Dead Shall Speak (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 10) (7 page)

She leaned forward to touch Elizabeth’s hand. When she made contact, there was a light sizzle of energy before Elizabeth was forced to yank her hand away.

“They saved you, and you’ll do the same.”

She wanted to weep. God! She missed Callen and Ethan in the worst way.

Plus, there was something about this woman that made her hormones go all out of whack and the tears threaten to fall.

“Are they in danger?” she finally asked. How Elizabeth found the courage, she’d never know. Her biggest weaknesses in life were the men she loved, and the children that they had together.

“Something is coming for them.”

“What?” She couldn’t believe she was letting herself get sucked into this malarkey.

It had to be total BS, right?

“One brother will live and one will die.”

Okay, that had her freaking out, and she could no longer keep it in. There was no way she could know that Ethan and Callen were related, or that she was in a relationship with two men.

Oh, God!

Oh, God!

Oh, God!

Avalon watched her with an empty gaze. “You have a killer who won’t be stopped easily, and death will take one brother’s life for the other.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “No.”

“One must die for the other to live. It’s the circle of life for now. Fate will choose when it’s time. I saw it in my dream.”

This was her worst nightmare.

Elizabeth was miles away and couldn’t help them. They were on their own. If she lost either of them, she was as good as lost herself.

“Please stop.”

“Why?” Avalon asked.

“You’re scaring me.”

She got quiet before she stood. Crossing to the woman before her, she touched her chilly cheek. “You should go to them, Elizabeth. For now, I’m safe here. I have a Marine protecting me, but they aren’t that fortunate. When it comes to the situation that they’ve been called into, they need you. Your entire team needs you.”

Elizabeth opted to be honest with the woman. “If I lose them, I lose me.” Yet, she couldn’t leave. Her duty to the FBI had to supersede her love for Ethan and Callen.

“Then you need to call the angel and tell him you’re leaving.”

She didn't get it.

Elizabeth had to think about it.

Finally, it clicked.

“Gabriel is far from one of those, despite his name. He’s going to demand I stay here with you. You’re valuable to the FBI, and my new priority.”

Yeah, it sucked to say it out loud, but that didn't make it any less than the absolute truth.

She shook her head as she took Elizabeth’s hand in hers. “Tell him I told you to go. It’s imperative that you head there and help.”

“Oh God,” she muttered, closing her eyes.

Gently, she placed her hands over Elizabeth’s belly. “She’s small, but healthy. Charlie needs a trip. Go help them. There are dead women who call to you from their grave. You’re the only one who will get them justice. This is who you are in life. You’re not meant to guard the living, Elizabeth. Your duty in life comes to those who have already passed. They need closure to be free. Don’t worry about me. I’m safe. There’s time until the storm comes.”

She swallowed, hating that fear had her by the throat. With a simple nod, she headed to the hall to make the call. Gabe was going to have a shit-fit, but she didn't care.

There was no way in hell she was sacrificing one brother for the other.

They had kids.

They had a life.

They had love.

No one with a soul could sit by and let that happen. If someone had to go, she’d rather it be her.

Then she wouldn’t mourn losing them.

                                   *    *    *

Already, word was traveling.

The college students were up in arms, gossiping about the dead bodies found not far from campus. They were simply writing it off as donations to the body farm being ‘misplaced’.

That pissed him off.

They were important.

Not donations to the science community.

Oblivious to the world around him, as he was hunting for the perfect wife, he had somehow missed that they were digging up the graves.

How did this happen?

His father had picked that location years ago, using it to dump the women who didn't earn the right to be his wife.

Now, they were defiling their graves.

While he didn't want them, it didn't mean that they should be bothered.

After all, they were claimed. His father wouldn’t want just anyone having the women he had picked for his own. This was defiling their family!

It angered him beyond rationale.

He’d left three potential wives there too. The ones who didn't make him happy had found their way to the family burial site. Now there was a poacher in the mix.

This was a mess.

How could this happen?

In town, he heard the clucking of the college hens, talking about the women being dug up, and it gave him pause.

Should he continue?

Was it a good idea to keep looking for the perfect wife? If the law already found the bodies, what would be next? Him? Maybe he should quit.

