Fire Burns Hot ((An FBI/ Romance Thriller~ (Book 5))) (63 page)

“A really long one with a heavy duty disinfectant,” stated Whitefox. “Don’t get me wrong, I love sex, but that just was… ick.”

Now she was laughing.

“Yeah, the idea of paying for sex is very unappealing,” offered Blackhawk.

Elizabeth shook her head. “Well you two are very attractive men, and don’t need to buy your sex. If you were short, fat and bald
then maybe you might feel differently about that statement.”

Both men looked appalled at her implications.

“None of those men looked anything like you two fine specimens. You both
won the DNA lottery.”

Then Blackhawk figured it out. “Callen, she’s buttering us up for something,” he said, watching her suspiciously. “It has to be big. She’
s telling us we’re sexy. In fact, she’s been pleasant, funny and happy since we left the crime scene. No one likes oatmeal that damn much.”

Callen braced for it. “Great. I can’t wait to hear this one.”

She laughed and picked up the phone, calling Fred Hillstone. When he picked up on the third ring, she used her most menacing voice. “Fred, is this all the video footage?” she inquired.

“I swear it is.”

“If I find out you were holding out on me and using this as your own personal collection to jack off to, I’m going to be pissed.”

“No! I swear!” he stated adamantly. “I promise.”

Elizabeth hung up the phone and started laughing again. “You two are both suspicious of everything.”

Blackhawk wasn’t buying it for a second. “This isn't my first rodeo, Lyzee. I’ve been kicked off this bull many times in the last two years.
Each time is a little worse and more painful.”

She snickered when he stole her saying. “I think we need to go undercover.”

“Excuse me?” stated Whitefox. “I think I heard you wrong,” he said, looking over at his brother. “Did our woman just suggest that there be an undercover assignment in a strip club?”

“Uh huh,” he said, knowing it was going to be huge. “If our
partner thinks we’re going to be okay with her dressing like a stripper and shaking her ass in another man’s lap, she’s lost her damn mind.”

She laughed
at the look on their faces.

“Oh
hell no she isn't!” objected Callen standing. “The mother of my child- the pregnant mother of my child,” he paused. “Isn't playing cop-a-feel with any of the men on that video tape. Over my cold, dead, twice decayed, worm ridden body is that happening.”

“
Make that two bodies.”

Elizabeth held up her hand. “One- we know that the killer is using ‘
The Pussy Cat Club
’ as a hunting ground for women to kill. Two- he’s escalating and we’re running out of time. Three- I have three females that could go under and possibly blend in with a little assistance from a stripper. Four- being fairly intelligent, I have a contingency plan to assure that the three females are safe. And lastly, number five. The last time a man tried to tell me I was forbidden to do my damn job due to pregnancy, he ended searching for me for hours. I do believe you recall that little life lesson, Ethan. Do you wish to have a refresher and Callen do you want to learn it yourself?”

Both men stared
, recalling the time she went missing for hours when Ethan had been too heavy handed. It took them a few hours to locate her at Timothy Blackhawk’s house. It was a big lesson learned by both of them.

“Because I’m pregnant, I’m not less smart, less dangerous, or less viable in the field.”

“What’s the contingency plan,” asked Blackhawk.

Callen was shocked. “Ethan, you can’t be seriously thinking this is a good idea!”

Elizabeth shared her plan, ignoring Whitefox. “I’m going to fill the club with FBI agents that we trust. You, Callen, Doctors Leonard and Magnus. I'm betting Julian will go in too. Then with Cyra, Tori and I, we can be miked and wired for all sound.”

Blackhawk began to relax into it. If they were all there, then his wife would be safe. “Okay, I’m with you so far.”

“In the parking lot, we post a few agents hidden. We get pictures of all the plates coming and going and we run them all. Anything hits, we pull the individual.”

“You’ll be fully miked and in full sight the entire time?” he asked.

“Yes, I promise.”

Ethan knew that her word was good as gold if she made a promise.

“Listen, this isn't my ideal situation. I don’t exactly like the idea of strutting my pregnant stuff in something tiny and risqué. We have seven dead women, and I need something. If I can blend in and make the killer comes to me, we get lucky and women live.”

“You think you can really pull off stripper, Elizabeth?” asked Callen, angrily. He wasn’t happy with the mother of his child being ogled by a bunch of horny men.
There were limits to his magnanimous attitude. Of the two brothers, he was more easy going but this rubbed him the wrong way.

“I’m fairly athletic and I’m not a beached whale. I’m guessing you don’t think I can pull it off.”

Blackhawk knew this was about to get really ugly. It was like waving a steak at a hungry lioness and yanking it away one too many times. Callen was about to get his throat ripped out or his ass handed to him.

“I think what Callen is
having issues with is the part of you around paying customers in that establishment, not you in a tiny outfit.”

“
I’m really not happy with the woman I love parading around in less than a bikini. I’m sorry, but get mad at me if you want. I’m being completely honest. Isn't this what the relationship thing is all about? I tell you how I feel and you try to see my perspective?”

Elizabeth took a deep breath.
“How many more women, Callen? How many more scenes are we going to have to go to where some dead stripper is charred like a hunk of meat? I’m willing to walk around in a tiny little outfit and smile at men if someone’s daughter, mother or friend doesn’t get raped and then lit up like a bonfire. I honestly thought you understood me and how I work. I’m in this for the justice, not to grow an ego. If me shaking my ass catches a killer then fuck it, I’ll do it. If you don’t want to be there then don’t be there. I wear your ring, not your goddamned leash.”

Callen was pissed.

Elizabeth dropped one more fact. “Then toss in the tiny little fact you’re not my boss here. I’m YOURS!”

Her tone shocked him.

