Redemption is Here (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 9) (23 page)

He needed to know. “Why did you lie
to me then?” Already, the hurt was evident in his voice. He could hear it himself.

She patted his cheek. “Darlin’
, I needed to know that if I’m not in the field with you, that you can run an investigation. You asked good questions. Had I told you what Ethan and I needed to do, you would have been nervous. Now, you were under pressure to keep your woman safe. That brings out the best in you men. Think of it as a pop quiz of sorts.”

He shook his head. “You are unbelievable.
I always hated pop quizzes.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Come on. You’re not mad. As your boss, I’m required to evaluate you.”

“Did I pass?”

“You still have th
e oral exam later,” she teased, hoping to lighten his mood.

Yanking her toward him, he plundered her mouth like a man dying of
hunger. When Callen finally surfaced, he was chewing her gum. “Well?”

“Hell yeah, you did.
I give you an A plus.”

He could live with that
. “Okay, we should focus for a second,” he stated. “We have a dead man who was recommended for a job by a priest, and he used to work for the parish right next to where we found the four bodies. Does that seem odd to you?”

That didn't even come close to cutting it
. “Whenever religion is involved, it’s always going to be weird to me. I don’t get the whole
‘sitting in a church and praying to statues’
thing.”

“Well, what’s next?”

“Dixon industries, and then we head to the Rez. I want to snoop around a cemetery. We can wander around after dark,” she teased. “Ever make out with a girl in a graveyard?”

The laughter filled his eyes.
“You’re such a freak,” he stated, dropping his sunglasses onto his face.

“
Who are you kidding? You love every damn second of it.”

Hell yeah, he did.

~ Chapter Six ~

Whether he liked it or not,
Ethan had a personal escort to the airport. Gabriel Rothschild knew that he needed to get in the air, so he opted to continue the new division discussion on the road.

Once Oracle was up and running, they could relax but until then,
Gabe needed to find just the right person to take care of business. It wasn’t going to be easy. This new FBI division was going to need a tough boss.

Oh, and it had to be kept completely t
op secret. Once the military handed off the operation, there could be no leaks.

Who better to trust than
the Blackhawks? When he had first hired them to run FBI West, they’d leapfrogged over countless small division directors to get their position. At first, there was quite a bit of blowback and calls of favoritism. Yet, by the end of the first year, they’d proved they were more than competent to do the job.

Team Blackhawk had the highest closure rates in the bureau
, and in fact, they even kicked his team’s ass each and every quarter. If he didn't know them personally, he’d be worried for his job. Being family, he knew they were the best option for the position.

Even with this on the horizon, Gabe
hated the idea of losing them at FBI West. Then again, if they’d take Oracle, there was no doubt that the new project would be a success.

Now, the only problem was convincing them.

It wasn’t looking good at all.

“Are you sure
that you and Lyzee aren’t interested in taking it?” Gabe asked, one more time.

Ethan checked his bags
as he waited to get his ticket. “Gabe, you know that we pretty much take everything that you toss at us. Killers, maniacs, and a countless supply of fruit loops, but I can tell you right now, she won’t go for it. The second she hears about it, Elizabeth will call it balderdash, poppycock, and hooey. I think you know that.”

“And you?”

“I don’t know what I believe anymore. Sometimes I think it’s bullshit, but other times I think about my granddad and the things that I’ve experienced the last few years. Then I’m a believer.”

“How about Callen?”

Ethan’s heart pounded at the suggestion. “He’s being field tested right now by Lyzee. Later, I can ask.”

“That just pissed you off. I can see it in your eyes,” Gabe admitted. “Why?”

“We like being a team. When the three of us can go out, we each bring something to the table. Callen’s my partner and brother. I don’t like thinking about him alone, trying to run a division. I know what a bitch that can be. It’s an emotional drain and frankly, you’re tough to work for.”

Gabe loved them like family, yet he still couldn’t wrap his head around the two men sharing Elizabeth. He couldn’t do it with Livy. In fact, the idea drove him to madness.

“I’ll ask him. That’s all I can do. If he says yes,” he said pausing, “I’ll tell you.”

“And Elizabeth will kick my ass.”

Ethan found that funny, because it was one hundred percent accurate. If Gabe took away her BFF, the shit would hit the fan. “Wear a codpiece. Our girl fights dirty.”

He started laughing. “Thanks.”

“Seriously, I’ll ask him. If he says yes, I’ll call you. If he says no, we’ll keep looking. Don’t think I don’t appreciate you asking us and not just splitting the team apart. I know you have the power to do it.”

“You three work well together. I like the accolades the big
boss man gives me for running two efficient ships. I’m not willing to screw that up for a division that I think is bullshit too.”

Blackhawk patted him on the back. “We’ll have someone by the time it’s ready to take off. I have a year
to get it taken care of, so we’ll go from there. The right director will show up. I just need to find someone who isn't afraid of the spooky and mysterious.”

“Yeah, well Oracle is
definitely that. I still get goose bumps thinking about her.”

Ethan glanced at his watch. “Okay, I have to make this flight if I want to get to my team in Devil’s Lake.”

