Deep Dark Mire (An FBI Romance Thriller ~ book four)

by Kelley, Morgan

  “No, I don’t think I ever saw her with anyone. I didn’t even know she had kids, until I went to school and became friends with Cordelia and Desdemona. Then when she went missing, we all just assumed she ran away or she fell into the swamp.”

  “Okay,” nodded Elizabeth. “Ethan can you and Callen take over for me?” she asked, deciding to stop the questioning. Until she figured out what was bothering her, she wasn’t going to be able to focus. What she needed was to stop thinking about it for a few minutes and possibly it would pop.

  “Certainly, Elizabeth,” answered her husband, watching her curiously. Something was up if she was walking away from an interview.

  She pulled out her phone and stepped away from the men to make a call. That nagging feeling was right there.

  Chris Leonard answered his phone on the third call. “Lyzee, we’re breaking the evidence down right now.”

  “Chris, I need that bag of goodies from the bomber analyzed and fast. I think we’re close,” she answered. With their head tech down and in the burn ward, their ME had stepped up to supervise the crew. There wasn’t anyone she trusted more than her staff. If there was something to be found, they’d get it for her.

  “We’re swabbing for trace right now. Doctor Adare is working on it.” He was letting her know that she was helping the team, and he hoped they’d get the okay from his boss since they already let her start.

  “That’s fine. Have Doctor Adare’s work checked, that’s all I’m asking. So when this goes to trial we’re covered.”

  “Gotcha, boss.”

  “What exactly did they bring in for us to analyze?” she inquired, watching her husband interview Vincent Delray.

  “We have a bag full of wires, some explosives, and then we have snips.”

  “Why are you excited about snips, Chris?” Elizabeth knew it had to be relatively big, since he sounded giddy.

  “I might be excited because the mad bomber may have cut himself. It looks like we have blood on the one sharp part.”

  Elizabeth wanted to do one big cartwheel. “So, he was an amateur.”

  “It appears, since he put everything in a big garbage bag and dumped it into the water. He was smart enough to weigh it down with rocks inside, but he wasn’t smart enough to know that the water would degrade evidence. By placing it all in a bag he just gave us the key to the proverbial treasure chest.”

  “I love when the criminal element thinks they’re smarter than a whole FBI tech department, and then when we bust them they find out they screwed up royally.”

  “I’m fond of that myself.”

  It occurred to Elizabeth that she was going to kiss the two members of her team who found her the bag of bomb parts. “Where are Littlemoon and Christensen? They win MVP on this one. I may even kiss them.”

  “Can I watch, boss? I mean since you seem to be kissing plenty of people lately.” Now, he was going to bust her unmercifully.

  Elizabeth laughed. “Sure you can, but you have to ask Ethan first and then Callen. Good luck with that one, Chris.”

  “Never mind, I’ll pass. Anyway, apparently Agent Christensen had to dive for the bag, and she came in covered in muck. They both went back to clean up.”

  “Thanks, Chris. Now find me the killer! I want that blood analyzed, and by tomorrow.” She hung up her phone and went back over to her husband. Ethan was wrapping up the conversation with Vincent Delray.

  “Thank you for your time, Mr. Delray. We’ll be in touch,” stated Blackhawk nodding at the man and essentially dismissing him. When he was far enough away, they huddled around Elizabeth. “What happened? You look like you’re ready to throw a party.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “I’m ready to kiss two of our team,” when they both moved closer, she snorted. “I meant Julian Littlemoon and Agent Christensen.” Then she told them about the snips in the bomber’s bag. “There’s blood, Ethan.”

  “Awesome, but if we don’t have anything to compare it to, then I don’t see why you’re getting so happy.”

  “Hey, I’m thrilled anytime the bad guys mess up. If he screwed up this big, then sooner or later it’s bound to be the big one.”

  Whitefox dropped his arm around her shoulders. “Now about you kissing anyone else. I’m going to state unequivocally that your lips are from here on out, restricted from touching anyone that doesn’t have Blackhawk DNA.”

