Discarded by Fate

by Morgan Kelley

  Yeah, Boston brought back so many fond memories.

  “Newton, you are my favorite person.”

  “HEY!” Callen stated. “I could have flirted with her and got her to walk away.”

  She punched him. “That’s for considering that.”

  “Why didn’t you hit him too?” Callen hissed, as he grabbed his gut.

  “He’s not married to me. You are. You should know better,” she stated.

  “Chris, be careful,” she said, staring at him.

  “Why?” he asked.

  Elizabeth thought back to the rumors about her. She made a joke.

  “If she tries to bite you in the neck, stake her through the heart.”

  He began laughing.

  “Lyzee, you said that then too.”

  She was aware.

  “I’ve got this. I’m more patient now. You…not so much,” he said, patting her cheek before he headed off.

  Yeah, tell her something she didn’t know.

  When Chris was gone, Elizabeth laughed her ass off. Things were not same there. The last time she stopped at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, the shit had hit the fan.

  “What was that, and did you really jump Chris in the morgue? You’ve had sex with Ethan in there too. I’m beginning to feel left out.”

  She was amused.

  “Yes, I did. We had just become a couple, and we were no longer booty calls. It was the start of the relationship and the catalyst to live together.”

  Callen stared.

  “As for the rest, she’s older, but that was someone we worked with on a case long ago. Boston was…a mess.”

  “How long ago?” Callen asked.

  “I was trying to solve a case and shake down Michael O’Banion.”

  Callen knew the name.

  Everyone did.

  “Seriously? And you lived?”

  “Yeah, Boston had a serial killer running around. I came here, I found him, and I conquered. As for Doctor Julliard, she didn’t like me then, but she certainly liked Chris.”

  “As in…”

  “She gave him a full on frontal grope—inside his scrubs, in the morgue, just as I was walking in.”

  Callen laughed. “Why didn’t he take her up on it?” he asked. “She’s not an unattractive woman. She’s just bitchy. Some men like that.”

  She pointed at him.

  “Two punches in five minutes, Callen? Really?”

  He zipped it.

  “As to why he chose me over her, well, you’d have to ask him that,” she stated. “I wasn’t privy to his thoughts. All I know is we arrived there, became a couple, chased a killer, avoided a mob man, and then went home and worked on our relationship.”

  Callen got it.

  “He wanted you—not her.”

  “Again, that’s from his side of our past. If you want confirmation, you have to ask him. We all agreed that we wouldn’t hide shit. He has to be held to that too.”

  “Did you want him?” Callen asked as they headed toward the doors behind the building where the victims were rolled into the morgue.

  “Yeah, I did. The whole idea that some woman was trying to get in his britches cooked my goose. I was NOT happy, and that’s when I realized that we were meant to be. He’d grown on me, and I’d grown on him. We were all we had.”

  Callen was jealous.

  It was hard.

  “I also kicked her ass—a little. I don’t recall it clearly, but I did steal her key to the morgue, and knowing me, I likely promised to rearrange her face if she ever touched his junk again.”

  True. That did sound like her.

  It pissed him off.

  Yes, they agreed not to hide shit, but sometimes, hearing about it…it got him riled up, and not in a good way.

  As they headed in, Callen wanted to claim his ownership.

  It was wrong, but sue him.

  He tugged her by the arm, yanking her into his body. When she was there, he mauled her mouth like he’d never mauled it before.

  It was a full-on oral assault.

  He’d caught her totally off guard. This time, it was Elizabeth who moaned.

  When Callen set her free, she was staring up at him.

  “Jesus in a pink flower tutu.”

  Yeah, she could say that again.

  “What was that for?” she asked, licking her lips.

  “That was because for the first time since we all found out about your past, you answered without hesitating. You trust me, and that means I have nothing to worry about. Oh, and the idea of you jumping a man in the morgue made me want to prove I own you.”

  She stayed against his body.

  Normally, shit like that would piss her off. This time, she got it.

  “Callen James, you never have to worry. I kept the whole Maeve thing to myself, but I won’t keep this. I had a relationship that was full, wonderful, and loving. I’m not ashamed of what Chris and I had. We both moved on, and it led me to you and your brother. That’s history. We are the future.”

  He grinned. “I know, and I’m at peace. When do I get morgue sex?”

  That was exactly what she wanted for him, so she’d humor him. “When we get back to DC, I’ll rock your world with one hell of a fantasy.”

  He was in.

  “When Doctor Julliard began flirting just now, you didn’t even get defensive. That means you’re over him. I saw it with my own eyes.”

  It was true.

  She laughed. “Well, I will kick her ass if she tries to hurt him. That’s never going to change, but if Chris decides to start something, I’m good with it. Really.”

  He saw that.

  “Let’s go.”

  As they headed in, they could see Christina’s head peeking out of a doorway.

  “Bosses! This way!”

  As they entered the room, it was a familiar one. Chris was standing there, and the other ME was hovering.

  “Hey, Doc, what do you have?” she asked.

  He began laughing. “Honey, I have my scrubs on. That’s what you have. I will start in a bit. Maybe you can find something to do, like go harass the police?”

