At the word dinner, Rex began whining.
Cyra stood from the table. “I have more food for him out in the Denali, I’ll go get it,” she offered.
Standing, Ethan got her attention. “I’ll go. While I’m paying for dinner, I’ll swing out there and get his food. It’s going to be a very long night of working, so I should probably feed all of you,” he teased. Ethan knew why his ME and agent were locked up with them, and he appreciated it greatly.
Callen spoke up, “Want me to go with you?”
Ethan paused to give Elizabeth a kiss. “No, you stay here.” The meaning was clear between the two men. Under no circumstance was he to leave Elizabeth’s side. She was now his to protect while he went out to get their food.
“I love you, Ethan,” she said, hugging him.
“Mmmmmm hmmmmm. Same here, sweet cheeks,” he teased, walking towards the door. “Hold down the fort,” he stated, winking at her.
She laughed as he closed the door.
Out in the hall, Ethan headed downstairs to the lobby. Already, the delivery guy was waiting with the food. Handing him some cash, he headed outside to get Rex’s food from the Denali. It was hard not to notice that it was a beautiful night. There were stars in the sky, and it was peaceful.
What he’d really love to do was have dinner and take a late night stroll, with his love, under the twinkling perfection. In reality, he was well aware he wasn’t even going to entertain that thought. She was untouchable inside, and that was where she was going to stay.
Part of him was hoping that Ares had somehow fooled them all, and part of his suicide was out of guilt for being a killer and not wanting to go to prison. Yet, he knew it probably wasn’t going to work out that way.
Still, it would be real nice.
Approaching the Denali, he hit the remote to get the locks to click open. As he went to place the keys in his pocket, freeing up his one hand, he heard it.
There was a soft tinkle of wind chimes. Even as his body went on alert, he saw the shadow in the window of his vehicle. The blinding pain followed, as his hand went to the source on his head. Confusion followed, burying his awareness of what was happening under the intense throbbing. Staring down at his hand, he saw the blood and knew he was in trouble.
Their dinner fell from his arm as he tumbled forward. Ethan’s bloody hand reached out instinctually to catch him as he stumbled. He stared into the glass and fought through his muddled thoughts at what had just happened. As he slid down the Denali, he stared up into the eyes of the killer, knowing his life had just taken a drastic turn.
This was it.
The wind chimes continued sounding as they were over taken by the ringing in his ears. Darkness began seeping in as his thoughts were of only his wife and brother. He only prayed he’d taught Callen enough, because he suspected they were going to need it.
His eyes closed and slipped unwillingly into the pain and emptiness.
All that he could hope was his death would be painless in the end, and that Elizabeth would kick this man’s ass and avenge him.
Ethan prayed that he’d earned enough points with his maker to spare the torture that he suspected was coming.
He knew it was over and his time was ticking away.
This time, the profiler had lost the game.
* * *
Rex impatiently began pacing back and forth as he waited for his food. His whimpering turned into full blown displeasure over having to wait to be fed.
It was getting distracting.
Callen jumped off the bed and stared down at his watch. “I’ll go down and see what’s keeping Ethan. If we don’t feed Rex soon, we’re going to have to watch him eat furniture.”
Cyra called the dog and still he didn't come. “He’s never this antsy when he’s hungry.”
Slipping into his shoes, he headed for the door and pointed at Cyra. “If anyone comes to this door, you don’t let them inside. Not even, if they say we sent them. Got it?”
The woman nodded.
“You shoot anyone that tries to get to her,” Callen demanded.
Elizabeth laughed from across the room. “You do realize I’m right here and coherent. I think I can keep myself safe in a room with two people and a guard dog.”
Callen didn't care. If anything happened to her on his watch, there’d be hell to pay from Ethan. He’d made a promise to keep her safe, and he intended to follow through on that no matter what the cost. “Yeah, but humor me, okay?”
She blew him a kiss and sat on the bed. As she did, Rex lumbered towards her and dropped his head on her lap. “Come on, not you too, Rex. You were my only hope.”
Chris laughed and shook his head. “I think I’m going to have to start wearing my gun,” he stated. “I feel out of place in the room, being the only one not armed.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Darlin’, don’t do it. I saw your qualifying scores and you need to stick with what you’re good at doing.”
Cyra snickered at their teasing, easily seeing the close camaraderie between them. “Children, fight nice,” she added, going back to her work.
“Playing dirty is half the fun,” Elizabeth stated, winking at Chris.
He laughed. “It sure is.”
Callen headed down to the lobby and didn't see any sign of his brother. Stopping at the desk, he waited for the woman to acknowledge his presence. When she finally glanced up, he spoke. “Have you seen a big man, as tall as me and same size, waiting for a delivery order?
She nodded. “It came about thirty minutes ago. He paid and then carried it out the door, sir.”
Then he had to be out getting Rex’s food. Yet, something wasn’t sitting right with him. It didn't take that long to grab a bag. Maybe, he was on his phone with Gabe or the lab.
