Sacred Burial Grounds (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 2))

by Kelley, Morgan

  “So he wants to off the competition?” Whitefox laughed more. “Here’s a news flash, I don’t want to be shaman, and I’m sure Ethan feels the same. He could have come forward and taken it without any fight from us.”

  “It’s all about the name to him.”

  Blackhawk genuinely looked puzzled. “What’s in a name?”

  His brother sat back on the stool and looked at his brother. “That’s easy for you to say, since you’re the only one of the three of us that has the name.” He hoped he didn’t offend his brother, but it was true. That part of the killer’s issue he understood.

  Elizabeth had thought about it a great deal as she was trying to escape the killer. “He wants the name in the worst way. He’s illegitimate and wants to be part of something he’s been excluded from his whole life. Ethan.” She looked at her husband. “You carry the name as the only son who is legitimate, so he feels envy when he thinks of you. And you Callen don’t carry the name, but you also have what he wants. You have the recognition as a Blackhawk son regardless. Wyler never said you weren’t his- ever. The killer is odd man out. Thomas Mason’s mother wanted to marry into the family, and Wyler shot her down big time.”

  Whitefox looked surprised at that little piece of information. “What? Wyler turned down a woman?” He had some snide comment, but then he remembered he was trying to heal the wound and not exacerbate it. The war was over.

  Elizabeth told them what she had learned, “When she brought up marriage, Wyler broke it off and she snapped and tried to filet him,” she added, looking over at her husband. Wyler had apparently shared the information with him; he didn’t look surprised at all. “So from birth, this woman molded her son and made him into an angry bitter outcast. When all she had to do was tell Wyler or Timothy that the boy existed. She literally created a loaded weapon that was ready to go off at any second. When I say hair trigger, I’m not kidding.”

  “Granddad would have taken him in,” added Blackhawk. “He was already dealing with us, and he would have welcomed one more grandson, without a doubt.”

  “But would he have fit in? He looks nothing like either of you. He pulled all his mother’s genetic traits.”

  “Granddad would have still taken on Wyler’s responsibility.”

  “Agreed, but as a child, his mother must have believed he would still be the outcast. She twisted it so badly that this was the outcome for everyone involved. Plus she was dumped. A woman scorned can be wicked, and this is the proof,” she teased. “Keep that in mind boys.”

  Both men grinned.

  “You may be right, Lyzee,” answered Whitefox. “When we saw him at the sheriff’s station, he looked very Caucasian, and I didn’t see anything in him that reminded me of us.”

  “I still have a hard time believing it,” added Blackhawk. “Blue eyes, curly brown hair, and he’s as pale as you, baby.”

  “That may be why the dress up. He was dressing the part in the woods. It was like Halloween- all the war paint and feathers. Yet it wasn’t buyable. It all came off as just an act. Both of you have a different tone to your skin. Ethan is only half native, but still you both have the same skin color as your father. He was definitely pale like me.”

  “You look more Native than he did, Elizabeth.”

  She nodded. “If it wasn’t a bad situation, it would have been laughable. He had all these markings and symbols drawn on his body much like your tattoos, Ethan, except they didn’t have the same effect as yours. The tattoos came across cartoonish and not tribal, in the least. When he came out of the woods, I could see some were smeared. These tribal symbols on a Native American look like they belong. On someone pale and light eyed, it just looks like make believe.”

  “He sounds out of his mind,” Whitefox added.

  “It was like he was trying too hard, and he thought it could change the outer appearance enough to make it believable. With both of you I just look at you and see your heritage. Callen has it more so, because his parents were both Native. I don’t ever just stand here and think, ‘oh look, two Native men’, or not think it. You just are. If anything, both of you tend to blend. Ethan wears it hidden behind a suit and you, Callen, have an easiness with it, because it’s part of you. I guess you would call it comfortable acceptance.”

  “I think she just complimented us, Ethan,” he said grinning. “But I’m not quite sure.”