  Blackhawk laughed. “I’m seconding that one, and especially with Julian. The man would enjoy it entirely too much. Sorry Elizabeth, but you're kissing days are done.”

  “Boys, luckily for you both, I’m very satisfied with my Native eye candy. I don’t need more.”

  “Oh, because you had a snowballs chance in hell there was going to be more,” added Whitefox, snickering. “DONE, Elizabeth.”

  “Know what I’m in the mood for now boys?” she lowered her voice, seductively, and having both men lean closer, as she ran a hand up each of their torsos. “We do have some down time right now.”

  “Yeah baby?” Ethan Blackhawk wouldn’t mind a little mid-day loving. They could sneak back to the bed and breakfast and get naked.

  “I hope it’s what I’m suddenly in the mood for, Lyzee,” whispered Whitefox, watching her chew on her lower lip.

  Elizabeth grinned. “Right now all I really can think about boys, is us three driving somewhere and having… lunch.” They both stared, definitely not expecting that answer. “But I tell you what. I’m that damn happy that I’ll buy,” she said, winking and then laughing as they walked back to the Escalade.

  “I take it back,” muttered Whitefox. “She’s definitely a tease.”

  Blackhawk laughed. “Thank God for that!”

  * * *

  Julian stood in the hallway waiting for Agent Christensen. Next on his plan for the day was to get something for lunch and then track down the Blackhawks. Sooner or later the bosses would show up and they’d want a breakdown of exactly what happened in the swamp.

  Tori had been a constant surprise all day. The woman had balls of steel to do a blind dive. Yeah, he was proud, but something about her set him on edge. It was like she was keeping part of her buried deep, and if there was one thing he loved, it was finding the truth. It called to him since he was a little boy.

  This woman set his mind on alert, and he needed to figure out why. When the door opened, he noticed she’d showered and slipped into a pair of jeans and lost the FBI suit apparel.

  “Ready to grab something to eat?” he asked, walking alongside her down the hall. “I know after watching my partner covered in leeches, I’m always hungry,” he teased.

  Tori smiled and shrugged. “I’ve been known to eat at arson scenes over dead bodies. I have a pretty iron clad stomach. I think you have to have one if you're in the military.”

  He was surprised she’d brought it up. “What branch of the military were you in?” he asked, glancing over.

  Tori Christensen laughed. “Oh well that’s classified, sir. If I tell you then I have to get rid of the body.”

  “That was a really great deflection. Now how about you actually answer this time?” Julian noticed she tensed, and only made him want to know that much more about her.

  “Want me to drive?” she asked, again avoiding the conversation.

  “I’ll drive,” he answered. “Okay, you don’t want to tell me? I’ll just ask my buddy Ethan Blackhawk to open up your personnel file and take a peek.”

  She stared at him, as if measuring if he was yanking her chain or actually serious. “You're going to go to my boss and ask him about my private personnel file?”

  “Nah, probably not. I’ll just tell Elizabeth something feels off about you and that will drive her bat shit insane, until she pesters you and finds out for me.”

  Yeah, that was probably what would happen. Elizabeth was exactly that kind of agent. “Why does it matter, Julian? I’m not digging into your past.”

  “Feel free to ask away. I’m an open book.”

  Tori just stared at
him.

  “I think if I sleep with a woman, I should be able to ask what branch of the military she served in without it being a big deal. I’m not asking for a breakdown of the last ten years of your life. I’m asking a simple question, so I ask you, why are you so prickly about answering?”

  Tori weighed the option. “Army,” and she left it at that.

  “Thank you. That wasn’t hard, now was it?”

  She followed him to his motorcycle ignoring his comment. “I have almost the same bike at home.”

  “This one’s not mine. My bikes are back at my house. This is what I rented. Do you ride?” he asked, intrigued.

  “Yes. I love riding.”

  “Maybe sometime we can…”

  “Nope.” Tori cut him right off. One because he was being arrogant about forcing her to give him the information he wanted, and he was getting too attached. They didn’t have a future. There wasn’t anything past this assignment.

