That changed everything. This woman was on a one way crash course with stupid.
She’d been there.
It was time to play it cool. She bought what he was selling, simply because people under duress were bad liars. If he was really worried, he’d spill it or she’d know it.
Elizabeth uncuffed him.
“What about me?” Sarah asked.
She laughed.
“Lyzbeth, come on,” Dakota asked. “She’s my partner. She’s not going to do anything.”
“Can you contain her?”
“Yes.”
When he looked over at her, they shared a message without words. That told Elizabeth everything she needed to know.
There was something there.
She’d been right. He’d cozied up to the woman.
“It’s good to see you’re coloring outside the lines again, Dak. That’s going to get you burned—again.”
He knew what she was talking about. She’d once said that about them coming together and having sex.
Elizabeth knew he was screwing his partner.
Great.
“I hate how you can read me. You’re a pain in my ass, Elizabeth.”
She laughed. “Well, my week is made. Spill it, Dak. Tell me what you have, and I’ll let you know if you can help or you can head back to DC to have a meeting with Marcus Hunter.”
He figured he had no choice.
It was do or die.
“We’ve been listening to the chatter the last few weeks. Bonnie has come up, surfaced for a day and gone back under. She’s like a freaking ground hog.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that same chatter.”
“Well, then it got me wondering. What if there’s a reason? So we did a search.”
“On?” Elizabeth asked.
“Victims who were out of place. She’s a serial killer, so she’d leave a pattern, right?”
“Yes, and that’s why she’s my responsibility, Dakota. You chase fugitives and I chase serial killers. Sometimes they cross, and my hand trumps your hand.”
“Hear me out.”
She waited.
“We figured she’d stick to beheadings. She’s a one trick pony. She’s not going to change too much because Bonnie is crazy.”
He could say that again.
“What did you find?”
“A pattern.”
Elizabeth offered up the key to Dakota to set his partner free. So far, it showed he’d done the legwork. In this case, she’d normally redo it, but they didn’t have time. They were up against Bonnie.
She moved fast.
There was no doubt in her mind that she was already picking her next victim.
Besides, Dakota was generally well-prepped. He was cautious, since he’d been a soldier. He was detail oriented, since he was a US Marshal.
She could use his help.
“I’m ready.”
Dakota smiled. “Thanks, Lyzbeth. You always were a good egg.”
Callen growled from his spot in the corner. “I really hate that freaking nickname. I’ve had to hear it about ten times already, and it’s making me cranky.”
Ethan wasn’t thrilled with it either.
“Down, boy,” Dakota said. “I’m not poaching the pretty girl. I’m just trying to stay out of Gitmo. Cut a guy a break.”
“I’m going to break something, all right,” Callen warned.
Elizabeth glanced over at her husband. “It’s okay, Cal. Let him dazzle me.”
Callen backed down.
Dakota took that opportunity to go for it. He got down to the details.
“We found four bodies that were not related to Bonnie’s MO of killing, but they were close. After the first one, we searched the rest. They all are tied together.”
She thought about it.
This might help.
“If you let me go back to the hotel, I can get you the files. We can share information, and like last time, we can catch her.”
“We didn’t catch her, Dak. That’s the issue. She caught you, and because you let that happen, we lost her. It was save you or chase Bonnie. I had to choose…”
Elizabeth reached across the table and took his hands in hers. Then she flipped them over to see the scars across his wrists.
Bonnie had slit them.
He stared down at them.
“I know what’s on the line. I also know what’s going to happen to the next victim. I was there, Lyzbeth. I heard Debra screaming as Clyde raped her. I knew I was next. I was the one manhandled by her. I get it. I fucked up, but I need this redemption.”
She ran her fingers over the healed scars.
Sometimes, those wounds were more than just on the surface. She recalled her past.
“Dakota.”
He squeezed her hands in his.
“We go way back. I need you to have faith in me. I’m smarter, wiser, and I know her patterns. I’m ready for her this time. I’m the hunter. This is my thing too.”
Elizabeth looked over at the blonde sitting beside him. She looked like she was ready to punch her in the face for touching her ‘man’.
It was amusing.
“I’m good with you, Dak, but her? She’d be Bonnie’s ideal play thing. She’d see her as competition. She’s blonde, she’s pretty, and she’ll be eviscerated on a floor if Bonnie can get her.”
He was well aware.
“Send her back.”
Sarah objected. “You both see me, right? I’m pretty damn tough. I can handle myself.”
They all laughed.
Not against Bonnie.
No one was safe.
“Hey!”
Dakota owned it. “I’ll keep her safe. I let Debra fall, but I won’t let Sarah.”
She was pissed.
“Listen, I’m sitting here quietly because I believe in respecting my elders, but enough is enough. I’m not a liability. I’m a damn good US Marshal.”
“I’m about double your age, and I kicked your ass with one arm in a cast. That’s not really screaming good. Maybe you should be in the gym and not chasing tail—his.”
Dakota flushed.
“Our sex life is none of your business.”
