Kiss of Souls

by Morgan Kelley

  “What?”

  “Go help Tori. I’ll come with you. We may not be Feds anymore, but no one really knows that you’ve turned in your badge. The media thinks you’re on hiatus because you were hurt. Let’s use that to help Tori save her family. It’s a greater sin to let that man rot in jail than to swallow our pain and get over it.”

  Elizabeth wiped her eyes.

  Callen ran his fingers down her tearstained cheek. He needed to hit her where it mattered.

  Friendship.

  It was the unbreakable bond.

  “When she found out about Ethan, she came, Lyzee. She flew here and left her baby home. Tori didn’t hesitate to find you and try to help, even if you didn’t want her here.”

  “I know.”

  “Christina came too. She left Milo and came to help you. They put their faith in friendship.”

  She was aware.

  “You owe them. All the times we needed Julian, he had our backs. He worked for the FBI, trudging through swamps, through the arson remains of crazies, and all for the sake of friendship.”

  She was aware.

  “He’s our family too.”

  He wasn’t telling her anything she didn’t know. Elizabeth loved them all.

  She did.

  “Do the right thing.”

  Elizabeth sat up. “You’ll catch me if I fail?” she asked. “You won’t let me make a fool out of myself?”

  “Never.”

  Callen got it. Her whole world was rattled to the core. She was floundering on her own, and it sucked.

  “I’m here, today, tomorrow, and forever. If you get there, and you really can’t do it, we can come back. At least you showed up for your friends. At least you did the right thing to save an innocent man.”

  “Assuming he’s innocent.”

  Callen smiled. “There’s my Director of the FBI, getting all suspicious.”

  She tried to smile.

  It simply hurt.

  Instead, she held out her hand. Immediately, Callen wrapped it in his much larger ones. Then, he placed a kiss on her one remaining wedding ring—a gift from Callen when they quietly, and unofficially, tied the knot.

  “What do you say?” he asked.

  She spun Callen’s wedding band. Then, she glanced up into his face.

  “I’m in. As long as I have you, I’ll get through this.”

  And it was true.

  Callen had given her peace the last month.

  “That’s my girl.”

  “Then let’s catch a flight. I’ll go help Tori, and then I’m coming back here.”

  “To hide?” he asked. While this moment was huge, and they were breaking through the mess, he had to ask.

  “I don’t know,” she offered, as they walked toward the stairs in a house where she and Ethan had once come together.

  This place haunted her.

  Maybe time away would be a good thing.

  The memories were killing her.

  “Elizabeth?”

  “I don’t know, Callen James. I just don’t know.”

  For the first time since meeting her, he didn’t know either.

  His wife, and life, was falling apart.

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  Littlemoon Investigations

  When they got back to the building, it was a mess. Media was everywhere, people were shouting questions, and there was no way they were going to be able to pull this off.

  Tori wanted to weep.

  She was losing her brother.

  The first and last one.

  He was going to be gone soon, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  Here was her proof.

  Tori couldn’t stand those thoughts even popping into her head, but she was a realist. Dirty cops meant dirty outcomes. If the commissioner was calling in judicial favors, they were screwed.

  Beau was a dead man walking.

  There was no hope.

  None.

  When they pushed their way through the media, Kane in front, Tori tried to compose herself.

  It wasn’t easy.

  She refused to let anyone see her break. She refused to believe that she wasn’t strong. Yet, here it was.

  She was about ready to give up out of exhaustion, a rampant case of postpartum depression, and hopelessness.

  Victoria Rose Christensen-Littlemoon was beat.

  Beat down.

  Beat up.

  Beyond fixing.

  Heading into the building, they left the shouts, questions, and chaos behind. Inside, where they thought it would be better, it wasn’t. It was much worse.

  The silence was deafening. There, Tori had to face the cold inevitable truth.

  Lena was gone.

  Their world was upside down.

  This wasn’t the life she’d seen. Tori left to follow Julian on a beautiful journey.

  This was a wrong turn.

  “Boss,” Beckett said, heading their way. “What has the media all tuned up out there?”

  They told him what they’d learned, and what had been leaked to the media.

  “Oh, shit! We have three days to figure this out?” he asked. “Only three?”

  “Yeah.”

  The whole team moved toward them.

  “Where’s Beau?” she asked.

  “Still upstairs with Clarissa and Veronica. Nyx is in her shop working on something to protect anyone who is susceptible to Evangeline.”

  When Beckett said her name, a cool breeze washed through the room.

  “DON’T. SAY. HER. NAME. IT. GIVES. HER. POWER.”

  Well, that would have been good to know yesterday when the shit started happening.

  “What do you need us to do?”

  “Keep searching for anything you can find on the people on Detective Wood’s list. We have to locate a way to tie one of them to Shelby’s death.”

  “And if we don’t?” Vivian asked.

  Tori knew what it meant. If Beau didn’t turn himself in for trial, on revoked bail, Julian would lose his business.

  “Then we pray the new lawyer is good enough to clean this up,” she offered.

  “We could call Elizabeth,” Justin offered, again.

