On his desk were the morning papers, haphazardly scattered. Slowly, he began sorting through the mess, just trying to keep his hands and mind busy.
When he moved the expense report he saw the pale yellow envelope, and it was completely out of place. It was addressed to him, and it was his wife’s handwriting. There was no doubt that she had somehow slipped it into the papers that morning. His heart clenched, and he felt like someone was sitting on his chest. Gently, he ran his finger over the name on the front. Tears threatened as he traced the letters lovingly. What he’d give to hear her call him Cowboy again.
Opening the envelope, he saw the bunch of sunny daisies on the front, and immediately he was taken back to the second day he’d known her. He picked her a single daisy, and she lovingly placed it in her hair. That moment he fell in love with her. Blackhawk took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to prepare for what was inside. As he opened it, he read the words.
Happy Anniversary
Confused, he looked down at his watch to find the date. It was five months to the day, and his wife had remembered. It touched him and hurt him at the same time. Somehow he lost track of what mattered, and she didn’t. Today might be their anniversary, but it might also be the day that he’d be forced to commemorate as the day she was taken from his life. He swore he’d celebrate every month together if he could have her back. All he wanted was one more chance with her. How many times had he said that in five months?
Too many.
Blackhawk kept reading, even though he didn’t think his heart could handle knowing her last words to him.
~ My sexy Cowboy,
I’m the luckiest girl alive. Not only did I marry my true love, but my best friend. You’re everything to me, and the last five months have been an adventure that I will never forget. I can’t believe that I get to spend the rest of my life married to the man of my dreams. Before you I didn’t know what love was, and now with you it keeps me going daily. No matter how far apart we are, I still can feel you in my heart. Happy Anniversary.
I love you and can’t wait to celebrate tonight.
Thank you for giving me an awesome family that I love.
~always,
Lyzee.
Ethan Blackhawk’s eyes filled with tears as he held her card to his chest. Behind the closed office door, he let himself breakdown. He needed to get the weight of it off his shoulders for the moment. Once the dam broke, all the emotion poured from him. Losing her just wasn’t an option to him. No matter what he had to do, he had to find her and bring her home. There would be no Ethan without his Elizabeth. Blackhawk made a promise that if she came back to him, he’d keep her safe and cherish every day he had with her from here on out. He’d do anything to have his family whole and together once more. The tears fell as he lowered his head to his desk. His heart was completely empty and alone.
When he heard the movement, he looked up to see his brother in his doorway. He watched him lock the door and cross the room to him. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one hurting, because his brother’s face mirrored his pain.
Callen had never seen his brother cry. Out of the two of them, he was always the tougher, older brother that was stronger than anything. As he watched him break apart, he felt his own eyes filling. In the short time he had known Elizabeth, he’d fallen in love with her too.
“We’ll find her, Ethan,” he said simply, as he crossed the room to his brother, trying to find a way to offer him comfort. When his brother stood, he knew he just needed to let him hurt and get it out.
Whitefox hugged the man in front of him, as he wept for his wife. He didn’t understand the love a husband felt, but he understood the loss of love. If anything, they both understood what it felt like to be alone. Whitefox let his brother fall apart, and he just stood there letting him lean on him, and for once he was able to be the stronger brother.
“I have to find her, Callen. I have to find my wife,” he whispered. “I can’t do this without Elizabeth. I don’t know how to even begin to do this without her. She’s everything.”
He nodded and spoke, “Then let’s go find her, Ethan. Don’t give up on her!” Whitefox looked his brother in the eyes. “Right now she’s going to be out there fighting hard to get back to you. Don’t you give up on her! If it were switched, she’d be kicking in every door in this town searching for you. There’s no doubt she’d have cried, picked herself up, and gone out there to find you.”
Blackhawk wiped his eyes and then stepped back. The pain was still there, but the resolve to not sit there crying kicked in at his brother’s words. Unless he found her, she was going to die, and his brother was right. Elizabeth wouldn’t quit. Right now, she was probably fighting hard for her life, and he had to give her every chance she deserved.
“I need to get to dad’s house. We need to search it, and see if we can find anything that tells us who the woman was that he was sleeping with besides our mothers.”
“Okay, I’ll drive.”
Blackhawk grabbed his gun and badge. Mourning time was over. Now began the new assignment of finding his wife and bringing her home alive. The killer may have her now, but he was taking back his wife and life. Leaving his office, he walked into Christina in the lobby.
New determination filled him, and he believed in the team that they had put together. “Is there anything on that card that’s going to tell me where to find my wife?”
“We have a trace of sap on the paper. The killer must have been in the woods at some point between the last victim and leaving it for you.”
“What kind of tree are we talking about?”
“The sap is from the rosewood bush. That bush needs high moisture levels to survive. The victim we found with debris in her hair, she also had the same leaves. We identified them.”
Blackhawk thought about that. “Can you get me a list of the areas around here where it’s most likely to grow?”
“It’s running right now, but I can tell you right now it’s going to be in the thickest, densest parts of a forest.”