  He started up the bike and waited for her to get on behind him. “Care to tell me why not?” he inquired.

  “Once a man finds out what branch of the military I served in, I no longer sleep with him or ride with him. Sorry,” she said, getting on the back of the bike.

  “I’m not sure if you're serious or not.”

  Agent Tori Christensen put on her sunglasses and wrapped her one arm around his waist, without giving him a definitive answer either way.

  Yeah, how to even answer that?

  ~ Chapter Seventeen ~

  Elizabeth Blackhawk sat between the two men as they had their lunch in the pizza place. They were sharing a pizza loaded with all kinds of meat. If you were going to live dangerously, it was going to be with a cholesterol laden pie.

  Today was death by meat, and what a way to go.

  Eating lunch with the men was always an adventure. Elizabeth had to stake her claim on her three slices of the pizza and every time one of them looked at them, she reached for her gun.

  Stealing her food could be dangerous, but it didn’t mean that they didn’t try. Would she shoot them? No, but they needed to wonder if she just might be tempted regardless.

  Looking out the window, she saw the motorcycle pull up with their agent and the Native tracker. Elizabeth studied them, and grinned when they hopped off the bike together. Julian tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and moved close to her, saying something private.

  “I told you, they are definitely sleeping together,” Elizabeth stated, grinning at Whitefox.

  “Damn it! I don’t get how you just knew.” Whitefox pulled a twenty out of his wallet and handed it to her.

  “Thanks darlin’,” she drawled, laughing when Whitefox stole a kiss as his consolation prize.

  Blackhawk was confused, and waited for his brother to let him in on the conversation, including the bet.

  “Okay, let me break it down for you men. Here’s the difference. When Ethan and you walk past me, and I check out your asses, I have a different look on my face than say, Christina. Her look is one of appreciation and wondering if she’ll ever see it. Mine is one of ‘oh yeah, that sexy man is all mine’,” she laughed. “See the difference? It’s all about the expression. Tori was walking out of our room and appreciatively checking out Julian in a ‘I conquered that man mountain’ kind of way. Same as I do.”

  “You check out my ass?” asked Whitefox. The thought warmed him, and he’d never noticed.

  “Hell yeah I do. You both think you’re the only ones that appreciate the view from behind? Ethan only wears jeans occasionally and on those days you’ll find me behind him, and you Callen, I check out daily. A girl is allowed to leer. Callen, before I was just checking you out. Now I’ll upgrade that to openly ogling.”

  Both men glanced over as the door chimed, and their co-workers strolled into the pizza place. They knew the minute Agent Christensen realized they weren’t alone, because gone was the easy smile and back was the look of seriousness on Tori’s face.

  Blackhawk motioned them over to the table beside them. “Sit and join us, both of you. Lunch is on Elizabeth today.”

  Julian grinned and took a seat; Tori followed but kept the neutral face in place.

  When the waitress came over, Julian ordered their pizza without even asking the woman. More proof to Elizabeth that there was more than just field work between them.

  “Great job today! I hear you netted me the mother lode. I appreciate your exceptional work.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” replied her agent. Tori watched her boss and the two men with her. One just stole the pizza off her plate, and he was grinning at her wickedly.

  “Callen! Stop stealing my damn food,” she demanded, and then shook her head, laughing. It gave her husband the opening he needed, and he swiped the other slice. “Really Ethan? Both of you are teaming up against me to be gluttons?”

  The men just shrugged as they consumed her pizza.

  “I miss being pregnant. At least then you both fed me, not jacked my lunch at every given chance. You both ate that entire pizza minus one slice.”

  Whitefox held out the piece he stole, letting her take a bite of her own commandeered piece. “Don’t say I didn’t feel bad for you, angel. I at least have a conscience.” Callen wiggled his eyebrows at her lecherously.

  Julian laughed and covered it with a cough. If Tori wanted to get into the gossip foray, here it was for all the world to examine. The bosses were being normal people in a big loving relationship.

  Elizabeth shook her head and focused on the others across from them. “So tell me all about your swamp adventure,” she requested, wiping her lips on her napkin.