Then he realized that he couldn’t. This was his father’s life mission. He was to pass his genes on to the next generation. He had to have a son.

So, it was decided.

What choice did he have?

It was time to move forward. Already, he’d picked the next one. His heart was set on having her as his bride. He’d seen her around town and wanted her for his own.

She reminded him of his mother.

There was the wavy black hair, and eyes of the bluest blue. It called to him.

When she crossed his path, inadvertently bumping into him, it was a sign from above.

She was the one.

Now, he only needed to track her, find a location, and propose. He’d bring her home to his little humble abode, lock her down, and get her ripe with a baby.

She’d do the job.

He knew it.

The three before her were just test runs.

This would be the actual woman he ended up picking to be his only.

He smiled into his coffee cup.

It was time to blend back in as he made his plan.

She was going to be his.

Forever.

                            *    *    *

When Gabe heard her voice, he knew right away that something was very wrong. In bad situations, there was one person you could rely on to remain calm.

Elizabeth Blackhawk was rock steady.

Only this appeared to be one of the few moments where she was slipping into bedlam.

“Breathe and calm down. I can’t understand a word you’re saying! Now, start over.”

Again, she broke it all down.

She told her friend about the message from Avalon Miller, and how scared shitless she was. When she finished, there was a little more panic in her voice.

They were wasting time.

“Elizabeth, you need to take a second to calm down. You’re going to make yourself sick. If you shoot up your blood pressure, you’ll have a stroke or risk that baby. Count to ten for me.”

She did what he asked, only because she could feel everything slipping through her fingers.

“Gabe, what case have they just taken? Please tell me she’s wrong. I need you to reassure me that right now, Callen is at home with our kids, and Ethan is in his office.”

The man couldn’t do that.

Damn!

He was freaked out by Oracle now too. There was no way that Elizabeth could know that he and Ethan had just had a conversation about him and Callen heading out into the field.

There was no damn way!

Part of him was glad he wasn’t babysitting her. If the woman could throw Elizabeth Blackhawk into a tizzy, she had to have some crazy, mad skills.

“They’re heading out into the field. In fact, they’re scheduled to land in a couple hours.”

That didn't help.

Her heart pounded. Here came the hysteria.

“What’s going on?”

He told her about the bodies that Doctor Magnus’s team had found. Gabe relayed everything he knew. Normally, he wouldn’t, but with this woman, you couldn’t hold anything back. She was a pit bull when it came to lies.

“I’m going.”

“You can’t. You know that Oracle is a matter of top security. She needs to be kept hidden and safe.”

There was a line being drawn in the sand. Yes, she was a Fed, but she was a wife first and foremost. If she didn't act, and something happened to one of her men, how would she forgive herself?

“Avalon told me to go. She insisted. I’m not going to sit here when the men I love are in danger.”

Gabe sighed. “Lyzee.”

“No, Gabriel. If you were here, what would you do? If it was Livy or your kids, how would you react? No, let me tell you what you’d do. You’d take matters into your own hands, like you asked me to do many years ago.”

Here they went again. She’d just thrown out the ‘Boston Butcher’ case. Like it or not, she had a point. When it was his woman in danger, he didn't hold back.

“Elizabeth,” he began.

“No, Gabe. They’re my life. I can’t let this happen. Family comes first. You taught me that.”

It both pissed him off and amused him that she’d used pretty much the same tactic her husband had only hours earlier. “Can you hold in there for a little while?”

“No! Do I sound like I can?”

“I’m not talking another week. Just give the team time to land, and I’m asking for a few hours to get backup in place to keep Avalon safe. You can head there by tomorrow evening. I need one day, Elizabeth. If word gets out that you’re not there, my boss is going to shove his boot so far up my ass, I’ll taste leather for a week.”

She wanted to laugh. His boss was POTUS. It was hard to picture the President messing up his shiny shoes.

“Jagger is a good Marine. He’s cocky, arrogant, and thinks he’s the best thing in the universe. He’ll keep her safe once I’m gone. When this is all over, I’ll head back. Just let me go keep them safe. If I lose one, I’m gone, Gabe. I can’t do it again. The day Ethan nearly died, I lost a piece of my soul. If I have to kiss one of them goodbye, I’ll never make it back.”

