“That’s good then because I happen to like chaos, and I love Blackhawk men,” she squeezed his hand. “All four of them.”
“Yeah, I completely understand why they love you.”
“I’m a Blackhawk magnet and none of you had a chance,” she said, laughing and standing. “Come on. I need to get to my husband before the killer does. By now he realizes I’m safe and away from him. Next he’s going to target either Ethan or Callen out of anger.”
Wyler knew she was tough. The woman had been abducted, drugged, stayed ahead a killer for two hours, and been trudging through the woods for another four without a single complaint. Then he saw the compassion that lived inside her, and he vowed he was going to get her out of the woods and soon. “A few more miles, and we exit the woods right behind my father’s house. Can you make it?” He already knew she could.
“I don’t have a choice, Wyler. Your sons and grandson are depending on me.”
“Then let’s go.”
Hours abducted ~ ten
FBI S.W.A.T trucks rolled down the street, one after another until they blocked off the entrance to the development where Deputy Thomas Mason had a home. Agents poured into the street, securing the houses around the man’s dwelling. The blue and yellow vests with pullovers were everywhere, and all of them knew they were searching for the man that allegedly took one of their own. Leading the warrant search, there were two men desperate to find Elizabeth Blackhawk. Gabe Rothschild had left the field to stay out of danger, and now he stood beside his agent and was geared up as the men at the door prepared to enter.
Forcibly.
Nothing was taken more seriously than a search for one of their own. Everyone there was prepared to drag the man out. They were going in with guns drawn, meaning business. Mission one was location of suspect, and only then followed by hopeful recovery of victim.
Alive.
Ethan Blackhawk placed the communication ear piece in place, and gave the tactical command to go in hard and fast. He heard the knock, and ‘FBI’ right before he heard the crash of the door. They all went in, and he was right behind the lead S.W.A.T agents. Gabe had his back, and he could feel his hand on the back of his vest, as they entered in formation to clear the dwelling. Every room was checked first, and then they posted the search warrant on the door. It was time to find the evidence and take down a killer.
They started in the garage, just because they spotted a silver table like Blackhawk had seen in the picture the killer sent him. He pointed to the paint cans and instructed the tech team to reconstruct the scene, showing them the angle to get the paint cans and recreate the picture for trial. He knew deep down that if this man hurt his wife and child, there wouldn’t be a trial. Inside he knew it was wrong, and he wouldn’t speak it out loud, but it gave him a little piece of reassurance that he’d get justice.
Running a gloved hand on the table, it reminded him of the ones in the ME lab, and that alone was enough to give him the creeps. This man was incredibly sick, and he couldn’t believe they shared a genetic link. The entire garage was decorated with Native American artifacts, dream catchers, and other things he had obviously collected in his disillusionment. He seized and bagged the paints the man used to tattoo his wife and the last woman, and they began pulling the ‘workshop’ apart.
“Director Blackhawk,” called out his one tech. “I think we have trace,” he said, pulling a brush out of the drawer.
Blackhawk went over and looked at the brush. Imbedded in the bristles were long black hairs, and beneath them blonde ones. “Bag the brush. Pull it for prints and then check the hair for DNA. I’m willing to bet that those hairs are Elizabeth and Caiti Hudson’s. The killer thought his hideout was impenetrable. He didn’t clean up after himself. We do this search above the letter of the law,” he said, making sure they understood.
No shortcuts were allowed on this one.
They continued through the house, and in the spare bedroom they opened the closet and there they were, the skulls. Nineteen tiny fetus skulls all lined up like some twisted macabre collection.
Then they found more damning evidence. Sitting in the bottom of the closet stood an umbrella stand, acting like a makeshift arrow quiver. With a gloved hand Blackhawk pulled one out, noticing the killer had tagged them with each woman’s name.
That alone was going to make it easier to identify all the bodies in the graves they found. He counted them and found eighteen. All were present and accounted for.
“This is pretty sick and twisted,” Gabe said, taking in the collection.
“What makes it sicker is these were all his children. This is making me rethink calling my old man a bastard. This guy wins the shitty father award.”
“Let’s cross every T and make sure this is done above exemplary. I don’t want this sicko getting away.”
“Yeah me either,” he said, walking back out of the room to supervise his team. Now he needed to make sure they did it all by the letter of the law. “Label everything. Double up on pictures and details for them. I want there to be no question what we found in this house.”
They had to make sure this man never saw the outside of a jail cell again. He wasn’t particularly worried about that though. Thomas Mason had signed his own death warrant the minute he touched his pregnant wife.
Elizabeth made him stop, she felt incredibly nauseous. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She was tougher than this, or at least she was at one point.
“It’s okay Elizabeth. This has been a long trek, and you’re pregnant. How about I make a quick fire, and we sit and take a little break? You’ve had a long day.”
“Okay,” she whispered, her teeth beginning to chatter.
He tried to distract her. “I think I know who the woman is that could have given birth to the other child,” he said absently, but noticed it did indeed get her attention. “Her name was Angela Teldar.”
