“Something bad happened,” Wyler admitted.
Chris knew it was time he helped. They wouldn’t get anything explained with crying children.
“Kiddos, I have candy in my bag. Who wants some?” he asked.
That solved it all.
They all followed him upstairs as he carried Christopher Anthony in his arms.
As soon as they were gone, Elizabeth waited for an explanation.
This had better be damn good.
They had all aged ten years in the thirty-minute drive from the airport.
“It’s all my fault,” Maeve said, sobbing from the couch. “I’m so sorry.”
Elizabeth figured it was best to start there.
“Dad said you guys let the killer in. Start from the beginning,” Ethan suggested. “Help us understand.”
She sniffled. “Back in DC, I had lots of friends. We would go out, we’d spend time doing things, and I missed it.”
Nothing about that was alarming.
Maeve was friendly.
“Okay.”
“Well, I met these two nice ladies in town. I was grocery shopping one day. It was before you and Ethan were on the mend.”
She was with her so far.
“Well, I met these two ladies, and we began talking. I thought nothing of it.”
“As you wouldn’t. We didn’t know about Bonnie until a couple days ago,” she offered, trying to calm her down.
“Today, I was feeling restless. We are on lockdown.”
“Yeah, because Bonnie wants in here. She wants to get to my family,” Elizabeth stated.
“I asked the ladies over for tea.”
She glanced over at her husband. “Security dropped the ball, Ethan. When we’re done talking, you get to handle it. If I do it, someone will bleed.”
Blackhawk knew she was pissed, and he was going to make sure heads rolled. When he instructed them that NO ONE was to come into their home, he was pretty sure he was clear.
“Yes, baby.”
Wyler wouldn’t let his wife take the blame. “I suggested it, Elizabeth. I just wanted to make Maeve happy. I didn’t think until…”
She was curious. “What tipped you off?”
“Cat.”
That was all he said.
Callen pulled out his cell and showed Wyler and Maeve the picture of Tammy Beard, and Lottie Tipton.
“That’s Vera,” she said pointing at the brunette. “She was the only one available today. She said Gia was detained.”
Well, shit.
They’d gotten into their home.
“She was holding Charlie, fawning over her when Cat walked right to her and took her off to play with her dolls.”
Wyler stood. “You need to ask Catherine the rest. This is why I called you.”
Elizabeth wanted to throw up.
They’d come close. Lizzie was in their space, and she’d been holding Charlie.
Ethan, for sure, looked like he was going to flip out.
Heading for the stairs, she called for her daughter. “Kitty Cat, momma needs you.”
The little girl came down, and she looked worried. “Am I in trouble?” she asked, eating a piece of licorice. “Did I do bad, Momma?”
Elizabeth scooped her up. “Never, my sweet girl. I just need to know what happened. Can you tell me why that lady upset you?”
She nodded and held onto her mother. “I was in my room. I was playing with my teacups, bears, and reading books. Grandpa was going to have a party with me when Grandma’s friend left. I wanted to have tea with Grandma, but I’m not a big girl.”
Maeve started crying more.
Wyler held her.
“I’ll have tea with you later, baby, what else. I need to know everything. Report, Officer Kitty Cat.”
She saluted her mother.
“I was playing and this man walked into my room.”
Callen got worried. “A stranger?”
She shook her head. “I’ve seen him before.”
“Who, Kitty Cat?”
She pointed at the mantle.
“Here’s where I freaked out,” Wyler stated, cluing them in. He was pretty sure they’d be freaking out too.
Elizabeth carried her daughter toward the mantle. “Who did you see?” she asked.
Cat leaned over and picked up a framed picture. “Him. Who is he?” she asked.
“That’s your great-grandfather, Timothy Blackhawk. That’s Grandpa’s daddy.”
Callen nearly fell over. “You saw him in your room, Catherine?”
She nodded. “Yes, but he was wearing a head full of feathers. He looked like he was wearing a birdie.”
War bonnet.
Shit.
“He told me the lady was bad. Get Charlie away from her as fast as I could, and to tell momma a message.”
Elizabeth listened. “Go on.”
“So, I went downstairs and did it.”
Wyler didn’t say anything.
“What was the message?” she asked. “What did Timothy want you to tell me?”
“Bad things are coming. That you have to kill them and soon. I know that can’t be right, Momma. You don’t kill people, right?”
And here it was.
This was something Elizabeth dreaded.
“Well, Kitty Cat, Momma has killed people before. It’s part of the job. Sometimes, when we go to bring people in, they pull a gun, and it’s me or them.”
She blinked back tears.
Here’s where Catherine had to grow up fast. Now she got it. The one thing they tried to protect their kids from was the reality of their jobs.
“Oh, Momma. You can’t get shot. Daddies won’t be good without you.”
She cuddled her girl.
“I love you so much, Kitty Cat. You’re my hero. You saved your sister. You get a prize.”
“Was she bad?” Kat asked. “That lady?”