He knew how hard it had been for her. His wife had told him all the things Elizabeth wouldn’t. Livy had broken the girlfriend code to get her husband to ease up on all three of them.

“Is your location secure?” he asked.

“No one knows where we are.”

“You’ll have to get there without taking the jet.”

She needed to know. “Where are they, exactly?”

“Belleville, Kentucky.”

Grabbing the nearest tablet, she Googled their location. It was within driving distance. “If there are problems here, Jagger can get her to me in less than five hours.”

That’s all she could say.

It was already too much, even for a man she trusted with her life.

“Give me through the night to make sure the leaks are plugged, and then you can head there tomorrow afternoon. I’ll make sure Oracle is covered.”

“Thank you, Gabe,” she stated.

“Get it solved, find the killer, and get back there until Nathaniel can take over. I mean it, Elizabeth. If anything happens to Oracle, we’re dead. She’ll be predicting our funerals because there won’t be a pink slip. All there will be is an obituary. My boss takes this very seriously. He has a soft spot for the woman.”

She laughed.

When he didn't, Elizabeth got serious.

“Avalon insists that she’s fine.”

“Do you believe her?” he asked, wondering why his director had such a change of heart.

It didn't take her long to think about it.

“After today, yeah, I do.”

It was good enough for him.

And yet, Gabriel Rothschild couldn’t help but be nervous.

~ Chapter Two ~

   Three Hours Later

   Belleville, Kentucky

The flight had been smooth. In a few minutes, they’d be touching down and kicking off another assignment. Both men were happy to be distracted, but there was one part of their team missing, and that was still causing them duress.

Ethan was man enough to admit that he was curious if he could do this without her.

Yeah, he’d told everyone he could, but after his abduction, there was still that lingering doubt that he’d lost his edge. It was hard to ignore that jangle of nerves just under the surface, reminding him that, as of late, his wife carried their sleuthing team.

Then, there was Callen.

He knew with Elizabeth missing, a great deal would be falling on his brother’s shoulders. While Ethan would do the profile, Callen would have to step up, helping him piece it together. They were going to have to redefine their team, doing it on the fly.

Blackhawk suspected that was going to be one hell of a challenge.

With the tap on his shoulder, Ethan glanced up at their ME. Chris Leonard was all smiles as he pointed at the seat across from them. “May I join you?” he asked.

At Ethan’s nod, he took a seat and buckled in before continuing, “The team is ready, and they’ve all been briefed. We saw the photos that Tony sent to you. I can’t believe we’re going to be back in the field together. I wish Lyzee could be here for this.”

He saw Callen flinch and close his eyes.

Oh boy.

Somehow, he’d managed to put his foot in his mouth.

“Are you two okay?” he asked, lowering his voice. Since she saved his life, they’d become a family. Chris and Cyra Leonard were always at their place, and vice versa. In fact, they had every intention of naming their first born daughter after her. It was a matter of months before Elizabeth Leonard would be born.

“No, we’re edgy,” Callen stated, pointing out the obvious.

Ethan sighed. “It’s rough without her here, and we’ll leave it at that. Unfortunately, we can’t talk about what she’s doing, Chris, even with someone we consider family. So, let’s drop it, and stay focused on the investigation. It’ll be less painful,” he reassured.

When Ethan rested his hand on Callen’s forearm, they shared the message between them. It was that simple reassurance that once offered so much calm, but now it was wearing thin.

It was hard to tell if they’d make it or not.

Callen was struggling with it.

“Well, I’ll help you through it, and maybe you can help me with something.”

Blackhawk was willing to do anything for the man in front of him. Elizabeth loved him like a brother, and that meant the world to him. Ethan understood that bond. After all, he had it with Callen.

“What?”

“How do you manage the pregnancy hormones?” Chris asked, keeping his voice just above a whisper. “I love my wife, but I can’t figure her out. Since she got pregnant, I’m struggling to navigate this. How did you two master it with three pregnancies?”

Callen and Ethan both laughed. It was warm and filled with affection for the man. It was also the first good one they’d had in days.

