Discarded by Fate

by Morgan Kelley

  Elizabeth prayed it was Ivan’s.

  She grabbed the tablet.

  “What’s his password?” she asked.

  “Elizabethisabitch.”

  She would have laughed had this not been dire. After she saved his ass, she was going to boot him around the room for shits and giggles.

  She logged in to see that it was definitely his.

  “Trace it,” she said, handing it to Rory.

  He pulled the address.

  “Let’s go.”

  They didn’t have time.

  Then she realized something as they raced out to their rides.

  Com earbuds.

  “He said he’s always in tune with our frequencies, right?”

  “Yeah, his will pick up whatever one is closest to his.”

  Elizabeth prayed Blue had her com at least in her pocket. If she did, she could communicate with him.

  They all pulled theirs out and popped them into their ears.

  Immediately she could hear talking.

  Only it wasn’t Ivan.

  They piled into the ride and Heath began driving, Rory playing navigator.

  “Ivan, can you hear me?” Elizabeth asked.

  There was a low, barely audible whisper.

  “Yes.”

  “We’re on our way. Are you both okay?” she asked, pulling on her Kevlar.”

  “No.”

  “Does he have you both?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you get free?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “Is Blue alive?”

  No answer.

  “Hang in there. I’m on my way.”

  No one spoke, in case something was said. They didn’t want to miss it.

  As they reached the location, there was an abandoned building. They piled out and headed inside.

  It was empty.

  Nothing.

  “Ivan, where the hell are you?”

  She listened to the man talking.

  Nothing.

  Then she heard it.

  Joey ‘The Thug’.

  That’s when they began searching for a way UNDER Boston, and to her security guy and agent.

  They didn’t have time.

  Ivan jumped when the man kicked his cage.

  “I knew you were awake! You suck as a faker,” he said.

  “You’re right. I’m awake. Why are you doing this?” he asked. “Why are you keeping us in this weird tunnel beneath the city?”

  He was going to start giving Elizabeth clues.

  “You don’t like my home?” he asked. “I come here to work. I actually have a really shitty dive across from that bar. Your girl here was looking for me. I saw her come to my door to ask me if I saw anything the day Elizabeth found that body hanging from the rail.”

  He let the man talk.

  “She’s pretty.”

  He slid his hand into the cage and began touching Blue. It began waking her up.

  She moaned.

  “Hello, pretty girl,” he said, touching her breast.

  “HEY! Hands off her! She’s mine,” Ivan stated, praying they’d hurry up.

  “Hold on, Ivan, we found the opening. We’re heading down.”

  He was grateful.

  “She’s so pretty. Her skin is so soft. I had a girl like that once. Bessie was my sweet girl, and she betrayed me.”

  “I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry she did that to you. I was betrayed once too.”

  He stared at him.

  “How?”

  “I was married. She waited until I went away to serve in the military, and she got pregnant by some other man.”

  “Skank.”

  Well, he didn’t disagree.

  “What’s going on?” Blue asked, as the man dragged her cage closer to Ivan.

  They ignored her.

  Ivan wanted the man to be focused on him.

  ONLY him.

  “What did you do to her?” he asked.

  “She was dead when I got back. She was killed in a car accident with the man she had the affair with.”

  “Good. I hate people who betray.”

  “I’m with you.”

  “She’s a woman. They can’t be trusted.”

  Ivan didn’t want him looking at Blue like that. He didn’t want him hurting her.

  “She’s my girlfriend. She’s never hurt me. She was a doctor.”

  He looked at her.

  “Are you?”

  “Yes.”

  He kicked the cage.

  “I don’t care!” he raged. “I’m going to make one more marionette and then I’m leaving. I have to find Michael O’Banion.”

  “Who’s he?” Ivan asked, even though he knew. Everyone and their mother knew the mob man.

  He was dead.

  “My old boss. He tossed me under the bus. I didn’t get away, but my partner did. We’re going to meet back up. We know where Michael is hiding out.”

  “Um…he’s dead.”

  Joey laughed. “Nah! He’s hiding. I’m going to find him, and kill him. We both are. We are sitting on his body dump. We are sitting on his deaths, and he let me go to jail. He ran, ratting out other mob men in Boston. He’s a betrayer.”

  Elizabeth listened on the com.

  It looked like the word was out. The US Marshals didn’t do a damn good job at hiding the mob man.

  This sucked.

  “Ask him about the bodies.”

  “Who did you guys kill?”

  “Everyone he asked us too.”

  “Ask who his partner is,” she said, even though she knew.

  “Who helped you?” Ivan asked.

  The man laughed. “I won’t rat him out. I know who you are. You are Elizabeth’s bodyguard. It’s ironic that you’re locked in a cage.”

  “He’s got a point,” Elizabeth said in his ear as they were hustling down that empty tunnel toward Ivan’s location.

  “You wanted revenge, huh?” Ivan asked.

  “Fuck yeah, and I’m not done. I’m going to play this game against the best of them. Elizabeth Blackhawk is the best person to challenge, and I’m winning.”

  Yeah, not really.

  His day of reckoning was coming.

  “We can help you,” Blue said. “We can get you some help so you’re better.”

