Redemption is Here (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 9) (52 page)

“Be careful,”
hissed Ethan, grabbing his gun before following. It wasn’t a wide space and there was no way to grab her and pull her behind his body. All he could think about was Charlie and his wife.

His heart pounded
as he prayed for their safety.

Elizabeth followed the darkened path. As her flashlight scanned the area, she could tell they were walking downhill. It made sense. The cemetery was higher up than the church. She could feel the temperature getting cooler.

“Shit! This is one hell of a tunnel,” Callen muttered from behind his brother.

“They used to dig for coal in these areas,” she said. “In fact, there
are old abandoned gold mines too.”

They continued along
until the path got smaller and smaller. At one point, only Elizabeth could get through. Ethan and Callen’s shoulders were too wide.

“We’re turning back,” stated Ethan.

Elizabeth chose to ignore him and continue on. There was no way in hell she wasn’t finding where this ended up. It told her too much about her killer.

“Lyzee!” Callen called, almost in a panic
when she kept sliding forward.

“I’ll call you when I get to the end,” she said, crouch
ing down. “We need to know where this ends up. It could mean finding the killer and getting the hell out of Devil’s Lake.”

They hated that she was right.

“Please be safe,” Ethan said, backing up. “Let’s go, Callen,” he said, pushing his brother backward. “We need to get the hell out of here and find her.”

They raced back through the darkened tunnel. When they ran through the opening, both agents pulled their guns.

“Where’s the boss?” Johanna asked, holstering her weapon.

Her guess was as good as theirs.

All Ethan knew was he needed to head out to the fresh air to wait for her call.

“
She kept following it. I need you two to guard that passageway if she calls for help. Come on, Callen,” he ordered.

The men headed out
, racing down the hill to try and trace their path above ground.

“She’s going to be the death of me,”
Blackhawk muttered.

Unfortunately, Callen couldn’t disagree.
“Yeah, tell me about it.”

~ Chapter Fourteen ~ 

      Thursday Afternoon

Getting Jaxon back to the cabin was his only goal. Once there, she’d be safe, and he could face the turmoil brewing in his gut. It was hard not to be all screwed up over this.

He was in love
, and the woman was going to leave him. This was all new to him, and he didn't know what to do.

As he pulled up to the cabin, he raced around to help her out. While he was pretty sure she could walk, he wasn’t going to take the chance.

Scooping her up in his arms, Tony refused to let go. He was angry inside. Part of it was due to the killer doing this to her, and also because she was willing to toss them away. It hurt that after what they shared, Jaxon felt nothing.

Then again, it was
only one night.

Why was he surprised?

He had always suspected that there was something about him that generally repelled women. Hadn’t he learned that years ago? In his heart lived that scary realization. That was why he didn't put himself out there and have more than a few one night stands. Never before had he risked his heart. Yet now, it was on the line.

In fact, everything was.

Once inside, he gently laid her on the couch. He wanted to rage around the room, but he couldn’t.

He wouldn’t.

If she didn't feel anything for him, how was he supposed to make her?

“You’re mad,” she said, staring at him.

Tony said nothing.

“What did I do?”

He wanted to tell her his heart was breaking. Tony longed to whisper the truth to get it off his shoulders. Logic held him back. Deep down, Tony knew it was crazy. There was no way he could be in love after one night together.

It was impossible.

It was insane.

Then, he
recalled how his buddy Chris fell in love at first sight. After meeting Cyra for the first time, he declared he was going to marry her. It took a year, but he kept his word.

Now, he had that last tenuous thread to hold onto.

“Tony?”

He couldn’t handle it. All the emotion was welling up in him. It was about to burst free from him.

“Yes, I’m mad.”

“At me?”

“No.” He lied. Jaxon had hurt enough today, and she didn't need this too.

“
Want to talk about it?” she offered, pushing off the couch to go to him. The minute she touched him, Tony moved away.

Her heart ached.

“Okay, then I’ll go take a shower. I want to wash my hair,” she said, the hurt filling her.

He stared out the window, trying not to let the anger out. It wouldn’t do them any good. Hurting her wasn’t going to take his pain away.

Deep down, Tony knew if they had more time, he could make her change her mind. If he was just given a few weeks, he could woo, romance, and show her how he felt.

All he needed was a chance.

One lousy shot.

As she walked away, the tears filled her eyes. He was pushing her away
, and Jaxon didn't know why. After her shower, she’d climb into her bed and get some sleep. Maybe when she woke up, it would all be back to normal again.

As the bathroom door closed, Tony took a deep breath. This was new territory for him, and he didn't know how to navigate it. What he wanted was a manual and a clear direction. With his life, it had always been so simple. Learn, implement, and keep going. Now, a wrench had been thrown into the works.

He was madly in love with a woman who didn't feel the same about him.

How the hell was he going to recover from that?

Sadly, he knew the truth. He’d go on, but his heart wouldn’t.

It was already lost.

             
                  *     *     *

Callen ignored the call coming into his phone. He recognized the number, and it wasn’t Elizabeth. Chief Molala was going to have to wait. Yes, they’d missed their meeting, but something had come up.

He’d have to understand and reschedule, or he could kiss his ass. Right now, his biggest worry was keeping Ethan calm and finding Elizabeth.

At that point, she’d been out of contact for eight minutes.

Ethan was starting to resemble
a stressed wolf who was missing his mate. At any second, he was ready to pounce. First came the pacing, then the glances at his watch, and now the red flush was working its way up his neck.