  “I did,” she laughed. “I personally think your ethnicity is sexy, and have since I first met Ethan. Thomas Mason didn’t set off my sexy Native radar.” Elizabeth winked at her husband.

  “Do all women come with that and do you know anyone else that has it, Elizabeth?” Whitefox teased her. “I am available.”

  “If anyone sets that radar off but me, you’re in trouble, Elizabeth,” her husband said, trying to look serious.

  “Sorry Ethan, but all the Blackhawk men set it off. I look at your father, and see you in thirty years. Still sexy, and then granddad, and I still see the sexiness.”

  Callen cleared his throat.

  Blackhawk laughed. He was glad she’d find him sexy for the rest of his life. It answered a question he always wondered. Somewhere, in the back of Ethan’s mind, he wondered why his wife calling his brother sexy didn't bother him in the least.

  “Callen, if I tell you that you’re sexy, then your brother is going to kill you,” she winked at him. “But you’re a Blackhawk, so do the math and make your own conclusions.”

  His heart skipped in his chest.

  Elizabeth went one step further, mouthing ‘you’re definitely sexy.’

  Ethan Blackhawk kissed the top of his wife’s head and grinned at his brother. Now, he understood how his brother felt. Without the last name, he believed he was the outsider. He was glad his wife was including him in their life.

  Something inside Callen tightened at the mere idea that Elizabeth thought he was sexy.

  “Anyway,” Elizabeth continued, “you both know what I mean. If a man is sexy, he’s sexy. You can’t fake it. I’m attracted to your ethnicity, because it’s obvious but not overstated. Thomas Mason wasn’t even close. I think he was trying to make himself resemble what he believed a Native American looked like. It was like he searched it on the internet, trying to mimic it. Don’t get me wrong. You both are distinctively Native, but not over the top.” She paused to think about it. “He was over the top. The feathers, the war paint, the outfit. I’ve never seen Ethan’s hair braided, but I imagine he could pull it off, both of you easily could. Thomas Mason looked out of place.”

  “We’ve both worn war paint and feathers,” Blackhawk teased as he leaned down to kiss his wife. “I believe I was half naked at the time and my hair was indeed braided.”

  Elizabeth had a distinct picture of that in her head, and the warmth started creeping up her body at the mere idea. “Don’t tease the pregnant woman, she has a voracious appetite for her husband,” she said back, laughing. “I’ll explore that option after we finish this assignment. You bring the half-naked and the feathers, and I’ll bring the ogling.”

  “Hello, third person in the room. Unless I’m invited too,” he added, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Blackhawk punched his brother in the arm. “Uh hello, this is our house. We can talk sex if we want. I pay the mortgage for ‘Fort Blackhawk’.”

  They laughed until Elizabeth got serious and continued. “He wanted to be you both. If he could be both of you at once, he’d have been happy.”

  “That had to piss him off, when he saw us together again.”

  “I think everything pissed him off about you both. He doesn’t see you as brothers. Thomas Mason sees you as competition, and his dear old mother probably had her hand in that one. He wanted to use me to hurt Ethan, he’d use Ethan to hurt you Callen, and losing you both would hurt your father and grandfather. It was his progression of the plan. When I told him what we knew, he was genuinely surprised. I get the impression he was going to take you both out, and then come forward as the replacement.”
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  “That’s incredibly sick,” added Whitefox.

  Blackhawk served them both an omelet and sat beside them with his. “This isn’t going to be over then,” he said, biting into his food. “He’s going to try and finish it.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “I have no doubt.”

  Everyone ate in silence and when they were finished, they all just felt uneasy.

  “You're thinking again, Elizabeth,” said her husband. “You have that look.”

  She pushed back from the table and began pacing. The killer couldn’t take out the brothers, so the next logical step would be that he moves from the opposite end of the family. “He wanted to come out after you both were dead, and he’d step in as the new son. We ruined that for him. I'm replaying everything he said to me before he tried to kill me,” she paused.

