“I’m aware.”
“She’s loyal to a fault, Ethan.”
Yeah, and that was part of the fucking problem. Her loyalty was to a man who came before him and Callen. If the chips were down, he believed she’d choose her friend of fifteen years over them.
It made him sick.
“Like I said, Doctor, I’m fine. I only needed to know if he was fit to keep his badge.”
“He is. I’m putting him on probation. As long as he meets the mandated therapy with me, he’s fine. If he misses them, he’ll need to be pulled.”
He nodded. “Thank you for your honesty.”
“Ethan.”
He headed toward the door. “I have a warrant to serve, and I don’t have time to worry about it,” he offered.
She watched him walk out the door just as her husband returned.
“I heard him leave. Are you okay?” he asked, seeing the look on her face.
“Yes, I am. How about we go out and see some of the city?”
“That sounds like a plan, honey.”
Callie smiled, hiding her concern for the director. She could feel the storm coming, and she only hoped that the man would hold up through it.
With Ethan Blackhawk, you never knew what was going to happen.
Never.
Outside, Ethan took a deep breath before pulling out his phone. Everything he’d seen and heard at the crime scene, in combination with what the doctor had said were whirling through his head.
It was so much to process.
For him, it was going to take every ounce of control to keep that anger at bay. Instead of worrying about his wife, and the doctor, wandering the streets, Ethan needed a distraction.
He knew what would do it.
Working always soothed his frazzled nerves. It would give him something to focus on to forget.
Pulling out his phone, he made the call. Callen and he weren’t going to sit around and wait for Elizabeth to tell them how to run a case.
He was going to do his damn job.
After all, he’d been a Fed before she was. He’d never quit and left. If anything, he could handle a warrant and the job that came along with it.
He was Ethan freaking Blackhawk, and he wasn’t going to take this lying down.
Ever.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Friday Morning
Five-Thirty A.M.
Callen finally got a hold of the mayor and he’d invited him to his place to talk about what was going on with the case. The man hadn’t been angry, and that gave him hope.
Maybe something in their lives was going to go well for them. They didn’t need any more drama.
Then again, with what news was coming, he had to be wary. Once the mayor knew what they were dealing with, from his past experiences, he was going to blow.
Who wouldn’t?
The odds weren’t in their favor.
No one wanted to hear that their city was being plagued with a serial killer. Add vampire diseased one to the mix…?
Yeah, it had the potential for the shit hitting the fan, and then blowing back at the investigators.
When Callen arrived at the historic building, in the center of the French Quarter, he was surprised that the man didn’t live in one of the larger homes. Then again, this building overlooked some of the prime real estate in the city.
He’d want to be on the parade route too. That would be entertaining.
Heading up, he knocked on the door. When the man came to it, he was clearly struggling to wake up. He was bare-chested and wearing nothing but pajama bottoms.
“Director, come in.”
Callen followed him into the well-decorated space. It was clear that the man liked nice things, had expensive tastes, and didn’t mind spending cash on those things.
The place was spotless, tidy, and an OCD haven. Elizabeth would have loved it there.
In their house, they spent all of their money on one thing—stain guard. It was the key to keeping nice things. If not, everything would be one hot mess with five kids.
“I appreciate you swinging by to update me on the case,” he offered.
“It’s not a problem, Mayor LaCroix.”
“Nathaniel, please. I’m off the clock. I was about to make myself some coffee. Can I interest you in any?”
“Sure. That would be great.”
The man grinned at him.
That gave Callen the willies, and he didn’t know why. Instead of going with his gut, he followed him into the kitchen and took a seat at the counter.
“How’s the case going?” he asked, grinding his own beans. “I’ve been getting updates from Detective Le Bleu, and it sounds like you have it under control.”
“We do, but I’m here to update you on a little situation that’s come up,” Callen said, as the man moved around the kitchen. He began cutting up fruit and placing it on a plate.
“How about some breakfast?” he asked. “I don’t often have company this time of the day. I usually try to eat healthy. Care to join me?”
Callen was getting that feeling again, but they needed to pacify the man.
“Um, sure.”
The mayor smiled. “Now, what has happened to have you here at this time? Not that I mind your company, here, in my home.”
Shit!
That one statement was a tad bit lecherous, and he’d know. He was the king of it when it came to Elizabeth.
Callen’s gay-dar was going off. That explained the man’s home, his surroundings, and the fact that he had time to get dressed and hadn’t.
Ethan owed him one for this one.
He was fed to the horny mayor like an innocent lamb.
This sucked.
Callen kept it business-like, and told him everything that had gone on that morning.
He didn’t leave anything out.
In fact, he probably told him too much out of nerves. When the mayor walked around the corner, brushing against the back of him to put the fruit down, Callen was pretty sure there was man on man contact.
