Okay, that he hadn’t expected.
“What?”
“Ethan and Gabe told me to work on building our unit, and I think he’d do well working for us. He’s got the drive, and he’s smart. He became a detective in a fourth of the time it normally takes, and I trust him.”
“He’s green.”
“Yeah, Johanna had to teach him how to investigate on the last case, but he is hell on research, and let’s face it. I don’t have the time to sit on my ass and dig into the internet. I’m only as good as my team—and I repay my debts.”
“That’s why you have him at our place, isn’t it?”
“Well, that and to terrorize him. I paid the boys big money to sneak around and jump out at him.”
He laughed.
“You are so sadistic.”
“Yeah, I know, but I have to see how he reacts. He’ll get the psych evaluations, but I want my own kind of testing. He’s been on top of everything.”
“I’m in love with an evil genius. That’s so hot.”
She wiggled her eyebrows.
“Maybe you can show me how hot when we head back to Ethan.”
Oh, he could do that.
And they would.
Callen wanted some couple lovin’ in the big man’s office. There wasn’t a couch in there for a nap—or that’s what he thought.
Okay, it was for people to sit on, but he was riled up now.
“Let’s get this done. I want to see you naked.”
Ivan started gagging in the vehicle.
“Shut it, toadstool, or I’ll have Heath kick your ass,” she stated, hopping into the ride.
“He wouldn’t dare,” Ivan said.
“Heath?” she asked.
“They are really good brownies,” he said, “and she makes them with love. It wouldn’t be personal.”
Ivan shook his head.
“There is no loyalty once a woman comes into the picture,” he stated.
“My girl dumped me. I need to fill that hole,” he said, pouting.
Elizabeth only stuck out her tongue at Ivan in the mirror, and he laughed.
“Next stop, wicked queen?” he asked.
“Across the street to the liquor store,” she stated.
“Are you going to buy your employees booze to get over having to work with you?” he asked, pulling into traffic.
“Nah, I’m buying it for Blue so she can numb the pain of having sex with a toad.”
He laughed.
Ivan set her up for that one without even realizing it.
“When will you learn?” Callen stated.
Yeah, never.
He had too much fun with Elizabeth. She was like that bratty sister you could rag on, but you’d still keep safe or dad would kick your ass.
At the store, he let them out.
Immediately, they headed into the liquor store, and there was an older man behind the counter. He had to be in his late fifties.
“Can I help you?” he asked, his eyes showing a flicker of concern.
They could tell he recognized them.
Who didn’t?
“Are you Marc Blanchard?” she asked, seeing the name tag said ‘Marc’.
“Yes, and you are?”
“He’s Santa, and I’m his freaking merry elf. We thought we’d stock up on booze for the North Pole. You know damn well who I am.”
He swallowed.
Yeah, he did.
“Who’s dead?”
That was better.
“Mary Waver was attacked and murdered last night, and we need to know more about the woman.”
He looked surprised.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Marc, I don’t have enough time in my day to see my kids, search for killers, and joke around. The first two are my priorities, the latter is a luxury. I’m not yanking anyone’s chain. Tell me why someone would want to hurt Mary.”
Yeah, she’d start there.
Although she knew why, and it was to scare the shit out of O’Banion, she wanted to see what this man thought.
You never knew when a lead would give you something more to work with.
“I have no idea. We went on a couple dates, but she had other plans for the budding relationship.”
The man didn’t sound happy.
“You mean Howard Flint?” she asked, using O’Banion’s other identity.
“Yeah, he’s trouble. That man is an asshole to the core. You can tell by just being near him.”
That piqued her interest.
“Why?”
“He’s always flirting with the ladies, making overt comments, and lecherous. I told Mary he was trouble, but she said he was harmless.”
Well, this was all shit she knew. Michael O’Banion was an asshole who treated women like possessions, but he was the target.
“Was he now?” she asked.
“I told her he was dangerous.”
“He looks pretty tame to me,” she stated, pretending he was just another person to see what fell out of this questioning tree.
“I don’t trust him. If she was killed, you should talk to him. He’s a sneaky bastard. I wouldn’t let him babysit a cardboard box, let alone allow him near a woman.”
It was funny.
The man had good instincts.
She wouldn’t let him watch her ride let alone a human being.
“Was anyone other than him bothering Mary?”
“No. She was a sweet lady. I liked her a lot. I’m going to miss her,” he said.
Yeah, she could see that.
“Where were you last night?” she asked, making sure to cover every base.
“We had inventory here. I didn’t even close the store until almost one in the morning. You can ask my associate over there,” he offered.
Callen caught her signal.
He headed off to do just that.
“Is what they say about you true?” he asked, as they waited for his alibi to be corroborated.
“Which part?”
“The good at your job part.”
