“You know this is NOT our jobs, right?” Rory asked.
Ethan stared at him.
Did he just question him?
Did he not see that it was their job since Elizabeth was in danger when it came to a mob man?
Had he not been clear?
Well, in that case, there was only one way to clear it up.
“You’re fired.”
In that second, the humor was gone. Ethan could be fun, or Ethan could be Deputy Director of the FBI. Either way, he would get what he wanted. This was his world.
“What?” Rory asked.
Neither Ivan or Heath said a single thing. They could tell when Blackhawk was yanking their chain, and when he was not.
This was NOT that time.
“You seemed to mistake my patience with me giving a shit what you thought. This is your damn job,” Ethan stated, fixing his cufflinks. “You were tasked to protect Callen and Elizabeth,” he said, pointing at Ivan and Rory. “Correct?”
“Yes, sir,” Ivan stated.
“Yes,” Rory stated.
“Well, she’s going to be going head to head with a man who has killed countless people, and was gunning for her years ago.”
He handed them the file.
Heath read over their shoulders.
“While you think it’s outside the scope of your job, I can tell you it is not. If she’s focused on a killer, and Callen’s watching her back, who is watching his?”
Rory didn’t speak.
“So, you can either take this detail or pass on it. That’s up to you, Rory. If you don’t think that watching someone who once tried to kill my wife, and Doctor Leonard is vital, then you don’t need to be here.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Well?” Ethan asked.
“I will take reassignment.”
That caught them all off guard.
“What?” Ivan stated. “Are you insane? You’re going to give up this assignment?”
Rory wasn’t kidding at all.
It was time to be frank.
“As much as I love being in security, I don’t relish being bumped around like I’m a pawn in a chess game. I was hired to protect Director Whitefox, and that was the commission I chose. I did NOT choose Elizabeth. I was offered her, and I did my research. I didn’t want that kind of job.”
Ethan didn’t get upset.
He got it.
The three men before them had tough jobs.
“I would respectfully request that you bump me off this rotation and cancel my commission on this job.”
Well, the choice was made.
“You may go.”
The man headed out and without looking back.
Ivan whistled.
“Well, that’s…something.”
“Anyone else?” Ethan asked.
Heath shrugged. “I’m good. Are there really cookies, Mr. B?” he asked.
The man laughed.
“Yes. I’ll also have someone fill the position. You may have to do the stakeout on your own. Are you okay with that, Heath?” Blackhawk asked.
“Yes, sir. I can listen to whatever music I want. Rory and Ivan have shitty tastes in…”
Ivan pointed at him.
“Music.”
Callen laughed.
“Here’s the person you’re going to be watching,” he said, sorry to see Rory go, but if he wasn’t in one hundred percent…what good was he?
Ivan took his phone.
Heath and he scanned the pictures, and then each took a picture of him for their own personal records.
“We believe this man is gunning for O’Banion.”
“I’ve never heard of him,” Heath stated.
“He’s a bad dude,” Ivan stated. “If memory serves me correctly, he was a death magnet. Oh, I wonder why he likes your wife.”
Ethan lifted a brow.
“Too soon after Rory quit?” he asked.
Callen laughed.
“Anyway,” Ethan stated. “It’s not all black and white. It’s many shades of gray,” he stated. “We need to keep O’Banion alive and out of this killer’s hands.”
They showed them the pictures they’d gotten from the two detectives working the case.
“There’s not a lot of blood,” Ivan stated.
“It was one shot to the base of the skull with a knife. It was fast, effective…”
“And very commando like.”
Yeah, they were aware.
“We are exhuming his ‘supposed’ victims in hopes of finding anything to bring him to justice. We’re going to start working this case. Elizabeth will be okay in the field with Callen and Ivan tailing them.”
They didn’t doubt it.
“Follow me,” Ethan said as he led them back to his office to do what had to be done. After he finished their meeting, he would find someone to replace Rory.
He got that the man wanted out.
