Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7)

by Kelley, Morgan

  “You aren’t using our medical examiner either?”

  Elizabeth simply shook her head.

  “Why?”

  “I work better with people who know me,” she opted. “I tend to be tough to handle. I’m actually doing you a huge favor by using the medical examiner attached to the FBI.”

  The woman didn't have a response. She wasn’t sure if Director Blackhawk was blowing smoke up her ass or being dead serious.

  “I’ll need the address,” Ethan stated, standing.

  Gena Lowry scribbled it down on a piece of paper. “Here you go, Director.”

  Ethan took it, folded it up, and placed it in his suit pocket. As he stared over at his wife, he grinned. “I’m going to split up and get Chris doing what he does best. Can you two be trusted not to cause nuclear holocaust?”

  Elizabeth winked at him before answering, “I’ll try, Cowboy. We’ll check the crime scene and monitor the techs. Meet you at the morgue for a check in later?”

  He nodded and despite being on duty, Ethan leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. “Behave and be safe,” he whispered in her ear.

  Automatically, her hand went to his face to offer reassurance. “I’ll try, Ethan. You be safe too.”

  He dropped his sunglasses back on and strolled out of the office to find Doctor Leonard. Ethan was nervous about leaving her side, but he knew that Callen would be all over her.

  For now, it was time to focus on work.

  Gena Lowry watched him leave. Yikes, she wouldn’t mind a few hours in interrogation with him. She was in a relationship, but why not check out all the items on the man menu? She switched her focus to the woman.

  “Where are you staying?”

  Callen finally spoke, “We’re bunking down at the hotel down the block.”

  She glanced over at him. His voice was warm and delicious. It almost gave her chills, like she was sinking down into something hot and encompassing. Wow!

  “It’s a great place. They have a restaurant and bar in the main lobby.”

  Callen was glad to hear that. It meant getting dinner and keeping Elizabeth close to home base. “Terrific. I can use a drink,” he stated, knowing the woman beside him would understand why.

  “Are you asking me to join you?” Gena Lowry answered, as she flirted with the Native man.

  Callen paused momentarily to see if Elizabeth was going to intercede. When she didn't even bat an eye, he was both nervous and glad. “Actually, while very flattered that you would want to have a drink with me, Chief, I’m happily taken. In fact, the woman beside me is not only my partner at work, but also life.” He held up his ring finger as if to prove a point.

  Gena stared at Elizabeth and was obviously confused. “But you have the same last name as the other director. Is he your brother and not your spouse?”

  This was probably Elizabeth’s favorite part of every assignment that all three of them worked. There was something entertaining about getting to drop this little bomb. “Actually, no. Ethan is my husband, and Callen is my partner.”

  She stared, still confused.

  “We’re a threesome,” she offered, and added a little more. “Think of it as some big Native adelphogamistic love triangle.” God, she loved dropping that word. First, it caused confusion and would ensure that the chief would be Googling it once they were out the door, and it also gave a clue that she wasn’t some backwoods hick. The clothing and drawl could be deceiving.

  The woman actually stared with her mouth open. “You’re not kidding are you?”

  Callen leaned over and kissed Elizabeth the same way his brother just had to prove a point.

  “No, I’m in a relationship with both men, so, I’m sorry to say he’s not getting drinks with anyone but us.”

  Again, you could hear crickets. Finally she spoke. “Isn’t that illegal?”

  Elizabeth laughed that she went with the legality of their union. Usually, it was the morality that people went with first. “Are we talking about the drinks or the relationship with two men?”

  Gena felt like she was in some weird situation, and it had to be a prank. “I was referring to the men.”

  “It is only illegal if I try to marry both of them. Officially, I’m married to Ethan on paper and Callen is my chosen partner. There’s nothing wrong with having sex and relationships with multiple partners. I’m simply married to one of them on paper.”

  Callen ran his hand down her arm and rested his fingers on her wrist in support. In his heart, Elizabeth was definitely his wife.