Elizabeth stood.
No, it wasn’t, but having either of them killed because they weren’t focused was on her, and she’d be damned if she carried that on her shoulders to her grave.
NO.
THANK.
YOU.
“I’ll pass, Dak. I can’t babysit a little kid who can’t keep her temper in check. You know what we’re going against. Bonnie is no joke. She likes to make people bleed. I’m willing to bet that this is her first major case.”
“It is.”
“Well, she’s got a lot to learn, and I’m not training her.”
She moved toward the door.
“Elizabeth. Remember that one time you needed backup? Remember when you were chasing that lunatic, and you called me up in the dead of the night needing a partner to ride shotgun?”
She stopped and stared at the wall.
“Remember what I said?”
Yeah, she did.
“I told you that I’d always have your back, no matter what. I told you that even though we couldn’t be a couple, I’d always be your partner because I believed in you. I loved you enough then, and I still love you now. You imprinted, and we can’t pretend it didn’t happen. Help me. I need you.”
Damn it!
He said the one thing that would make her crack. Her past was her past, but it mattered.
He’d mattered too.
Shit!
Shit!
Shit!
“Lyzbeth, I’m asking you to return the favor. If I don’t chase Bonnie, the demon will never go away. I need this. We had something once, and I need you to stand by me now.”
“Dakota, you’re still my friend. I just don’t want Sarah to be killed, too, and then you’re carrying that burden. At some point, the demons win. They always catch you.”
<
br /> He heard it in her voice.
“Please, Elizabeth. It’s consuming me. It’s going to cost me my career. I know it.”
She turned.
“I’m calling you up and asking for your backup. I’m calling in that chip, and I believe you’ll keep your word. You owe me one.”
Well, damn it to Hell and back.
She had no choice.
“Meet us at the hotel in the fancy-schmancy restaurant. We’ll have dinner and share information.”
“So I’m in?”
“Yes, but you need to make sure Sarah knows what’s coming. I don’t think she gets it. Bonnie isn’t textbook. She’s warranted the best profiler the FBI has,” she said, pointing at her husband. “She’s tagged as mine because she’s not likely getting to court. She’s rabid, and I’m the big dog.”
He got it.
“I’ll handle her. Just let me help. We can take her down, and then we can close this part of our lives up.”
Her gut said no.
Ethan shook his head.
Callen did the same.
“See you at the restaurant. Wear something nice. They make you dress up, and you, Dak…you’re a hot mess.”
With that, she headed out. Elizabeth could only hope she hadn’t made a huge mistake. Bonnie was a killer.
And she meant business.
Ethan closed the door as soon as his wife and Callen left. He wanted to say a few words to the man.
“Are you going to throw a punch and say I attacked you?” he asked. “I have a witness this time.”
Yeah, that wasn’t his style anymore. He wouldn’t let his anger win.
“No, I wanted to say one thing.”
“What?”
“If you or your partner get her or my family hurt, you’re losing your job, Dakota. I’m not fucking around. I don’t think you have what it takes to play by the rules. I have your file. I know how you play cowboy all the time just to do the job. That’s not always commendable.”
“I hear what you’re saying.”
“I mean it. You have a couple hours to teach your partner how not to blow a case. Start with getting captured. End with Bonnie escaping. We have one shot, and we’re taking her down. I’d prefer without you.”
“Because she nearly married me, and we had sex?”
He laughed.
“No, because she’d put herself in front of ANYONE on her team, and that now means you. That means you could cost Elizabeth her life, and that I can’t swallow.”
Dakota got it.
He’d do the same thing if he had a wife on the line. He would have threatened him too.
“I won’t fuck this up. If I do, I’ll turn in my badge. If someone gets hurt or Bonnie eludes us, I’m done.”
Ethan accepted that with a handshake. The deal was done. “Then welcome to the team.”
With that, he walked out.
“He’s a dick,” Sarah stated.
Dakota shook his head. “No, he’s right. Elizabeth has kids, a family, and a life. If I cost her that, it’s on me. I can go down, but she can’t.”
Sarah didn’t like that.
At all.
She had plans for Dakota.
None of which involved either of them dying.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
In the lobby, they waited for everyone. Chris was there with Elizabeth and Callen, and only Ethan was missing. As he slowly wandered up, Elizabeth knew he’d been up to something.
He had that look on his face.
“What did you do?”
“I married the most beautiful woman in the world,” he said, smiling at her. “Then she gave me a great life.”
Callen started laughing.
He knew what that meant. Ethan was kissing ass, and likely for a good reason.
“I don’t want to know,” she said. “It’ll likely get me all cranky.”
He simply smiled.
Blackhawk was just protecting his own.
“Let’s go back to the hotel. I need to get our files together, and I want to shower before dinner,” she offered.
They headed toward the elevator.
In it, Chris spoke, “Do you mind if I pass and go back to my room? I’m not really hungry. You know…morgue gut.”
She got it.
He was still feeling what had happened.
“Do you want me to get you something? I can drop it off at your room?”