“Christina, I want the location of where we can find it in this area. I don’t care what you have to do, but I need it. It might lead us to where Elizabeth is.” He looked at his watch. “Elizabeth has less than eight hours left, and I need it within the hour.”
“I’ll have it to you,” she said, running off.
Blackhawk started to the elevator, stopping only briefly at Ginny’s desk. “When Gabe gets here, tell him I’m in the field looking for my wife. Set him up in my office. I’m moving into Elizabeth’s office until she is back. If there’s any calls that I need to take then patch them through, but if it’s non-essential please take a message. I can’t be bothered right now.”
“Yes boss,” she nodded, and watched the man leave, hoping he found her alive.
Elizabeth felt the fog lifting, and she was clueless as to where she was or what was going on around her. Discomfort filled her, as she slowly became aware of her body lying on something hard. There was scratchy material over her face, and something around her throat. She moved her hand to her neck and tentatively touched the bindings. Once she had feeling back in her appendages the offending material was yanked from her head. When she tried to stand her legs were uncooperative, and when she stared down her body she discovered why. Her ankles were also bound, and as she struggled to get her fingers to work, she felt sick to her stomach.
The pounding in her head almost made her believe someone was banging on a drum nearby. Scanning her settings, she noticed the surroundings were very foreign to her. The only thing obvious to her was that she was somewhere in the forest. A slight chill made her shake, as she noticed the killer had taken her warmer clothes, and dressed her like the woman she found in her brother-in-law’s living room. The goose bumps covered her body, and Elizabeth didn’t think it was only from the cooler air and less protective clothing. There were eyes watching her, she could feel them.
Now it was all coming back to her as the fog lifted. As she
was leaving her house, she remembered the prick in her neck. The killer had a brass set to take her out in her own front yard. Immediately, her next thought wasn’t for herself, but for her husband. He had to be frantic by now. Everything in her wanted to run, her hand over the baby hiding protectively still in her body, but she didn’t want to give the killer any clue that she too was pregnant.
“I can feel you staring at me. Why don’t you come out and be a man,” she shouted. Well at least he did what she asked. There stood the killer, standing in the shadows of the trees. He was dressed like an Indian warrior and had it not been completely comical, it would have scared the shit out of her. The man was totally unhinged and now all his focus was directed at her. Elizabeth knew that would be her advantage. While he was focused on her, her husband would be safe. Now she could buy him time to figure out his identity.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her eyes never leaving his face, as she hoped to get him to divulge any information she could use when she returned to her husband. There was no way she was dying by his hand and ending up in that pit. He wouldn’t be taking her life today or any day. It wasn’t a viable option to her. If she was going to die, it was going to be by sex in bed with her husband and not this.
That’s how she always pictured it anyway.
There was no response.
All she could see were the feathers and paint slashes across his body to mimic tribal art, and she immediately thought about her husband. Ethan Blackhawk’s were real, and this man was nothing more than a faulty copy. That’s why the secrecy. This man wanted to be Native in the worst way and never had anyone to teach him. Apparently, he’d done his research on her husband. The tattoos were very similar just minus the raven.
“Why do you want to be a Blackhawk?” she said stepping back into the role of agent. Her life was going to depend on it.
Her survival was the first priority.
“I am a Blackhawk.”
“As am I, so why this game?” she asked, afraid to move. “Why do you hate my husband this much?”
“He isn’t worthy the name and neither are you. You haven’t a drop of Indian blood in your body.”
“And you do?” Elizabeth hoped her voice stayed neutral, as she asked the questions trying to get as much information as possible.
“I’m half Native like your husband. I’ll be the one that will replace the raven and fox.”
Elizabeth had to think fast and keep the killer off guard. “Congratulations on being Wyler’s third son.”
It surprised and startled him.
“So, welcome to the club. Wyler fathered you and then left your mother too, huh?”
Bingo!
Elizabeth found the target and got the answer. All the information was coming back to her, and she had found the connection. Before her stood a Blackhawk wannabe, sired from a man that didn’t care he existed. That’s where all the killing rage had come from.
“Yes, and I’ll get back into the family I deserve.” He was shocked she knew the answer. How could that be possible? The clues were miniscule and didn’t really point to anything they could decipher.
“You want to be the next shaman on the reservation?”
More surprise. “I will be, and I’ll be powerful.”
Elizabeth knew he was completely unbalanced. “You realize that had you just come forward, Timothy would have welcomed you. There was no reason for this eight year game of killing your children.” Again there was more recognition that they were right about the time he had dedicated to killing all the women.
Obviously he had overlooked this woman’s abilities. Pity she was going to die anyway. “I’m making offerings to the spirit world. It’ll gain their favor, and I’ll be part of my heritage.”
Elizabeth noticed he took a step closer. She had no idea who he was, but she had to keep him busy. Fight or flight was kicking in, and she just needed a few more minutes to get her bearings and analyze the man she may be fighting. “So what makes a man kill all his girlfriends while they’re carrying his children? It seems silly to impregnate them to kill them.”