  “Uh, okay.” What could she follow that up with? “If you say so.”

  “Now, I’ll head on over to the crime scene. Can you give me a location, and we’ll get our lab techs moving on this one?” Elizabeth was amused at the woman’s reaction. At the beginning of their threesome, it used to bother her when people gave them the questioning stare and wondered if they were insane. Now, she enjoyed it. There wouldn’t be a moment that she wasn’t proud of the men who she walked side by side with in life. They heard the same comments over and over, practically daily.

  How can you love two men at once?

  How do you have two true loves?

  Isn’t that immoral?

  It was simple. It is what it is. How was she supposed to tell her heart what it was feeling was wrong? Yeah, she met Ethan and fell for him. At the time, she believed that he was her one true love. Then entered Callen, and he proved her wrong. They were both the owners of her heart. In life, people who shunned love were crazy. If you found someone who made you complete, then you should run with it and not judge it. The men in her life made her whole, and she was sticking with it, despite what everyone thought.

  It took her a few seconds to regroup. “I can send an officer out with you to lead you to the scene.”

  Elizabeth was good with that. “Thank you, Chief. It would make it easier than having to locate it on the GPS.”

  Callen escorted Elizabeth to the door. “Have a good day, Chief Lowry,” he added, grinning. The look on her face was priceless.

  “Uh, yeah, thanks. I will.”

  Once in the stairwell, Elizabeth burst into laughter. “God, that never gets old.”

  Callen joined in the revelry. “You’re telling me. Is adelphogamistic really a word, or did you just make that one up on the fly?”

  She giggled. “Adelphogamy is when two brothers share a wife. I just conjugated it to fit the context. I may be the first person in the history of the world to use adelphogamistic in a sentence, so that part was all me.”

  “That was very sexy, Lyzee,” Callen stated as he wiggled his eyebrows. “Husband number two is very turned on right now.” He patted her on the ass as they descended the stairs. Whenever he was able to use the word husband, it heated his blood.

  She looked up into his eyes. “Cal, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  Somehow, he didn't think she was bluffing.

  ~ Chapter Three ~

  Elizabeth was actually glad that the chief of police had offered up the assistance of all of her resources. Since one of her cops was the first on the scene, she wanted to unofficially interview him. In law enforcement, once you found or identified a victim, you were bumped to the head of the suspect list until you could be cleared. If the man knew her, then they needed to figure out if it was just coincidence or more.

  Also, it helped to have the eyes and ears of people who were familiar with the area. They were going in blind. Ethan, Elizabeth and Callen would need to rely on the people who were sworn to protect the town to help them out. So yeah, she’d use their help willingly. In order to keep another woman alive, she would take whatever she could.

  Walking up to her agent’s vehicle, she waited for Thomas Rickard to roll down the window. She could already tell the woman beside him wasn’t having a good time at all. Cyra looked stressed to the max.

  “Hey, Thomas. I want you to ride up with the officer and keep him company. Listen to what he has to say and get anything out of him that yo
u can, okay?”

  He nodded. “Sure thing, Director. Is my probee coming with me?”

  Yeah, there was no way in hell that was happening. She could already see the expression on Cyra’s face, and the woman was wordlessly begging her with just a look. “No, Callen needs her assistance in running some files. We have mega research about ready to kick off here.”

  There was relief from the woman trapped in the Denali.

  “Cyra, grab your bags. Today, you’re running shotgun with Director Whitefox. You’re officially his paperwork monkey. You know how we like to haze the newbies.”

  She was out of the Denali so fast, that Elizabeth almost laughed. As they walked back to her vehicle, Cyra finally spoke.

  “I swear that I could kiss you.”

  Now, she did snicker. “I could tell by the look on your face. Was he being a jackwagon?”

  Hopping in the back of the Denali, she finally could let the tension go from her body. “It was the normal situation. I’m used to it, but being locked in a car with him makes me uncomfortable.”

  Callen would willingly handle it. “Want me to kick his ass?”