  Yeah, she could do that.

  She pointed at Johanna. “Get that security video of my guard dogs. I want to know if you can find anything on it. Was it altered? Was it faked? Get it and make it happen.”

  Johanna laughed and headed out. It was a quick walk to the police station.

  “Hey, Doctor Julliard, can I use your tech equipment to link up to my office?” she asked.

  “Yes, feel free,” she said, barely focusing on Elizabeth.

  Don’t get her wrong. She was glad her ME was taming the ME beast. At least they could work.

  The techs milled around, and they got ready to get things underway.

  “Do you have all the trace with you?” Callen asked Christina.

  “Boss lady, we have most of it. Like you requested, half the team remained behind to gather any evidence on how the killer got inside. They are working that angle.”

  “Perfect,” Elizabeth said, hopping up on a table. “Let’s see what you pull first and go from there.”

  “Okay, boss!” she said.

  Elizabeth glanced over.

  “Uh, do I get coffee?” she asked the other ME as she was watching Chris like prey.

  “Pot. Legs. Walk.”

  She laughed. “Works for me. Christopher, do you want some?” she asked.

  “Yes, honey. You know how I like it.”

  She poured three cups, handed one to Callen and placed one by the autopsy tools for Chris. He hadn’t begun yet, so there was no biohazard.

  “What do we know about the location?” she asked Callen. He’d been doing research on it all morning. “Does it have any significance?”

  “It was once a stop for ‘The Underground Railroad’. I just learned that now. Also, Blue emailed us.”

  “What did they find?”

  He tossed her the phone.

  “Well, that
answers that,” she said, reading he email. “At least we know the killer isn’t Houdini. That would be freaky.”

  He agreed.

  “Security missed this? That’s not like them.”

  Oh, Callen was thinking the same thing.

  “Way to screw that up,” Chris teased. “How long are you going to ride Ivan over this?”

  “A long time.”

  “Shocking,” he teased.

  She snorted. “Continue, Callen.”

  “Other than that, no ties to any killings, murders, or crazy shit. I will go on record and say that you mentioned in an interview that you liked staying there. The carriage house was, and I quote ‘a relaxing mecca where you can chill and be a normal person’,” he said.

  “Yeah, I recall that. Well, that was a crock of shit.”

  “We’ll have to find a new mecca. This one is littered with bodies.”

  Elizabeth figured as much.

  “We’ll send a team over to help Ivan and Blue if they ask for help on this one.”

  He made notes.

  Chris knew why she was waiting.

  “Lyzee, honey, I’m going to need a couple hours. I have to take our victims apart to see if all the cuts line up. Then I can start the actual autopsy.”

  “I can help,” Doctor Julliard offered. “I’m suddenly available for as long as you want me.”

  No one there believed she was talking about autopsies. The woman looked like a cat getting ready to pounce.”

  “Will you be okay here?” she asked, pointing at the woman and then making devil horns when she wasn’t looking.

  Chris choked on his coffee.

  Heather patted him on the back. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, it went down the wrong way.”

  “Do you need mouth to mouth?” Elizabeth teased.

  He pointed at her. “Don’t.”

  She raised her hands in surrender. “I got it, Doc,” she said. “Keep me in the loop. I’ll try not to find another body before you get this one done.”

  “I would appreciate that.”

  “Call me if you need me, Doc. I’m going to head out to meet up with the police. I want to make sure we’re actually good to go. I don’t like any surprises popping up to bite me in the ass.”

  “Watch your back. You attract the crazies.”

  Oh, she knew it.

  “Thanks, Christopher.”

  As she was heading out, Callen pulled his wallet out of his pocket.

  He pulled out a fifty.

  “By Wednesday, he’s going to let her have her wicked ME way with him.”

  She laughed.

  She pulled out her money. “By Monday night. I know him better than you. If she was bothering him, he couldn’t fake it. He’d be telling her to stop touching his tools.”

  “You think?”

  “Yep. He’s going to get his sex on. It looks like someone is getting back on the horse after all.”

  Callen laughed. “I can’t wait to see how this one plays out.”

  Honestly, neither could she.

  * * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *

  Tunnel

  When they found the exit, it led to the neighborhood just past the bed and breakfast. While he wasn’t shocked, he was surprised that their whole team had let this slip past them.

  Then again, the underground tunnel opened up in a building that was condemned by the city. Who would have seen that one coming?

  Clearly, this town was sitting on a random maze of tunnels. That would be impossible to track.

  Besides, this delivery person knew their way around Boston. There was no doubt in his mind that the Blackhawks had been studied.

  This wasn’t random.

  “We need to get to the boss lady. She’s going to want to get some techs here to take any trace. I already emailed the team with what we found under the room.”

  He agreed. “We walk back.”

  “Can we walk out in the street where the sun is. I’m not claustrophobic, but I’d like to see the sun after that little adventure. I’m thinking Nancy Drew would have handled it better.”

  He wasn’t so sure about that. Blue had handled it better than any woman he’d ever met. In fact, she didn’t flinch. She’d been cool, calm, and collected.

