He was fighting to kill them.
Only, it wasn’t working.
He did something he normally wouldn’t do. He touched her face with his palm.
“Please,” he said softly. “Don’t make me relive that nightmare.”
She was touched by his gentleness.
Staring into his green eyes, she could see that he was genuinely worried about her.
There was something there.
She knew it.
“Okay, Dakota.”
He relaxed and removed his hand from her cheek.
“We go in together, and we stay focused,” he said, as they approached the house. “You need to listen and follow directive,” he said, refusing to let her be hurt.
Dakota let Debra down, but he wasn’t losing Sarah too. If he had to be heavy handed, so be it. She mattered, and he couldn’t fail.
Sarah bristled at his tone. She didn’t like being bossed around. It was one thing to say please, but his tone had changed.
Dakota was all kinds of complex. It was infuriating.
“Thanks. I know my job. Just do yours. I’m not the crazy bipolar one,” she muttered under her breath.
Dakota heard her. He’d had enough.
Grabbing her by the arm, he yanked her body into his. He didn’t like this void between them. He didn’t like being at war with her. To stop it, he tried to make amends. Without warning, he slammed his mouth to hers.
Then he kissed her.
It was risky.
Dangerous.
Stupid.
In his head, he rationalized that because his eyes were open, they were safe.
He was anything but safe.
Dakota noticed something. Her eyes were closed. That had to mean something, right? She was kissing him back on that tiny little porch, and she was into it.
He closed his too.
Dakota took the chance and let himself feel. He was lost in the moment until slowly, she pulled away.
“You’re confusing, Dakota,” she admitted.
There was no mystery to his motives.
“I don’t want to hurt you or see you hurt,” he admitted, as he watched her tongue dart out across her lower lip. It was the sexiest little act, and it drove him wild.
“Dakota.”
“Please stay by me. Please.”
She had never been kissed by him like that. Mostly, they rolled around, got naked, and had sex.
That was…something completely different.
“My hand won’t leave your back.”
He would take it.
Heading toward the door, he decided not to go in the front entrance. His gut was screaming.
Something felt off.
He was thinking back to what happened to Elizabeth and Chris, and he wasn’t willing to risk it.
“We’re breaking in a window.”
“What?”
“Trust me. I’ll explain later.”
She let him make that decision. When he picked up a rock and headed around the side of the house to an unobscured window, he tossed the stone through the glass.
Then he cleared it with the butt of his gun.
“Let’s go in now,” he stated, entering the house first.
Sarah followed.
He was acting weird, but then again, Dakota Rakin had been a soldier and a US Marshal longer than she had. When he was going into the service, she had been a toddler. Sarah had to put her faith in his skill.
She trusted him.
Dakota scanned the room once he was inside.
On the walls, there was smears of blood, messages, and then he saw it.
He’d been right.
Bonnie and Lizzie had been waiting for them.
‘Boom! You’re dead!’
“See?” he asked, pointing at the message and the gun.
Sarah was shocked. “Had we come in that way, we’d be dead.”
Yeah, he was aware.
This was why listening to his gut had become paramount in his life. It never let him down.
“How did you know?” she asked.
“Elizabeth and Chris had the same greeting. They knew we’d come here to cover our bases, and that’s why they left this. She’s studied Elizabeth. Bonnie knew that she wouldn’t leave a single angle uninvestigated.”
“Jesus.”
Yeah, she could say that again.
Dakota took the gun off the makeshift holder that Bonnie and Lizzie had made. He untied the fishing line, and then placed it on the floor.
Together, they searched the place.
“Stick by me, and watch for more boobytraps. Bonnie is consistent, if anything.”
After seeing this, she’d not question it.
This was way out of her scope. Yes, she’d been studying Bonnie, but Dakota had hunted her.
He was better at this.
She was lucky to be training under him.
As they moved through the house, it was clearly abandoned. There was food in the fridge, there were women’s things in the bathroom, and there was only one bed in the place, and both pillows had indentations.
“They were sleeping together.”
She looked over at him. “How do you know?”
He pointed at the pillows. “Other than only one bed, what do you see?” Dakota asked.
She studied it.
“Two pillows, one blanket…”
“Where are the pillows?” he asked, narrowing it down for her.
“Close to the middle of the bed.”
“Okay, so do you have a female friend who has ever slept in your bed with you?” he asked.
“Yeah, once.”
“Where did you each sleep?”
She thought about it. “On our own sides.”
Dakota pointed to the pillows. “They are touching, and the middle of the bed is messed up. They were cuddling. Why do women cuddle?”
“They are a couple.”
“Ethan Blackhawk was right again. Bonnie is using her, and they’re having sex.”
“Sex is the best way to control someone,” she admitted.
He glanced over.
“Is it?”
She met his gaze. “You tell me. You’re the one in control when we’re in bed.”
He didn’t know what to say.
