Dying to Love (An FBI Romance Thriller Book 18)

by Morgan Kelley

  She was just too stubborn, and afraid, to see it for herself. Well, that was over.

  It was time.

  “I take on too much, I carry everyone’s burdens, and I need to lighten the load.”

  “It’s the freaking apocalypse. We’re all going to die,” Chris said.

  “Be serious.”

  “Okay, sorry. I just don’t know what to do with today. You’ve been putting up with the shit for a long time. I figured you’d always be Olivia Rothschild’s whipping girl.”

  “I don’t hate her. I just don’t think she and I should work together. From the start, we’ve been competitive. Then Gabe came along, and she married him. I was happy for them, but I’m not going to beg forgiveness that he told me something first. I’m not twelve. This isn’t the schoolyard, and she punched me in the face.”

  He agreed.

  “When she hit me, it reminded me of Desdemona.”

  There.

  She said it.

  Chris knew that was a sore point with her.

  “She betrayed you with violence. I get it.”

  “I don’t let my husbands abuse me, and I’m not letting her do it.”

  “I beg to differ. You have some bite marks on you,” he teased. “Someone let one of her men play a little rough.”

  “You looked down my shirt!”

  He snorted. “I’m a man. Sue me. I was taking a walk down ex-girlfriend lane. I miss your breasts. They were always my favorite part.”

  That made her laugh. “Dork.”

  “Hussy.”

  “See? That’s how I know who my friends are and who aren’t. I need certain people in my life, and being hit by a drunken friend—that’s not it.”

  He agreed.

  “I’ll risk my life for the people I love, but I’m not so sure Livy can say the same thing. Her heart isn’t in this. She never should have come back. I really believe she did it because I came back here, and she wanted to keep an eye on Gabe.”

  Chris let her vent as he drove.

  “I am so damn sick of everyone thinking I have this insatiable need to jump every man I meet. I’m at my sex max. I have two men I sleep with, and I have never been inappropriate with Gabe.”

  He got it.

  “File a complaint. She’ll be heading back home in a heartbeat. Besides, you can’t tell me Gabe doesn’t want her gone,” he said.

  “Oh. I’m sure he does, and that’s why I won’t file. This is his problem. I’m not letting him off easy. Gabe is hard on everyone BUT Livy. I know he feels bad about her rape, and he’s been letting her run roughshod over everyone since it happened. It’s time he manned up and faced the music. He made this monster, and now he’s going to deal with it.”

  Chris gave her a fist bump.

  “For the record, I happen to agree with you. He’s hard on everyone BUT her.”

  “In time, she’ll get over it, but really…she doesn’t need me. What do we do together, other than work?”

  He let her talk it out.

  She was right. They lived a few miles apart, and Chris could count on one hand the times Livy had been to their home. Well, Ethan, Callen and Elizabeth’s home.

  “I think I outgrew her. I was just too afraid to say it out loud. Now I know. She hit me. That’s my limit.”

  He punched her.

  “You hit like a girl.”

  He laughed. “Thank you for taking my mind off this,” he said, holding up his finger.

  Her phone chimed again. It was a different sound, so she knew who it was.

  Elizabeth didn’t hesitate to answer it by putting it on speaker. “Hey, Ethan. I’m almost back.”

  “Meet me in my office.”

  “Okay, what’s up?”

  “I found some things, and you, Callen, and I need to discuss it.”

  Immediately, Chris looked worried.

  She had to admit, she was too.

  “I’ll be in-house in five minutes. Am I in trouble?” she asked, trying to get more out of him.

  “I think I found our killer.”

  “Really?” she asked, relaxing a bit.

  “Yeah, get here.”

  She hung up and glanced over at Chris. “Step on it. I need to be there as fast as I can.”

  Chris hit the lights on the tech van and floored it.

  He couldn’t believe Ethan found the killer.

  Maybe they were having good karma.

  See?

  Telling the truth paid off.

  Or so he hoped.

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

  The killer paced his home.

  It wasn’t right!

  His woman was wandering around the city, but she didn’t seem to be getting it.

  He really loved her.

  He had hoped she’d show up, they could have some tea, and they would talk about their future together.

  They would discuss their lives, what she meant to him, and how she was going to be his.

  Only, she was nowhere to be found.

  STILL!

  She wasn’t there yet. He must not be giving her good enough clues.

  Maybe they were too hard.

  Maybe she didn’t remember.

  How could she forget? They’d met before, and they’d even spent time together.

  Holding his head, he paced back and forth, until he could make the screaming stop.

  The silence was slipping away.

  With each one, he had less and less peace.

  He didn’t feel well at all. The rash, the hives, the blisters were getting worse.

  He didn’t have much time to make her his.

  Maybe once she was his, he’d have that silence that was once his.

  Yes.

  He would.

  He knew it.

  Elizabeth would chase away the noise in his head, and she would make his ache end. She’d been the one he wanted for a very long time.

  He’d studied her.

  He’d planned.

  He’d even been patient, and that wasn’t easy.

