She waited.
“We met up right before the weekend. Last week, it was Thursday. This week will be Friday. We alternate days. What’s going on?”
She pulled up the pictures and slid her phone wordlessly across the desk.
He looked at the macabre picture.
Then he stared at her. “What is that?”
“That was two women. It’s half Lucy, and half of another woman.”
“The congressman’s daughter? That was on the news.”
“Yeah, well, they don’t send me out unless it’s important. The dead always seem to get my attention.”
He jumped when she slammed her hands on the desk in front of her. “I want your whole night. I want it now!”
He began sweating.
“We met for a drink. We went out to my car, she gave me head, and I paid her. Then I was gone.”
“Who is ‘The Puppet Master’?” she asked.
He looked confused.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
She didn’t think he was faking it. “Did she ever mention to you that someone was bothering her?”
“No.”
Then he paused.
“Wait. She left a weird voicemail once.”
He pulled out his phone, scrolled through something, and then hit play.
‘Hey, sexy,
I have to cancel our date for tonight. This guy from when I was a kid called me up. He can only see me tonight, and he is insistent. Can we switch days?
If you let me bump you til Friday, I’ll toss in anal for free, and I’ll even stay the night. You get a morning blowjob on the house. Well, in the house.
Call me back.
Thanks.
Lucy.’
That was interesting.
INSISTENT.
She didn’t like that word, not when it was coming from a dead call girl. This was something.
“What day was that?”
He checked the time stamp.
“One month ago.”
She glanced over at Callen. “Can you call the team, maybe Brody, since he’s sitting around, and have him check her phone log for one month ago? It’ll likely be right before his number.”
He pulled out his phone.
She grabbed the business card from his desk. “This number?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
Callen headed out.
“What now?” he asked.
“We sit and wait.”
“For?”
“An engraved invite from the queen of England. She’s having a tea party. I want to go so bloody bad,” she said with a British accent. “I hope you’ll attend with me, mate.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re sarcastic and a bitch?”
“Never.”
“Really?”
“That was more sarcasm. See, you don’t get the concept. You say something dumb, and I mock you. See…there’s a fine line between belligerence and badassery. I’m still at the latter.”
Callen came in and started laughing.
“I can’t leave you alone for a second.”
Oh, she was aware.
“What did he find?” she asked.
“We don’t have a name. Sorry, angel.”
“Why?” she asked, getting tired of the dead ends. This case was a pain in her ass.
“He pulled her log and that date, and he ran the incoming. The number that called her is from a burner phone. It’s a dead end.”
She stared at the man across from her. “And you know nothing else?” she asked.
“No. I swear.”
Well, this interview got them nowhere.
Fast.
“Now can we talk about you buying a new home?” he asked.
“Sure. Let me give you my social security number so you can run my fico score.”
He picked up his pen.
She got up and walked out.
“Sarcasm?” he asked Callen.
“What gave it away?”
The woman had opened her mouth.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
He was at his happiest when he was working. While he should be, he had other things on his mind.
Like what?
That next woman.
He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her.
She was perfect and more importantly, she was deserving of what was coming.
She was going to make his next marionette a masterpiece. He could already see it in his head.
It was going to be astounding.
As he hopped off his cot, he strolled toward the cage.
Molly, unfortunately, didn’t wake up.
She’d died.
That both angered him, and gave him more reason to find the next woman.
He needed her.
While he would have liked to use Molly’s face, it would be her luscious body he would use.
See, to him, these women were interchangeable.
They were like paper dolls, but instead of clothes, you could switch their heads.
Like he was doing.
They were all fake anyway. Dress them up, dress them down, they’d betray you in a heartbeat.
Now it was time to get the next woman, work through the night, and leave this one someplace special.
Yeah, he knew where.
It was going to be perfect.
And he had been the mastermind.
That was the most amazing part.
This was all about him.
Chapter Fourteen
Morgue
C hris had finished the autopsy, and he was rolling his neck. This case, while interesting, was rubbing him raw. The doctor, what had happened, and the killer, were not making him a happy camper. As he worked, he was silent.
Ethan must have noticed.
“Are you done?” he asked, glancing over at him.
“Yeah, and I don’t have much,” he stated. “I think this case is going to be made in the investigation, not the forensics.”
He didn’t go into more detail. He knew that Elizabeth didn’t want any more leaks, so he was only talking death back at the hotel.
“Want to be my partner?” Ethan asked.
He stared at him. “What?”
“You know what the word means,” he said, laughing. “Do I really have to explain?”
“I know what the word means, but what will I be helping you with?” he asked.
