Dead Shall Speak (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 10) (32 page)

As they all tumbled, caught completely off guard, there was that one deafening shot. Elizabeth felt the drag of a bullet between her and Callen. Then there was the instant flash of pain as flesh was torn.

Terror paralyzed her.

In that instant, she was frozen in fear.

The men were caught off guard as the echo reverberated from the woods just ahead of them. As they hit the ground, free of Elizabeth’s body, they wasted no time to see if she was okay.

Instead they assumed.

Immediately, the men were up, running toward the trees, and neither looked back. Their only warning was to Elizabeth as they raced away.

“Stay down!” they shouted together as they headed straight into danger, guns drawn and anger clearly visible on their faces. Neither man wanted their woman to run after the shooter.

It was too dangerous.

Plus, when they got their hands on whoever pulled that trigger, there would be hell to pay. All they could hope was that she had heard their order, and for once, she’d obey.

As they raced into the trees, little did they know.

This time, they didn't have to worry.

She absolutely was staying right where she fell.

Elizabeth had to.

She was bleeding and couldn’t get up.

~ Chapter Nine ~

They were pretty sure that they were going to catch whoever had just shot at them. The likelihood that one man could outrun two Native men, who were in excellent shape, was almost zero to none. The only way he was getting away was if he had stashed a getaway vehicle.

As they chased, neither spoke.

Ethan was a little more than shocked that for once Elizabeth had listened to him. At seven months pregnant, the last thing he needed was for her to be in the line of fire. He kept expecting Tex to pop up beside him, gun in hand and out for blood.

Yet, she didn't.

Finally, this was a small victory for him and Callen.

While she didn't chase the maniac, when he got back to the clearing, he was going to lecture her about the stunt she just pulled. Either of them could have fallen on her and Charlie. While her vest would stop a bullet, it wouldn’t stop them from crushing their baby.

It all reminded Ethan of too many times where she risked way too much to save them.

He understood it, but it still made him angry.

Callen was right. He did wish she’d stay home and raise their children instead of risking her life. He was so far lost in the terror, he might just be bringing that up too.

Yeah, he was that damn mad.

At her.

At the maniac.

At himself.

Focusing on the chase, he had to let the anger go.

Blackhawk needed to stop dwelling on it. His wife was who she was, and he couldn’t change that.

“He went that way,” Callen blurted, hopping a log. He knew they were moving slower through the woods. He was running in cowboy boots, through dark, slippery terrain. His brother was no better off. He was trying to hustle his way after a shooter in expensive leather shoes and a suit. If someone hadn’t just tried to kill them, they might have found this funny as hell.

It still befuddled Callen as to why the FBI didn't have running shoes as part of the official attire. You’d think they would, if they were going to have to chase down killers.

Callen nearly laughed. He knew what he was doing. By focusing on the mundane, he was ignoring the facts. He was going to shake some sense into Elizabeth when he got back there.

Yes, she’d saved his life. That bullet grazed the front of his vest, and it could have been worse if she didn't move as fast as she did. Her tug pulled him out of the way enough to keep it from entering at his side, just missing the Kevlar.

The truth of the matter was, he would have been dead.

Still, it terrified him that he could have hurt her and the baby. Charlie was big enough that they could crush her under their weight, and for that he wanted to rage.

Callen took a deep breath as he and his brother vaulted a tree branch. In the not to far distance, they both heard the rev of an engine and the spin of tires.

This was a futile chase.

By the time they hit the dirt road, it was too late. The dust nearly choked them, blinding them from seeing the make and model of the vehicle that took off. It looked like the shooter had managed to get away.

“I think it was a truck,” Ethan offered.

Callen knew how useless that was going to be. “Great. We’re in the back woods, looking for someone with a shotgun and truck. How many rednecks could fit that description?”

Ethan laughed, the adrenaline slowing down. “Yeah, I know.”

“We should head back. I want to yell at our wife.”