  Now it was time to reap the benefits of all those things. It was time to leave her more and wait until she came into his life.

  Elizabeth Blackhawk was his, and anyone who got in the way of that had to die.

  He’d waited long enough.

  She was going to be his wife.

  Chapter Eleven

  Hoover Building

  Thursday Afternoon

  When they got there, Ethan was pacing his office. He looked stressed out, and that was a bad thing. Callen met Elizabeth in the doorway, and when they saw him, they both looked at each other.

  That was his unhappy face.

  “Ethan?” she asked from her place beside her other husband.

  He glanced over.

  “Come in!”

  They did.

  “What’s going on?” Callen asked, hoping his brother wasn’t going to blow.

  “I was sitting here, thinking about this case, and it got me worried.”

  Elizabeth closed his door. “About what, handsome?”

  “This killer is pulling little things out of your past—where the victim is left and the similarities to the cases.”

  She was with him so far.

  “And?” she asked.

  “What if the person who is doing this had access to your records?” he asked “They’d know your personnel information of where you had lived at one point in time. They’d know about all your cases with hookers, or the ‘True Love Killer’ who was trying to reconstruct her mate.”

  It made sense.

  “So, our killer works for the FBI?” Callen asked, moving closer to his wife to protect her.

  “What if he does?”

  Elizabeth didn’t like that at all. The mere idea that someone who wore a badge would do this made her sick. “Well, I did just interview Patrick Singer.”

  Ethan shook his head. “I found the person.”

  She was confused.

  “How?�
�

  “I pulled up an electronic link of all your cases. I had the computer cybercrimes division pull up anything with your name tied to it. They ran an access crosscheck. While some Feds will need to pull your cases, if they need to reference them for some case they’re on, there shouldn’t be one particular person who pulls almost all of them.”

  She didn’t like the sound of that.

  At all.

  “Who?”

  “They ran it and found Amir Hayden’s log in code on all of them, and they said he printed a few out.”

  “Why him?” she asked. “I’ve never met him before he was hired. Are you sure they aren’t mistaken?” she asked.

  “I searched his locker.”

  “OH BOY!” Callen said, closing his eyes.

  Elizabeth knew how bad that was.

  “Without a warrant?” Elizabeth asked. “Are you out of your freaking mind? You’re the head of the FBI. If you get called out on that, you’re going to be removed from your position.”

  Screw his job.

  This mattered more.

  “I had probable cause. If he’s stalking my wife, I need to know about it.”

  Callen cracked his knuckles. “I say we go ask him.”

  “Down boy. What are you going to say? Are you stalking my wife?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Ethan.”

  “In his work locker, I found copies of all your files. Why would he need them?”

  “Bathroom literature?” she asked.

  “Elizabeth, he has to be the killer!”

  “Ethan, he passed all the FBI screening. He’s not a serial killer. He’s a boy. He’s fresh out of school, really smart, and today he had a pimple. Seriously! He’s not a criminal mastermind!”

  “Let me handle this.”

  She raised her hands. If her profiler, the one who pointed her in the right direction, thought he found the killer, it was worth checking out.

  They didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. “Okay,” she finally said.

  “Thank you.”

  “Ethan, I have faith in your skill. I may not agree with where it goes, but I get the process.”

  He hugged her. “I’m trying to keep you safe.”

  “Great. After this, keep me full. I’m hungry.”

  He could do that.

  As they headed down to the morgue, Elizabeth would have laughed had the men not been so serious. They both looked as if they were heading down to kill someone. It was amusing.

  Callen flanked their rear, his fists clenched, and Ethan walked beside her, holding her hand.

  This whole thing had to be huge for him to do that. He had his work/game face on, and he meant business.

  When they entered the morgue, Chris looked up from the autopsy.

  His questioning glance was to Elizabeth.

  A message passed between them.

  They both hoped they were never on the other end of the look on Ethan’s face.

  “Amir, can we talk to you in the doctor’s lounge?” Ethan asked.

  The man got up from his workstation and headed there.

  Chris stared at Elizabeth. ‘Really?’ he mouthed.

  ‘Apparently, he thinks so,’ she mouthed back.

  Chris was shocked.

  Amir was new to their team, and this was crazy. He was a kid, and a gangly one at that. To be the head tech, at the FBI, he had to be smart. There was no way he’d do something like that.

  Still…

  If Ethan tagged him.

  Elizabeth followed her husband into the lounge, and Callen closed the door behind them. Amir sat on the couch, with Ethan across from him.

  He didn’t even flinch from his gaze.

  He was either stupid, or oblivious.

  That one look had brought many agents to their knees.

  “Did I screw something up?” he asked.

  “Actually, maybe you have. Is there anything you want to tell us?” Ethan asked. “If you admit it, we’ll go easier on you.”

  He scrunched up his face trying to figure it out.

  “Maybe you hurt someone?” Ethan offered.

  “No. I’m pretty sure I’ve done everything by the book. I’ve studied and studied. The procedure manuals are pretty clear with how I’m supposed to do my job.”

  Ethan was beating around the bush, so Elizabeth stepped in. Technically, this was her case.