  “No. She’s not available,” Tori stated. “We’re on our own, and we can do this.”

  “Tori,” Julian stated, touching her tear stained cheek. “If we don’t meet the deadline…”

  “I’ll take him in myself.”

  He was horrified that she assumed that was his biggest concern in the matter.

  Julian would NEVER let her do that.

  “No, you won’t. We’ll hide him. We’ll get him out of here, and no one will see him again.”

  She was surprised. Her straight-laced husband was willing to break the law.

  “Julian, your business…?”

  “I don’t give a shit. He’s family. We go to the line, we hold it back, or we help him escape. That’s how it’s going to be. I don’t care if they take this building. Apparently, it’s filthy with demons anyway.”

  He tried to be funny.

  Roman moved closer. “I’ll buy your building back. Don’t worry about it. I’ll give Beau money to go under.”

  Tori started weeping.

  It was all too much.

  The love of her family was so amazing. This was what she needed. The people who loved you would rally around you, and that would save you any day.

  “Thank you, Roman.”

  They all hugged her.

  “I have to go up and tell Beau,” she stated. “I’ll be back down and we start pulling an all-nighter.”

  Tori looked worn down. She’d just given birth a couple weeks ago, and she should be resting.

  Only no one told her that.

  It wouldn’t be welcomed. They knew if they were in her situation, they’d be going at this full force.

  They had to.

  “Okay, Tori. We’ll get the conference room ready. The holy water is already in there.”
<
br />   “I can order some Bibles,” teased Vivian. “When you ride with Jesus, you don’t have these kinds of problems.”

  She snorted. “Thank you, all.”

  Tori headed toward the elevator. When she got there, she took a deep breath.

  Then, she pushed the button. It was time to go destroy an innocent man.

  Her brother.

  Julian waited until the door closed.

  “We pull in every favor, every time we’ve helped someone, a cop, or anyone else, and we use them all up on this one. Start making calls. Get me everything we can on these men, and everything we can to help us out. We have a soldier to save.”

  Screw his business.

  Julian had to save his family.

  And his wife’s soul.

  * * * L i t t l e m o o n * * *

  Salem SC.

  While Elizabeth was in their bedroom packing, Callen snuck down to make a call. In their office, he picked up the hidden tablet and pinged his brother.

  It was answered on the first ring.

  Callen realized something.

  Ethan looked like shit.

  There was gray forming in his hair, he had lines on his face, and his eyes were dead. He was slowly dying without his family near him. He’d become that class A workaholic he’d once been, and it was going to be the death of him.

  The raven wouldn’t hold on much longer.

  “Is she okay?” he blurted. “Is she hurt?”

  Yeah, was she ever.

  It was the first thing Ethan said each and every call. It was the only thing he worried about.

  “She’s still dying inside and will be like that until you come back. That’s not why I’m calling. Something has come up.”

  Ethan waited.

  He prayed it wasn’t going to be that his wife wanted a divorce. He couldn’t survive without her as it was, but to hear those words…

  It would kill him.

  Over the last month, he knew what he did was wrong, and now he was paying his penance. Each day, he rode home—alone—to their home—alone—to eat dinner—alone. Each night, he climbed into bed—alone—to sleep—alone.

  It was destroying him.

  Without his wife, he was soulless, empty, and on the verge of going under.

  “What happened?” Ethan asked.

  “Tori’s brother is implicated in the murder of his mother. She’s heading there to help out.”

  Ethan blinked as he tried to weigh that in his head. “Please watch her back.”

  “Are Ivan and his team still around?” Callen asked.

  “Yes. They’re bedded down at ‘The Wayfarer’,” he offered. “Do you want them to follow? Or do you want this to be low key?” he offered.

  At this point, he’d do anything Elizabeth asked, including cutting out his own heart to serve up on a platter. He missed her that damn much.

  Ethan got it.

  He was a fool.

  “We don’t need them. I can watch her back. Besides, no one knows where we are. We’ll try to stay low key.”

  Ethan knew he couldn’t take away her security. If anything happened to her, he’d die. So, he’d tell Ivan to be invisible.

  “Then what do you need?”

  “Well, we’re going to be flying into Delta Falls late tonight. I was wondering…?”

  “What?” Ethan asked. “Just ask, and I’ll do anything for Elizabeth. Anything.”

  Callen wanted to tell him to show up. He wanted his brother to see that choosing the FBI over them was just as damaging as what he’d said to her in the hospital.

  But he couldn’t break him.

  Ethan was hurting. It was crystal clear.

  “Can you get us our badges back just for show?” he asked. “I know Tori needs our help. We aren’t Feds, but no one needs to know that for now, right?”

  Ethan stared at the man on the screen. He missed him too. Ethan longed for Callen to be a bed hog, his snoring, and even the way he left his coffee mugs all over the house.

  He missed his family.

  “It won’t be for show,” Ethan stated, turning the tablet around.

  On Ethan’s desk were the two gold badges, sitting side by side. Along with them were their sidearms in the holsters that Wyler had made them last Christmas. Their initials were burned into them.

  That broke Callen’s heart.