She was mothering him, and it felt nice. He needed someone to lean on, and he was finally okay with admitting that. His world had been flipped upside down again, and he was really off his game.
“No, I’ll be okay, honey. I just want to sleep a little. It was a long flight here, and I’m jet lagged.”
She knew that was a lie.
Chris was one of those people who needed very little sleep. He wanted to close his eyes and forget.
She didn’t blame him.
“Okay, Christopher. If you change your mind, let me know. If you need me, I’ll be back in our room after dinner.”
He knew he’d be welcomed, and that made it easy.
As they headed across the parking lot, they were thinking about the case, and what was coming.
When out of the blue, there was a shrill whistle. It was familiar. She’d heard it before.
Elizabeth turned her head to see Ivan. He pointed at something past her. When she focused on the threat, she saw an older man barreling their way.
Not their way.
Chris’s.
Grabbing his arm, she yanked him back into Callen’s body, and took the man down. When her gun was pointed under his chin, only then did she talk.
“Who the hell are you?”
There were tears in his eyes. “I’m Jacob Austin.”
Chris heard the name and focused on him. He hadn’t seen Cyra’s father in a long time.
He’d aged.
Then again, if he’d lost his daughter, and now his son, he would too.
“Lyzee, it’s okay,” he offered. “He’s safe.”
She let him up.
That’s when the tirade began.
“You killed my daughter,” he raged. Jacob pointed at Chris accusingly. “The day she married you, I was worried. I was right to be afraid. Your job got her killed, and now my son too. You’re a blight on our family!”
“Sir, we don’t know that this has anything to do with Chris’s job,” Ethan stated, trying to calm the man down and protect Chris at the same time.
People were staring.
Other Feds were gathering.
“Yeah, it’s an FBI cover-up. You’ll protect your own. I know how it is. I’m going to sue this agency, and him too. I’m going to get my granddaughter. I’m going to see him broken like he’s broken me. Only then will I stop!”
Chris took the barbs.
He accepted them.
Nothing the man had said was wrong. Only, had he left the FBI, Cyra still would have died. Bonnie still would have killed Cannon.
You couldn’t stop fate.
“You’re a murderer. I’ll find a way! You haven’t seen the last of this family!”
The man stormed away.
“I think I’m going to take a walk,” he said.
“Christopher,” she began.
“It’s okay, Lyzee. I need a few minutes. I’ll catch a cab back,” he said, before heading off.
Elizabeth wasn’t letting him wander around while Bonnie was roaming free. She would LOVE to get her hands on him. He classified as doctor, friend, and family. As far as she was concerned, Chris was high up on the victim possibility list.
She couldn’t let him go down.
Not now.
She motioned toward Ivan. He immediately headed her way.
“Good stop, Tex,” he stated. “Did you play football in college?” he teased, trying to lighten the mood.
She rolled her eyes. “You realize you’re supposed to be the one who tackles people, right?”
He
laughed. “I figured you got your arm back, and you wanted to take it for a spin.”
“Igor, you suck. Now do something productive. Follow that man.”
“I’m supposed to stick to you. He’s not my duty. I’m tagged to take a bullet for the crazy magnet. Lucky me.”
Tears filled her eyes.
It caught him off guard.
“Hey! I was only kidding! You’re not a crazy magnet,” he stated. “Your luck just sucks.”
She wiped furiously at her eyes.
“He’s my family. Bonnie will love having him in her playroom. If he goes down, I’m going down.”
He got it.
This was about protecting her in a roundabout way.
“Sir?” he asked his boss.
“Do it,” Ethan stated. “We’ll be together. Between Callen and myself, we can keep her safe.”
He saluted. “Watch her. She’s tricky. I suggest handcuffs. I know I want to use them.”
She didn’t miss a beat.
“Kinky. I’m betting my husbands didn’t want that picture in their heads, Igor.”
He sputtered.
Got red.
Then left.
“You ride him a little too much,” Ethan stated. “One day, he might let you get shot just to have some silence.”
Callen put on his sunglasses. “There’s a picture I didn’t need in my head. Our wife riding some other guy before getting shot. I think I know who shot them both.”
Ethan laughed.
“I was purging the one where he was picturing my wife in handcuffs.”
She tried to laugh, but she was worried about her friend. “Let’s go. I need to prep, but we need to make a stop first.”
Both men knew she was talking about Broderick and Johanna Seaton.
Ethan made the address appear on a piece of paper. “Here.”
She smiled.
“That’s why I love you.”
“Hey! What about me?” Callen asked. “I’m feeling a little left out by you two.”
Ethan didn’t miss a beat.
“I’m sure you have nothing to worry about. We all know why she loves you, Cal.”
Callen grinned.
He knew his brother was busting his ass. Well, two could play at that game.
“She loves me for my dick, and I’m okay with that. Want to touch me?” he asked.
She did.
Elizabeth punched him.
HARD.
“Shit! That hurts just as much as with the cast.”
Revenge has Come (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 19) Page 18
