He leaned back in his chair. “Just this week we had out of control drinking, drunk driving and some domestic squabbles.”
It was basically the same issue, when Callen was a chief of police. The big concern on quite a few reservations was the alcohol related crimes. Some had even gone as far as banning the substance on their land. Booze was a no-no on many a Rez. It wasn’t like it stopped the crimes, it just abated it temporarily. Since reservations didn’t have checkpoints, bringing it to private homes wasn’t difficult.
“No homicide or issues with non-natives?” Elizabeth questioned.
“There are none whatsoever. The outsiders may come on the reservation to buy things like art, but other than that, they generally steer clear. Now natives in town, that’s a totally different thing. We’ve had some issues with the sheriff’s department there. Duffy is fond of arresting the Natives for drunk and disorderly, but nothing more.”
“What about the assignment that Callen was working? Do you think we have a skinwalker?”
The man grinned. “Yeah, I heard from Chief Soaring Eagle and Shaman Tallman. I have to say I lean towards bullshit. I do believe we have a poacher on the Rez, who may BELIEVE he or she’s a walker, but I don’t believe there are magic sucking witches that cast negative mojo.”
At least they were dealing with a rational man.
Elizabeth pulled up the picture the sketch artist drew, and handed it to the chief of police. “Does this person look familiar?”
The man examined the drawing and said nothing. “You realize I answer to the head of council, and that means I have to abide by their rules, even when the FBI comes calling.”
Callen leaned forward. “You’ve been gag ordered?”
Longtree shrugged and handed back the tablet and turned to his computer and pulled up his email, leaving it open. “I think I need to go check on your partner and make sure he got your team settled in okay. I’ll be back in less than five minutes, so hang out here and look around.” Leaving the room, he closed the door securely behind him.
Elizabeth hopped out of the chair, racing to the keyboard, and began scanning the emails. Finding the last one from the head of council, she hit print, grabbed it off the machine and was back in her seat in less than three minutes.
“I love when you do felonious things,” quipped Whitefox.
She merely tucked the paper in her bag. “Yeah, well I love when I actually find a law official worried more about finding justice and not kissing someone’s brass.”
He snickered. “Nice.” Offering her a fist bump, he got up to pour himself some coffee. “Want some, Angel?”
“No Cal, we’re good.”
Longtree moseyed back in, smiling at them. “Your tech team is really efficient. They already have a lab set up and the bodies on the collapsible tables.”
“We do have excellent staff.”
“Where are you three staying?” he asked, taking his seat again and closing up his email.
Elizabeth pulled up the email from her administrative assistant on the tablet, passing it to the man. “We have this address, other than that I can’t tell you much more.”
The chief of police contemplated it. “It’s about two minutes outside the Rez and almost in the town of Red River.”
She stood and offered the man her hand. “I appreciate your help and hospitality, Rick. We’re going to go downstairs and make sure the team gets started before we head out for the night.” Elizabeth pulled out one of her cards from behind her badge. “If you need us or have something pop up, give me a call.”
The man took the card, offering a smile. “I will, Elizabeth. Have a good night.”
Callen led her out of the office and towards the concrete stairs. “Are you feeling okay, Angel?” he whispered. She’d escaped the office fairly quickly.
“Yeah, I just want to talk to Ethan about the email and get to the house we’re renting.” It had been a long day, and pregnancy aches and pains were making themselves known. If Elizabeth admitted to that out loud, one of the men would have her in their arms and making a spectacle. In this case, silence was golden.
Whitefox nodded. “I have to grab my things from the hotel then too. I didn’t know you were both coming.”
She took his hand in hers. “I packed you another suitcase. You have a fresh supply of everything. Give your key to Christina, and have her bring it with her tomorrow to the lab. They’re all staying at the hotel.”
Callen stopped her and stared down into her face. “Yes Ma’am,” he whispered before lightly kissing her on the lips. Something about her packing his bag for him warmed his heart. It all seemed so… wifely.