And he didn’t think the mayor was packing a gun…
Jesus!
He was just rubbed against by another man’s penis. This day was destined to suck.
Here was the proof.
“Well, I’m sure you can handle it, Director. I have my utmost faith in you and your team.”
“Really, it’s Elizabeth’s team. I’m just her partner.”
“Oh, well, we all need a good partner in life,” he offered. “Speaking of which,” he began.
Callen prayed the man didn’t hit on him. One, he was married, and two...he really liked pussy—specifically Elizabeth’s. While he didn’t mind being naked with his brother around, or that physical contact that happened when they were both mauling their woman, he was uncomfortable with other men touching him.
Maybe it was a purely hetero response.
Maybe it was because he’d been molested by a man.
It made his heart pound in his chest, and not in a good way either.
“I added some additional police to ‘The Quarter’. I’m new to this cop thing, and since the police captain is away, I hope I’m doing the right thing. Since you’ve taken over the morgue, pillaging my village, I put the cop who works there on the street.”
“More police is never a bad thing,” Callen offered, trying to get past the ‘pillaging’ his village comment.
Holy shit!
Someone could throw down innuendos with the best of them.
The man smiled. “Yeah, you have to like cops and how they want to protect and serve—plus the handcuffs. That’s always an added plus.”
He nearly choked on the coffee.
Callen knew this was his punishment for being a womanizing dick for all those years. Karma was a bitch, and here it was staring him in the face.
He was being propositioned by another man.
Talk about not needing his mediating skills. The man kept winking at him.
Callen doubted the mayor heard a single thing he’d said. Well, at least they wouldn’t have him pissed off and trying to destroy their case.
“What?” Callen asked, trying to refocus when he heard the man speak.
“I asked how your coffee was,” Nathaniel asked. “Is it hot enough? If it’s too dark, I can add some cream to it. Just tell me what I can do for you.”
Callen wanted to laugh.
This was the most uncomfortable conversation he’d had in a long time, and that was saying a lot.
Elizabeth was known to say just about anything off the top of her head. He was accustomed to inappropriate, and didn’t mind it.
Until that very moment.
When the Mayor came around and pulled out the stool, Callen wanted to run. He was a little too close for comfort for his liking.
Then there was a hand on his thigh.
Jesus!
Okay, enough was enough. There was no way in hell he was going to be able to pretend he didn’t get the man’s advances.
Callen had no choice but to move it.
“Nathaniel,” he began, preparing to tell the man he wasn’t gay.
“All that hair. It’s absolutely amazing. I can only imagine what it feels like against skin. Care to let me find out? I promise I can keep a secret and be discrete. What do you say?”
He was about to freak out when his phone rang.
Callen would kiss whoever was on the other end, and if they got him the hell out of that mantrap, he’d be their personal slave for a month.
Pulling out his phone, he answered. As he did, he noticed that the man sitting at the counter was staring at his lower anatomy like it was on the menu.
Then Callen noticed that pajama bottoms didn’t hide anything.
At all.
Someone was horny as hell, and it wasn’t him.
“Whitefox,” he said, praying for salvation.
“Hey, Cal, I have that warrant. Are you in the mood to search Kaleb Meeks’ home with me? It’ll be dangerous, but I think we can handle it.”
He’d search a pit of viperous snakes at that point, naked, blindfolded, and drunk.
“I’ll be right there. Bring my gear. I don’t have my vest on.”
Yeah, or a dick guard to protect him from a horny, gay mayor. Callen was sure the man was going to cop a feel any second, and that wouldn’t end well.
Callen would kick his ass.
“Okay, see you in a few.”
Callen needed to get out of there.
Fast.
When he ended the call, he thanked the man for his hospitality.
“Later, you can come back. I wouldn’t mind showing you more.”
“I’m sorry, Nathaniel, but there’s been a misunderstanding here. I’m very hetero, and very much in love with my wife. I’m not gay.”
The man winked again.
“Oh, if the media is right, there’s some man on man action happening in your bedroom. I just assumed you were…”
Callen didn’t let him finish.
“I’m not. Sorry. We’ll keep you updated,” he said, heading for the door. When he got there, the mayor grabbed a handful of his ass.
It was inappropriate and creepy all at the same time.
Again, Karma liked screwing with him, and he likely deserved it.
It took everything in him not to kick his ass. Callen loathed personal contact when it wasn’t warranted, and it really wasn’t.
At all.
Callen escaped with his clothes and no drool on him. The entire walk to Kaleb Meeks’ home, Callen was forced to think about what the man had said.
Did the world really think he was gay?
Really?
If that were the case, he wasn’t going to let it bother him. Instead, he was going to make it far more clearer who’s pants he wanted to get in.
Poor Elizabeth.
Now he had to jump her even more, and maybe in public.
