Past Will Haunt

by Morgan Kelley

Gabe had never been this out of control. He was dropping the F-bomb at regular intervals, and he, too, looked like he’d been pushed across the line.

  “I went to medical school. Let me just check on Livy. I want to make sure he didn't do any damage to her. I want to make sure she’s okay. That’s my priority.”

  She whimpered.

  Gabe growled.

  Well, there was no time like the present.

  “Livy, did you know him?”

  She didn't speak.

  “Olivia, this is your partner. I need you to focus on me and answer my questions. As soon as you do, we can bury this.”

  Chris got it. What happened there would never see the light of day. By not stopping them, he was just as guilty. He trusted Elizabeth, and he promised to have her back.

  Gabe went to object, but Livy lifted her head and stared into her eyes. Green met blue.

  Trust was given again.

  “Did you see him?”

  She shook her head. “I heard him. I’ve heard his voice, but I don’t know where.”

  She took a deep breath and opened the folder Chris had given her. “Is this him?”

  Elizabeth turned the photo over, and her look said it all. At first her brow scrunched up, and then the look of fear flooded her features.

  “God! Yes! It was him!”

  Gabe memorized the man’s face. He was dead. When he got a minute, he was going to destroy the animal who raped his fiancée. There would be no mercy in his vengeance.

  “Where did you see him?” she asked, trying not to lead her. She was a witness, despite what they thought.

  “He was one of the guys I interviewed at the first crime scene. When we split up, I talked to the deaf neighbor, and him. He was at the memorial.”

  “What?” Elizabeth asked.

  “He said his name was Liam O’Boyle. It’s in my papers. I didn't file it in the report because he didn't see anything.”

  She closed her eyes. He’d been following and lying from the start. He was a sick bastard.

  “Is this the man who raped you?”

  Livy sobbed.

  “I need a yes or no, Olivia,” Elizabeth stated.

  Gabe glared at her.

  “Yes.”

  That was all she needed.

  Only, it wasn’t for an arrest warrant. Elizabeth knew the cold hard truth. They had only Livy’s testimony. In order to get a warrant for Seamus’s DNA, she’d need a rape kit. Without that, there was no way to get it.

  From the look on Gabe’s face, she knew this man was dead. If she didn't handle it, like she promised, he was going to jail—and for a very long time.

  Livy needed him.

  There was only one choice.

  “Chris, can you go with them upstairs? I need to handle something.”

  Gabe carried Livy up, warily staring at the ME. When he glanced back at Elizabeth, she was dropping her cell phone on the counter and heading toward the door.

  In her hand was the knife.

  A part of him felt horrible about how he hurt her. She didn't deserve his anger. Elizabeth saved Livy. She got there and scared him away. Had she not, Livy would be dead.

  He wanted to tell her he was sorry, but he couldn’t. From here on out, he’d protect Livy, despite the consequences.

  They were family.

  Elizabeth would forgive him. Hopefully, she’d also be his alibi. When Livy was settled, he was going to find Seamus O’Brien, and kill him.

  What choice did he have?

  His career was over.

  He was out for blood.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Across Town

  He was freaked out. He had just got off, and he’d heard the sirens. He barely had the time to zip up and get the hell out of there.

  There was no doubt in his mind that he’d almost been caught. Now he had two choices. As he was wandering the night, he needed to make a decision.

  Did he take someone else?

  Or did he run for it?

  The FBI was close, and the only thing that saved him was that he’d blindfolded the one agent. Since she never saw him, he couldn’t be identified.

  Yes, he left the knife.

  Yes, he left the coin.

  Yet, it didn't matter. They didn't have his fingerprints, and they didn't have his DNA. He was in the clear.

  Still, he was rattled. The FBI was close, and that had him nearly shitting a brick.

  So, he made the choice.

  It was time to leave. He’d take the long way home, pack his bags, and get out of DC.

  He’d find a new city. Maybe Philly would be a better place. Halfway between Boston and DC, maybe he’d find Helena there. He was searching for a way to ease his broken heart and make the women like her pay.

  Yes, it was final.

  He was going home, and then he was getting out.

  And fast.

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

  She had two addresses.

  The one he’d given her in his attempt to pick her up, and the one from the office where he’d had employment.

  Elizabeth knew she was only going to get one shot. She went home, pulled on her black riot gear, and grabbed the gun her father had given her.

  He’d been in the service, and he brought it home to keep as a memento.

  It was unregistered.

  It was the gun she’d learned to shoot with. It seemed fitting that this be the weapon she used to break the law.

  As she headed to the address from the office, she knew what she was doing.

  Elizabeth wasn’t only doing it for Livy, but for the four women in Boston, Stephanie O’Malley, Missy Kelly, and Meghan O’Leary.

  They deserved justice.

  Plus, she had to stop him. In all her life, she never thought she’d be faced with this dilemma. She was about to take a life, solely based on the bare minimum, and the word of her traumatized partner.

  It was sketchy at best, but she had no choice.

  He had to be stopped. The knife would have to disappear, all their work would have to be erased, and the case would have to go cold.