  He flipped out, shaking the cage so hard that Ivan was worried he’d hurt her.

  “HEY! Hands off!” Ivan said. “That’s my woman! You don’t touch her!”

  “WHORE!” he hissed, reaching into the cage to grab her by the hair. He ripped out a clump, and Blue screamed.

  “We’re almost there.”

  “I’m sick of you interfering!” he screamed, throwing her hair onto the wet ground as he stormed toward the table.

  Ivan struggled to get his hands out of the zip ties holding him captive.

  When Joey had the souped-up Taser in his hand, he had to do something.

  “NO!” Ivan shouted.

  “She’s going to die. I’ll prove to you that she’ll betray you. They don’t get us! They don’t understand we have feelings too!”

  “We are almost there,” Elizabeth said into his ear.

  “She wouldn’t hurt me!”

  Blue was sobbing.

  “You or him!” Joey ordered, staring in the cage at Blue. “You get to decide. YOU OR HIM!”

  He rattled the cage.

  “I’m killing you or him. Prove me right!”

  Blue looked over at him.

  “I’m sorry, Ivan.”

  “See?”

  “Take me,” she said. “Take me—not him.”

  Ivan’s heart jumped. She’d chosen to sacrifice her life, even in the scariest moment of her existence.

  He loved her so much.

  “Fair enough,” Joey said, turning on the stun gun. “I’m surprised but it doesn’t matter, now does it?”

  Ivan knew if he touched that cage, she was likely dead.

  Blue was in water, and he’d
electrocute her. He couldn’t let that happen.

  Not to her.

  Not to the woman he adored.

  “I love you,” Blue said, before staring over at Ivan. “Thank you for finding me.”

  Ivan saw the man’s hand coming down, the little flicker of energy attached to the battery on the table.

  With all of his might, he threw his whole body against the side of his cage, sliding it into Blue’s. Hers moved at the impact, as his took the hit from the Taser.

  Blue screamed as Joey’s wish came true.

  One of them was going to die, but it wouldn’t be Blue.

  He loved her too much, and he’d promised he’d protect her.

  The volts shot through the cage, entering his body. He danced with the voltage.

  Then he heard the gun shot.

  And then…

  There was nothingness.

  Epilogue

  Two Hours Later

  When he woke up, it felt like his whole body had been beat to hell and back. No, that was an understatement. He felt like he’d been run over by a train, rolled down a hill of landmines, and then tap danced on by a herd of elephants.

  It was bad.

  Holy shit!

  Then he remembered Blue, and how the killer was going to end her life.

  He struggled to get up, but someone was holding him down.

  “Hey, calm down,” Blue said, holding his hand.

  He opened his eyes.

  She was there, and she didn’t look harmed.

  “Blue?” he asked, looking around.

  At the foot of his bed, Ethan, Elizabeth, and Callen were standing there.

  “Holy shit! It’s the devil and two of her horsemen.”

  That made her laugh.

  “Well, Mr. Toasty Nuts is making jokes. He’ll live,” Elizabeth said.

  “Baby, are you okay?” Ivan asked as Blue left kisses all over his face.

  “I’m good, but you almost weren’t.”

  “What happened?”

  “You slid her out of the way, and in the process, you crisped up your ass,” Elizabeth said. “That was the part of you in the water. You’re lucky you had military grade boots on. The rubber saved your life.”

  He didn’t care about him.

  He only cared about her.

  “Is he dead?”

  “Oh yeah,” Ethan said. “Tex took him down with a shot to the back of the crazy,” he teased, pointing at his own head.

  “His head popped like a balloon,” Blue said, running her fingers over his face.

  “She was so sweet until I passed out. What did you do to her?” he asked.

  “Passed out?” Elizabeth said. “Dude, you nearly died. In fact, you did die. You stopped that ice brick you call a heart.”

  He didn’t understand.

  “Who here has had their mouth on Ivan’s?” Elizabeth asked.

  She and Blue raised their hands.

  “Jesus! You let it kiss me?” he asked.

  “As in CPR, you toad. I wouldn’t kiss you if I was on fire and you were a fire extinguisher.”

  “Ahhh, our family is fine.”

  “Am I?” he asked, touching his chest.

  “They looked you over. You have to stay a few days while they watch your heart, but they say you didn’t damage anything. It was stopped and CPR stared you back up again.”

  “I almost lost you.”

  He looked up into her eyes. “You chose to die for me, Blue. I couldn’t let you do that. I had to save the woman I love.”

  Tears filled her eyes.

  The Blackhawks watched, and they each fist bumped Elizabeth. Cupid was right again.

  “So, what’s next, Ivan?” Ethan asked.

  “I need time away.”

  They didn’t blame him.

  “Will you be coming back?” Elizabeth asked. “Or do I have to break another Marine?”

  Ethan stared at her.

  “I meant break in. I swear.”

  Ivan looked over at her.

  “Cruella de Hag, you’re not getting rid of me that easily. I have NEVER walked away from a challenge, and not even you can make that happen.”

  She snorted.

  “I think you should take Blue home to meet your parents. It’s time, soldier.”

