Redemption is Here (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 9) (45 page)

“Before you there was nothingness,” he whispered, teetering on the edge.

“And now with you there is love,” she replied, pushing them both off the edge into the bliss.

They tumbled together as one.

When they resurfaced, Elizabeth gently left kisses across his lips and strong features.

“You memorized my poem.”

Elizabeth laid a kiss over his heart. “Callen, I’ve memorized them all. They mean everything to me.”

His heart ached, but not because of his past. This time, it was because it overflowed with love.

Callen was saved once more, and this time there was no going back.

             
                  *     *     *

Ethan sat on the couch drinking coffee as he thought about his actions. Reminding him of what he’d done, sat an ice pack on his right hand. While he didn't regret the previous evening’s events, he was forced to face the cold hard facts.

H
e was getting old.

In his youth, a fist fight wouldn’t have hurt this damn bad.
He and Callen would get in a fight, drink some beer, and then head to bed without batting an eye. In the morning, they’d be laughing about the hell they raised. Not once did he remember it hurting this much.

At that point, he’d kill for more coffee and a bottle of aspirin.

Then, he was forced to think about what Callen had endured. As he sat there, another wave of anger overtook him. Despite trying to fight it, Blackhawk was helpless. It cleared the fog of guilt over what he’d done. Deep down, he really didn't care. His pain was worth avenging his brother’s abuse. In fact, he’d do it all over again, even with busted up knuckles.

His biggest concern now was if his wife was going to lose her damn mind. Granted, he knew he shouldn’t be using violence to solve what happened, but sue him. He was old school.

It was an eye for an eye.

Then, Ethan began thinking about the profile. Wasn’t that exactly what the killer was doing?

Or was he trying to tell them something with subtle clues?

Ethan picked up his tablet and started scanning the information. When there was a knock on the front door, his heart skipped in his chest.
Yeah, this part he remembered from his youth. It was when the law showed up to take his ass to jail.

Taking a deep breath, he faced the consequences.

There was always the possibility that Dean Quinlan had reported him for the assault. If that happened, he was likely going to lose his job and spend some time in jail. He’d never ask Callen to share his secret to save his ass. As kids, he’d taken the penalty and done the time. This would be no different.

It came down to
protecting his family.

Opening the door, Ethan
saw his guest and relaxed. It was only their anthropologist.

“Quick! Is Lyzee here?” he blurted.

“Are you okay?” Ethan asked, looking around. Tony was rarely this stirred up.

“I need to ask her something,” he said, looking inside.

“She’s off with Callen. Can I help you?”

He paused,
measuring if his boss could help. Finally, he was desperate enough to take any advice he could get. “How did you know you were in love? Was it instant? Did it take time? Is it weird that I think I’m in love with Jaxon, even though I’ve only known her a couple of days?” he asked, not even breathing between questions.

Ethan
was entertained that his anthropologist was this tied up in knots. “I fell in love the second I met my wife, and that’s why we got married so fast. I don’t think you falling for the girl is weird. When it’s meant to be, it just is.”

He measured
Ethan’s words carefully.

“Do you think I have a snowball’s chance in hell?
Jaxon is absolutely gorgeous and a decade younger than me. She’s full of life and…”

Ethan cut him off. “Did you
score with the babe yet?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Multiple times?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Did she initiate any of them?”

“Yes.”

“Was she shitfaced drunk at the time?”

“No, she was sober, why?”
Tony asked.

“Then go back to your cabin. Everything
’s fine. The girl is interested. My best advice is to go with your instinct, and you’ll figure it all out.”

He let out a deep breath. “Are you sure?”

Ethan found that funny. “Have you met my wife? Of course I’m sure. I landed a babe. You can get yours too.”

Tony hugged him fast
, and then was out the door.

It was hard not to laugh as the man
charged toward his cabin like a lunatic. Maybe this Cupid thing was rubbing off on him too. It seemed to give him great pleasure when all the people around him were just as happy and in love.

He flexed his swollen hand.

Yeah, he was such a sap.

             
                  *     *     *

Once on the plane, they were ready for takeoff. Where they had wanted to escape for a few minutes to get home and see the kids, they knew there was no time.

Ethan was alone in Devil’s Lake, and neither Elizabeth nor Callen wanted to risk him. 

They had to get in the air.

Once buckled in, Elizabeth signaled to the pilot that they were ready to take off. It wouldn’t be a long flight, less than an hour.

“Lean on me and close your eyes,” Callen offered, dropping his arm around her shoulders. “You’re going to be beat,” he added.

“You’re worth it,” she said, yawning. “I only need a cat nap,” she whispered, cuddling into his chest to get comfortable. The scent of his cologne and soap lulled her into sleep.

As the plane taxied down the runway, Callen thought about the man who would inevitably be waiting for him back in Devil’s Lake.

The fear rose up, bring
ing along a wave of panic. As he fought to not have an anxiety attack, Elizabeth stirred beside him.