“I’m going to go grab a coffee and talk to Tori and Cyra. I also have to go down to autopsy and check in with Chris. When I get back, be out of my office,” she said angrily. “I have work to do and this topic is closed.”

Both men watched as she stormed away.

“Jesus Christ,” muttered Whitefox.

Ethan just leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. “Well, see how fast the happy pregnant woman can go wicked
and mean? This is nothing Cal. She took it easy on you.”

“I don’t think I’m being unrealistic. I don’t want the woman I’m in a committed relationship with to be dressed like a stripper and grinding off some man in a seedy back room.”

“I happen to agree, but I also happen to know she’s damn good at her job, and if her instinct is leading her down this route, then there’s a good reason for it.”

“There’s days I wish she was just a wife and mother.”

Blackhawk shook his head and stared at him like he was criminally insane. “You want to get killed, then say that again a little louder. We fell in love with her as she is, and that’s our cross to bear. If Lyzee wasn’t balls to the wall and tough, she wouldn’t be Elizabeth.”

Callen started cleaning up the breakfast things, stacking them on the tray.

“Come on; let’s go to my office and start pulling anything we can to help get this assignment cleared. I’d like to have my happy little family back intact and minus the carnage and bloodshed.”

“It’s not going to change my mind. I meant what I said,” Callen stated, adamantly.

“I get that, but for the sake of your relationship I’d stop saying it out loud. Elizabeth will be fine and we’ll be there in the club to make sure.”

Whitefox wanted to throw something in frustration. There never had been a woman who’d been able to make him lose his control, quite like Elizabeth could. Callen took a deep breath and followed his brother into his office.

“Yeah, let’s get this assignment over with and fast.”

Elizabeth stood in the autopsy suite, flipping through a file on Patrick Wells’ wife. He’d been completely honest with them. His wife had bought it in a fire. It was one that the previous fire inspector had deemed arson, prior to his retirement. Elizabeth looked at the dates and wondered why the man hadn’t given her the file. The fire that took his wife’s life was still an open case for the police, and that made him look incredibly suspicious. Then toss in the fact he’d inadvertently held back the file. Now, Patrick Wells looked guilty as sin.

“Did you hear me, Lyzee?”
inquired Chris Leonard, as he began the autopsy. Trace had just been completed and he was ready to start.

“No Chris, I’m sorry. I was lost in the file.” Elizabeth could feel her stomach begin to roll at the smell of cooked flesh. “What were you saying?”

“I said that it was really nice of Ethan to hire Cyra.”

She nodded, trying to refocus. “I don’t think he was doing it because he’s nice, Chris. I think he was doing it because she’s
competent, tough and sucker punched a man bare fisted. That hurts and isn't always a smart thing to do.”

Chris started laughing. There’d been many times that he’d seen Elizabeth do the same thing. “Well, I think it was pretty terrific.”

“Are we talking about Ethan or Cyra?” she asked, laughing.

He grinned. “You know who I was referring to, but thanks for the laugh. I always appreciate it when I’m doing my job.”

She nodded.

“Hey, why don’t you get out of here? Give me two hours to get this done and then we can talk about it. You really don’t look too good, and if you go down I’m going to have the techs asking lots of questions why you're out cold.
I’ll have to make up some story to cover for your pregnant ass.”

She laughed.

“Although, that would up my street cred.”

Now she was grinning. “Doc, you’re the ME. You don’t need street cred. You stick your hands in guts all day long willingly. That’s bigger balls than I’ll ever have.”

He offered her a fist bump.

“Uh, hell no. Body fluids,” she stated, pointing. Then
Elizabeth grinned. “Thanks for the pass on autopsy, Chris.” She wasn’t going to hang out and be forced to endure the cooked stripper procedure if it wasn’t necessary. Pregnancy was a wild card, and this child did not like the autopsy suite.

Heading back to her office
, Elizabeth stopped at the front desk to see Ginny. The woman was furiously typing like a maniac and on the phone at the same time. When she finally noticed her boss, she put the call on hold.

“Yes, Mrs. B?”

“I need you to call two contacts from ‘
The Pussy Cat Club
’ and get them in here for a meeting with me.” Elizabeth scribbled their names down on a piece of paper. “This isn't an optional meeting, and I need to see them this morning. Tell them if they don’t come of their own recognizance, I will have them brought in to see me in cuffs.”

“Yes, Mrs. B. I’ll
take care of it,” she said cheerily.

“Thank you, Ginny. Oh, and I don’t want to be bothered. I’m going to be working on the whiteboard. If Chris comes up, send him in but other than that I’m off the grid until my meetings.”

“Absolutely, Mrs. B. Would you like some coffee while you work?”

Elizabeth grinned. “Thanks but I’m good.” She turned and headed into her office to make one more call. Julian and Tori were out in the field, and she needed to check in and make sure it was going smoothly.

When Julian answered on the second ring, she immediately hoped they were having better luck getting a lock on the killer than she was. “Anything, Julian?”

He scanned the area, keeping one eye on the scene and one on Tori. “Nothing that we don’t already know about the guy. He transported by car, because I can’t find a trace of him leaving through the grass behind the building.”

“Nothing?” she said, scrubbing her hands across her face in frustration.

“Sorry, Elizabeth. This killer is coming in by car and going out by car. I can track the dead stripper to her car but that’s it. I don’t see a struggle beside it, and that means she had to have gone willingly. She probably recognized him.”

Elizabeth dropped her booted feet on the corner of her desk. While talking to Julian, she could hear her office door open and then close. Staring into the glass, she saw Callen’s reflection. “Keep looking Julian. Give it another hour and if not head back into FBI West. I have a new plan and we need to all be prepped for it.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” he said, disconnecting the call.

“Yes, Callen?” Elizabeth asked, not turning to look at him.