“She’s one of the worst people I’ve ever had to chase. You did the right thing. What do you want?”
She whispered in her mother’s ear.
“Done.”
Elizabeth walked toward Ethan and Callen. “Can you hold our daughter?” she asked Callen.
He took her.
Elizabeth grabbed Ethan by the tie, yanked him forward, and kissed him like it was their last moment on Earth.
Blackhawk held on for the ride.
When she set his mouth free, they were both breathless.
“Shit,” he muttered.
Cat giggled.
“Tell Daddy what you wanted,” Elizabeth said, as soon as both men looked confused.
“I wanted Momma and Daddy to be better. I didn’t want them to fight.”
Ethan leaned over and took Catherine from his brother. He stared into her eyes. “If you tell Momma to kiss me like that all the time, there might be some money in it for you.”
She giggled as he tickled her.
Then she hugged him.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, Kitty Cat.”
He put her down.
She held out her hand.
“What?” he asked.
“You said the ‘S’ word. I get money.”
He pulled out his wallet and handed her a five dollar bill. “You’re going to break me, Catherine.”
She smiled.
“I’m going to handle security,” Ethan offered. He glanced at his brother.
They shared a look.
His job was to keep Elizabeth calm.
“Okay, baby girl. Momma wants you to go upstairs, and you can have more candy with Uncle Chris, okay?”
She bounced her way up the stairs with her candy and a crisp greenback.
Elizabeth waited for her to be gone. “So, Catherine walked right up to this woman and took Charlie away?”
Wyler nodded.
Elizabeth wanted to freak out, but it would upset Maeve. Anything she said at that point would be bad.
It would begin with her being reckles
s.
Selfish.
And not getting that this was a bad situation.
Instead, she bit her tongue.
“I’m going to go see Ethan. I’m in the mood to chew ass, and I think I’ll start with Liam.”
They all got it.
This was bad.
They’d really jacked it up. As hard as Elizabeth was trying to keep them safe, the family had worked against her.
And this was why she had to worry.
It was why she wasn’t focused.
They watched her leave.
Wyler spoke up, “I’m so sorry,” he said. “We didn’t think it would be your killer. How were we to know?”
He got it.
Callen went to his new, sobbing step-mother. “This is not your fault. Bonnie and Lizzie have been trying to find a way to get into this family. They got into all the other victims’ lives too.”
“Victims?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Who are they after?” she asked.
Callen didn’t want to say it. He didn’t want to put it out to the universe. Then he’d feel…
Sick.
Responsible.
Horrible.
“Callen James, tell us,” Wyler insisted.
“Now, after this, we think one of the kids. Elizabeth mentioned to me to keep an eye on Ethan, but it looks like Bonnie is switching it up. If they can get a child, it’ll kill all three of us.”
“So she now knows what the inside of the house looks like because of me,” said Maeve. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think…”
He was aware.
Only, he wouldn’t beat a pregnant woman up for making such a careless mistake.
“It’s okay, Mom. We’ll take care of it. I’m sorry you have to be on lockdown. Our jobs are shitty like this.”
Maeve had learned a huge lesson.
Being a Blackhawk wasn’t easy.
Their lives really sucked.
When Elizabeth got outside, Ethan was there with the whole team. Liam, Ivan, Rory, and three guys she had never spoke to before in her life. It looked like Ivan was switching out the team to keep them fresh.
Well, he had his work cut out for him—thanks to Maeve.
To say that they were angry would be an understatement. Elizabeth was not happy, and Ethan was about one second from blowing. She could tell since she’d been on the other end of his anger.
As she approached, she knew he was trying to stay calm. Reaching out, she took his flailing hand in hers to ground him.
He stared down at their bracelets and took a breath. Her touch had reminded him that he couldn’t freak out, even when the security had done something so damn dangerous.
“Liam, when I said no one was in or out, I thought that was pretty clear.”
“Sir, Mrs. Blackhawk has spent time with them before. How was I to know they might be killers? We’re talking almost seven weeks of them meeting and nothing happening. You told me to trust your father’s judgment. I did.”
Ethan was staring at him.
Elizabeth got it.
“Liam, what the director is trying to convey is he said no one—despite what Wyler wanted. Yes, you can ask him his opinion, but if we’ve already told you one thing, he’s shit out of luck.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I don’t care if Maeve is fucking bored stupid. My job is to keep those kids alive. Do you know what Bonnie and Lizzie will do to them?” she asked.
“Ma’am.”
She pulled out her cell and handed it to him. “Scroll.”
He did.
He was horrified.
“They will cut them apart and feed them to a garbage disposal,” she said, sick over the mere thought, but she needed the whole damn team on the same page.
“I want you to keep my dogs with those babies too!”
“I get it, ma’am. I’m sorry,” he said, handing her phone back to her.
“You were given a direct order. It wasn’t your decision to make. Ethan said no, and that should have been respected. Wyler doesn’t know best. We do.”
One of the other men shook his head.
“Issue?” Ivan asked, catching it.