Quickly, he changed the subject. “We should call Elizabeth. She’s going to want to know what we found,” he admitted.
“Yeah, good idea.”
Pulling out his cell, Dakota knew she’d be on her way to the airport.
Still, she answered on the second ring.
“What did you find?” she asked.
He broke it down, starting with the present Bonnie had left them.
“There was a gun loaded and pointed at the door. She set it up in case we headed here.”
She wasn’t shocked.
“Be careful. The place might have more surprises. Bonnie likes to screw around.”
Yeah, he could see it happening.
“Walk me through it,” she said, her phone on speaker so Ethan could hear it.
“She basically wrote all kinds of messages all over the wall about you. She wants to get her hands on you and fuck you with an ax.”
Ethan and Callen were NOT amused.
“Is it neat handwriting or a messy scribble?” she asked.
They all looked at her like she was crazy.
“A mess. I can barely read it.”
She focused on Ethan. “Here’s what I’m thinking. That’s not Bonnie. That’s going to be her pet psycho. When Bonnie left me that note after that last case, it was pristinely written. She has neat, proper handwriting.”
Ethan agreed. “It’s either Lizzie, or Bonnie is losing it. If that’s the case, she’ll be a nightmare to pin down.”
“Well, there’s plenty of crazy to study here.”
“Take pictures and transmit.”
He would.
“I have noticed something,” he said.
“What?” she asked, as
they headed through the airport parking lot.
“There’s one bed, and two water glasses. One on each side. Two alarm clocks, and the pillows are in the middle of the bed.”
He didn’t have to say anything else.
“They are sleeping together,” Elizabeth stated. “Ethan, is that going to be harder to take them down?”
He thought about it.
“That depends on if she really loves her, or if she’s using her. You recall Clyde…”
Yeah, they did.
“My bet is at some point, when she becomes useless, or a liability, she’ll cut her free, and by ‘cut her free’, I mean end her life.”
They all agreed.
Bonnie wasn’t going to let herself be caught. She killed Clyde so he wouldn’t brag and spill her details. That meant that she likely had a reason.
“Search anything on Filip Howe,” she said suddenly.
Ethan looked at her. “You think she’s hiding using Clyde’s real name?” he asked.
She wasn’t sure.
“Why would we check on him? He’s dead. Bonnie would find that amusing and entertaining. She would enjoy watching me run in circles—all the while, it’s the simplest of answers to the puzzle.”
“I agree,” Ethan stated. “She wants to prove she’s smarter, but she’s really not. She’s simply misdirecting everything.”
Well, until Elizabeth took her out, her brains weren’t her concern. She was worried about all the people being slaughtered.
Dakota was more than happy to help out. With every detail that he found on Bonnie, the easier it became to track her.
And he’d catch her.
He knew it.
“We’ll research him.”
“Do it. Find out everything we know about his life, and maybe, just maybe, Bonnie picked up her new partner by way of the old one.”
It was a long shot, but it was all they had.
“We’re going to hit up Doctor Michaels’s home. What do you want us to do after that?” Dakota asked.
Elizabeth worked it out in her head.
“I’m not really concerned with her home, per say,” Elizabeth admitted. “Bonnie didn’t take her there for a reason. Maybe it wasn’t secure enough, or maybe it was because Chris was the original target. Every move she makes is calculated. Stalk the house. Find me why she didn’t go there. I don’t want to risk missing anything.”
He got it.
They were going to be super cautious. Bonnie liked to leave clues in the middle of nowhere, and Elizabeth believed this was going to be one of those cases.
He didn’t respect many Federal agencies outside the US Marshals, but he knew Elizabeth was running the violent crimes unit for a reason.
She was a hunter by nature.
It was her instincts he trusted.
“Ask around the neighborhood. If Bonnie has been doing this the same across the board, she’s been stalking her prey.”
“I though you said she picked her at the spur of the moment,” Sarah offered.
While she believed that, she didn’t doubt that Bonnie was a little more in-depth. To clarify, Elizabeth was going to pass this explanation off to her profiler. Ethan could explain it better. Elizabeth only had a gut feeling.
“Yeah, she likely did because she couldn’t grab Chris, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t watch her beforehand. She’s a planner. Bonnie will always have a backup plan,” Ethan offered.
Sarah got it.
They weren’t taking any chances.
“We’ll head there,” Dakota stated. “Then we’ll be on a flight to Salem. Save some of the action for me. I need to take Bonnie down.”
Elizabeth understood that, and that worried her. His need for revenge could cloud his judgment.
“Dakota…?”
“Yeah?”
“Watch your back. Bonnie is playing for keeps, and you need to be focused.”
Oh, he was super focused.
As for playing for keeps?
So was he.
Chapter Fourteen
Salem
Saturday Afternoon
T he family was on alert, and the guards on protective duty at Elizabeth’s childhood home were ready for just about anything. They’d doubled down, putting everyone on lockdown.
