Oh, Wyler wouldn’t.
No one would believe it.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Delta Falls
When her phone rang, Christina was making lunch for Milo. It was going to be a cocktail of milk and cereal. Her little Native munchkin certainly could put down the food.
She was thinking he was going to be like his daddy.
Big.
Always hungry.
And so very handsome.
As she heated the milk, she answered the call with her free hand.
“Hello?” she asked
“Christina Hart?” came the familiar voice.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“It’s Director Gabriel Rothschild of the FBI. I need to speak to you,” he said.
She nearly dropped the phone.
Why was ‘The Dragon Slayer’ on her phone? What the hell had she done?
“Sir? Um…yes?”
Gabe didn’t mince any words. “Here’s the situation. We are chasing a killer, and Elizabeth mentioned you wanted back on the team. I’m willing to bypass your paperwork, giving you your badge back if you’re willing to come back right now and help.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“I’ll fly you here, I’ll put you up at my personal home, and you’d be running the trace like you once used to.”
She couldn’t believe it.
Elizabeth worked fast.
“Sir, I have my baby,” she began.
“Here’s the truth. It’s Bonnie, and she’s about three minutes closer to killing Elizabeth. She nearly got her head, and Christopher Leonard’s, blown off. She’s on her way to Salem, and she needs someone reliable in the lab. She has Amir, the current head tech, with her.”
Christina wanted to help her friend.
“Sir.”
“Say yes. I’ll make sure you make more than you did last time, I’ll ensure your fiancé has a job, and we’ll get you into a place of your own. All you have to do is say yes.”
He was not taking no for an answer.
The President of the United States didn’t want criminals like Bonnie running amuck. This had to be contained.
NOW.
Christina knew she was supposed to discuss these things with Kane, but they already discussed the possibility of leaving Delta Falls.
And that Elizabeth was in danger…
That scared her.
After all, when they needed her, she came. It was time to repay the favor.
“Well, Miss Hart?” Gabe asked.
“I can be at the airport in an hour. I have to take my son to my fiancé, and then I’ll be on that plane.”
Gabe smiled into the phone.
“I hope you’re still on your toes, Christina. We have a mess going on here in DC. Prove to me that this isn’t going to be a huge regret.”
Oh, she would.
Christina knew she could do it.
She was born to be a Fed.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Jet
Once in the air, Elizabeth made the introductions to the newest member of their team. It may only be temporary, but Special Agent Blue Garrick was going to be part of them until they managed to catch Bonnie.
Hopefully, that would be sooner rather than later.
“Agent Garrick, this is Director Callen Whitefox,” she said, waiting for them to shake hands.
“It’s nice meeting you, sir. I’ve seen you around the Hoover building. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Callen could say the same thing. He didn’t know her by name, but this agent was a familiar face—and he’d heard other agents talk about her magic with a pencil.
He was glad to have her working with them.
Right now, they needed the support of the whole FBI. Bonnie was that dangerous and gunning for his family.
“This is Doctor Christopher Leonard.”
Chris shook her hand warmly.
“It’s a pleasure, Agent.”
“Same here. I haven’t had the chance to work with you, Doctor.”
Chris knew why. “I’m attached specifically to the violent crimes unit. Elizabeth keeps me busy,” he admitted.
She snorted.
“He’s basically telling you that he’s my bitch,” Elizabeth teased.
Chris found that amusing. “Yeah, that about sums it up. She’s my cross to bear.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“And you know Deputy Director Ethan Blackhawk,” Elizabeth said, watching the woman check out her husband. While her heart skipped, seeing the smile, Elizabeth knew she had to trust Ethan.
The media had damaged her.
Marlee Whittaker had broken her too.
Ethan wasn’t to blame.
At the introduction, and shaking his hand, the woman’s blue eyes lit up.
Ethan smiled. “It’s a pleasure.”
“Working with you, sir, is an honor. You’re one of the great ones.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at Callen, and he started laughing at the woman’s response to his brother.
“Baby, don’t make me come over there.”
“Now there’s a threat to scare me,” she teased. “Are you going to blind me with your shiny shoes?”
Ethan laughed.
It was good that they were back on track. He’d missed joking around with her.
“I’ve studied you, sir. You’re one of the people we learn about in training.”
A red blush crept up his neck.
Honestly, he hated the notoriety. He preferred to watch quietly from a corner. Yes, he was the boss, but he was still the same man as he always was.
“Thank you for the compliment, but if we’re going to discuss people that are truly excellent at their jobs, that would be my wife. She’s more the agent than I ever was. Elizabeth is…”
She pointed at him in warning.
“Trouble.”
That made her laugh. “You cleaned that one up. So, I’ll take that as a win.”
“I’ve heard about you, ma’am.”
“Then you know I killed and ate the last agent who called me ‘ma’am’.”