“Well, we don’t have confirmed identity, so I figured we could make Elizabeth’s life easier, and head to the hospital. The one cop at the scene said he knew her. Want to be my backup?”
“Are you kidding?”
“Rarely do I kid about work. If you’d rather not...?”
“YES! Get me out of here!”
And that was his plan.
Ethan knew his employees, and Chris was a few seconds from meltdown. While Callen offered to talk to him, Ethan was going to handle it.
Chris was troubled.
Deeply, greatly, and it was coming out in his mood. When he went silent, he was thinking. When he was thinking, bad shit was coming.
It was time to help him relax.
The man was part of their family, and he owed him that much.
So, they headed out.
When they got outside, Heath was waiting for them. Ethan tossed him the keys. He’d gotten accustomed to being chauffeured. Plus, Heath was so bulky, he was only comfortable in the front.
He and Chris climbed into the back.
As they pulled away, Chris wanted to know.
“What’s the deal? This is a remove me from the situation kind of thing. There’s a talk coming. I can feel it.”
Well, the man was certainly smart.
“Well, I was going to talk to you.”
“About?”
“Bethe.”
“Jesus! Is she okay?”
He laughed. “You need to chill out. We did something, and I wanted to clear it with you.”
�
�What did you do?”
“We never asked you if you were okay with Wyler being around Bethe. She’s part of our tribe now, as are you, and he’s watching the kids again. You should have some say.”
“I’m good with it.”
He got quiet.
“What, Chris? You can tell me anything.”
“I have something to tell you, and I hope you don’t get mad at her.”
He didn’t know why he’d ever get mad at Bethe.
The kid was a sweetheart.
“What?”
“I was giving her a bath the other day, and she was asking for mommy.”
“Okay, and?”
“She wanted Elizabeth.”
And now he got it. Chris’s child was at that age where she was watching five other kids want their mommy, and she didn’t have one.
That broke his heart.
That poor little girl.
“Okay, and?” he offered.
“You’re okay with that? I mean, think about it. The media already talks, but if they get a sound byte with that? The stories of her infidelity will skyrocket.”
“She’s just a kid,” Ethan stated. “Kids have basic needs. They need food, water, clothes, shelter, and love. Bethe is going to need that mothering. I won’t be upset, and I know Callen won’t either.”
“Even if people talk?”
“She was raised with Charlie. They are like siblings. I’m not shocked, Chris, and I’m certainly not mad.”
He sighed. “Thank you for that.”
“I’m not doing it for you, or Elizabeth. I’m doing it for Bethe. I have a question for you.”
“Okay, what?”
“We’re all on a case, and Callen, Elizabeth, and myself were to die…”
“I don’t like this one at all. In fact, if I puke on your boots, that’s on you.”
He laughed.
“Just hear me out. If we went down in the line of duty, would you take our kids and love them or let them walk away? We only have Wyler. Elizabeth…she’s an only child with no cousins. What would you do?”
“I’d buy a big house, put in a swing set, and pray I didn’t screw them up as I put them through college.”
And there it was.
“You’re like our brother,” Ethan stated. “I can see now that Elizabeth had created that bond, but we have too. Bethe is ours. Will it raise eyebrows if she goes to school for a play and calls Elizabeth, ‘mommy’? Yes, but that’s our business and no one else’s. You’re our tribe, and so is she.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“I need to be honest with you.”
He figured what this was about.
“Okay. Shoot.”
“I told your wife that she was likely my soulmate, and letting her go was the biggest mistake in my life.”
Ethan laughed.
“Well, duh.”
“You’re okay with that too? Are we taking me to the hospital to be locked in the psych ward? I think I may be going crazy.”
“She is definitely your sister.”
“And?”
“She told us already. Now you have too. I told you that I only got upset when I was lied to, Chris. You came to me and discussed it. That’s being out in the open. Now, I’m not saying I won’t kill you if I find you naked and near her, but I won’t hate you for loving her.”
“I’m glad she found you both. You’re perfect for her. Callen too.”
“As are you, Chris. She gets something from all of us. Callen is her humor. When she’s down, or slipping, Callen can make her laugh.”
That was true.
“When she needs someone to control freak the things she can’t handle, that’s where I come in. I’m her rock.”
That was true too.
“And you, Chris. You taught her to love. Without you, she wouldn’t be the woman she is today. You’re family and Bethe is family. If she calls Elizabeth mommy, and that makes them both happy, who am I to say otherwise. Elizabeth has a great propensity to love.”
“I’m lucky to have you three. I’m good with Wyler being around Bethe. He’s a good man. I’m glad you forgave him.”
He was too.
“We would love Bethe as our own if you went down, so that makes us a team. I don’t care what the media says. If I did, I would lose sleep over it. I don’t look tired, do I?”