  “What’s his next move, Elizabeth?” asked her husband. “I trust you to put it together.” Blackhawk knew the game was now in her hands. He’d profiled the killer, and now she needed to see the full picture.

  “Little bit of pressure on her there, Ethan,” said Whitefox, as he watched her face. He linked their fingers, giving her support.

  “I know, but our lives are on the line here. I believe in Elizabeth to figure this out.”

  Before Callen Whitefox could remind his brother what she just went through, his sister-in-law spoke.

  Elizabeth knew his next move. “We have to get to your grandfather’s, he’s going to go after Timothy!” she rushed to the front door to grab her boots, the men behind her.

  As they all climbed into the Denali, Whitefox questioned her. “What makes you think granddad is in trouble?”

  “He had it in for you both to become the only Blackhawk son, but that wasn’t his only goal. He’s been fine tuning his craft as a shaman, if he can’t be accepted as a Blackhawk,” she paused and her husband who was driving continued.

  “He’ll want to replace the shaman and reach his other goal. At least he’ll complete half the mission, so all isn't lost.”

  “He’s crazy enough to think he can do it, too,” added Elizabeth.

  “With Timothy gone he hurts everyone, and he gets to be shaman in his mind. Remember, he’s not all there. We can’t even assume there is any logic behind his thinking. If he can’t step in and make Timothy love him and teach him, he’ll go after the top of the family for retribution. Now he wants to show us that he’s smarter, tougher, and better at being a Blackhawk. He’ll do that by taking out the head of our family and paying us back just to watch us bleed. ”

  Both men refused to let that happen.

  Elizabeth hit the lights, as they tore towards the reservation and to their grandfather.

  One hour earlier…

  Thomas Mason watched from the shadows as the other son left. Time would come to kill him too, but he would wait. First he would break them all, and then finish picking them off, one by one.

  When he was sure Callen Whitefox was far enough away, he crept towards the house and past the totem that didn’t even recognize his existence. The bull shouldn’t be a tiny carving above his father’s signature. It should be the center of the entire piece.

  It enraged him further, that he wasn’t even seen by them. It was the fox that was invisible, the bull was mighty. After today he would be part of this family, because he would be the last one surviving it all.

  Staring in the window he saw his father, who abandoned him and his mother for Ethan Blackhawk’s mom. There was also his grandfather. The old man was obviously the one that controlled the family and made all the decisions. His mother told him that his grandfather wouldn’t have accepted him, because he was only a half-breed. Yet, Timothy had accepted his first grandson, and he was no more full blood than him. It all came down to the fact that he carried the Blackhawk family name. It would all have been different had he just had the name. Now it wouldn’t matter. He would show them all by crushing the family once and for all.

  Creeping to the door, he touched the knob and found it turned in his hand. Out came his service revolver as he readied himself; he entered silently and walked in to meet his long lost family and introduce himself.

  Both men glanced up and recognition dawned as his father moved to stand in front of the old man. The sound of a gunshot filled the room, as his father brought his hand to his chest. There was a look of surprise on his face as the circle of blood spread. He dropped back onto the couch and couldn’t speak, as the pain overwhelmed him.

  “You shouldn’t have abandoned mom and me, Dad. Now you get to die.”

  Timothy moved to the son he gave life, and now was watching as death took him. He was supposed to go first, not his own child.

  “Grandfather, I suggest you stop moving, or I’ll kill you too and without hesitation.”

  “What do you want, Thomas?” he asked sadly.

  “I’m glad you know my name, but it’s too late. Now, we’re going to take a little walk and wait for your grandsons and Elizabeth to find you. If they hurry, you may live to see them,” he laughed, waving the gun at the man. “Leave him. It’s too late for Wyler. I’m an excellent shot and that bullet hit his heart.”

  Thomas Mason led his grandfather out of the house and to a nice location. He would make the call shortly, and bring his brothers to him. The trap was set and the bait was in place.

  It was time to finish this.

  One Blackhawk down, four to go.