  His brother was staring at them each day for hours. That had to be painful.

  “Ethan.”

  “I’m dying without her. I can’t even focus on life. Just keep her safe.”

  “Why don’t you head to Delta Falls?” he finally asked. “Why don’t you meet us there?”

  God!

  He wanted to do just that.

  Only, he’d made a promise to a man who gave him a shot in the FBI. He’d promised Gabe that while he was out getting chemo, he’d tow the company line.

  He had to keep that promise.

  Besides, he was scared shitless to face Elizabeth. Right now, she hated him, but there were no divorce papers. If he confronted her…

  He couldn’t be so sure.

  That was a demon he couldn’t face.

  Not yet.

  So, he went with the old standby, since it wasn’t exactly a lie.

  “Callen, I can’t. We have a shit mess here. I’m buried in it too. I promised Gabe I’d hold this place up, and the day I’m free of it, and he returns, I’m coming to get her. God! I’m coming back for my wife.”

  Callen heard the pain.

  While he hated it, Callen had to go there.

  “There are rumors on TV that you’ve been seen with another woman, Ethan. They say you’re having an affair behind her back. She’s seen it, bro. I can’t keep her isolated forever. If you’re doing something, end it. Please. For us.”

  Ethan’s heart ached that Elizabeth even thought he could look at another woman in her absence.

  He couldn’t.

  She was all.

  “I’m not having an affair.”

  “Then who is she, Ethan?”

  “She’s the Secretary of Defense. We had a dinner meeting with Homeland. We shared a ride back to DC in my car. I’m not cheating on my wife. I would never…,” he said, holding up his hand. On his finger sat his wedding band.

  Callen saw his hand shaking.

  “Ethan. God.”

  It was time to be honest.

  Ethan pulled the chain from around his neck. On it, there hung his wife’s rings, and the key he’d given her.

  It was the key to his heart.

  “I’m saving these for her. I wouldn’t sleep with another woman. All I want is her, you, and my kids. You have to believe me, Callen. God! You have to tell her that.”

  He did.

  Repeatedly.

  That’s why Callen really needed Ethan to show up. That would speak volumes.

  “Don’t listen to the rumors. They are lies. I pray to Granddad every night that he keeps her safe for me until I can get there. I have three weeks left, and then I can come home. I’d never betray Elizabeth’s heart.”

  Yeah, except he’d already done that when he said those vile things to her. He’d broken it. He was an asshole.

  Callen wanted to weep for his brother.

  “She loves you, Ethan. She is mourning you.”

  “Did she file for divorce?” he asked. “Do I have a chance to get her back, or is it over?”

  “She hasn’t filed. She’s waiting for you to send them. She saw the news with the sexy woman, and she assumed…”

  Tears filled his eyes. “I’m sorry I’m still hurting her. There is no one else. There’s only her. I’m never going to file, and if she does, Callen, I’m never going to sign. I’ll fight to get her back.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Callen asked as his brother wiped the tears from his eyes.

  “Just tell her…”

  Tell her what exactly?

  That he was a douchebag?

  That he’d screwed up?

&
nbsp; That he still deserved her?

  “Nothing. Tell her nothing. I’ll have the badges to you before you head into Delta Falls,” he promised. “You’re both still Feds, as is Chris. Does he need his too?”

  Callen looked surprised.

  “What?”

  “I haven’t seen Chris or heard from him, Ethan,” Callen stated. “He’s laying low with Bethe. He won’t take my calls, and he has avoided Elizabeth. He left her too.”

  That said it all.

  “Elizabeth is in total isolation.”

  Shit!

  “I’m sorry for what I did. I understand it now. I just wish I could see her,” he whispered. “I miss her so much. There’s a hole in my heart.”

  Callen had an idea.

  He pulled out his phone and sent him a picture. It was of Elizabeth holding CJ. The look on her face said it all.

  “I hope that helps,” he offered.

  Ethan’s phone beeped, and he looked at it.

  The tears came.

  His wife looked like she’d lost the battle—or maybe she’d given up. Her hair wasn’t the shiny black it once was, and her eyes weren’t sparkling with mischievousness. His anger, jealousy, and temper had broken her and him.

  “She’s lost weight.”

  “Yes, she has. She’s basically a skeleton wearing a skin suit. She won’t eat, she isn’t functioning, and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear she wants to die.”

  That horrified him.

  “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” he whispered to his cell phone. Then he kissed the photo.

  “You have to do something, and soon,” Callen offered.

  Ethan tucked his phone against his heart. “Forgive me, Elizabeth. Please forgive me,” he begged.

  There was a knock on his door.

  He cleared his throat and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his pricy suit jacket.

  “Yes?” he asked, as he spoke to someone. “Yes, Ginny, I’ll be ready for the Homeland meeting in five. Have my car ready. Alert the Secretary of Defense that I won’t be riding with her. She’ll have to catch a ride there.”

  If the media was tormenting Elizabeth, making up stories, then he’d do anything he could to stop it. He’d hurt her enough.

  Ethan waited for the door to close, as soon as it did, he was focused on his brother.