Elizabeth felt the warmth coming off the fire and she was grateful. The heat gave her immediate comfort. “Did you love her?” she asked, watching him.
“No I didn’t. I ruined my marriage to Catherine, and when I told her and asked forgiveness, she threw me out. I wasn’t in love with Callen’s mom. She was a one night stand while I was drunk. It was mutual. I didn’t even know she was pregnant until she ran into me at the store on the reservation. She was young and liked to party.”
“Best not tell Callen that,” she replied.
“I don’t plan on it,” he said continuing, “I started dating again when the boys were about three and four I guess. I swore that I wouldn’t ever marry again. My one chance at true love was Catherine, and I blew it because I was an idiot.”
“Angela Teldar wasn’t a one night stand?”
“No, I dated her almost a full year. Then she started throwing around the marriage word. I had an ex-wife I was still in love with, and she had my son. Ethan was five at the time and his mom wasn’t big into letting me see him. Who could blame her? Then I had a woman I had a fling with, and she had my other son. He was three and a half. Callen’s mom wasn’t in love with me, and never wanted to marry me. I know, I asked to do the right thing.”
Elizabeth let him continue.
“Then I started dating Angela. It was nothing serious. We had fun together, because she liked to camp and hunt. She was interested in the Native American culture and made me forget the mess I made in my life.”
Elizabeth understood how he just wanted the human connection.
“Then one day she said ‘I want to get married’, and I didn’t expect it. I tried to explain to her that I had already married my soul mate, and then broke her heart. I wasn’t marrying ever again. I wanted Catherine back, and she wasn’t having it.”
“Have you ever told Ethan this? It might help him to know that you loved his mother, and wanted to be with her.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. He saw me how he saw me. I was the man that screwed around on his mother. Then he had his b
rother, and I knew they’d be okay with my dad.”
“I think they would have preferred to be with their father. I’d bet on it.”
He shrugged.
“Then what happened with Angela?”
“When I told her it was never going to be more than a casual friendship with sex, she lost it. I didn’t know she had a violent temper, but it came out that day.” He pulled up his sleeve and showed her the scar. “She stabbed me.”
Elizabeth felt that little wave of awareness, and it wasn’t shocking the son was violent too.
“She screamed in this rage, trying to slice me into ribbons. I got out of there fast. I may be a piss poor example of a father, but I don’t hit women,” he said, closing his eyes.
“I understand, Wyler. Her son is a lunatic,” she added.
“She would be the only other woman who could have a child with me. After her, I learned my lesson. I gave up on women, and just tried to lay low and keep from hurting my sons. I gave up on sex and women and moved onto drinking.”
She patted his knee. “I think you should tell Ethan what you just told me. He needs to hear it from you. He needs to know his father was human and made mistakes.”
He nodded and would take her advice into consideration. “Is he excited to be having a baby?”
Elizabeth smiled brightly. “He’s beyond excited.”
“I’m glad,” he looked at his watch. “Feel better, Honey?”
“Yeah, I do. How much further is it until we’re there?”
Wyler Blackhawk looked around, obviously seeing something only he’d recognize. “There’s less than a mile to go. You have a twenty minute walk to go, if that.”
Elizabeth stood. “I want to get out of these clothes. They have the killer’s trace all over them, and they creep me out.”
He took her hand after he put out the fire. “Come Elizabeth, our journey is just about done.”
* * *
Deputy Thomas Mason sat in his car at the stopping point down the street from his house. It was blocked off from traffic. He’d taken all his war paint off his face, and threw on street clothes, thankfully. In the front seat sat a pizza he stopped to pick up for dinner. When the FBI agent leaned in the car, he was scared shitless. Had he been home they would have caught him.
“Where to?” asked the agent, shining a light into the car.
“I was delivering a pizza,” he said suddenly. He gave him the address past his house.
“Sorry, no one down this street.”
“Oh well, I guess my boss will have to just watch the news to believe me on this one,” he said, laughing.
“Yeah, he will.”
“Thanks sir,” he said, rolling up his window in relief as he turned his car around. He just barely escaped this one and then all the rage filled him. They had his treasures, his papers, his skulls, and he had lost Elizabeth Blackhawk.
Damn it!
Now he had to find a new way to destroy the raven and the fox.
* * *
Wyler kept his word.
He brought Elizabeth to his father’s house, and he even carried her inside when he thought she was going to collapse. When he pushed the door open holding Elizabeth in his arms, both his father and son jumped.
“Jesus Christ, Wyler! The Feds are looking for her!” Callen rushed to his sister-in-law.
Elizabeth lifted her head. “Don’t touch me. The killer left evidence all over me. Call my husband and tell him and the tech team where I am please.”
“Okay, but then you have to explain how you ended up with Wyler,” he agreed, pulling out his phone and dialing his brother.
“Blackhawk, talk fast.”
“Ethan, get to granddad’s house now!”
“I’m a little busy, Callen. I have two hours to find my wife,” he said tersely. “I’m running out of time, and so is she.”
Whitefox watched his father carry her into the spare bedroom. “We have her with us. Wyler found her and she’s safe,” he said softly into the phone.
