At some point, he must have gone to sleep, his body exhausted from the night before and the stress.
Lifting his arm, he could see his watch in the moonlight, and his internal clock was right.
It was after one.
He’d been out for hours—seven of them—and he’d never slept better in his life. It was funny how this pile of bodies, that tangle of limbs, and that comfort had offered him so much calming when he felt so alone.
It had been exactly what the doctor had ordered.
The last thing he remembered was hurting, and Callen comforting him.
He’d been in his arms and mourning.
He shouldn’t feel so content, but here, beside them, he felt safe. It was as if nothing could hurt him, and that was alluring. Chris didn’t want to hurt anymore, and here, with them, he didn’t.
Oddly, he wasn’t even upset.
When he moved, Callen reached down and pulled an apple from somewhere beside him. He handed it to Chris without opening his eyes.
“You missed dinner,” he muttered, still half asleep.
Chris was aware, and he was starving. While he wasn’t a big proponent of eating in bed, he’d make an exception.
So, he began eating the apple as quietly as he could, and it was no easy task.
Callen gave him some space to eat the piece of fruit. When he was done, Callen, immediately, held out his hand.
Well, this was handy.
Somehow, Chris assumed this had been their routine when Elizabeth had been pregnant. He’d seen them following her around and feeding her to give comfort and calmness.
It had been beautiful then, and it was amazing now.
“Give me it,” Callen muttered.
Chris had no freaking clue how he knew since his eyes never opened, but he handed him the core. Callen dropped it into the waste paper can beside the bed with a thud.
“Rest,” Callen whispered, moving back against Chris.
He didn’t fight it, and instead, he cuddled back against him in the cocoon of arms and legs.
Callen’s hair was under his face, and it smelled like Elizabeth and Ethan.
As he relaxed, her hand moved up and down his side, reminding him that she was there, and she left a soft kiss on his neck below his ear.
Chris was protected in a Blackhawk cocoon.
While the battle his body raged would weaken him, the three bodies around him would strengthen him. He moved into Callen’s torso and got comfortable, forgetting that they were both men, and instead, seeing it for what it was.
Family.
It didn’t take long before he fell asleep, and they all snoozed.
When all of their phones went off an hour later, there was that telltale collective moan.
They knew why.
Someone had died.
“We have a body,” she said, sitting up. “Blackhawk,” she muttered, as she answered it. “Where?”
She memorized the address.
“We’ll be there in thirty, Kane. Thanks for the heads-up. We’ll play dumb,” she stated.
Elizabeth hung up.
“Another?” Chris asked, as he, too, sat up. “Will I be getting my hands on this one?”
Oh, hell, yes, he would be.
“Ethan, you need to get us that body. I don’t care if you have to sell Callen to the highest bidder.”
“Well, he is really comfortable to rest against,” Chris teased. “Like a big, Native pillow. I might be willing to pay good money for that.”
Callen laughed good-naturedly. It appeared they were all back on good ground.
“Well, don’t I feel cheap?” he teased.
Elizabeth wiggled her eyebrows.
“How’s your head?” Callen asked as they all got dressed. “Do you have a concussion?” he asked.
Immediately, Chris headed her way and forced her to stop moving so he could look in her eyes. The cut was minor. It was the bump he was worried about.
She humored him.
“How many of me do you see?”
“One, but I’m about to kick his ass if he doesn’t let me get dressed and to this crime scene,” she said, giving him all the time she was going to regarding the lump on her noggin.
“Well, she’s surly like normal.”
Callen headed her way. He pulled her against him and gave her a kiss. She didn’t fight him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I distracted you. I get it now. You will never stop loving me.”
That calmed her down.
“Never, Callen James. You’re so important to me. I can love more than one person, more than two. In fact, I love a whole lot of people.”
“Said, Miss Kitty, every night,” Ethan teased.
Elizabeth punched him.
“Shit! She’s fine,” Ethan offered.
“Can we get ready to go?” she asked, grabbing her boots from the corner of the room where she’d dropped them.
“Yeah, let’s do it,” Callen stated, feeling a million times better.
When Chris was done, Ethan pointed at the mug of liquid Wyler had brewed up.
Callen grinned.
‘Hazing?’ he mouthed.
Ethan nodded.
It was time.
“Uh, Chris, this is some herbal tonic Wyler brewed up for you. They didn’t wake you when they brought it up. Timothy made it for us as kids. If you don’t drink it, Wyler will be upset,” Callen said, picking it up.
Elizabeth went to warn him, but Ethan grabbed her and distracted her with a kiss.
“Oh, okay,” he said.
“Drink it fast.”
He tossed it back.
Then he realized how horrible it tasted about halfway through it.
“Jesus! Why does that taste like old socks and a dead raccoon that was scraped off the side of the road?” he asked, right before he rushed into the bathroom to rinse out his mouth.
Elizabeth pushed Ethan off of her.