“They are two women. How dangerous could they be?” he asked. “There’s now six of us.”
“Peter,” Ivan stated. “You have your orders. Obey them,” he stated.
Elizabeth didn’t like any of this.
“Bonnie and Lizzie are not to be screwed with at all. If you see them, you shoot,” Ethan stated.
“Sir?”
He wasn’t kidding. “I said, you shoot, and then I’ll worry about the ramifications. I’ll handle it.”
He turned to go in. Ethan wasn’t amused, and he was ready to fire someone. If he stayed, he would—and that wouldn’t help them.
“Hey, we need to talk,” she said, holding his hand.
He leaned against the light post in the front yard. It reminded him of another time and another crazy.
Salem was really starting to suck.
“About?”
“Uh, our daughter saw her dead great-grandfather in her bedroom while having a tea party. How do we ignore that?”
He laughed.
He had to or he was going to lose it.
“I’m not shocked she has a gift,” he said. “Her great-grandmother is a bayou witch, and her great-grandfather was a Shaman. I’m just glad she did what she did. I’m going to buy her a pony.”
“ETHAN!”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I can’t buy just her one. All the girls need one.”
She stared at him.
“Then the boys need quads. No helmets. That will ruin their street cred.”
“You’re not even remotely funny. For a minute there, I thought you were serious.”
He was about the ponies.
He’d work on that later. For now, he’d help keep his wife calm, like he’d promised to do.
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
“My first reaction is to send them home, but then I think about what could possibly happen there. Where are we safe? Jesus! Where can we hide?”
Before he could answer, Ivan was heading her way. “Directors?”
They both turned.
“I meant the scary one who eats men for lunch and makes me want to piss myself.”
They still both waited.
He laughed. “Tex, then, if you really need me to clarify that.”
Elizabeth waited. “What do you need?”
“What if I had an idea?” he asked. “What if I had a way to give us an insurance plan against these women?”
“What?” Ethan asked.
At this point, they’d take anything.
“You’re low jacked, Callen is low jacked, and your lovely wife is too.”
“Ass kisser.”
“Hey, I didn’t do anything. I was with you guys, but now I’m here on duty. I’ll keep your kids safe. I wouldn’t want you kicking my ass in the woods.”
At least he got it.
She gave him a fist bump.
“What’s your plan?”
“You have the chip in your watch, but what if we placed duplicate chips on the family, tagging them. That way, if the unthinkable happens, we can find them quickly.”
“Thank you for not saying it,” Ethan offered. He had to listen to his wife describe it, and he wanted to throw up.
Lizzie had held his Charlie.
It made him want to kill.
“No problem, sir.”
Elizabeth thought about it. “I like that idea.”
“They are small. We could maybe put them where Bonnie and Lizzie won’t think about them.”
“Like where?”
“Wyler always wears braids. How about we get one attached to one of the hair bands that holds his hair. I know you’re worried specifically about him and the kids.”
Yeah, they were.
And Ethan, but he was already tagged.
“That co
uld work,” Ethan offered.
“I happen to have a few spares in my pack. I’ve had to tag your wife a few times when she’s in the field.”
“What?” she asked.
“Yeah, remember that time I helped you into your coat? The lapel. Sorry. You’re hard to follow on a good day, but one when you have a stick up your ass?”
She let it go.
“What about the kids?” he asked.
“They each wear one of those feather necklaces. That would be perfect.”
“Do it. Then we test it. I want to make sure it works. Tag Chris, Bethe, and Maeve too. Anyone in the family gets one. We can’t be too sure.”
“I can stick to the kids,” he offered. “You would be without cover, but they wouldn’t be. What do you want me to do?” he asked.
That was EXACTLY what they wanted.
Finally, a security guy who got it.
“Please watch my kids,” she asked. “I know it breaks the rules, but they have to come first.”
Ivan patted her on the arm.
“Don’t worry, Attila. I can’t, in good conscious, allow anything to happen to your babies. I saw the pictures. It would break me too.”
He headed toward the house.
“I like him,” Elizabeth said. “I know I ride his ass, but still…he’s smart.”
Ethan agreed.
“Let’s settle the family down. We have to get to the sheriff’s station,” he offered.
“Yeah, we have a crazy to catch.”
Again.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Sheriff’s Station
Saturday Late
Afternoon
When they pulled up, everyone who was meandering the streets did what they did best.
They stared.
Granted, the family, minus Ethan, had been back in Salem for weeks, but Elizabeth had yet to make an appearance in town. The entire time, she had been moping in their home, mourning her relationship. She’d tried to attend the fair, but that was a mess.
Now she was better, Ethan was by her side, and they were returning to the scene of the crime.
Again.
This would be the third time the FBI rode into town to fix a mess. Only this time, it wasn’t Salem’s fault.
No, this was all because of DC bleeding over with its crazies. This was all on them. They’d lost control of the circus, and two of the clowns had escaped.
It was time to wrangle them, once and for all.
Revenge has Come (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 19) Page 49