“What?”
“She wants a tech team and her husband. Wyler just carried her out of the woods two minutes ago.”
“Is she okay?” he practically shouted in both alarm and joy.
“As okay as a woman can be that was just abducted by a serial killer. Again, she wants you and a tech team fast.”
Blackhawk disconnected the call and ran to Gabe. “Elizabeth’s been found! She’s alive and at my father’s house! I have to go!”
“I’ll send the tech team, go!” Gabe Rothschild watched his agent run for his vehicle. He threw on the lights and tore away like a maniac.
Gabe turned to the first female tech agent he saw. “Find the address Director Blackhawk just left for and get a tech team there. He’ll need one female agent at least for evidence removal. They found Elizabeth and she’s alive.”
There was a cheer that went up through the entire group that heard the news.
Their own was safe.
Callen sat beside Elizabeth on the bed as he watched her drink a cup of tea Timothy made for her. He was so glad to see her, and he could only imagine how happy his brother was going to be. “Want to talk about it?” he asked.
“Okay.”
“What happened?”
“I was leaving to go to the doctor’s office this morning, and that’s the last thing I remember. I felt some pain in my neck, and then everything went black. Next thing I woke up in the woods dressed like this. How did you guys find out I was gone?”
“Granddad had a nightmare, and when he woke up he told me to get to your house fast. By the time I got there, your gun, badge and a card were the only things on the porch. I must have just missed him and you,” he paused. “I’m sorry I was too late.”
“Did you have a dream too?”
“Yeah, and it wasn’t pretty. It didn’t have this happy ending.”
“Callen, it’s not your fault for being late. This creep was going to get one of us, and he planned on using me to torment Ethan. If he got either of you, I don’t doubt he would have killed you both outright.”
“How did you get away from him?”
Elizabeth wished she could just lie down and sleep a little while. The long trek out of the hunting lands drained her. “I managed to escape the nutjob for about two hours, staying ahead of him. Maybe six miles of forest at least. Then, I went down this slope and someone grabbed me from behind, and it was Wyler. I thought he was the killer until I heard noise from the trail next to us. He kept me completely safe and took care of me. If it wasn’t for him, I think the killer would have worn me down and eventually murdered me. Without him, I would be out there alone dressed like this, and I would have frozen to death in the darkness.”
He didn’t know what to say.
It was very unlike his father to be the hero in a story. He wasn’t really sure how it sat with him.
“Please, cut him a break. I’ll ask as a favor just for tonight. I wouldn’t have made it without him and that’s the truth. Even now, I’m shaky.”
“Tonight, I can agree to that, but only because he saved my favorite sister.” And the woman he was in love with.
“You know that’s not really a compliment, since I’m your only sister.”
Whitefox laughed for the first time in hours.
“I’m sorry you both had to worry,” Elizabeth said softly. She was sorry; it had to be the longest day of all the Blackhawk men’s lives.
“You can make it up to us later by never being out of any of our sights!” he laughed. “You thought Ethan was going to lock you down? Add me to that too.” He leaned over cautiously to not touch her person, and placed a kiss lightly on her lips. “Complete lockdown, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth smiled at his protectiveness. “Oddly, I am completely okay with that after this whole experience.” Now she desperately wanted to see her husband. “Where’s Ethan? I just really need to see him right now.”
“He’s coming for you, just hang in there. You made
it through the last ten hours, and I think you can make it a few more minutes until lover boy storms the house and charges in here like a maniac.”
Elizabeth laughed. It felt good. What felt better was she beat the serial killer and knew she could now take him down for trying to hurt her family.
“I beat him, Callen,” she said softly.
“There was never any doubt, Lyzee,” he answered just as softly. When she offered up a fist bump and tear filled eyes, it took everything in him to not pick her up and offer her comfort. All Callen wanted was to wrap her protectively in his arms.
Elizabeth Blackhawk was definitely bad ass in his book.
Director Ethan Blackhawk slammed his vehicle into park, and charged his grandfather’s house like a man being chased by demons. All he wanted was proof that she was still alive. He wanted to see her face, her smile, and know that she was still his and he wasn’t too late. He ran through the door searching for his wife, like a wolf scenting its lost mate.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
Wyler and his grandfather pointed, and he practically knocked his father over to get past him. He pushed the door open and there she was.
His life started again just by seeing her.
“Ethan, don’t touch her,” his brother warned softly.
He didn’t even look at him, but instead he walked towards his wife. “I know. The tech team is coming,” he answered, as he dropped to his knees beside the bed and his eyes filled with tears. Here was the reason he lived, and she was dressed like some Indian woman in deerskin, braided hair, and moccasins. Her arms and legs looked like someone had slashed at them. The thorns and bramble did a number on her body. He took her face in his hands and stared into her eyes- those icy blue eyes that he couldn’t live without.
“I’ll be okay, Callen,” said Elizabeth unable to look away from her husband. “Thank you for staying with me.”
He nodded and walked out, closing the door to give them privacy.
Sacred Burial Grounds (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 2)) Page 49