  The families would hate her, and this case would be the stain on her career. In the media, she’d be tried. Well, it was better than in a court of law.

  She was putting her faith in herself, and the man she called brother. He was going to have to be her alibi. That’s why she left the phone there. They couldn’t track her by a cell tower.

  She was invisible.

  Elizabeth knew she had to be. If this ever got out, she’d go to jail.

  She’d get the chair.

  This was premeditated murder.

  Still, she didn't care. Elizabeth knew Gabe. If the truth got out, he’d be the main suspect. He’d be the one they looked at since Livy was his.

  No, this was necessary.

  Elizabeth knew that Livy wouldn’t heal until Seamus O’Brien was burning in hell.

  Well, someone had to put him there.

  From the top of the abandoned building across the street—from where he lived, she sat there with her rifle, a scope, and her shooting glasses.

  She’d get one shot.

  It wasn’t like she feared missing. She was only three stories up, but she felt disconnected to life, to her career, and to herself.

  Elizabeth LaRue had minutes to make a choice, and it was coming down to this. There was time to turn back.

  Then that time was gone.

  She heard him whistling in the silence of the night, and it made her sick.

  He’d just raped a Fed, and he was as cheery as could be. It was time.

  Elizabeth popped on the scope to look through it and into the face of a killer. Oh, it was definitely him. He was carrying a backpack, and despite the whistling, he was scared.

  She could see it.

  If she didn't end him, he was moving on.

  Getting low on her belly, the nose of her gun just over the edge of the roof, she loaded the only bullet into the chambe
r.

  The slide made no sound.

  Her heart was the only thing echoing in the silence of the night. A part of her couldn’t believe she was doing this.

  Still, she planned on going through with it.

  Elizabeth watched him move into position right below her. As he dug for his keys, Elizabeth took a deep breath, steadied her nerves, and put her finger on the trigger.

  When he was getting ready to enter, she did what she had to do.

  Elizabeth whistled, catching his attention. He looked around, trying to find the sound.

  It was all it took.

  She pulled the trigger.

  The bang was sonic as it pierced the night.

  Her heart skipped in her chest as the kickback rattled her to the core. When she joined the FBI, she knew she might have to take a life, only…it wasn’t supposed to be like this.

  Time started moving again.

  Elizabeth grabbed the casing and slid it into her pocket. When she felt for the medallion with her gloved fingers, she did what she had to do. Tossing it into the air, it fell through the night catching the moonlight against the shiny metal.

  When it landed, it was right beside Seamus O’Brien.

  The blood oozing from the one bullet hole in his head covered the four leaf clover.

  Now, he was a victim of his own crimes.

  And she was a killer.

  “Good luck in hell, Seamus. Save me a spot. I’ll see you there.” Elizabeth yanked off the little gold cross that had once been her mothers. It seemed so wrong to wear it.

  She crossed a line.

  Lovingly, she tucked it into her pocket, kissing religion goodbye.

  Forever.

  Then, she began packing up.

  She grabbed her gear and got the hell out of there. It was time to get back to her house, lose the gun, and go to Gabe’s. She needed an alibi, and she needed her friend.

  Elizabeth already knew.

  She had crossed a dangerous line.

  Nothing was going to be the same.

  Ever again…

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

  One Hour Later

  Gabe’s Brownstone

  Elizabeth knocked on his door.

  Why?

  She didn't know.

  This place once felt like home, and now it wasn’t. Before, she would just stroll in, much like he did at her place. She had a key, but it didn't seem right.

  She wasn’t welcome, and she knew it.

  When he unlatched the busted door, his face said it all. He was pissed, and he had every right to be.

  As soon as he realized it was her, his expression changed. Gabe saw something was wrong.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, forgetting about himself and Livy for one second. He was concerned.

  “What did you do?”

  “Can I come in?”

  He stepped back.

  “You know you’re always welcome here.”

  She hoped that wasn’t total BS. She needed him now more than ever. She needed an alibi or she was going to rot in jail.

  Elizabeth moved past the busted up door and the pile of wet towels on the floor.

  “How’s Livy?” she asked, trying to carry on a normal conversation. It wasn’t easy. Her whole body was cold. She’d never taken a life before, and they told you in the FBI it was hard.

  They weren’t kidding.

  She’d killed a man in cold blood. Granted, he was a killer, but she acted as his judge, jury, and executioner.

  “She’s in bed. Chris is up there with her. He wouldn’t leave until you came back. He was worried about you, and so am I.”

  She tossed him the policed brass. Her father always taught her to pick up after shooting, and she did.

  “What’s this?” he asked, catching it.

  “That’s the spent brass from the bullet that killed Seamus O’Brien.”

  All sound stopped around him.

  Gabe stared at her.

  “I killed him for Livy. I got you both justice.”

  He stared at her. “Elizabeth…”

  “I pulled the trigger and ended his life.”

  The words sat there between them.

  “You should probably arrest me. I won’t fight. If you ever loved me, you’ll try and get me a reduced sentence. Maybe I can be out in twenty years.”