  “We tracked the individual pretty deep into the swamp. Where the bag was dumped wasn’t far from where I found the bodies. It looks like he’s familiar with the area, Elizabeth. The bag was weighted down with rocks, and dropped in the one deep section of the swamp. Tori had to go down.”

  “Great job, Agent Christensen. Excellent work and we greatly appreciate it. The tech crew thinks the tools in the bag may have blood trace. That may give us a profile to track down.”

  Tori Christensen nodded but stayed silent.

  “What are you thinking about, Agent?” asked Blackhawk. He could tell the woman was processing something.

  “I didn’t get a good look at all the wires and explosives gear, but if you’d like my personal opinion, I can give it to you on what I did see.”

  Elizabeth sat forward and was ready to listen. “Absolutely.”

  It wasn’t lost on Agent Christensen that when she laid her hand on the table, Director Whitefox ran his fingers gently over her knuckles and rings. Also, Director Blackhawk had his hand on his wife’s leg. It was clearly visible from her seat. Both men had a thing for the woman, that was clearly evident and neither were attempting to hide it. That explained why Doctor Adare was no longer in the picture.

  Apparently, three’s company and four was a crowd.

  “All the wires were standard and likely acquired from a hardware store. I’ve seen a few homemade explosives, and they’re easily built if you have the detonator. All of which can be put together quickly, easily and locally. I’ll wager that if you check the local stores, you’ll find that the wires, the caps and the main components were purchased there. To build a detonator, you simply need to Google it.”

  Elizabeth appreciated her input on the subject. “Give me a frame of reference on your experience, Agent. I don’t recall your personnel file off the top of my head.” All Elizabeth knew was the woman was often used as ‘fire and explosives’ expert by her husband in the field.

  Christensen tensed but answered her boss. “I did two tours attached to an infantry unit on the ground in Afghanistan. I’ve seen bombs made out of everything imaginable. What you’ll find in that bag is basic, bottom line equipment and made in a hurry. It was meant to be simple and cause maximum damage, ma’am.”

  Blackhawk glanced at his brother. “Call the tech team and have them send someone over to the hardware stor
e with pictures of what they recovered. I want to lock this bomber down and find him fast.”

  Whitefox pulled out his phone, dialing one of the techs he passed on their boss’s directive.

  Julian could tell that Tori was out of her element sitting at the table with the ‘big’ bosses. Currently, she was shutting everything out and looked uncomfortable, as Elizabeth scrutinized her. When the pizza was placed in front of them he tried to change the topic.

  “Elizabeth would you like some of our pizza?” he offered, smiling. “You don’t have to come to the teepee.”

  She laughed. “Thank you, Julian, but these two would just steal it out of my hand. I’m actually good. I’ll make them feed me for dinner, and it’s going to be very expensive.” Elizabeth motioned for the bill and the waitress brought it over. “I’m paying for anything they order at their table,” she pointed at the two sitting across from them. Elizabeth handed the woman her credit card.

  “Thanks for lunch, boss,” stated Julian.

  “Thanks for the awesome job.” Elizabeth offered Julian a fist bump. Then turned to the woman, and offered her one too. “Good work, Agent. You both enjoy lunch, you earned it.” Elizabeth scribbled a name on the receipt the waitress held, and handed the credit card to her husband.

  “Hey, this one’s mine!” he objected. “It was in my wallet.”

  “Yeah I know,” she winked at the two across from them. “Next time keep your damn hands off my food. As a heads up, that saying about ‘what’s yours is mine’ is exclusive to the wife’s perspective only.”

  Whitefox laughed and stopped when she pointed at him. “You think I won’t take your card too for the next time, ace?”

  He pulled his wallet out and handed it to her. “I’ll make it easy on you. I know when I’m beat. Consider it yours,” he said, as they started walking out. He dropped his arm around her shoulders and saluted Julian who was grinning at them.

  “Now you’re learning, Cal,” stated his brother.

  When they were gone, Agent Christensen glanced over at the man sitting with her. “I’m so very confused about what just went down here between the three of them.”