Elizabeth pulled him towards the doors and grinned. “Kissy-face is for later, skinless corpses are for now.”
Yeah, it was the story of his life.
Entering the makeshift lab, Elizabeth noticed her husband was busily banging out an email, and he suspected it was to one of their administrative assistants. “Everything okay?” she asked, touching him on his hip.
“Yeah, Baby. We just need a few things shipped here that the team needs for trace analysis.”
“Are the bodies being autopsied tonight?” Elizabeth inquired, assuming they were in the next room over.
“No, they’re going to do trace retrieval and then cut tomorrow. We need to get the room as cold as possible. Doctor Leonard doesn’t want to open them up until the room is to his specifications. The bodies were chilly, since it gets cold at night in a cave. He mentioned something about temperature continuity. I lost him as he tried to explain it in scientific terms.”
The doctors were damn good at their jobs and she trusted their judgment.
“Tomorrow we can observe if you want. By then the techs will have all the evidence catalogued and ready for you,” then he paused. “I mean ready for Callen.” Ethan was used to his wife running the show.
“Feel free to take over,” Whitefox offered. It wouldn’t bother him in the least if she jumped in and took control. In fact, it would probably make him feel a hell of a lot better.
“Nice try, Cal,” Elizabeth said, grinning. “You’re driving this one. I’m just here for you to pick my brain and lean on me if you need help. When I’m out on maternity leave, you two boys may have an assignment without me.” Just the idea they’d be going out without her unnerved her.
Whitefox nodded. “Okay.”
Ethan patted his brother on the shoulder. “Tonight you should start prepping for the tomorrow’s autopsy. It’s scheduled for eight in the morning.”
He suddenly looked a little green.
“No worries, Cal. We’re right here in case you miss something. Think of it as a safety net.” Elizabeth squeezed his hand.
Callen hoped he could pull this all off. “I want to get back to the house then, because it’s late and you need to eat. We don’t need you passing out from low blood sugar,” Callen stated, walking towards the door as his phone beeped. Reading the message, he began laughing. “Ethan, you could have just told me to give out the room instructions. It would have taken less time than to text.”
“This felt more FBI like and stealthy,” he replied, grinning.
Elizabeth was always entertained by the men in her life. “You two are insane.”
Callen grinned, leaning into the autopsy room to talk to the staff. “Guys, the hotel is expecting you. It’s the one that the team stayed at last time we were here in Red River. Christina knows the way there. Stay out of trouble.”
Both doctors laughed. “Damn, and here we were looking to have fun in the middle of nowhere.”
“Don’t make me send Elizabeth in here.”
Now they laughed and saluted him for a change.
“Great, now they’re being smartasses with me too,” muttered Whitefox. “This ‘in charge’ thing isn’t fun at all.”
Elizabeth patted his arm. “Now you’re preaching to the choir, Cal. Honestly, you get used to their antics. Embrace the sarcasm and use it to your advantage, Gra
sshopper.”
Whitefox laughed. “I’ll try.”
Tori stood in the doorway, observing the man she was hopelessly in love with as he worked at the table. He was making a list of the things they needed before heading out tomorrow. Julian was completely engrossed in it, and it allowed her to just stare at him undetected.
It was easy to fall in love with a man when his outer package was sexy, but Tori found herself more in love with the man beneath the handsome exterior. Don’t get her wrong, Julian was Native hot, and his body and features called to her. The dark brown hair and the gold brown eyes made her heart skip in her chest, but it was the compassion and endless sweetness that held her attention more. It made her want to do anything to make him smile, laugh and just pay him back for the millions of things he did for her every day.
Tori crossed the room, moved his hair to the side and began leaving kisses down the back of his neck. When her hands wandered to the buttons down the front of his shirt, she had his complete attention.
Turning his head, his lips sought hers and a very welcoming kiss. “Mmmmmm…what’s that for?” he inquired, pulling her down into his lap.