“Oh, Chris, if we knew that, we’d be rich. Whenever Elizabeth is with child, it’s a rollercoaster ride,” Ethan stated. “She’s fairly calm, but there are moments when she loses it.”

Grinning, Callen picked up where his brother left off. “Remember the day she saw the missing children on the side of the milk carton?”

Ethan snorted. “Our badass wife wept for about an hour. We had to switch stores to get milk that didn't have the photos on the side. We seriously thought she’d make herself sick over it.”

Chris Leonard grinned. Yes, he was worked up over his wife’s hormones, but he also knew that they needed to reminisce about the woman they loved. Before Elizabeth had headed out, she’d made a stop into the morgue, asking him to look out for her men.

Chris was doing just that.

Callen took over. “Or how about the time she wanted to paint the fence in the back yard a sunny yellow because it would cheer her up, and when you were done, she decided that white was better after all.”

Blackhawk grinned. “Yeah, and I didn't say a word either. I just redid it because a pregnant wife is a dangerous wife.”

Chris Leonard agreed there.

“Or what about the time she cried when we had chicken for dinner? Her big meltdown was all because it had to be hard to be locked in a cage all your life, only to be eaten.”

Chris laughed, not expecting that. “Seriously?”

The men nodded. “You have NO control over the hormones, but you do have control over how you react. My suggestion is, be sympathetic, cuddle with Cyra, and tell her it’ll be all right. Then, bide your time until the delivery. Hormones generally shut off shortly after.”

Chris Leonard was glad he took the time to talk to the men. Already, he could see the tension easing from their faces.

Mission accomplished, if even temporarily.

“I hope I survive this,” Chris admitted. “I feel out of control.”

Ethan shared something with the man that he normally wouldn’t say out loud. “We all do. Honestly, I like when she’s cranky so much better. It makes my life easier. Then, I know what to expect, or at least I have a heads up that I’ve done something ‘male’.”

Callen agreed. “When she cries, I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’ve failed somehow. There is nothing more unnerving than watching a strong woman break.”

The pilot came over the speaker, announcing their upcoming landing.

“Buckle in and enjoy the ride, Chris. Fatherhood is great, but you really need to think of the pregnancy like it’s a hazing. The weak will be eaten alive, but if you make it, you get all the sexy babe you want in the end.”

Ethan glanced over at his brother. “You’re damn lucky she isn't here. Elizabeth would kick your ass for even thinking that.”

He grinned. “I miss her so much that I’d gladly let her.”

As the plane slowed, they all unbuckled.

“Well, let’s get this started. It’s time to go play in the dead, team,” Ethan stated, heading for the door. “Make me proud. Let’s find a killer and dedicate this one to Elizabeth. She’d want us to kick some ass.”

They all cheered.

Neither Ethan nor Callen knew if it was because it was in her honor, or because she wasn’t there to ride their asses. With the people who worked for them, it seriously could go either way. When they weren’t cowering in terror, they were saluting her.

Either way, they’d get the bad guy.

It’s what their team did.

                                          *    *    *

Thankfully, it was a short drive to the dig location. Once there, the team headed in, much like ants leaving the hive. If anything, their people were damn good at what they did, and it showed. Grabbing their gear, they got down to work.

Now, Blackhawk had to do his thing.

Lead
.

Spotting their anthropologist, Ethan and Callen opted to head there first, while Doctor Leonard prepped his team for the bodies.

“Oh God! I am so glad to see you,” a harried Tony Magnus blurted. “This has been a hellish couple of hours.”

They didn't doubt that at all.

After all, three bodies and a handful of curious scientists didn't mix. Not when it came to forensics.

“We’ll take over now,” Callen reassured. “I’ll contact the university and start coordinating this for the team.” He wanted to do his part, making Ethan’s job a little easier.

“Yeah, that’s going to be a huge problem,” Tony stated. “The second we found these flesh covered corpses, the university wanted nothing to do with them. In fact, they’re ready to call this some government cover-up.”

It was stupid shit like that which made Ethan Blackhawk want to lose it. Why would they cover-up bodies found on the school’s land? Did they honestly believe the FBI had nothing better to do with its time?