“I’m going to have the first Blackhawk heir, and I’m selective- nothing more, Elizabeth.” Again, surprise that she linked the fetuses to him. “You know too much, Elizabeth Blackhawk. Tell me, do my brothers know this too?”
Elizabeth ignored the question. Let the bastard start to look over his shoulder and wonder if the men were coming for him. Now it was evident she needed to not let him find out she was pregnant. Right at that moment she was carrying the only growing heir. If he found that out, he’d certainly want to kill her and Ethan Blackhawk’s child.
“Why are you keeping the skulls?” she asked, redirecting.
“I use them in my medicine wheels. They’re offerings to the spirits.”
“Now that makes you a liar. I bet you have them put away in a display, numbered to remember,” she said, tossing it out there, and hoping she was right. She wasn’t the profiler, but she could set a baseline. The man was nuts, and she went for broke.
“You’re too smart for your own good, Elizabeth. Now I see why my brother sleeps with you. Right now he’s lost and confused, as I’ve taken the brain behind the team.”
“Don’t sell him short. Your brother is a profiling genius. Right now he’s figuring out who you are.” Elizabeth didn’t move, she watched his face completely to gauge his next move. Always keep your eye on the target or you’d die. If he came at her, she needed to be ready to defend herself. Everything in her wanted to tell him how sick he was, but she wanted to get away from him more. “You killed non-Natives too, why?”
“At first they claimed to be Native, Elizabeth, but then they scoffed at me when I told them my lineage. Are you of Native blood?”
“No, I’m an outsider one hundred percent.”
“That’s too bad. I would have liked to keep you as my own. My dear brother is a lucky man.” He let it hang in the air. “I’m not usually attracted to women with pale flesh, but you I wouldn’t mind possessing.”
Elizabeth hoped for his sake he didn’t rape her, Ethan would be unstoppable. “The last girl wasn’t pregnant.”
“I tried, but she just couldn’t get pregnant. I fear she was faulty and of no use to me anymore.”
That explained it. He wasn’t aware she had an IUD to keep her from becoming one of his baby makers. “So you threw her away?”
“Yes. You should have seen the look on my brother’s face when he found her in his chair. It was worth the kill and risk that you could trace her back to me.”
“Caiti Hudson probably wouldn’t have found it as entertaining,” she answered. Just the idea this nutjob was psychologically playing with her family pissed her off.
“So you figured out that too.”
“I know a great deal about you and your game.” Elizabeth took a step back as he took one forward. It was all over his face, and it was about to begin. Elizabeth knew she was dangerous because of knowing too much. The killer had underestimated them, and she liked that. Now the game was in her hands. Elizabeth watched him pull an arrow from the quiver off his back. She made a mental check of her body and prepared. It was going to be now or never. Flight was going to be the choice.
Elizabeth knew too much, and she needed to be eradicated. It was a good thing he was excellent on the hunt. Everything she knew about him would die today. He took aim with his eyes never leaving hers. His cold, dead blue ones meeting her icy blue, as a battle was thrown down between killer and Fed.
“You have a long run back to the main road, Elizabeth. You better hope that your skills are better than mine. Knowledge of the woods is all that will save you out here. You’re now my prey, and I’ll catch and kill you,” he said, releasing the arrow.
When the arrow ripped past her arm, cutting it, she was off and into the woods. Mentally she prepared herself for the worst case scenario. He said it was a long way to the main road, so she would have to make the trek smartly.
Into t
he brush she rushed and then carefully began moving. Now she needed to leave no trail in the undergrowth. Survival meant essentially disappearing. She may not be Indian, and she may not be able to be invisible, but she knew how to survive and that was going to be the key.
Elizabeth may be the prey, but he underestimated her.
She didn’t want to die, Since she was pregnant, it was her mission to assure that the next Blackhawk was born, and she was getting home to her husband no matter what.
The killer prepared to follow, but he liked to give them a little head start. It made it more like the hunt. There was no reason to be worried, because none of the women had ever been able to elude him. They crashed around in the trees, screaming for help, and begging. They all gave themselves away at some point. He knew all he had to do was follow the main trail. Every other woman started on it and stayed on it religiously.
They were all so predictable and hopeless.
There was no doubt a scared Elizabeth Blackhawk would be the same way. Her biggest mistake would be trying to outrun him. There was no point worrying, she would be easy. Brains were one thing, but endurance on a big hike out of the woods, with no food or water was entirely different.
The next part of his plan needed to be set in motion. Evilly, he laughed as he pulled out her phone and searched for Ethan Blackhawk’s name. Grinning wickedly, he sent the pictures, hoping the man enjoyed them as much as he loved taking them.
Blackhawk stood in his father’s living room, and he didn’t know where to begin. There were bookshelves with pictures and trinket boxes with lots of little mementos from his past.
Sacred Burial Grounds (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 2)) Page 46