  “Why did you search my cases?” she asked.

  Ethan gave her the look.

  They both had two very different styles. She was more a directly to the point kind of girl, and he wanted to give Amir enough rope to hang himself.

  She didn’t have time for that. The killer was out there.

  “Oh, that’s easy. You’re fascinating.”

  That wasn’t enough.

  “Amir, we have a killer who’s stealing bits and pieces from my cases—hookers, location, killing, and such. This doesn’t make you look very good at all.”

  It finally dawned.

  He laughed. “You think I’m the killer? Me? Is this a hazing thing? Doctor Magnus told me you’re a big prankster. That’s what this has to be.”

  He laughed more.

  Yeah, Elizabeth was serious, but she wasn’t buying it. Her gut wasn’t calling this kid out. He was a head tech, and he barely was doing that right. Had they not been desperate to fill the position, and no one inside the FBI wanted it, he wouldn’t be there.

  He was their last choice.

  “No. I’m not pulling a prank, Amir.”

  None of them were amused.

  It must have dawned on him that they were being serious about this.

  “Wait! For real? You think I’m killing those hookers?” he asked.

  “The thought has crossed our minds,” Ethan stated.

  He began shaking his head furiously. “NO! I don’t do that kind of thing. I’m not a killer!”

  Ethan leaned forward.

  “Then explain why you have copies of the files in your locker.”

  “You searched my locker?”

  “It’s FBI property. At this moment, you’re a suspect in this case.”

  He stared with his eyes wide and full of shock.

  “I didn’t remove the files from the premises. That would be illegal. I made copies of her notes, that’s all.”

  “Why?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I want to be more like you. I love my job as a tech, but it’s not my goal. I couldn’t get into the FBI as an agent. They only take so many a year, and I missed the cut a couple years in a row. So, I studied hard, trying to get in with my degrees in forensic science. I did, and then I got this job.”

  Elizabeth stared at her husband. This was what happened when no one in their right mind wanted to play her head tech.

  You got people who were biding their time to get the hell out and into a different lateral position.

  “So, you don’t want to be a head tech?”

  “It’s boring,” he stated. “I’m sorry, but it really is. You can only sit at a desk for so long before you lose your mind. I just don’t have any other choice. If I want to put in my time, I have to do this.”

  Great.

  Now they had two issues. They were training someone who could bail at any moment.

  Chris was going to shit three bricks.

  Elizabeth wondered if she could kidnap Merry or Christina and make them come back.

  Damn it!

  “I’m going to check what you’re saying.”

  Amir didn’t care. “I swear I’m trying to learn her process. She has a fascinating mind. She sees things differently, and I think that’s why Elizabeth is as good as she is. I simply want to learn how to be an agent so I can post internally for a position.”

  Ethan leaned back, the wind out of his sails.

  “I asked Christopher Leonard who the best agent he’d ever met was, and he said Elizabeth. He told me that she is genius in the field and all the other agents want to be her or her partner. She’s
my goal, one day.”

  Callen shook his head. “Uh, I’m her partner, son, so slow your roll.”

  He laughed. “Sorry.”

  Elizabeth knew it.

  They’d scared the poor kid for nothing.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t think I was doing anything bad. We’re allowed to reference past cases by investigators. In fact, it’s recommended so we learn and grow. I made copies to study at lunchtime in the quad. I can’t take the actual files out. I even dropped some peanut butter and jelly on one of the papers.”

  Ethan sighed.

  Yeah, his wife had been right. He’d jumped the gun on this one.

  “Go. I’m sorry we had this conversation.”

  He laughed. “I’m not! That was cool. Now I know how to ask questions as an investigator. Every day is a learning experience, and that’s why I took this job!”

  “I’m sorry,” Elizabeth stated.

  “Aw, don’t be, boss. Just keep this in mind when a job opens and I post. Maybe you’ll give me a shot.”

  The man headed back to work.

  They both sat.

  Ethan closed his eyes. “Maybe I’m getting to old for this,” he stated. “Maybe my profile skills have gotten rusty from sitting on my ass all day long.”

  She laughed. “No, they haven’t. You were partially right. How many times do I interview people and think they’re the killer, but they aren’t? It’s the process. You’re working your way though it.”

  He accepted her reasoning.

  “Was there really peanut butter and jelly on the papers?” she asked, sitting in his lap.

  “Yep.”

  “Well, at least you know the FBI testing didn’t let a serial nut job into the hen house.”

  He laughed and nuzzled her cheek. “I guess.”

  Callen sat on the couch. “I don’t think you’re wrong,” he offered. “Someone is watching her. Someone is studying her. It’s just not Amir. The kid is a newbie to the core.”

  Elizabeth patted her husband on the cheek.

  “We have a huge ass problem. Why are we training him when we now know he’s going to quit?” she asked.

  Ethan sighed again.

  “I’ll start looking for a new head tech.”

  Well, at least Chris could stop wasting valuable time on the man.

  “Cal, did you find anything when you ran all the plates from the hooker stroll?”