“It’s okay, Callen. I’m here,” she whispered, as she took his hand in hers. Their fingers twined
, locking them together. “No one is going to hurt you anymore. I swear on my life,” she vowed.

He started breathing easier and was grateful to have her. Without Elizabeth, he wouldn’t be going back.

Callen knew the truth.

Underneath it all, he was still scared.

For the first time in his relationship, he doubted Elizabeth.

He was pretty sure that his past was going to destroy his life and no one could stop it.

~ Chapter Twelve ~

When Ethan strode into the morgue, his team was already
hard at work. Heading directly to his head tech, he hoped she had the answers to his questions.

Elizabeth was back in the air with his brother
, and they would need to get this solved before getting the hell out of Devil’s Lake.

“Meredith
, did you find anything on our fifth victim?” he asked.

“We did find some trace. U
nfortunately, it’s nothing that will help us narrow down a killer. There was pollen on Jed Proctor’s body. It’s likely he walked through a patch of weeds and picked it up that way. Each finger was swabbed, and nothing showed up in the tests that shouldn’t be there. He didn't get a shot in at his killer.”

Blackhawk began making notes o
n his tablet. Elizabeth would want a profile, and soon.

“We didn't find any
one’s DNA on him.”

“Please tell me
that you checked the dog too.”

She nodded her head. “We shaved him down to make sure we got everything off his body. In processing it, we fou
nd three fleas, the same pollen which was on the victim, and fecal matter.”

“
Well that’s an awesome combination.”

She smiled. “It actually is, Director. It tells u
s what the dog was doing before he died. If I were going to postulate a scenario, I’d say that Jed Proctor was out at night, taking his dog for its last walk of the evening.”

He stared at he
r. “How do you know time of day?”

She turned her tablet around. “The pollen was from Datura Inoxia or
‘Angel’s Trumpet’. From the quantity of the spores, they were walking through it or possibly dragged. Since it only blooms at night, he wouldn’t have picked up as much pollen on his person if they were closed up.”

“That’s really good work, Meredith.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Ethan
was impressed. Apparently, Callen did pick them a winner. Taking Meredith’s findings, he squirreled them away for his profile.

Doctor Legend strolled over
with more information. “I can concur with Meredith’s findings. We located the victim mid-morning, and TOD is approximately twelve hours earlier.”

“So, he’s killing, transporting, mummifying, and then placing them all within twelve hours.” Ethan pondered that. “He has to have a location close by. It h
as to take some time to cut off or remove parts of the body.”

Zane spoke up, “I agree. We also locked down the weapon,” he offered. Pointing at Meredith, she held up the picture on her tablet.

“I own that same hammer,” Ethan admitted.

“Great. You’re the killer,” teased Zane. “Let’s head home.” He wasn’t sure what reaction he was expecting, but Ethan began laughing.

“Don’t tell my wife. She might get testy if she thinks that she’s married to a homicidal maniac.”

No one wanted a pregnant Elizabeth on the edge.

Motioning his two agents to join him, he wanted to make sure all their tasks were completed when his wife arrived. “How are we doing on Jed Proctor’s background search?”

Johanna spoke
first, “We’re almost there. It’s running now, and then we can go through it.”

“Thank you,” he offered. “We’re going to head out to the victim’s home. I want to search and see what we can learn. Maybe the killer got sloppy. Who knows what we
’ll find? Divide up the tech team and get them ready.”

Doctor Legend had a question
before he left. “Have you seen Tony? It’s not like him to be late,” he stated, glancing down at his watch.

Oh, he knew why the man was late, and he opted to cover for him. “I
saw him this morning when he checked in with me. I’m sure he’ll be arriving shortly. The anthropologists are wrapping up some small details.”

Motioning to his team, he instructed them to suit up before they
headed out. Ethan knew that the killer was bound to escalate at some point. Right now, they needed to find something to start locking him down.

Time was running out, and they needed a lead before the next victim turned up.

At Jed Proctor’s house, they were met by two deputies on duty. Neither man looked excited to have been stuck guarding the place, especially all night.

“No one went in or came out?”
Blackhawk asked, as his people prepared to enter.

“The place was deader than a doornail. Now can we head out? I’d like to sleep sometime today,” asked Deputy Turner
testily.

Ethan dismissed them.

“We’ll search first, and then the techs can do their thing,” stated Ethan, pulling his sidearm. His two agents followed him in, mimicking his actions. As they swept the house for any intruders, they noticed a few things.

“He left
here fairly unexpectedly,” stated Broderick. “The TV is on, the kitchen counter is set up for making a sandwich, and there’s dog food sitting beside the refrigerator.”

Ethan holstered his gun. “Well, with the information Meredith found, I’d say he was making a late night snack, planned on sacking it on the couch
to watch a game, and then the dog needed his attention. Killer must have wanted his last walk of the night.” Ethan was familiar with the situation, since they had two dogs that did pretty much the same thing.