  ~ Chapter Twenty ~

  The Denali slid into the driveway with three doors opening at the same time. Everyone charged the house, Ethan first, his wife then his brother. When they entered, his father was lying on the couch motionless and prone. Wyler was barely conscious; he was gray as his life slowly leached from his body from the one bullet wound.

  “Dad!” he yelled, running to his father.

  Elizabeth grabbed a blanket and pulled his body flat on the couch. “Callen call 911,” she shouted, as she applied pressure, sitting on his hips and leaning down. With her free hand, she felt for a pulse. “He’s still alive.”

  Wyler Blackhawk slowly opened his eyes. “He took Timothy,” he mumbled. “Going to kill him too.”

  “Ambulance is coming,” said Callen Whitefox. He didn’t want his father to die, not now. They just started working on their relationship. He knelt beside the couch. “Don’t die, Dad,” he said, softly. “Please.”

  Ethan Blackhawk placed his hand on his father’s shoulder. “You have to pull through this, or it’ll kill granddad,” he added, as if he could convince the man to fight harder just by saying the words.

  Wyler nodded.

  “You aren’t going to die, Wyler. I promise,” she said. Elizabeth once said the same words to her partner, and they didn’t come true. This time they had to, or the family would be fractured.

  Blackhawk’s phone rang.

  “It’s your phone, Lyzee,” he said. “He’s calling from your fucking phone.”

  Elizabeth took it from his hand, “He wants to screw with you. I’ll take it.” Elizabeth kept pressure on her father-in-law’s chest and answered, keeping it on speaker.

  “What do you want, asshole? Couldn’t kill a woman and now you have to go after an old man?”

  “Oh, Elizabeth, how nice to see you survived the forest. I wish you were here. Then I could show you how a real man makes love to a woman. Maybe give you the next Blackhawk heir. What’s wrong with my brother? Impotence doesn’t seem to run in the family.”

  Blackhawk was about to explode, until Whitefox elbowed him.

  “Where are my worthless brothers?”

  “Busy.”

  “That’s too bad. I’ll have to kill Timothy then.”

  Elizabeth shook her head, signaling she had this. “I don’t believe you have him, Thomas. How about you prove it?” She wanted to make sure he was still alive.

  “Elizabeth?” It was the soft gentleness of their patriarch.

  “Granddad, are you okay?”

  There was a pause, as if he was thinkin
g. “I’m just collecting more stones for you, sweetheart.”

  The talking stopped, as if Thomas yanked the phone away.

  “Tell my brothers that if they want the old man to live, they need to find him and before I lose my patience. Timothy has one hour.” The call went dead.

  “I’ll see if they can trace it,” said Blackhawk in a panic.

  “Shit, we’ll never find him in an hour,” added Whitefox.

  Elizabeth thought back to the conversation she had with Timothy. “No need, he’s going to the quarry.”

  “What?”

  “Just go and trust me. I’ll stay and wait for the EMTs. Hurry, he’s not giving Timothy much time, and he’s losing it.”

  Both men charged out the door and into the woods, moving as quickly as they could. The quarry wasn’t too far ahead. It was maybe a mil, if that. Blackhawk hoped his wife was right, if not they were going to lose their grandfather and probably their father too. This is what his wife did, putting together the pieces, and he had to give his partner absolute trust.

  Even if it meant trusting her with the life of his family.

  Elizabeth watched them leave, and returned her focus to the man beneath her. “Wyler, you better hang in there,” she said, looking down at the man. He was getting more gray and pale. “If you die on me, I’m going to be damn pissed.”

  “You’re a very bossy woman,” he whispered, and then he licked his lips, struggling to stay alive.

  “Yeah, I am.”

  He watched her with unblinking eyes. “You take care of my boy and grandson.”

  It was ironic how his one son just took him back, and the other finally called him dad, and now he was going to die. It just seemed so unfair, but then again maybe it was for the best.

  He paid for his sins and now his spirit could rest in peace. Atonement was made and he was now free to leave this existence.