“Yes.”
“Then get her justice. We may have just been acquaintances, but she mattered to me. She mattered to a lot of people, and she will be missed.”
Elizabeth caught the signal back from Callen. Marc hadn’t lied.
“Well, we’re sorry for your loss.”
They headed out.
On the sidewalk, they put on their sunglasses and prepared themselves for what was next.
“Well?” she asked.
“He was there until he said so, so when we found Mary, Chris mentioned she was already starting to rigor. That’s at least six hours. We were on the scene by two in the morning.”
Yeah, she was aware.
“Well, Marc Blanchard has really good people instincts because he nailed that one on the head or he knows who ‘Howard’ is.”
Callen agreed.
“You’re betting on the former, aren’t you?” Callen asked.
“Well, let’s hope that our team can find something. I have a feeling that this case is going to be made in the details. The devil, as we know, is in them.”
Yeah, that was the truth.
“Where to next?”
“I want to pick up something for Chris since he needs to eat,” she said. “We’ll get an update, and then we’ll stop in and see our husband.”
Callen was good with that.
“After that, let’s visit Gabe. I need to know how this got out. If we have a leak, we have to plug it.”
Yeah, she had a point.
Besides, he wanted to get Elizabeth off the street.
And fast.
Callen wasn’t feeling this.
At all.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
He watched her interview the man in the liquor store, and he couldn’t help but be pleased. When his apprentice suggested he follow her, he wasn’t sure that was a good idea.
Now he was sure.
This was fun.
She didn’t even see him.
On top of that, this was all going down exactly how he planned it.
This was all going to end on his terms and boy, were they going to be surprised.
They counted him out, and they thought he was useless because he’d been trapped and in a cage.
Well, he had a surprise for them.
He was back.
And they were all going to pay.
In the end.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Morgue
Mid-Morning
When she arrived, Chris was finishing up the autopsy, and they were ready to give her a heads-up. But first, she wanted to make sure he was hydrated, fed, and okay.
Yes, she was doting, but they were playing with his life. She’d read online that on top of meds, and a healthy lifestyle, they needed to cut back on the stress.
So, she was going to stop riding her ME’s ass. That was going to be so damn important.
It was going to be a damn hard habit to break, and she knew it. Elizabeth might have to give him time off between cases or get him help in Autopsy One.
At this point, it was about prolonging his life for years, and she’d do whatever it took.
That was her priority.
Once inside the morgue, she set him up with something to eat. It was leafy, it was organic, and it looked to be about as much fun as a trip to the dentist, but the diet was specific.
And he was stuck with it.
“Uh, that’s playing favorites,” Tony teased, as she placed a container on his table with a jumbo bottle of water and the healthy chicken salad.
Yeah, that’s why she had a backup plan.
“I have pizza coming for you pains in the ass at lunchtime. Chris missed dinner and breakfast.”
Tony got it.
She was mothering him because he was sick, and he was down with that.
“I’ll make sure he eats every leaf of that salad.”
“Well, there’s nothing like being the oldest person in the room and being treated like you’re two,” Chris stated, taking a seat.
“Why don’t you eat, and then we can do the details?” she asked.
He stared at her.
What was this?
“I can do both. I’ve been eating and working over the dead for years.”
“Yeah, well, new policy. You get to get off your feet and not stress. I’ve ridden you hard the last fifteen years. You get a break.”
She pointed at Tony before he could make some comment about how she was playing favorites…again.
“YOU, bug man, do not get to take a break until you have all those remains cataloged for me! Got it? Now get to getting.”
He snorted.
Chris felt like a child, and he knew this was going to get old, and fast. It was time to make a stand.
“Can I see you?” he asked, pointing at the office.
She followed him in, and he closed the door.
“If you plan on treating me like an invalid, that’s going to cause issues. Stop it, Elizabeth.”
She crossed her arms but said nothing.
“You’re feeding me fruit, you took away my candy, and you’re forcing me to sit and eat my meals when everyone else is doing the job.”
“I just don’t…”
He snapped.
“STOP! It’s irritating.”
She closed her mouth.
“I’m the same person, and I don’t want you mothering me like I’m sick.”
“You are sick.”
“Yeah, and thank you for reminding me. Like I don’t already know that! I’m bloody aware!”
She blinked back the tears.
She was sure this was some kind of stage of grieving. Wasn’t there crying and then anger?
Yeah, that had to be it.
“I’m sorry. I won’t ‘mother’ you. I won’t jump into your personal business and do that. I was worried about you. That’s all. I get it.”
She went to walk past him and he knew what he did. He’d just bit the hand of someone who was only worrying about him. She was loving him when he didn’t feel all that damn lovable.
It was so wrong to aim his anger at her.
Instead of letting her go like he did that day when he broke her heart, Chris grabbed her arm and pulled her into his body.