  “Cal!” Elizabeth objected as she began laughing. “You can’t beat down the agents. I’ll handle Thomas.”

  “I’m on vacation and technically, I can do just that if so inclined,” he retorted. “Besides, you gave me the present of a paperwork monkey. That’s the gift that keeps on giving, and I owe you one.”

  She laughed. “It’s good to see that you’re back to yourself and being funny.” Elizabeth was referring to the tension that he was feeling earlier about her taking this assignment.

  Callen looked back at Cyra, “I’m about to say something incredibly chauvinistic, ballsy and that may get me killed. If you don’t want to be an accessory to the oncoming murder, you may want to close your eyes and cover your ears.”

  Cyra snickered. “I work with Agent Rickard. Nothing you say is going to offend me.”

  He shifted focus back to Elizabeth. “Angel, I love you, but I have serious issues with my woman running around wearing a bull’s-eye. Call it what you want, but I’d feel a hell of a lot better if you were home, barefoot and having another baby.”

  Cyra closed her eyes quickly. “I changed my mind. You’re a dead man.”

  Elizabeth stared at him. Instead of getting mad, she laughed. “Well, that scenario wouldn’t bother me, if I wasn’t an FBI director. Because I love you, I won’t hurt you. I know this has you and Ethan rattled, so keep those man thoughts to yourself and locked up in your head. It’s okay to think them, but you’re damn lucky that I’m in a good mood and didn't just hand you that fine Native ass of yours.”

  He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “Maybe later.”

  Cyra laughed more. It was a cross between entertainment and nervous giggles.

  “Now, on to the work situation at hand,” Elizabeth stated as she followed the squad car carrying her agent and the officer.

  “No, we need to have one more discussion,” Callen stated. “I’m sorry, but Wyler had a dream.” He broke it all down for her. “Then you toss in the warning that Desdemona’s grandmother handed out, and Ethan and I are more than rattled. We’re frazzled and on the edge. We’re asking that if you go anywhere, it’s with one of us.”

  “Did he ask you to have this conversation? If so, I want you to know that he tricked you into getting the beat down instead of him.”

  Callen stood his ground. “Do it for us, Elizabeth. We’re asking that you be cognizant of our hearts and feelings and for once be careful. If anything happens to you, we’re both lost.”

  She softened at his words. “I will entertain your request on one condition.”

  He wasn’t enjoying that she felt the need to bargain with him on this. Callen really wished for once she would just say yes. “What?”

  “You make sure that you and Ethan stay focused too. I’ll be hyper aware of myself, but that means I can’t watch you both at the same time. I need to know you’re safe, because I’d be just as lost.”

  That was a deal that he could live with. “I’m in. I’ll talk to the big guy when we get to the scene.”

  Elizabeth was glad the drama had passed. “Cyra, you can open your eyes. We seldom go with bloodshed in our family.”

  Yeah, she’d seen her boss in action. Somehow, she seriously doubted that.

  * * *

  Ethan worked on the drive over to the morgue as Chris drove the van. There was so much paperwork to handle when a team was out in the field. Normally, it would fall on the head agent, but he wanted his wife focused and not worried about requisition forms and other bullshit that might cost Elizabeth her life. For now, he’d willingly be the one who took one for the team and handled all the red tape.

  “Hey, can I ask you something?” Chris finally asked. “You and I are more than co-workers, right?”

  Ethan glanced over. Christopher Leonard was a really close friend from Elizabeth’s early FBI days. At first it bothered him, but he’d learned to adjust to it and find his footing. As for the friendship part, Ethan was more aloof. He didn't bond with many of his employees. When he was an agent, he’d get a beer with them or laugh alongside them, but as director, he was their boss. That meant treading lightly to not cross a line.

  Okay, then there was the fact that he didn't make and keep friends well. Other than his brother, wife and father, he could count a few people on his hand that he trusted. The ones who were part of that group were mostly cops.