“Oh, you guys are going to play it that way, huh?” she asked.
Callen grinned.
“Brothers will be brothers.”
Chris heard him and came to the door. There were tears in his eyes. He headed toward Callen and hugged him.
“Thank you for that. That means so much to me. I can’t even tell you how it makes me feel.”
Elizabeth wiped her eyes.
If they didn’t get moving, she was going to cry.
“Come on, ladies,” she said, as she tossed Chris a can of nuts.
“Uh…more nuts?” he teased.
“Protein. Get it out of the gutter. I make the testicle jokes in this family. It’s weird when you three do it.”
He couldn’t help himself.
He found that amusing.
As they headed down the hall and to the main staircase, Chris tucked the can of nuts away and had to know.
“Why did you all sleep in here?” he asked.
“You needed us,” Callen stated. “So we came to you. When one of us hurts, we heal. That’s what brothers do, and that’s what a couple does.”
Yeah, he could see that.
“We have you,” he said.
Elizabeth slapped Callen on the ass, trying to get them to hustle up. Downstairs, she pointed at two of the security guys. One was new, and the other was on the night shift.
“We have a body. Let’s roll.”
They hustled out of the house, knowing that she wasn’t joking around. Ethan was handing out sidearms from the safe in their pantry. It was where they locked up their guns at night to make sure the kids were safe.
She looked a little too happy.
“When you smile like that before we get to a crime scene, it freaks the security guys out. They call you ‘The Glum Reaper’,” Ethan warned.
She snorted.
“Do they really? Who came up with that little gem?”
He shook his head.
That was okay. She didn’t need to know who was the mastermind behind that. It had one pe
rson’s fingerprints all over it.
Heath liked her too much.
Rory was gone.
That only left one of the Stooges left.
“Ivan.”
Ethan whistled, refusing to confirm that one way or another.
“Well, that’s okay. I’m happy. I have a body to commandeer, Callen has a scene to check out, and Chris has a corpse to cut into. You, Ethan…”
He lifted a brow.
“Yes?”
“You have a police commissioner to woo. Make it good. Lyzee wants a body, and what Lyzee wants, Lyzee gets. If ‘The Glum Reaper’ doesn’t get it…”
Oh, they knew.
Still, his wife was something.
They headed out.
“Oh, and know what else I want?” she asked, licking her lips. At that one motion, she had Ethan’s full attention.
“What?” he asked, trying not to think about all things related to sex. His mind was heading there, along with his lower anatomy.
“I don’t want to have all the fun. I want Ivan on duty. Call Mr. Funny Pants up, and have him on the scene. You know, since I’m in danger,” she said, touching her head.
He laughed.
“Sadistic.”
“Well, you know me. While I’m having all the fun, I like to spread it around.”
He could do that.
“Anything else? I know the levels of your sadism, and surely, you’re not finished,” he stated.
“Oh, I’m not. Landon Turner, the man who tried to clean my clock, should be sobered up by now. Call Alex. I want him to head to the police station and find out where the man was at the time his ex-girlfriend was dying.”
He sent out the text.
“Anything else, baby?”
She grinned as she hopped into their ride with security behind them.
“One never knows,” she said.
Well, there were no truer words spoken. Ethan would stay on his toes.
Just in case.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Ivan’s Home
One Thirty A.M.
Ivan got the call and his immediate response was to toss his phone at the wall. He was tired, and the last thing he wanted to do was go out in the middle of the night on almost no sleep.
Unfortunately, this was part of his world.
After the incident with Landon Turner earlier, he knew why he was being called out. Ethan must have wanted him on the scene. There was no way he’d say no.
He’d dropped the ball being all wrapped up in his own issues, so he’d suck it up.
This was his cross to bear.
Besides, when the Blackhawks were on the move, he needed to follow. It was the middle of the night, and Elizabeth was a menace twenty-four-seven.
“Bluebell,” he said, nudging his fiancée to wake her up. “I have to head in. You’re off until morning, but I didn’t want you to wake up alone and wonder if I’d been abducted.”
“Elizabeth?” she asked.
“Yeah, she must have a body. I only get called out if there’s one, and if we’re down a man. Rory quit.”
She rolled over and opened her eyes.
“Okay, Ivan,” she said, stretching.
He’d never seen a lovelier woman in all of his life. Her hair was all mussed up, and he wished he could really get her messy.
Duty called.
“There’s a key for the front door on the top of the refrigerator—add it to your key ring, and I’ll leave you the keys to my truck. I’ll take my motorcycle.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to give him a kiss.
It was damn distracting.
Ivan took that minute to just enjoy the woman in his bed. One day, she’d be his wife.
Hopefully, that day wouldn’t be too far off into the future. He wanted to make her his, and only his.
“Want me to set the alarm?” he asked, finally extricating himself from bare legs and one hell of a lip lock.
God!