It made him laugh, and the people around him stared like he was insane.
Possibly, he was.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
The French Quarter
Detective Le Bleu searched everywhere for the pimp. The city was calming down at that time of day, and as the sun was beginning to crest over the houses, he knew that there was no way he was going to find him.
By this time, the pimps and women of the night were retiring to their beds. He couldn’t blame them. Nightshift had a way of wearing you down.
When he spotted two uniformed cops heading down the street, he signaled them. Flashing his badge, he gave them a little side job.
Pimps and hookers liked drugs. Drug dealers were out and about at all times of the day in ‘The Quarter’. Hopefully, they could keep their eyes open for him while he got some z’s.
Handing the men a picture of Otis Short, he gave them instructions on what to do if they found a location.
He’d need a call.
The cops took the paper, shook his hand, and headed off to walk their street beat.
At least that base was covered for the Fed.
Glancing down at his watch, he knew the bar not far from his apartment would still be open. It catered to the men and women in the city who worked late.
He was going to grab a quick beer, head up to his place, and get some sleep.
Tonight, he’d be back at it.
It would be just one more night walking the streets. There were people to find, and duty called.
There was a job to get done. Being a cop was a damn hard job, but he loved it.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Jasper Butler’s
Home
She knew this was dangerous.
Hell!
The man inside could be the killer, and there she was with Chris Leonard and not her normal, scary Native backup. While she wanted Ethan and Callen there in the worst way, she knew that the man beside her needed this.
This was about rebuilding his confidence.
When you fell off of the horse, you got back on and kept going. Wasn’t that what he’d told her so many times before?
He was afraid he’d caused someone’s death, and she was trying to give him his power back.
When she’d first met Chris, he’d been fresh out of med school. If you looked up geek in the dictionary, he would have been in there.
Over the last fifteen years, he’d grown, matured, and become a damn good Fed. He’d been faithful, kind, and had her back.
This was the least she could do.
Besides, she was in good shape. Elizabeth knew she could keep them safe. It was only one man who was sleeping with a Voodoo priestess for shits and giggles.
He had to be sane, right?
She started laughing.
“Uh, are you okay?” he asked. “Whenever you break into giggles randomly, there’s always a scary reason.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I was thinking about who in their right mind would bed down with a woman who practices Voodoo? The breakup alone would be hell. Can you imagine?”
Chris laughed. That wouldn’t be his first choice, but mostly because his mother was a witch. “Yeah, well, Merry is sleeping with a man who does, so…”
“Yeah, but that’s different. He’s a cop. I trust him.”
“You don’t trust Marie Babineaux?”
She weighed it in her mind as they stood outside Jasper Butler’s place. She wanted to believe that the woman was on the up and up, but she was a cynical cop to the core.
“I don’t know. This whole thing has me second-guessing everything. She’s being very friendly.”
Chris kissed her on the cheek. “You realize there are people out there who will genuinely like you for you. Maybe she just wants to get to know you.”
“There are?” she teased.
He laughed. “Yeah, there are, believe it or not.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “My gut isn’t happy.”
“Maybe you should eat
more.”
She stared at him. “Did you just insult me and tell me I’m too skinny?”
Chris looked behind them and right at her ass. “You’ve lost a few pounds.”
She stared at him with her mouth hanging open. “What the hell, Christopher?”
He laughed. “I’m still a man. You know that. We see ass, and we look. You can’t possibly be shocked by that.”
She hugged him. “I missed you.”
He knew she had. He wanted to tell her so much, but he figured it was best left for over breakfast. Chris was pretty sure that she was going to beat everything out of him.
When she took his face in her hands, she got serious.
“I’m going to give you a gun. Wear it, use it if you have to, and don’t shoot yourself or me. Ethan will freak out.”
Chris really didn’t want to carry one.
As a doctor, and as someone who stared at gunshot wounds every day, it made him edgy.
“I’d prefer not to.”
She knew how to approach this.
“Christopher, it’s to watch my back. This guy is sleeping with a suspect who could be manipulating him to kill women. We don’t know if he was just a booty call, or if he’s the killer.”
He stared at her.
“It’s to protect me.”
That’s all he had to hear.
“I’d fight to the death for you, Lyzee. I’ll carry it, but I won’t like it.”
She squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Christopher. I knew you’d do it for me, and for the record, I don’t really like giving you one. My ass has less padding for when you accidently shoot me.”
He snorted.
“I mean it. Thank you.”
Hell!
What wouldn’t he do?
Elizabeth was all he had left in the world next to his daughter. If anything happened to her, where would he be? He’d already let the woman he loved down when she was murdered. He couldn’t let that happen again.
Not on his watch.
Elizabeth pulled her spare piece off her belt at her back. She handed it to him and smiled.
Blood Shall Run (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 15) Page 46