She stared at her. “Really?”
Elizabeth shook her head. Another newbie. She wanted off this train.
Chris took over.
“Don’t look the monster in the eyes, don’t talk to it unless spoken to, and never leave your jugular exposed. She drinks blood for energy.”
She elbowed her ME. “Smart ass.”
Then she clarified.
“He’s lying, mostly. I’m a bitch on wheels when it comes to the job. Do yours, and we’ll be fine. Don’t do yours, and you’re going to limp away missing a few appendages and soft tissue.”
She got it.
That’s what Blue had heard about this woman. No one messed with Elizabeth Blackhawk.
She was a wild card.
“I have an idea,” Elizabeth offered.
They all looked over.
“Why don’t you three get cozy and show me what Tammy looks like?” she asked. “You know, so I can track this bitch and take away her ax.”
Ethan, Callen, and Blue got it.
Elizabeth was done with pleasantries. It was time to do the job, or deal with her.
Option B was never a good thing, so they got to work.
They needed to give Tammy a face.
And fast.
Elizabeth sat in silence for the next hour. She had a million things on her mind, and none of them were getting her any closer to finding Bonnie.
Time was ticking, and she was losing any chance of catching her.
Elizabeth was going under.
She needed something.
Anything.
While she was going through the dossier that Callen and the team had constructed, her frustration grew.
Elizabeth flipped through all the papers relating to the case, and there was nothing.
Absofuckinglute
ly nothing.
She pulled off her glasses and tossed them onto the tray table she’d been using during the flight.
Chris took a seat beside her.
Clearly, his best friend needed to vent. She looked like she was about to pull out her own hair.
That was never a good sign.
“Spill it,” he said, taking her hand in his. She’d been rubbing it, and he wanted to check her arm out. Since the cast had been off, he’d been concerned that maybe he shouldn’t have taken it off for her.
“I’m fine,” she stated.
He saw the lie.
“So you’re not lying to them,” he offered, pointing at Elizabeth’s husbands, “but you can lie to me?”
Elizabeth got it.
She went with the truth.
“Chris, I’m screwed,” she whispered. “We’re talking—picked up for the date, jumped in the back seat without getting off, and not even given cab fare back home—screwed.”
He patted her hand soothingly.
“I’m not worried. You have this.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t. There’s nothing. I’ve solved cases with very little before, but never this little. Bonnie isn’t leaving me anything. How?”
“Talk it out,” he offered. “Do what we used to do. We’d sit on the couch, have pizza and beer, and we’d walk through it. Now it’s gum on a jet. That’s pretty close.”
She laughed.
He was right. Chris had been part of the reason she was good at her job. They created a process together.
Maybe it would work.
“Bonnie and Lizzie picked Cannon Austin because he’s tied to you.”
“And I’m tied to you,” he added.
“Yes, but she’d also have ulterior motives.”
“Like?”
“She’d want you rattled just as much as me. She’s been watching us, and she knows you matter in the grand scheme, and not as just a friend. You’re MY ME. Who do I work with exclusively?”
“Me.”
“Why?”
“I’m sexy.”
She smiled. “Newton, I’ve said it for years. Smart men are hot. There’s no doubt, darlin’.”
“You work with me because this is our thing. We have a system. We have a way of doing things. I’m in tune with what you need as an investigator.”
“And that makes me better at my job.”
He didn’t disagree.
“She’s trying to weaken me. Everyone she’s picked was a shot at me either directly or to keep me guessing.”
“Let’s discuss victim two,” he stated.
That worked for her.
“She picked a nun from my childhood, but why Sister Margaret Peace? I didn’t like her.”
“Keep going.”
“Then she wanted you, but took Doctor Rachael Michaels and that was an acceptable swap for her. Why?” she asked. “I don’t doubt that Doctor Michaels was plan B all along. So, again, why her?”
Chris had an idea. “You didn’t like Cannon, right?”
“Not particularly. He was suing a man I call brother for sole custody of Bethe. That pissed me off. I wanted to boot his ass around Damascus.”
“And you were not fond of the nun, right?”
“Um…‘not fond’ doesn’t cut it.”
“What if Bonnie is picking people you know, but you don’t particularly like?”
“And that will that get her what? It’s my job to chase killers. I don’t get to decide if I want to solve it, based on how I feel about the victim. I have to figure it out.”
She had a point.
Maybe he was barking up the wrong tree.
Still…
They were just brainstorming. Chris looked at things a little differently than she did.
“I get what you’re saying, honey, but will your heart be in it, or will you be ‘ehhh’?”
“My heart is always in it, plus she picked you. I don’t dislike you.”
“Are we sure she actually picked me, or is she messing with you?” he asked.
“What are you saying?”
“You’re playing bodyguard and investigator. She has you so worried, you’re not focused on the big picture. You’re focused on protecting me, the family, and everyone else. That’s taking away from your ability to investigate.”