Outside, the night was very quiet, and he scanned the lot for the Denalis that they had parked together earlier. They sat off to the side in a darker area. Glancing up at the light above the vehicles, he noticed the bulb wasn’t lit up.
Now his heart was pounding. Pulling his gun, he placed his finger on the trigger, in case something happened. Everything in his body was screaming that this was all off. That light had been working the previous nights.
His gut was warning him that it was time to practice self-preservation at all costs. Moving closer, he could see the broken glass on the ground.
He was right. That light was broken on purpose.
As he prepared to approach the vehicles, he listened to the night air, opening up all his senses to what was around him. Callen didn't see anything, his ears weren’t picking up much either, but his nose did. It was faint, but it was there.
There was some blood spilled.
Moving to the side of the one Denali, he saw something on the window. Yeah, this was really bad. Continually checking over his shoulder, he kept his eyes open for anyone wanting to sneak up on him.
Right now, he was running on adrenaline and fueled by Elizabeth’s belief that you shoot first and ask questions later. Going to the trunk, he opened the door and grabbed a pair of gloves. He only holstered his gun when he was sure no one was going to be able to sneak up on him.
Slipping them on, he moved to the door and touched the sticky substance. As he pulled his fingers away, he could see the color on the white glove.
It was definitely blood.
Staring into the driver’s side window, he felt sick. There sat a bag with take-out and Ethan’s badge and gun.
Now, they had a really big problem.
No, that wasn’t even close to being accurate. This was his worst case scenario next to losing her. Callen had just lost his brother.
Pulling out his phone, he called Elizabeth. Her cheery voice came over the line, and he was sick at the prospects of what he was going to have to do.
“Hey Cal, you and Ethan having dinner without us?” she asked pleasantly.
“Angel, you need to get down here. Bring Chris and Cyra and hurry.”
Elizabeth pulled the phone away f
rom her ear. She stared at it in confusion and then went back to the call. “What happened?” she asked, as her heart began pounding in her chest.
“Sweetheart, meet me outside and fast.”
Elizabeth stared at Chris and Cyra as she dropped her phone on the bed. “We have to hurry. That was Callen. Something’s happened. He wants us to head out to the cars.”
Cyra didn't like that. “Elizabeth, you need to stick close to me. This doesn’t feel right.”
She raced for the door, and opted to run down the hotel stairs rather than take the time for the elevator. Both the ME and agent were right behind her as she charged through the lobby, garnering stares from everyone.
Hitting the door, she broke out into the chilly night air and scanned the parking lot to find the men in her life. In the distance, she could see Callen but no one else.
Where was Ethan?
Oh God! Where was he?
Her heart began racing even more, as the fear coursed through her body. She ran for the man, zipping in and out of parked cars until she reached Callen’s side.
“Where is he?” she demanded almost in a hysterical scream. Her gut was telling her something was wrong.
Her heart was confirming it.
Callen stared at her as she raced towards him. The look on her face relayed it all. She already suspected what he was about to tell her. Maybe, it was the fact that he was wearing gloves and standing with his holster unsnapped that gave it away.
“What’s wrong,” Chris said, coming to a stop.
Immediately, Cyra pulled her gun as she saw the broken glass on the ground and the blackened light.
“I got here and inside the Denali is all of Ethan’s things,” he stated, trying to remain calm.
It was all she needed to hear.
Elizabeth tried to rush the vehicle. All her thoughts were focused on the man she loved. Then and there, she had to get to him. “Where is Ethan?” she shouted. Soon, she’d be screaming his name in an attempt to find her husband.
Callen held onto her, fighting to keep her from touching anything. She was a lot stronger than she looked. “Angel, don’t touch the door, there’s blood.”
That made her panic even more.
Blood meant only one thing…
This time she did scream. “Ethan!”
Chris took a pair of gloves that Callen held out for him. He pointed to the front seat as he desperately tried to restrain Elizabeth. Carefully opening the door, he stared down at the items. “We have his gun, a badge, food and a box with a note.
Now she was ready to hyperventilate at the visual that was starting to pop into her head. There was a violent gut churning brew swirling in her stomach at what was in that box.
Oh God!
Oh God!
Oh God!
She couldn’t think. Her heart and brain were racing at what had happened.
“Read it, Chris,” Callen stated, holding Elizabeth tight. His own stomach was sick, as he was too afraid to open the box personally, in fear as to what he’d find.
Chris carefully unfolded the note and read it.
The look on his face said it all, and automatically tears began filling Elizabeth’s eyes. If he could in that moment, Chris would have protected his friend at any cost. What he’d just read was going to eat her alive.
“Let me see it!” she demanded.
Callen wanted to buffer the pain as much as possible, so he took the note in his outstretched hand to hold it for her.
Elizabeth began reading the words, and as predicted, the horror filled her. Immediately, she wanted to begin to retch.
Elizabeth,
Now you can’t quit, since you have a vested interest.
You will come to me and offer yourself up for my Lord.
Your time is ticking and you only have until
tomorrow night until he dies.