He had a point.
“Thank you for this. This…it’s like a gift.”
Then Chris hugged him.
Ethan wrapped his arms around him and patted the man on the back.
“You’re my brother,” Chris said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Chris, and because I do, let me give you some advice,” he said, when the man set him free.
“What?”
“Get it off your chest.”
“What?”
“What you’re feeling about what happened with the doctor.”
He stopped moving.
“I think you should see Doctor Gaines. I think that what happened to you should be taken seriously, and you need to talk it out.”
“Is this Ethan, my brother, or Ethan, my boss?”
“Your brother, and because that’s who I am under the fancy duds, I think you and Elizabeth should go together. She’s going to be working through what happened with Maeve, and you need to work out what happened with Doctor Julliard.”
“It’s embarrassing.”
“No, it’s a travesty. You were assaulted.”
“Men don’t get raped by women, Ethan. I’m feeling like I’m less than a man.”
“That’s bullshit.”
Heath chimed in. “Pardon me, Doctor, but that’s a crock. When I was in the service, one of our captains was assaulted by one of the women in his division. He said no, she didn’t stop, and even though his dick said yes, his mouth said no.”
Chris listened.
“No is always no, whether you have tits or testicles.”
Ethan patted the man on the shoulder. “Thank you for that, Heath.”
“No problemo, Director.”
Ethan focused on Chris. “We’ve all done our rounds with Callie. I think that Elizabeth needs you with her,” he stated.
“Don’t you want to be there?”
“I would be, but in this case, I think you have some shit to work out, and so does she. You have a bond, and that will be helpful too.”
He thought about it.
“Okay, I’ll go.”
Ethan smiled. “Thank you. I also know you said you’re giving up sex.”
“Yeah, I really am.”
Heath whistled. “That’s harsh.”
“I had my one,” Chris said. “I need to focus on me, healing after what happened, and Bethe.”
Ethan agreed.
“Chris, just remember that you have nothing to prove to the world. You only have to prove to yourself. You’re a man. You’re a man raising a child, and believe me…sex is NOT always a priority.”
He laughed. “Says the man having sex with Elizabeth.”
“Amen,” stated Heath. “Mrs. B is a hot woman.”
Ethan laughed.
He was well aware of that, and he didn’t forget to thank the powers that be for it either.
“It’s the burden I must carry being married to a sexy lady. It’s horrible,” he teased.
It helped Chris lighten up.
“The moral of this story is that if you stop stressing it, your life will be better. If you don’t want to play the dating game, then don’t. If you are happy as you are, no one has the right to stop you from that happiness. That has to be your choice, Chris, and we aren’t going to force you back onto the horse, or into a relationship you don’t want.”
“I have the relationship I want. It’s a foursome.”
Heath laughed. “Bum chicka bum bum.”
That made Ethan snicker. “And now you know why Heath is my favorite security guy of them all.”
“I was being serious. I want a family. I
want this family.”
Ethan did something Chris never saw coming.
Reaching into his dress shirt, he pulled out the feather necklace that Callen had given all of them.
Secretly, Chris had been jealous he never had a chance of having one.
Then, Ethan took it off and placed it in the man’s hand.
“Here you go.”
Chris stared at it. “This is yours. Your brother gave it to you.”
“And now your brother gave it to you. I trust you, Chris. You’re now officially a Blackhawk.”
Chris put it around his neck and he touched it with his fingers.
“Sex comes and goes, as you know from your past, but love and family are forever. When you think you are slipping away, pull that out, touch it, and remember that we love you.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“Thank you for this.”
“Thank you for loving us,” Ethan said.
Chris hugged him. Ethan let him linger. While some people might see the man and think he was insane for letting him get close to his and Callen’s wife, he knew the truth.
Chris didn’t want pussy.
He wanted love, and that was a stronger driving force.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Mr. B, but we are here, boss,” Heath said, pulling into a parking spot.
Ethan wrapped it up.
“We’ll share her with you, Chris. If you need Elizabeth, she’s yours. We are also yours. Lean on us when you need a family, and we have you.”
He felt calm.
“Thank you.”
“The pleasure is all mine. Now let’s get this show on the road and do some interviews. I’m sure the wife needs some help with them.”
They both got out, and Heath followed them to the door. Once inside, they were met by some man in a suit.
“Director Blackhawk, I got your call that you were heading here. Come this way. I’m Connor Patrick, and I run this hospital.”
They followed him to an office.
“Thank you for reaching out to us. We do have a nurse who didn’t show for work today. She was due in at six, and she never arrived.”
Chris pulled out his phone with the pictures. “Is this her face?” he asked.
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