  They’d all heard what he told Joey.

  “I’ll be back in time for you to go poking at Michael O’Banion, Joey ‘The Thug’s’ partner, and to find all those victims justice, Tex,” he said, sitting up in bed.

  Ethan and Callen both looked over at her.

  “WHAT?” they said.

  “He’s right. We have to find him. We have to figure out who the hell Joey’s partner was. I’m guessing Carl ‘The Knife’. They killed a lot of people together, and O’Banion knows where they are buried.”

  “Uh, Elizabeth…”

  She didn’t care.

  “If Joey knew, then he’s not the only one. Not only is he in danger, but now so is Jaxon.”

  They understood.

  “I can’t believe we’re going after a mobster,” Callen said. “Like our lives aren’t dangerous enough.”

  She laughed. “I’m not worried. I trust our team.”

  She looked at Ivan.

  “Thank you.”

  “For?”

  “Believing in my skill, and making me prove it. Thank you for telling them what had happened.”

  “Technically, I told them to ask you. I didn’t really spill it. That would be wrong. You’re cuckoo. You’d kill me in my sleep, Hag-cifer.”

  She rounded the bed, leaned down, and kissed him on the mouth.

  “You’re a good egg, Ivan Josiah Bennet. I’m glad to call you my family.”

  He squeezed her hand.

  “Don’t get attached to your new security guy. I’m coming back, Elizabeth.”

  “Lyzee. Family calls me Lyzee.”

  Tears filled his eyes.

  “Thank you for her.”

  She ruffled his hair.

  “Let’s roll, my sexy Natives. We have some work to do. We three are going to be taking out a Mob man—one who bought himself immunity. Michael O’Banion is about to get one hell of an ass kicking—once I find him.”

  Ethan groaned.

  This was going to hurt.

  Big time.

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

  Damascus

  Saturday

  He was a couple days early, and she was good with that. When she saw him on the porch of her beat up cabin, Bly knew that she had him right where she wanted him.

  Oh, she knew how much he was worth.

  She knew what he had in his accounts, and after today, she’d be living the fine life.

  Hell!

  She might make him marry her to prove a point. She was the boss. For those two years, she’d been forced to listen to the Blackhawks, and now she was free.

  Yeah, she was going to make him pay.

  First stop, getting him stoned and drunk. A trashed Wyler was an easy Wyler.

  When she opened her door, he came in. Outside, she didn’t see anyone.

  Good.

  He listened.

  That was a plus in his column. She wouldn’t make him bleed…too much.

  “I came. How much money to make this go away?” Wyler asked, taking off his jacket.

  Bly wanted to run her fingers over it.

  It was expensive, and it would fetch a pretty penny once she sold it. He would have nothing.

  He didn’t deserve it.

  That Irish bitch stole her future. She could have been living the high life if she wasn’t too old to have babies.

  “A lot, Wyler. You fucked up.”

  “I want to see the video so I know it really exists. I’m not going to let you blackmail me without it.”

  “You’re cute with all these demands.”

  He took his jacket and headed for the door. Ethan was in his ear, giving him cues how to play it.

  “
Stop!”

  “Show me!” he demanded. “Or I walk.”

  “Here,” she said, sliding the disc into the DVR. When he popped onto the screen, Bly riding his dick, he wanted to be sick.

  Then he was smoking Peyote.

  Then he was tied up and begging her to whip him.

  Yeah, this couldn’t get out.

  “You’re a wild man in bed, Wyler. You like it hard, rough, and a lot. A girl likes that. I bet your dead wife did too.”

  He didn’t even flinch.

  “So, pay the blackmail, or the Blackhawks will be all over the news, and so will your sex tape. I’m good with the exposure. I wasn’t the one hopped up on Peyote and the father of the deputy director. People expect us Natives to be like that. They don’t think your son’s family is.”

  He was getting mad.

  Bly smiled.

  “Ethan. I have the disc.”

  The door kicked in.

  Again.

  There stood Ethan’s security guys.

  “Oh, Bly, we meet again. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

  She laughed. “Your father should be. Did you know he’s a drug addict and alcoholic? It must be hanging out with those Irish women.”

  Ethan didn’t play this game.

  “Extortion is illegal. It’s across state lines from where we live. I’m a federal employee, and that makes it a federal offense. You, your son, and your brother are going to prison for a very long time.”

  She laughed, until she realized he wasn’t kidding.

  “I have copies! I’ll make sure they get out! I have them hidden!”

  Ethan lit a gas lamp on the kitchen counter. “Take her out.” He’d already found her son and brother, and they were in cuffs. They were all taking a trip.

  “You’ll never find them!”

  “What a coincidence, Bly! I said the same thing about you and your scumbag family. They will never find you.”

  Heath dragged her out over his big, bulky shoulder.

  Ethan had done his research. He found the discs in a bank safety deposit box after her brother spilled the beans. There were three copies.

  He pulled the last one out of the DVD player.

  This was over.

  Heading to the gas lamp, he tipped it over onto the shag carpet and exited the hellhole.

  Behind him, the flimsy walls, the cheap furniture, and the rest of Bly’s life went up.

  She’d come at the wrong family.