  He moved toward her, and she closed her eyes. Her career was gone, her life was over, and all she could hope was that she could plead insanity from seeing her partner post-rape.

  He pulled her into his arms and held her against his big chest. She could hear his heart beating, and instead of comfort, it reminded her of what she’d just done.

  She’d stopped a man’s heart out of vengeance.

  “Jesus,” he muttered. “Sweetheart, I don’t know what to say to you.”

  Did he thank her or start trying to soothe her heart?

  At his words, Elizabeth started crying.

  She wept bitter tears. There was a huge hole in her heart from where she’d crossed that line.

  “Lyzee, honey,” Gabe murmured, tears filling his own eyes. He knew why she did it, and he didn't deserve it. He’d snapped at her, and she took one for their family.

  He now didn't have to pull the trigger to avenge the woman he loved. The other woman he loved did it for him. She let the stain cover her, not him.

  She did it.

  “I killed him, Gabe. I’m now no better than him. Without Livy, we couldn’t stop him. Instead of letting him escape, I shot him.”

  He kissed her on the crown of her head. “You are better than him. He deserved it.”

  Normally, he believed that wasn’t their call.

  Tonight, after seeing what had been done to Livy, he wasn’t sure. Maybe there was a time when they each became a killer. There was the possibility that there wasn’t a defined line.

  If there was, she just saved him from having to cross it.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t want to go to jail. I don’t want to give up my badge, but I know I should.”

  He wouldn’t let that happen.

  Staring down into her eyes, Gabe knew he was now up to bat. “I’m going to handle this. We’ll bury it so deep that no one will shake it free. You’re not going to jail. I promise you! That’s not happening.”

  She held onto him. If she let go, Elizabeth believed she’d slip into some bottomless quagmire.

  There were few people she trusted in the world. Honestly, Gabe was at the top of the list.

  He was her friend.

  Her family.

  Her brother.

  She loved him.

  “We won’t tell anyone. You and I are taking this to our graves. You didn't use a registered gun, did you?”

  She shook her head. “It was my father’s military rifle. There’s no record of it. He swiped it from the service when he came out.”

  Gabe began working it out in his head. Pulling out his phone, he checked the time.

  “You were here with us. You never left. I’m your alibi.”

  She nodded.

  Honestly, she couldn’t think. Her brain hurt. “Can I lie down? I don’t feel well. I haven’t slept in…forever. Maybe it was sleep deprivation. Maybe that’s why I did it.”

  They both knew why she did it.

  Love.

  He led her to the couch and covered her with a blanket. “I have your back, Lyzee. This dies here tonight. I won’t tell anyone, not even Livy. You and I will be the only two who will ever know. Okay?”

  She nodded and closed her eyes.

  When he heard footsteps above them, Gabe knew he had to handle a few things before the doctor joined them.

  “Where’s the knife?”

  “I wiped it and tossed it in the Potomac. It’s gone, along with any proof he was the killer.”

  He lowered his voice. “I’ll handle this. I want that gun. I’m going to hide it where no one will ever find it, but after I wipe it of any DNA. Okay?”
/>
  She closed her eyes. As soon as she did, Elizabeth saw his head explode. Seamus was haunting her.

  Elizabeth knew she was screwed.

  “Doctor Leonard, how’s Livy?” Gabe asked, blocking Elizabeth from the ME’s view. She’d protected him, now it was Gabe’s turn to do the same.

  “She’s sedated. I checked her, and she’s fine. There’s no injury past the assault. The bruising will heal, and she’ll move on.”

  Gabe prayed that was true.

  “I want you to go into work, pull all the hard copy files of the case, and then delete everything from the server. It’s going to go down in the morning, and there won’t be any electronic copy of this case.”

  He stared at him. “What?”

  “You heard me. I want all the paper copies, and nothing more gets filed.”

  “You’re not reporting Livy’s assault?”

  “No.”

  Gabe shifted, and Chris saw Elizabeth. She looked like hell. As he tried to move toward her, Gabe got in his way. “I gave you an order. I want it handled right now. You can drop the files off here tomorrow. Nothing remains, am I clear?”

  “What about the Boston files?”

  “They’re going to disappear too.”

  He didn't understand.

  “But the case, the victims—what about them?”

  “They will get justice, Doctor Leonard, just not today.”

  Chris went to argue, but Elizabeth spoke. “Please, Chris. I need you to do it for me.”

  He moved around Gabe and stared down at her. She looked broken too. “Did he hurt you, Elizabeth?” Chris asked, kneeling beside her.

  When his hands moved across her tear stained cheeks, it made her cry even more.

  “No. He can’t hurt anyone anymore.”

  Gabe cleared his throat. He had to protect the women he loved. It was his duty. Livy would never have to stand in court, and Elizabeth wasn’t going to jail.

  “Go, Doctor. Do what I’ve asked. I’m your boss.”

  Chris leaned down and kissed Elizabeth on the forehead. “You call me if you need me, Lyzee. No matter the time. I’ll come stay with you and keep you safe.”

  She closed her eyes. “Thank you, Christopher.”

  Then, he grabbed his messenger bag. At the door, he glanced back.