Gabe hugged his friend. “Keep her out of trouble.”

Yeah,
that was easier said than done.

Walking away, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Callen, warning him
that he would be in the air in a few minutes. When he landed, he was heading right for the cabin, and he’d meet them there.

For now, he needed to put everything
that Gabe had told him on the back burner. Ethan had no doubt that someone appropriate would turn up for the position.

If not, it looked like their team was going to be picking up another job,
because there was no way he was throwing his brother to the wolves on this alone.

                                 *     *     *

Agents Madden and Seaton sat in the conference room working on all the paperwork Elizabeth had given them. Their main run was done on the cemetery, and they’d found that the church was in charge of its maintenance.

Next, they were beginning the search on the man beh
ind the stained glass windows–Father William Dowell. From everything they could find, he’d been handling the parish for the last fifteen years and appeared to be incredibly laid back. There were pictures of him online with just his collar, in jeans, and with a big smile on his face.

If
anything, he looked to be a little too laid back. From their digging, they found a few newspaper articles that mention he was a new ‘breed’ of priest. The guy was supposed to be a Jesus loving fun fest.

Either way, it didn't matter to them. As long as they found something on him, they were golden.
No one wanted to give their boss ‘nothing’ as an answer. If you wanted to set Elizabeth Blackhawk right off, that was the surefire way to do it.

“I think she’ll be happy,” stated Johanna Madden. “At least we dug something up for her.”

Broderick Seaton agreed. “Yeah, the boss lady will be all a twitter with the details. You know how she likes to stir the religion pot as much as possible.”

“I don’t blame her,” she replied. “It’s total bullshit.”

He laughed, patting the cross around his neck. “You’re so going to hell, Joey.”

She punched him in the arm. “Yeah, well I’m sure I’ll be seeing you there, Brody. You’re not exactly a saint.”

He winked at her before going back to his searches. “I found a bar referenced in the police reports for Kaylee Bain,” he stated, giving her the name.

Johanna began running it. “Are you serious? Is the name really,
‘Bubba’s’
?”

He started laughing. “I swear to God.”

Rolling her eyes, she began her search. “Well, it’s not too much of a dive from what I’ve found online. Apparently, half is a bar, and the other half is a place where you can get food.”

“Yeah, and pick up a hooker,” he added. “That just screams dive bar to me.”

“Like you’ve never tried to pick up a lady of the night,” she teased, sipping her coffee.

“We both know I’m on a mission to get a specific girl, but she’s fighting me all the way,” he stated, staring at her. “I have hope that I’ll wear her down and win this one yet.”

She stared back at him. “Don’t bet on it, Brody. Rules are rules.”

He grinned. “Yeah, well, I don’t mind breaking them, I just need to convince you of that.”

“You can keep trying, but it’s a waste of your time.”

“Joey, I’ll try
until my dying day.”

God, it was getting so hard. She honestly hoped he wouldn’t.
She was close to breaking on this one, and Johanna was pretty sure her partner knew it.

“We better get back to work, Brody.”

“Trust me, Joey, trying to catch you is a hell of a lot of work.”

             
                   *     *     *

He couldn’t believe this was all happening. He failed miserably at keeping their bodies in the ground. Obviously, he’d done a horrible job at hiding them.

Now, he was going to up his game and make it that much harder. What he needed was a far better place to hide them. There were still victims on the horizon, but before he could take the next one, he needed to scout out a location.

The Native lands were still a possibility. There was lots of land, so all he had to do was find a secluded spot. It didn't have to be fancy. It only needed it to be a makeshift cemetery for the sinners.

They were flawed
. God needed his angel to wipe them from the earth, so that he could continue on with his mission. That meant giving them their own special place to be laid to rest.

It was his job to spread the Lord’s law
, taking care of those who needed the hand of authority to judge them.

While God was busy, his right hand would handle it.

He would reap them.

After all, it was his job.

             
                   *     *     *

As Elizabeth drove through the little town, she glanced over at Callen as he busily typed a message.

“Ethan?”

He looked up. “Yeah, he said to kiss you for him.”

Her heart flipped in her chest. God, she missed him. While having Callen by her side was amazing, the three of them coming together was always spectacular. The two men were like
ying and yang with her as the line down the middle.

“When’s he arriving?”

Ethan wanted to surprise her. “He didn't say. He’s buried in Gabe bullshit. You know how much he likes to throw out.” It looked like his brother wasn’t the only one who was shoveling the BS. If everything went as planned, he would be landing in the next hour, and then on his way to the Rez.

“Can you make a call and talk to Chief Molala? I’d like to meet up with them tonight, before we head back to the cabin. Tomorrow is going to be a long day of interviewing. We’re going to have to dig into everyone’s lives.”

“Sure thing, angel. I’ll call him for you,” he stated, doing just that.

Elizabeth listened to the conversation as she pulled into the parking lot of
a glass building. While it was still in Devil’s Lake, it was more on the outskirts of town. Whoever owned the building liked flashy. The massive structure was all glass and chrome. In all honesty, it didn't fit the surroundings.