  “I’d like to think that we’re more than just co-workers. Elizabeth has a soft spot in her heart for you and trusts you explicitly. When she finds someone she trusts, then I go with her judgment.”

  “So we’re friends?”

  Ethan thought about it and decided to be more accessible to certain people. Besides, on the level and pay scale, Chris Leonard was their equal. “Yes, I’d like to think so.”

  “Can I ask something that’s none of my business?”

  Ethan hated talking about his relationship. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed. It just made him uncomfortable to give out too much information. Look at the situation that they were in right now. There was a nutbag after his wife.

  “I guess,” he replied, hopping out at the morgue and meeting his ME at the front of the vehicle.

  “Is Cyra involved in a relationship with her partner?” he inquired. Since seeing her again, he was trapped once again in the all-encompassing power that she seemed to have over him.

  To say that he was surprised would be an understatement. He didn't expect his agent to ask him a personal question related to another staff member. Ethan really believed the man was going to make a comment about his own relationship.

  Everyone always did.

  “I would say no. The reason that I’m going to go with that is he’s the senior agent in the group and she’s his probee. If they cross that line, I’d have to re-evaluate and separate them. I know that Thomas Rickard has been an agent long enough to know that.”

  “I see.”

  “Partners can’t be embroiled in a sexual relationship. It’s against fed rules. Now, if they are and it’s kept out of the workplace with no one seeing it, then I can’t say.”

  “Oh.” His hopes crashed.

  Ethan stopped walking. “Chris,” he got his attention. “I can say this. If they were, Lyzee would have noticed. She is really good with that kind of thing. Why don’t you ask her? I mean, bring it up off the record. From one friend to another, you know Elizabeth will tell you and help you out.”

  “I think I may,” he answered. Chris knew that if he went to Elizabeth, she would keep it quiet. If anything, the woman was a loyal, good friend.

  “Want my opinion?”

  He would take any man advice that he could get. “Yeah, because I suck at this woman thing and am probably going to screw it up again.”

  “Go for it. I’ve watched her stare at you. It looks like she’s just waiting for you to make a move. I think that i
f you take the risk, you’ll get the reward.”

  Chris opened the door to the morgue. “Thank you, Director.”

  He nodded. “You can come to me anytime. I don’t mind letting you lean on me.”

  This was a new side of his boss. It wasn’t like he wasn’t approachable before, but between the three of them, he was more reserved. “I will and thank you.”

  “Can I help you?” came a voice, drawing their attention.

  Across the room stood a man in his thirties, and he appeared to be the medical examiner. He was suited up and had the protective shield around his neck.

  Ethan took over. “Hello. I’m Director Blackhawk, and I’m with the FBI. This is Doctor Christopher Leonard, and we’re here working on the assignment related to your victim, Scarlet Red.”

  “I’m the medical examiner in Circle Rock. My name is Doctor Patrick Parrish, and I was just filling out her release paperwork. Her friends want to claim her body for burial.”

  Chris interjected. “I’m sorry, but you can’t do that. I have to check the body and make sure the FBI has gotten everything off it that we need to run this investigation.”

  He interjected, “I’m sorry, but you don’t have jurisdiction.”

  Blackhawk loved when people said that to him. “I need to inform you of the contrary, Doctor Parrish. As of this minute, we’re taking over. The first step is that our ME is going to reexamine the victim. Next, we’re going to be working out of this facility.”

  “But…”

  “Sorry, but the minute your chief of police called in the FBI, we were handed the authority to run this show. It’s not that we don’t trust your ability or that of your staff, but we have protocols and our people know them inside and out.”

  “Can I at least help out, or are you kicking me out of my own morgue until you are finished with it?”

  The anger in his voice was palpable.

  “I’m okay with him staying,” offered Chris. “I don’t mind the professional advice of another medical examiner.”

  Ethan patted him on the back. “Then there’s your answer, Doctor Parrish. I promise that we’ll try not to wreck the place and be respectful of your staff. In fact, if you have a space that no one is using, we’ll move our gear there and leave you alone as much as possible.”