I hope you’re as smart as everyone says, or he’s a
dead man. I left you a Halloween treat, to prove this is
no trick.
If you call for help, you’ve broken the rules, and he will
be six feet deep.
This is about you and me now.
I’m watching you.
See you soon.
She stared at the words, and only needed to read it once before she felt dizzy. Everything in her swirled, and she was pretty sure that for the first time in her life, she was going to pass out.
Dropping to her knees, Elizabeth lowered her head and stared at the ground. A million thoughts raced through her mind, along with the most prevalent.
Finally, a killer had pushed her past her limit.
Callen fell beside her, trying to keep her in an upright position. He had never seen her look like this and it terrified and worried him. At her strangled sob, he only held her closer.
Everything stopped making sense to Elizabeth.
The only thing she could think of was her beloved Ethan was in the hands of a madman.
This was all because of her.
It was all her fault.
Not once did she believe that he would strike at her heart in an attempt to damage her. If he wanted to kill her, this was one way to do it.
She visualized his body, as it was carved up with a grotesque pentagram and his anguished screams that filled the air. It all horrified her and was too much to carry.
Around her, someone was speaking. She found enough strength to look up at her ME, as he was still holding the box. She wanted to beg him not to open it. If she didn't know, she’d be better off. As she struggled to put a sentence together, the words just wouldn’t come out.
She could hear them all talking and it sounded slurred.
‘Please god, don’t open the box,’ she thought, as her heart began to slow down. The edges of her vision began to gray and bile rose in her throat.
Chris stared at Callen, waiting for his directive.
“Open it,” he stated, holding onto Elizabeth as he began to succumb to the fear himself. Now, he had to worry about the woman beside him as well as his brother.
Slowly pulling back the cover, Chris stared inside. His face said it all.
Callen knew immediately that there was something in there that was part of his brother. Reaching up, he took the box and lowered it to where they could both see inside.
As they scanned the contents, his heart sunk and the bile churned in his gut. The killer was trying to make a point, and he’d made it.
Inside, they were left two presents. There was a ponytail and Ethan’s butchered hair, and a decapitated raven.
Elizabeth managed a strangled sob at the sight of his hair hacked off so brutally. The depravity of having it offered up in a gift for her made everything that much worse. The dead bird was more than she could take. The vision of it reminded her of the tattoo on his beautiful chest. It all dawned on her that the birds on the crime scenes and the spilled raven blood had nothing to do with her. She’d been warned the entire time what the killer’s ultimate plan had been.
They’d been too arrogant to see it.
He wasn’t just after Elizabeth. He wanted to break her and he’d managed to do just that.
The tears fell as shock took over.
Now, she was helpless to it.
The gray came and overtook her, even as she fought valiantly to stay awake.
Before Elizabeth knew it, she was falling into the void and screaming for the man who she had allowed to be hurt.
There was talking around her, and then nothingness as Elizabeth fainted.
Finally, she may have met her match.
Callen held her against his body, and he was scared for his family and unsure what to do. This was a new thing to him. Generally, when fear overtook him, he could run to his big brother and Elizabeth. Now, he was the last one standing.
This was all on his shoulders, just as his grandfather had predicted in his dream. Callen knew that it was time to man up and take control.
“What do you want me to do,”
Chris said, kneeling in front of Elizabeth to check her pulse. “She’s in shock.”
Cyra came over in a pair of gloves and began picking up the box and hair that had fallen to the ground.
“Grab everything, we’ll head inside and get out of the open. Then I need a minute to regroup and think about what we need to do.”
“Are you going to call in back up?” Chris asked. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was scared for his boss at the hands of this lunatic.
Callen’s initial response was to say yes, since that’s what the FBI always taught them. No matter what happened in the field, you called for backup if your partner went down.
Well, now he was down two.
“No. We’re going to do this a little differently. If I was the one gone, my brother wouldn’t risk me. We were warned, and I’ll buy him some time to get away from this fucker. Let’s get all this upstairs and go from there.”
Chris knew this all just fell onto Callen’s shoulders. “Okay, you’re the boss now.”
That one sentence added to his terror. Now, it was his decision if his brother lived or died.
Callen prayed that he would be able to live with the consequences if it all ended badly. He had made the decision, and it was all on him. “Let’s go.”
He scooped Elizabeth up into his arms, and headed for the back door of the hotel. It looked like he was on his own. Sending out a prayer, he whispered for the man he hoped was listening.
“Granddad, I need you right now. Please help guide me to do what’s right.”
He waited for a reply and heard nothing.
Great, he was officially on his own and Elizabeth, their father, and his three kids were all counting on him to not drop the ball.
Pushing it from his mind, he stayed focused. “Come on, we have a killer to catch and not much time to do it in.”
* * *
Slowly, the darkness began to slip away. At first there was nothing but confusion at where he was, but as the minutes ticked by, he began to re-piece the events together in his mind. He’d gone to get their dinner and retrieve the dog’s food.
Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) Page 50