“I saw you sitting there working so diligently and it got me all hot and bothered,” she replied, undoing the next button on his shirt. “Something about a man deep in concentration is really sexy.”
Julian’s body was coming awake as Tori began leaving kisses across his throat and neck. “Victoria, I really need to get this list done before we head out tomorrow,” he muttered, as she bit his lower lip, giving it a tug.
“Uh huh,” she answered, tormenting him further. “I’m pretty sure the list will be there later, Julian,” Tori promised. “Why don’t we go to bed now and worry about it tomorrow?” Her response was his body tightening at her words.
Another button was undone.
It wasn’t that Julian didn’t want to take her to bed, but they needed to head out and they had one shot at taking everything with them. Shit, she was making it hard to think.
Tori unbuttoned the last button and slid the shirt from his shoulders. Leaving kisses across the broadness, running her nails across his back, and promising him a really good time if he joined her.
Julian simply sat there enjoying the feeling of his woman taking complete control of the moment. Generally, he was a bit more dominant in bed, but not tonight. She was rising up to the challenge.
The want was filling her and the scent of the man was making her crazy. Next she started unbuttoning her own shirt. One way or another, she was going to distract the man from his work. Sometimes Julian took things a bit too serious, and she suspected it had something to do with him snapping at her on the scene. Diving into his mouth, she deepened the kiss and took all the time she needed to convey what was living in her for only him.
Tori stood, lips still joined and undid her jeans. If the man was hell bent on sitting here, then she was going to join him in the moment. When she was finished with him, he’d never look at the chair the same again. Stepping out of her jeans, Tori pulled him to his feet and continued the kiss.
Julian was getting wilder at the prospects of what was coming. His girl was definitely in the mood now and taking him on an adventure. When his button and zipper were undone, his jeans slid down his hips, and he sprung free in her hand. The moan was pulled from deep within his chest.
It was amazing to feel her stroking him softly. Julian’s body shook, and the kiss was abruptly broken as he was pushed back into the chair.
“Victoria,” he whispered, finally taking in the scene in front of him. There she stood in a bra and panties, her shirt open. “Here?” he asked, lifting a brow. “At the table?”
Tori laughed at the look of surprise on his face. “I tried to get you to bed, so here it is,” she replied, stepping out of her panties and straddling his lap, facing him on the chair.
Julian was about to lose it right there. He’d enjoyed sex a great deal in his life, but never once in a chair in his kitchen.
Then she slid him into her waiting warmth, and he dropped his head back moaning. “Christ,” he mumbled, as she began the ride. The angle was absolutely perfect. He was repeatedly buried in her body and trapped beneath her.
“You feel really good, Julian,” she whispered, driving the speed of their love making. When his hands went to her hips, trying to get her to move faster, her pace only slowed.
“Honey, you’re killing me,” he whispered, as she ran her mouth down his throat and to his other ear. The words spoken only enflamed them both more.
Tori ignored his begging and continued the tortuous pace, as she thoroughly enjoyed every second of her ride. The man made her crazy. The way he smelled, moved, and even quaked buried in her body. It all drove her to madness. All Tori wanted was to keep this feeling going forever.
“Victoria, I’m not going to last much longer,” he pleaded. Instead of ending his torture, she began moving faster, slamming down harder onto his erection. “Oh shit,” he whispered, praying she’d go over first, and then he could find relief.
“Look at me, Julian,” she demanded, forcing him to open his eyes and stare into hers. “I love you,” she offered, driving down again and again in an attempt to rupture around him. “No matter what, I’ll always love you.”
Julian heard the words, causing his focus to break and the explosion to happen. It pushed them over the edge locked together. When he was finally able to focus, he simply held onto her body and enjoyed the scent of her perfume. “I love you too, Honey.”
“Want to go to bed or do you really need to make this list tonight?” she questioned, running her fingers through his hair as her body stayed attached to his.