  Like a Marine.

  He laughed. “Sure, we can do that.”

  As they headed out, they had to be quite the sight. She was still picking webs out of her red hair.

  “Thanks for not freaking out back there,” Ivan said. “It was nice not to hear screaming.”

  “I was a doctor and did an ER rotation. You can’t freak out easily on those. I once held a severed foot while a man passed out from seeing it. You have to have pretty steady nerves.”

  He got that.

  He’d once held a severed foot, too, and he wasn’t a doctor. Marines in combat saw all kinds of shit.

  “Being a doctor had to be tough.”

  “Yeah, it was,” she said. “Do I have dirt all over my face? I feel like I rolled in a pile of it.”

  He laughed.

  “You’re good. Only a smudge on your forehead.” Gently, he wiped it off. Staring down into her eyes, he felt like he was falling into some cool pool of water.

  Damn it!

  He needed to put space between them. He was thinking really inappropriate things about this woman. He’d sworn off the opposite sex for anything but a quick romp.

  Blue…she was sweet, kind, and dangerous. It was time to put on the brakes.

  “Thanks,” she said, breaking their eye contact. She loved how deep and mysterious his eyes were. That rich brown reminded her of coffee.

  God!

  She loved coffee.

  Blue realized they were standing there not even speaking. It was awkward. She needed to focus. So, she began talking about the first thing that popped into her mind.

  “So, tell me about you,” Blue said, trying to make conversation. She could still feel his fingers where they touched her face to wipe off the dirt.

  It made her heart skip.

  “There’s not much to tell.”

  “There has to be. Everyone has a story,” Blue said, as they walked down the street.

  “I’m an ex-soldier, and I protect Elizabeth Blackhawk. That’s all there is to know.”

  She glanced over.

  His body language had changed, and he was staring straight ahead. She could tell by his chest and arms that he was tense.

  But why?

  “Really? There’s more to that. There’s all kinds of things about you that will paint the picture of who you are. Like, where did you grow up?”

  Yeah, Ivan knew that was a bad road to travel. His past was his past, and he liked to keep it there. His whole life was broken into three stages. Childhood on the farm, his marriage, and post-military. He didn’t talk about his tours, he didn’t talk about the woman who destroyed him, and he didn’t talk about how he grew up poor, wild, and nothing like what she’d had.

  It was his personal code.

  “Yeah, that’s not really pertinent.”

  “Do you have siblings?”

  “That’s not important.”

  “Are you always this difficult?” Blue asked.

  He stopped in the middle of the street and turned to face her. The look on his face said it all.

  He was irritated.

  “Listen, Nancy Drew, I don’t know what the hell you want from me, but it’s none of your damn business, okay?”

  She actually took a step back. Blue thought they were building a rapport from the tunnel, and obviously, she’d been very wrong.

  Emotionally, she began shutting down.

  “I’m sorry. I was just trying to…” Blue stopped talking. She’d been trying to make a friend, and she was horrible at it. Here was her proof. He’d practically snapped her head off. “It won’t happen again. Let’s just get back to work. I have a job to do.”

  She turned without saying anything more as she
began walking toward the bed and breakfast.

  She felt like an idiot.

  Ivan was the reason for the change in her. She shut down so fast as if a blind was pulled down, and he felt like an asshole for losing his patience and snapping at her.

  It wasn’t Blue’s fault.

  He was really horrible at trusting people—no, that’s not true. He trusted his fellow Marines, but women?

  Pretty ones?

  No.

  That was a slippery slope.

  “Hey!” he said, catching up. It was time for him to apologize for being so…dick-like.

  Blue stopped him.

  “It’s okay, Mr. Bennet. You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m fine. We’ll get this watch back to Christina, and you’re free of babysitting duty. You found the way the killer got in, and that’s all that matters.”

  He knew that wasn’t true.

  She found it.

  And he’d been rude.

  “Blue.”

  “It’s Agent Garrick. Now, I don’t feel like talking either. Thanks for saving me. I owe you one.”

  She sealed her mouth, stared straight ahead, and stopped focusing on him.

  While she understood that sometimes her curiosity got the better of her, she didn’t like being snapped at as if she was a child. He could have just said he wasn’t comfortable with discussing it, and that would have sufficed.

  That she got.

  She walked stiffly toward the bed and breakfast, and he knew he’d really screwed this up. Blue was a really decent person, and he’d been mean.

  Damn it!

  What the hell was his issue?

  “Blue, I’m sorry,” he said. “I grew up in the country.”

  She didn’t even look over. It was as if she didn’t even hear him.

  “I am an only child,” he offered, trying to make peace with her. Why? He didn’t know. He suddenly felt bereft. He wanted her to drop some tidbit of knowledge on him like she had before.

  He wanted her to forgive him.

  Still, she didn’t even register that she heard a single thing he’d said, and Ivan deserved it.

  Why did he snap at her?

  Really, she hadn’t done anything wrong. In the tunnel, she put her whole faith in him, and that was rare. She’d had faith in him, and shared her real self.

  Now he was staring at the back of her head because he had issues with people getting too close.