He was with him there. “I swear to God, Callen, she’s going to be the death of me. Every day, I wonder if I’m going to have a heart attack.”

Now it was his turn to snicker. “Yeah, preaching to the choir. You’re more a stroke victim in the making. I’m more the heart attack.”

Wasn’t that the truth?

With that, they made the trek back to the morgue to give Elizabeth hell. Maybe by the time they got there, both men would be calm. She was lucky that she didn't follow. They would need the walk back to calm down.

Or someone was in for a rather heated lecture.

She didn't move.

She was afraid to.

Elizabeth laid there, the scent of blood filling her nose. All she could do, as Ethan and Callen took off, was to hope and pray that the pain she was feeling was isolated to her arms. She hit the ground rather hard, stealing her breath as it jarred her to the bone.

As the men took off, the morgue emptied of her team. In the lead was Christopher Leonard. He raced to her side, the second he saw the blood staining her white shirt, he knew they had a big problem.

“Shit! Lyzee, are you okay?” he asked, dropping to his knees beside her.

She didn't even answer, because she was too scared that Charlie was hurt. She wanted to weep. The tears were just about ready to fill her eyes.

Chris began taking her pulse with his shaking fingers. In his head, there was an internal dialogue as he prayed she was okay.

As Chris continued to check her out, another vehicle pulled up, and Doctor Magnus ran for the downed woman.

“What happened?” he asked.

Chris began moving her into a better position as gently as he could. “We heard a shot, and when we came out, Elizabeth was on the ground.”

“I’m okay,” she finally said, still not moving too much. “I think I knocked the wind out of us.” Elizabeth hoped that was it. She was really scared this time.

Tony and Chris surrounded her as Jaxon moved Elizabeth’s head into her lap.

“We have you, Lyzee,” Tony reassured. He was concerned by the dual stains of blood spreading on her shirt.

Obviously, she was rattled. Elizabeth was notorious for getting knocked down, hurt, but then getting back up.

This time, not so much.

“What happened?” Chris asked.

“I saw the glint, heard the slide, and I reacted. I think the bullet grazed off Callen’s vest and across my one arm, vest, and then other arm,” she stated.

She was numb.

Either it was from the adrenaline or the bullet. She wasn’t quite sure.

They went to move her.

“Wait. Just give me a second, okay?” Staring up, her eyes met Chris’s. “Charlie…she isn’t shot, is she?” Elizabeth asked, her only concern was for the baby she was carrying.

This was the worst day she’d had in a long time.

If she survived it, she was going to age about ten years.

“Let me check, and pardon the cold fingers, it’s chilly in the morgue,” he reassured.

“It’s okay, Doc. Just get it done.”

With gentle fingers, Chris’s hand slid beneath her shirt and vest, feeling for anything wet. When there was nothing, he continued his examination. As he pressed against her abdomen, there was a kick in protest.

He released the breath he was holding.

“She’s good, Elizabeth. I think she’s just shocked. That was a close one.” They could all see the slice in the vest across her body. “We need to get you in and look at those arms.”

She knew they did. “Keep Callen and Ethan calm. They’re going to lose it.”

No one doubted that at all.

Ethan and Callen were going to do more than lose it. They were going to go shit nuts.

When they hit the clearing of trees, their talking stopped. Something was definitely wrong. Where they expected to find their wife pacing in anger, they found an entirely different scene. The three doctors were on their knees surrounding her, as the techs nervously looked on.

They knew she was still on the ground because they could see her booted feet.

That made them both sick.

Running toward her, they slid to a stop, and immediately dropped to their knees. The first thing both men saw was the blood.

It was all over her white shirt and spreading fast.

“Oh, Jesus!” blurted Callen, ready to be sick. From the look on his brother’s face, he too was feeling it. In fact, Ethan had such a look of fear across his features that it was almost indescribable.

“Baby, are you okay?” he asked, despite the blood. He’d known Elizabeth a while, and whenever she’d been hurt, she’d always shook it off.