She listened.
“We assumed I was her target, and she said I was, but what if she’s messing with your head?”
Jesus!
Why couldn’t a case just be a case?
“I think she’s screwing with you. What if this is the same thing she did with the Tammy Beard thing? She put a person into play to distract and put you on a different path.”
“Yeah, but then she pointed me at her.”
He let her think it out.
“So I’m confused.”
He smiled. “This is all part of the game. Look at the list and go with the simple. Bonnie is, in no way, smarter than you. Ethan has gauged her at average intelligence. You’re bright. You’re smart, and you’re good at this. Don’t let the details cloud you. Focus on the simple.”
He had a point.
“We have a lawyer you didn’t like.”
“Okay, I’m with you.”
“You have the teacher you didn’t care about.”
“Truth.”
“You have the doctor that made your earlier years miserable when she wouldn’t work with you. Even today, she didn’t like you and thought you were a hack.”
“Well, who’s laughing now. I’m not the one who got hacked.”
He stared at her.
“Too early, huh?”
It made him laugh. “Yeah, probably.”
“Who do you think is your ‘friend’ on the list?”
She thought about it. “There are only so many people in Salem I like. Sheriff Tyrell Donnell is a good cop. She’d take him to destroy justice.”
“Go with the pattern. You like him. It won’t be him.”
She suspected as much.
“Who else?”
“Mayor Chris Santana. He was one of my deputies, and when I was trying to find Doctor Trudeaux’s killer, he helped.”
“So he’s still someone you like.” She thought about it. They’d had rough patches when he was her deputy, but they got along great now.
They weren’t both fighting for power.
“Yeah, we’re friends.”
“Who’s next?”
“Deputy Tony Morel. He was the man the council replaced me with, until he lost his nut and became an alcoholic.”
“You know a lot of Christophers and Tonys don’t you?” he teased.
“Yeah, I know. It’s confusing. I should call you Orion.”
He cringed. “Point made. Go with the mundane.”
She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re far from that, Newton, and you know it.”
Chris smiled.
“Don’t distract me. What about Tony? How do you feel about him?”
She shrugged. “I don’t hate him, if that’s what you mean. We both know where you’re taking this.”
Yeah, she was smart.
“He cheated on you.”
She nodded. “We were high school sweethearts. He broke my heart.”
Chris listened.
“And?”
“We used to be close, but his goal was always to get back into my britches.”
“And do you like him?”
“I tolerate him,” she finally said. The truth sucked, but unless she was honest, how was she going to figure this out?
“You already think its him.”
She nodded.
“Why don’t you send the sheriff there?” he asked. “It’s not like you to hesitate.”
“I know.”
“What’s going on?”
“What if Bonnie wants me to think it’s him, and I send someone there only to have them taken? Tyrell has a wife and kids, and Chris is in a relationship. He’s seeing this woman he fel
l for.”
He got it.
“You have to take the chance.”
Yeah, she was well aware.
It still sucked.
Elizabeth took a deep breath. Pulling out her cell, she made the call. Sheriff Tyrell Donnell answered on the second ring.
“Hey! How are you, Elizabeth?”
“We’re en route to Salem. I think Tony’s in danger. I need you to head there, but be careful. Don’t get your ass taken by this killer, Ty. She’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen, and she’s playing a sick game.”
“Do you think he’s in trouble? Really?”
If Chris was right, it was probable. Bonnie had a pattern. Elizabeth just hoped this was it.
“Yeah, I have intel.”
That was good enough for Tyrell.
“He’s off today, but I can bring the three deputies I have and go.”
“When you go in, I want you to keep your men close, your guns out, and don’t think she’s harmless. She’s leaving a meat puzzle everywhere she goes. She’s fond of Tasers.”
He got it.
“Vest up, and don’t hesitate to shoot. I know you’re all about justice, but no warning and pull that trigger. There’s two of them. With four people, the odds are in your favor.”
He got it.
“I’ll head there now.”
“Then get back to your office. I’ll be landing in an hour at the most. We’ll tell you what’s going on and get you up to speed. In order to catch this cuckoo, it’s going to take all of us.”
He was good with that.
Tyrell had made sure he’d been given the job. She believed in him, and he believed in her. “When you get to his place, call me.”
“I will. Girl, you be safe. Your daddy will be right pissed if you get hurt.”
She laughed.
Yeah, she was well aware.
When she hung up, she was nervous.
Chris needed to help her work through it.
“After friend, who is next?” he asked, even though he knew already.
“Enemy.”
“And you think it is?”
She laughed. “I was sheriff. I made a shitload of enemies there, Chris. That’s anyone’s game.”
Okay, that was agitating her.
“What about family?”
She looked over at her husband.
Revenge has Come (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 19) Page 46