She was ramrod stiff.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to just throw that baggage at you. I didn’t mean it, sweetheart.”
She got it.
They were all scared.
“I’m just angry with myself right now. I’m my own worst enemy. I don’t know if it’s psychosomatic, or what, but I’m actually really tired today. I feel like the switch has been flipped, and I won’t be able to do this.”
“I just wanted to take care of you. I do the same with Ethan and Callen. I’m the one who sneaks candy into Ethan’s desk drawer, and I’m the one who makes sure the coffee pot is set on the days I know Callen is getting up to write in the middle of the night. I was just trying to help you. I have no business doing it, and I crossed a line. I just assumed…”
“Why?”
“You’re mine. Like them, you’ve always been mine. I didn’t see you any differently in that moment. I wasn’t mothering you. I was wife-ing you.”
He needed to hear that.
“And now I feel like an even bigger asshole. You’re mine, too, Elizabeth.”
She didn’t stop.
After all, she was hurting too.
“We’re all doing this to be part of you. If us sleeping with you is an issue, we won’t. This is how we love. This is how we do it. When Timothy died, we did this to get Callen through, and when Ethan was taken and came back broken, we did this for him too.”
He saw that now.
He’d been an idiot.
“Can we meet halfway?”
“I don’t do halfway, Christopher, and you know that. I either mother the hell out of people I love, or I hate their guts. I didn’t mean to step on your toes.”
“If you baby me out there,” he said, “the whole team will figure out I’m sick. If they see you treating me differently, they will figure it out. It’s going to be hard enough not to let on that something’s wrong. Halfway through this autopsy, I was exhausted.”
She didn’t want him worn down.
“They won’t suspect you’re sick when I’m treating you like I do Callen and Ethan. At the worst, they’d think I am having some kinky four-way like the media stated. That’s not really all that far fetched.”
He wiped her cheek and the tears from it.
“Ah, to not have HIV to participate in that.”
It made her laugh.
“You’re mine,” he said, holding her. When his mouth found hers, it was a soft, gentle kiss. She clung to him, memorizing this moment in case he left her far too soon.
The door opened, and Callen stuck his head in to check on them.
He wasn’t even fazed by the kiss.
“Uh, Tony is trying to put bacon flavored beetles on your salad for extra protein. You may want to come out and either eat it or hide it.”
Chris set her free. When Callen didn’t get upset, he figured they all really were okay with this.
He knew he was. That little piece of having her back like that was helping heal the hole in him, and maybe it would give him something to fight for to stay alive.
“Yeah, no. We need to protect my salad from bugs. That’s just gross,” he stated, “and I play in the dead.”
She laughed and wiped her eyes.
“You okay?” Callen asked.
“Yeah, Chris wants me to abuse him.”
Callen laughed. “Oh, that’s my biggest hope and dream for myself. Now I feel all kinds of jealous over that.”
Chris laughed.
So did she.
“We’ll be right out. Guard his salad. I need to talk to Chris for a moment.”
Callen shut t
he door.
“What?” he asked.
“I want to do something, and I in no way want you to freak out or lose it.”
“Uh…”
“I want to get you a backup ME.”
Chris stared at her.
Elizabeth thought he was going to put up a fight, and she believed that it would be a battle, but he surprised her.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
She sat down.
“I have to be dreaming. This conversation didn’t go nearly this well in my head.”
He laughed.
“Well, you’re going to expand the team, right?” he asked, sitting beside her.
“Yes.”
“Then I can’t keep up. With the cases you pull, I’m already working days straight. If you have two cases going at a time, I can’t do it, Elizabeth. I’m getting old.”
She hugged him.
“That’s why I’m expanding the team. I can’t do it either. I’m getting old too.”
He was so glad he had her as his best friend.
“Besides, I like being your ME only, so, yeah, hire one. I’m going to assume for Joey and Brody, right?”
“Yeah, they’re ready to start taking over bigger cases without me sticking my nose into them. The baby birds are flying the nest.”
“I only want to work with you, but I’ll share Autopsy One with a new ME.”
“Any on staff who you like?”
He laughed.
“Yeah, you need a special kind of crazy who won’t report you to HR. We should look outside the FBI, so you can break them in from scratch.”
She was glad he was cool with it.
“Done.”
“Want to get to work?” he asked.
“Yeah, I do. I’ll try not to mother you,” she offered. “It’ll be hard, but I’ll give it a shot.”
“You can wife me any day. I’ll take it.”
She held his hand as they headed back out. There were looks from the techs as he kissed her knuckles before setting her hand free.
Well, that rumor would take off shortly.
Chris’s secret would be safe.
He took a seat and checked his salad for anything that had legs.
Dead are Forgotten Page 39