This time, she didn't.

Immediately, guilt filled him. They’d left her there as they ran after the shooter. They should have been with her.

“Charlie is okay,” she said, waiting for Ethan to lose it.

“We need to get her inside and out of that shirt,” Chris stated.

Blackhawk wasted no time. Scooping her up in his arms, he headed toward the morgue.

Elizabeth normally would protest, but this time, she tossed him a bone. She could walk, now that the fear had subsided.

Inside, Ethan refused to let her go.

She could feel the fine tremors running through his body. He was close to the edge, and she knew it. Even Callen, who looked worried, was obviously thinking the same thing.

Instead of placing her on the table, he lowered Elizabeth to her feet. “Can you stand?”

“Yes, Ethan.”

Glancing around the room, he sent everyone out but Chris. From the tone of his voice, even Tony didn't joke around. They all sensed what Elizabeth and Callen knew.

Here it came.

With nimble fingers, he began removing the vest. As he dropped it on the morgue table, his eyes went to the slice across the front from the bullet.

“It looks like it glanced off Callen’s vest and across hers,” stated Chris, pointing toward the other man’s Kevlar.

Elizabeth glanced up at Callen. “He was in front of me, so that makes sense.”

Ethan still didn't talk.

He couldn’t. He wasn’t in control yet.

“Then it hit my left arm, went across the vest, and then my right arm,” she admitted.

Once the vest was off her body, Ethan focused on the blood and slices in the white shirt. He was horrified that the bullet could have hit their child had she not been vested up.

It was a miracle.

Because Charlie was smaller than the other babies she’d had, Elizabeth was still able to wear her Kevlar. That had saved their lives.

If she had died, he wouldn’t have been able to go on.

“I can get the shirt off,” she stated, not even putting up a fight. Normally, she would argue about getting topless in the morgue, but Elizabeth was well aware that Ethan wasn’t going to have it. While she was stubborn and pigheaded, the man beside her deserved a break. Since his abduction, Ethan had moments where his temper could be notoriously wicked. Now wasn’t the time to push her luck. 

Chris noticed that Blackhawk wasn’t speaking. “Callen, can you get the first aid kit? I don’t think Lyzee needs a trip to the hospital. They look like they might need some steri-strips and nothing more.”

Callen was grateful for that.

When she was free from her shirt, Ethan’s hands immediately went to Elizabeth’s belly. He could feel Charlie moving around like a maniac. Obviously, she was stirred up just as much as he was.

Like father, like daughter.

“Chris, can you check the baby?” Blackhawk asked, finally speaking.

While he already did outside, he’d appease the man. Pulling his stethoscope out of his bag, Chris began listening to the little Blackhawk in her belly.

“Did you land on her, Elizabeth?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No, and neither did Callen or Ethan. I landed flat on my back. We’re fine.”

Callen dropped the first aid kit on the metal table.

Glancing over, Elizabeth noticed that he didn't look fine. Jesus, she knew what was coming. Both men were stirred up and going to give her hell at any moment.

Great
.

This was the last thing she wanted, or needed.

“Let’s clean up your arms,” Chris offered, pulling out some sterile alcohol and gauze pads. Once, we get the blood off, I’ll be able to tell you how bad it really is.”

Elizabeth had no doubt they were going to bully her into just that. Once the ME was done, she was getting a double barrel full of testosterone.

Chris stood over her, cleaning the wounds in her arms. When he poked at them, she screeched, “Come on, Doc!”

He laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “I believe I now know how you feel, since I had you digging around in my groin. I’m trying to be gentle.”

“Thank you,” she replied, closing her eyes.

He lightened up on the poking. “You need a couple stitches, nothing more. If you want, I can throw them in fast.”

Callen spoke up, “She’s going to the hospital.”

Elizabeth kept her eyes closed. This might be the one time in their relationship that she wouldn’t throw down an argument. If they insisted, she’d go.

Bracing herself, she waited for it.