Everyone.
The only people that were getting close to the house were family, or people they knew were absolutely safe. This was a minor inconvenience to ensure that the family wasn’t harmed.
There were perks to having Ethan as Deputy Director. Their kids would have excellent educations—wanting for nothing, and they’d grow up with a life both men had only dreamed about.
Then there were downfalls.
Safety would always be a concern. The shortest distance to Ethan and Elizabeth was right through their kids.
The lockdown was the price they had to pay.
Only, someone was suffering more than the rest of the family, and it was likely because this was all new to her.
Wyler’s wife was struggling.
As Maeve sat at the table, she strummed her fingers nervously on the giant baby. He was moving around, and she was restless.
“Sweetheart,” Wyler said, taking her hand in his. “Are you okay?” he asked his wife. While they had only been married a short few months, he knew her well.
She was getting twitchy.
“I’m worried,” she said, playing with one of his braids. She loved running her fingers over them to calm herself. She also loved having him hold her in his arms. While Wyler was in his early sixties, he was built like a man in his fifties. The good genes had prevailed, and she didn’t see the age difference.
Chasing kids kept him young.
“I know. You need a distraction.”
She did.
Being locked up freaked her out. The walls were starting to close in on her, and she knew this situation was getting bad. They’d never had this many restrictions before.
Something was coming.
Security was edgy.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “I was supposed to meet my friends for lunch today, but I couldn’t. This has ruined my appetite.”
Wyler knew how much Maeve enjoyed her two lady friends. They went shopping, they met for coffee in the park, and they took in movies. Since moving to Salem, his wife had flourished. It was like the small town she grew up in as a child. She’d really taken to it, and he was glad.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. I wish we weren’t prisoners.”
He patted her hand. “Maeve, darling, we aren’t prisoners. We’re just being protected.”
She didn’t see the difference.
“I can’t even go outside alone,” she admitted. “What kind of life is that going to be for Timothy?”
He sighed. “Ethan…”
She stopped him.
“I get it. He’s powerful, and people want him and Elizabeth to suffer. Yes, we’ve already discussed that, my love.”
He could hear the irritation in her voice.
Wyler was stuck between two boulders. He got why his wife was getting bitchy, but he was also aware that Elizabeth wouldn’t put them on this lockdown unless it were dire.
“Bonnie is dangerous,” he stated. “She’s a killer, Maeve. I know you resent this, but if you stop thinking of it as being a prisoner…”
She stared at him.
Wyler knew the look.
Here was a pregnant woman with anger in her eyes. He needed to stop talking.
ASAP.
Or it would be his ass on the line.
She went back to drumming her fingers on her belly. The look on her face broke his heart.
There had to be a way.
Then it hit him.
If they couldn’t go out, why not have them come to Maeve? That should work.
Right?
“Why don’t you have them here?” he asked.
“What?”
> “I don’t see what harm it can do. We have Liam here, and the rest of Ethan’s security detail. We’re safe in the house, so why don’t you call your friends, and ask them to come here for some tea?”
She liked that idea.
A lot.
“Do you think Liam will allow it?” she asked. “He said we were to all stay put.”
“LIAM!” Wyler called.
The man came strolling in from the office that he’d made his command center. “Yes, Mr. Blackhawk? Did you need something?”
He sighed. “Wyler. Mr. Blackhawk sounds…so…”
“Proper?” Liam asked.
“Yes.”
He grinned. “Yes, Mr. Blackhawk.”
Wyler gave up.
“Maeve would like to have company over. She’s restless. Can we make that happen for her?”
He didn’t look happy.
Still, Ethan had told them to allow Wyler the latitude to make decisions on the family in his absence.
His boss had been pretty adamant.
“Who would you like to have over?”
Maeve smiled sweetly at him. “My two friends, Vera and Gia,” she said. “You’ve met them that one time in the park when I had the kids there,” she added.
“Yes, ma’am, I know who you’re talking about.”
“I know Elizabeth said lockdown, but what could it hurt? They are the two ladies I see all the time. They’re safe. What would a cup of tea and some talking hurt? Please?” she asked.
He thought about it.
Wyler wanted this for his wife.
“I think it’s fine.”
Liam had a few rules.
“We check them when they arrive.”
“I’m sure they won’t mind,” Maeve said. “They know what Ethan and Elizabeth do.”
He wasn’t done.
“If they come here, then, I have to stay in the room. Are we clear?”
She pushed herself up from the chair and waddled his way. After hugging him, she smiled brightly.
Her good mood was back.
“I’ll call them, and later, you get a whole batch of scones all to yourself. You don’t even have to share.”
He grinned. “Score for me!”
When she was gone, Wyler patted him on the arm. He liked the man. “Softie, and all it took were baked goods. You’re easy.”
He growled. “Don’t tell my boss that!”
Revenge has Come (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 19) Page 45