Yeah, he was going to blow.

It wasn’t like he could blame him. Callen was right behind him and about to lose his damn mind too.

“She’s okay, bro. You gotta relax.”

Ethan couldn’t. His heart was pounding, and he swore he was going to get a head full of gray hair at any second. His woman was amazing but terrifying at the same time.

“Hey there, sexy Indians. Did any
one miss me?” she asked, walking from around the corner of the church.

“Elizabeth!” Ethan shouted, pulling her into his arms as he began checking
her for injuries.

“Cowboy, you know I love a good mid-day grope, but really?
I don’t know how appropriate it is next to a church and in a cemetery? That’s kinda kinky. I didn't know you had it in you,” she teased.

All the fear washed away as his hand rested on her belly. “You scare
d the hell out of us. If I was ahead of you, then there was no way in hell you would have been going through there.”

She
had no doubt. Squeezing Callen’s hand, she offered some reassurance to the other man. “You both need to trust me a tad bit more. I’m not going to get jumped in a tiny passageway.”

Callen was glad she was safe. “Well, where did it lead?” he asked curiously. After all this, he was dying to know. Now that she was safe, they needed another piece of the puzzle.

“Well, boys, that little journey led me to the boiler room in the church. There is a coal chute right beside the furnace. It seems that it’s been there a long time.”

Ethan finally let her go. “Okay, so the killer tied up Jaxon, and then escaped from the underground space.”

Elizabeth grinned. “Taking Jaxon was a big mistake,” she said. “When he did that, he left us a few important clues. While the local law might not have picked up on it, I have. This isn't my first crazy train rodeo.”

They began walking back up the hill.

“Okay, spill it, Tex. What do we know?” Callen asked. All he was aware of was that Elizabeth needed a very short leash.

Ethan wiped a bit of coal dust from her cheek.

“You two couldn’t fit through there. While neither of you are huge, you’re still measuring in at over six foot five. I’m just at six feet with my boots on and just made it. Our killer is going to be smaller than both of you.”

Callen laughed. “Well, that narrows it down. We cut billons to millions.”

She wasn’t done. “Yeah, well, I like to leave the best for last, darlin’. You know that. I also can say that this wasn’t something just anyone would know about. It had to be someone on the inside, like a church or staff member. You don’t randomly walk through a cemetery and find a secret location. The person behind the killing had to know.”

Ethan thought about it. “It fits. Who better to take God’s word a little too far th
an a church full of believers?”

Callen’s phone rang again. “Shit! It’s Dakota Molala. We
’re about three hours late to the meeting.”

She grinned. “Wow! The Natives are restless before I even got to speak to them. Go figure.”

Rolling his eyes, Callen answered, ready for the ass chewing. He wasn’t the least bit surprised that the man was irritated.

“I apologize, sir
, but we had an abduction and were called to the scene. Yes, I know I should have called you, but I was a little busy.” Callen paused. “No, sir. I’m well aware that you had outsiders stomping all over your land. We weren’t far away, Chief. I assure you they didn't dig or damage anything.”

Ethan found it amusing. He was so damn glad that wasn’t his job. It would have sucked big time.
He may be Native, but he didn't like playing mediator.

Not for bullshit like this.

“Yes, sir. Can we reschedule for today? Chief, I know we offended you by not showing up, but I can assure you that we were detained because of a valid reason. We weren’t jerking you around. Sometimes, things come up in our line of work that are out of our control.”

Elizabeth could tell that Callen was being run through the ringer. He’d apologized plenty of times and enough was enough. Walking over to him
, she took the phone out of his hand.

“Chief Molala?” she asked sweetly.

“Yes?” the man replied.

“This is Director Elizabeth Blackhawk. Remember me? I’m the little woman who was supposed to be doing the interview today.”

“Yes, and it is very disrespectful to not show up. We do have lives of our own.”

She grinned at Ethan and mouthed
‘sorry’
to Callen. “I do understand that, and if you thought that was disrespectful, you’re really going to hate this,” she said, before laying into him. “We’re currently working on a serial killer case, where some of your people are implicated. You’re going to make yourself some tea, sit your asses in your meeting house, and wait for me. I’m moving as fast as I can, and if you and your tribe don’t like it, that’s too damn bad. My priority was the woman who was abducted by the killer. If you think I have the patience or inclination to play your little kiss ass games, you’re wrong. Director Whitefox apologized, and now I’m telling you that I’m on my way. End of discussion.”

Chief Molala stuttered.

“So chill out and get your warbonnets out of a bunch or your tomahawks won’t be the only things stuck up your ass.”

Hanging up the phone, she handed it back to Callen. Where she expected him to say something or get angry, he didn't. Instead, he simply laughed.

“I like it better when you do it in person,” Ethan said, grinning. “That was anti-climactic. I couldn’t see him get all worked up.”

Callen finally spoke, “Yeah, I can’t wait to see how this one works out.”

“Pretty much like they all do,” she stated.

“What’s the plan, Tex?” Ethan asked, as he scanned the cemetery watching over his team.

“We’re going to pop over to the meeting house, and I’m going to question Bruno Whitefeather, Anna Tunica, and Brian Brewster. Then, we’re going to head back to the morgue to see what they found. After that, we’re calling it a night. I want to work on the whiteboard, and Callen is on babysitting duty.”