“Do we have confirmation that they’re not part of the university’s anthropology projects?”

Impeccably timed, Doctor Chris Leonard arrived, pulling on a clean suit and snapping on his gloves. “I think I can answer that once I get a look at them,” he offered, immediately hugging his buddy. “Hey, Tony! I’ve missed you. You charged out of Lyzee’s party and have been hiding out.”

He laughed, jerking his head toward the redhead not far away. “I’ve been tied up.”

Without missing a beat, Chris grinned wickedly. “I love when that happens. It’s good to see she unties you for work.”

Ethan cleared his throat, knowing the men were heading toward bedlam. Unfortunately, with Elizabeth gone, he had to keep some sort of rein on the mayhem. “Do I have to separate you two?” he asked. “We’ve only been here three minutes, and it’s already starting. This may be a record, even for you.”

Callen shook his head. “You’re screwed. The only person who can keep these two in line is Elizabeth.”

He was well aware.

God!

He missed her.

Both doctors snickered, knowing it was going to be fun to work together again.

“Okay, all joking aside, where are they?” Chris asked, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically. “I’m anxious to get to my patients.”

Callen tried not to laugh. The people on their team were good, but sometimes he questioned their sanity. Who was excited to dig around in decaying flesh?

Only their ME.

Tony led them to the pit and pointed at the three tarp covered bodies. “I’m sorry. I had to cover them with something until you got here. I know it’s not FBI protocol, but it was the best I could do. With the heat and the prey birds flying over, I didn’t want them snacked on before you could take a look. Those poor victims have been through enough.”

Chris, while already calculating the ramifications, knew there was nothing he could do about it. Sometimes, you had to do anything to save as much evidence as possible.

They’d worked with less before. This was a minor bump in the road.

“I’ll get started,” he offered, handing Tony a pair of gloves. “Want to join me in the hole?” Chris asked.

“I’ve missed this,” the anthropologist stated. Truly, he had. There was nothing like the easy familiarity of doing the same job you’d done for years. It was great to put his mind on autopilot, allowing himself to just be a Fed.

As they climbed into the hole, Ethan noticed that Doctor Armstrong was keeping her distance. When he motioned to her, she didn't hesitate to head his way. It appeared that she was grateful to be away from the victims.

“What happened?” he asked. “While they do their part, I need someone to debrief me on the situation.”

She gave him the entire story, making sure to leave nothing out. “I didn't know I was about to move onto the next victim. We were careful with marking the graves before we began the tedious process of clearing them. Bones in the ground this long are more fragile due to the leaching of minerals. When I started working on the last skeleton, I found a hand.”

Ethan had received the initial reports. “Was it attached?”

“At first, I didn't know. Then when Tony had us start to pull back layer upon layer of dirt, we saw that it was a full skeleton, and it was intact.”

Callen looked around the field. It was like a cemetery, just minus the headstones. “How deep were all the other victims buried?”

Jaxon pulled out her tablet. “The deepest grave we found was four and a half feet down.” She flipped through her information. “The shallowest graves happen to be the new bodies, and we have them tagged at barely three feet deep.”

That was interesting.

It was possible that these victims were dumped and hastily covered over. This gave Ethan something to ponder. They had thirty plus year old graves, and now fresh ones. Was it the same killer coming back to finish it up, or a new one playing copycat?

From the grave, Chris got their attention. “These aren’t bodies misplaced from the body farm. They didn't lose any of their ‘guests’.”

Callen leaned over the edge to check out the victims. “I almost regret asking this, but what the hell is a guest on a body farm?” he asked. It sounded wrong and revolting all at once, like so many things he’d discovered in the FBI. “Or don’t I want to know?”

Chris Leonard stood, brushing the dirt from his knees. “It’s where the anthro department gets donated cadavers, and they place them out in the field to rot. It’s a teaching situation, so they put them in abandoned cars, barrels, in the ground, hanging from trees, and other scenarios to study the effects of nature on death.”

He looked appalled. “Wait, why?”

“To learn.”

There was so much to say to that. Callen stared down at the now uncovered bodies in horror. In his mind, he was picturing rotting corpses hanging from tree branches like macabre Christmas decorations.