This was hard to leave. Right about now would be nice to win the lottery so they could stay in bed and make lots of babies.
Blue stared up at him.
“Yes, please, babe, please set it for around six. I’m going to miss you,” she offered.
Oh, he was going to miss her too.
It was hard to believe that he’d gotten this lucky. So, this was what it was supposed to be like when you were happy, in love, and at peace.
He loved it.
Ivan got dressed, and the entire time, she was watching him.
It heated his blood.
What wouldn’t he give for fifteen more minutes? He could take his girl and still get out the door.
Then he thought about how he’d dropped the ball earlier with Elizabeth, and skipping sex would be his penance.
Well, hell!
“Need help?” she asked, breaking his concentration. “I don’t mind offering up my services,” Blue stated.
Oh, he’d love her help, but that would mean being late. He had a better idea.
“You can get me undressed later. I might even let you rip some things off me…”
She was officially wide awake at that little tease. She’d love to rough her Marine up. Only, now her heart was thumping, and she was ready to start her day by his side.
She got out of bed.
“Uh, where are you going?” he asked, as he Velcro-ed into his Kevlar.
She had no choice.
“I’m going with you. I’ll go to the scene with you. The boss might need help.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, not minding the whole ‘going to work together’ thing. It was something he hadn’t expected, and he was down with it.
“Uh, am I sure? Are you kidding? You on a motorcycle? I’m definitely sure.”
He shrugged.
Maybe she had a thing with motorcycles. After all, she’d worked in an ER during her rotation. Ivan was pretty sure she’d seen some horrific things—like motorcycle accidents.
He wanted her to be safe.
“We can take the truck.”
She looked over as she pulled on her jeans. The look on her face was of pure disappointment.
“Are you kidding me? I’ve never been on a motorcycle before. I want a ride.”
He grinned.
Yeah, this was the woman for him.
“Boots and long sleeves.”
“So, I can’t wear flip-flops?” she teased.
“You’re hanging out with Elizabeth too much. She’s full of sass too.”
Blue grinned.
That…
That was a compliment.
“Give me two minutes. I’ll be ready,” she offered.
He couldn’t wait.
Yeah, this ‘having a babe thing’ was pretty damn awesome.
Ivan’s life had just gotten a hell of a lot better.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Crime Scene
Almost Two A.M.
When they arrived at the tape line, the police, who were maintaining it, were NOT happy—or that was the act that the two detectives had to play in order for the other cops to think they were all disappointed with the FBI being there.
To the media, and the uniformed officers, who didn’t know that both men had spouses in the FBI, it appeared they were three days passed pissed.
That would work to everyone’s advantage.
The Feds got the case.
The local law could pass off a tough case to the pros.
Kane and Quinn played along, and the rest of the cops were none the wiser that they were helping the FBI.
That was the one thing that they couldn’t let that happen.
“What do you mean you’re taking the scene?” Quinn asked, playing outraged.
Ethan nearly laughed.
Maybe it was the southern tinged voice and the humor in it, or the fact that the man sounded like he was reading a script. Quinton Gaines was a shitty liar.
“We’re taking this as a serial killing since the pattern is consistent.”
“Who said?” Kane asked, getting in on the action with his partner.
“Is she carved up?” Ethan inquired, already having the answer to that question. He’d gotten the text from Quinn, who routed it through his wife.
You know…so it looked official.
“Well?” Ethan asked.
The two men looked at each other. What could they say to that, but grin like idiots and tag in the Feds into this clusterfuck?
“She’s all yours.”
“No hard feelings,” Ethan said, as a cop walked past them. “We’ll do it justice.”
Honestly, neither Quinn nor Kane was worried. On their collective desks, they had six murder cases waiting for their attention. DC was a hot mess.
“None was taken,” Quinn said, shaking the man’s hand. If he was lucky, he could make it home by three, catch four hours of sleep, and then head back into work.
“Call us if you need us,” Kane stated, scoping out the pack of techs to find his wobbly wife. He couldn’t help himself. He wanted to make sure she was safe, and now, he was going to head back home.
Ethan was glad his part of the job was done and likely the easiest. He didn’t have to do much to wrangle this body away.
His wife got herself the victim she wanted, and Chris was going to be doing the autopsy.
At the FBI.
“See you later, alligator,” Quinn said, as the two men escaped. He knew the woman would be in good hands.
As the techs hustled around, putting up barriers and protective screens to block the scene, a pregnant Christina headed their way.
“Murder in the middle of the night is a bitch,” she stated. “Sorry, I’m late. I had to call the nanny to get to the house since Kane was the first one to leave.”
Elizabeth totally got that.
“I’m getting too damn old to be pregnant and wandering the streets at two in the morning.”
Elizabeth laughed. It drew up pictures in her head, but she understood what Christina was feeling. She’d done it five times. It never got easier.
Dead are Forgotten Page 33
