tears down her cheeks, and that worried him.
“Angel?”
Ethan glanced over. In that moment, they had two choices. It was either lie to him or tell Callen the truth.
This was a slippery slope.
Callen didn't understand. As he glanced down, he saw the vomit in the snow. Immediately, the father-to-be in him panicked.
Choices will Destroy (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 14) Page 40