“Bed,” he mumbled, unwilling to let her get off him. Julian simply stood, and her legs went around his hips automatically. “Let’s go, Victoria,” he mumbled, lips seeking hers hungrily.
Tori was elated. Bed and that kind of kiss only meant only one thing, and it wasn’t sleep.
Elizabeth stared out the window as the trees flew by and the GPS gave out directions to the rental house. Everything in her was tied into knots. Coming back to Red River was a tough thing. It brought the past back, throwing it in their faces.
The last time they were here, Callen was in love with someone else. Even though his child was growing deep in her body, there was still that fear that one day he’d walk away. No matter how much Elizabeth reassured herself, the little voice would rear it’s vicious taunting every once in a while and scare her senseless. Then there was the reminder that she nearly lost him that night too.
The killer had taken him and wanted his heart. Even then she subconsciously wanted it too. Where she didn't dare admit it then, she could now. Everything about the three of them felt right. Since that initial meeting, there’d always been something there. Where with Ethan it was instantaneously, with Callen it bloomed gently over time. First they were best friends and then slowly more. Now here they were, back in the little town and she was just as unsettled as ever.
“Hey, you okay?” Blackhawk asked, from the seat beside her. He was driving them to their lodging, as Callen was following in the second Denali.
“Is it wrong that I hate this damn town?”
His eyes flickered over and noticed she wasn’t kidding. That alone unnerved him. Elizabeth rarely was in a foul mood about anything. “Want to talk about it?”
“Is this between us and no one else or will this get back to Callen?” Elizabeth inquired, hoping he’d be willing to help her carry the burden.
“Baby, you know you can tell me anything, and it’ll stay between us.” Yeah, now he was increasingly worried.
“When I think of Red River, I think about Desdemona. When I dwell on her, I think about how Callen almost took that path in life. Then I feel scared and nervous,” she glanced over. “I know it’s silly and maybe it’s just the baby hormones. I’m sorry for dumping this on you, but…” Elizabeth stopped.
“But you’d normally share this kind of th
ing with Callen and you can’t this time.” Blackhawk stopped becoming upset over Elizabeth and his brother sharing their secrets and fears. Generally, when something scared one of them, they leaned on each other. For a while it stung, but it was simply the dynamic of their group. At one time, she’d shared everything with him, only to have him screw it up with his own anger and issues. Ever since that day, Ethan regretted pushing her away. In his mind, it damaged them.
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing for how you feel, Lyzee. You’re allowed a moment of weakness too. You’re human and not superwoman.”
“I simply hate this town; the people, the killer that almost took his life- all of it.”
Blackhawk had a confession too. “If it makes you feel any better I feel the same. I was worked up when the call came in for Callen to come mediate here. I almost wanted to lie and tell Gabe he was already out in the field.”
That was a huge admission from Ethan. Rarely did he lie or skirt the rules. Ethan Blackhawk was Mr. FBI to the core and would bleed for the bureau.
“I really just want to get him home and out of here.”
Ethan had another confession. “I wanted him to run this assignment, so he’d be distracted and not think about anything that went on here. I don’t want the past with her to taint his life anymore.”
She knew where he was coming from. “It’s why you rented a different house?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want the ghosts of Desdemona past to sneak back up on us.” Ethan hated that the woman hurt his brother, and since it reminded them of the past, it had to haunt Callen too.
“Do you think he’d ever leave us, Ethan?”
Blackhawk thought about it. “Never! He’s madly in love with the mother of his child. No other woman on this earth has offered him anything this close to perfect. I know how that feels.”
Elizabeth rubbed her hand over the bump. “I guess you’re right. I guess getting fat again has its benefits.”
Ethan squeezed her hand. “You’re not even close to fat, and beside when you’re pregnant your sex drive is off the charts. I’d keep you knocked up for the rest of your life if I could.” He laughed at the look on her face.
Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) Page 8