When he talked to his boss, there would NOT be a recommendation. Ethan didn’t think the man deserved it.
“Nothing will happen to Mrs. B,” Heath stated. “She’s aces in the field.”
They were aware.
But still…
All of this worried them.
This was about their future—meaning, making sure Elizabeth was safe, and a mob man didn’t die.
There was no room for error.
With anything.
Sometimes, their jobs sucked.
Here was the proof.
* * * B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x * * *
Brownstone
Thursday
Afternoon
It had been a couple hours since she’d found him in the shower, wet, drunken, and a mess. It didn’t take her long to strip him down, get him into warm clothing, and tuck him into bed.
After that, it was about feeding him. Chris needed to nourish his soul, and hopefully, that would help her pull him from the brink.
Elizabeth had some Chinese delivered for Chris since she knew that was something he enjoyed. It was all about trying to heal him from the inside out.
She’d done some research, and she was going to make sure that the man got better.
While he might have HIV, she was going to ensure he lived a cleaner life and had a shot at getting old with his family. There were ways to increase his immune system, and she was going to start there.
She’d learned a lot about the disease, and the most important part was that there were medical trials, there were holistic places to get healed, and there was a specific diet that could buy him time.
That was the plan.
She couldn’t cure him, but they could hold it off for as long as they could until there was finally a cure.
It would happen.
Elizabeth wouldn’t quit.
She wasn’t giving up.
When she finally turned her phone back on, to reconnect with the world, she contacted Ethan and Callen. She sent them a text. When they were free, she needed them to get to her side. It was pretty damn urgent.
Holding Chris up wouldn’t be a one-person job in the long run. It would take all of them to fight this fight, and there were no two men she would rather have in her corner than them.
Ethan was tenacious. He could research with the best of them, and she knew he’d never give up.
Callen would breathe humor into the situation, lightening the mood, and helping Chris heal.
She needed them.
He needed them.
For now, she was going to hold down this fort until she could get him moved back to their home. This was just day one of many, but there was hope.
Elizabeth refused to give up hope.
With a tray, carrying some juice and hot and sour soup, she headed up the stairs and to his bed. He was asleep, so she climbed onto the bed to wake him up. She wanted to get something in him other than the booze he’d chugged.
When his eyes slowly opened, they found her right there beside him.
“Elizabeth.”
She touched his face, brushing the hair from his forehead. He wasn’t feverish, and that was good.
“I have something for you.”
“What?” he asked, glancing over at the tray she’d placed beside her on the large four-poster bed.
“I got you some soup from that place we always used to order from a few blocks over.”
He recalled it.
“They don’t deliver.”
“I didn’t leave. With a huge tip, they were more than willing to drop some off.”
He lifted a brow.
“Okay, I said it was an FBI emergency, and we needed it for a stakeout. Don’t judge me.”
He tried to laugh.
It was empty.
“Let’s get you fed.”
He struggled to sit up, and she immediately helped him. When she put pillows behind his back and tucked the tray over his lap, he found a steaming bowl of soup.
“It’s really garlicky. I can smell it from here,” she warned. “The good news is the vampires won’t touch you.”
He squeezed her hand.
“Thank you. I feel better already.”
“Well, you’re a shitty liar, but I do have more good news for you, Christopher.”
He glanced up at her.
“Yes? This wouldn’t be a nightmare, would it?”
She wished.
That would make her thrilled to give him that news, but it wasn’t the truth.
Elizabeth couldn’t give him that.
“No, but I read online that there are some things we can do to help you.”
He sipped the soup and she saw his hands shaking. That saddened her on some deep level. This was a man who dug in the dead and didn’t flinch.
Chris was hurting.
“What?” he asked, curious to hear what she was going to say to him.
“First, we have to get you a better diet. You need to go more organic, no more sugar, and the carbs are gone. We’re going to feed the engine, and that will help you.”
While he found that endearing and sweet, there was no help for him. Ultimately, he would be gone.
He’d slip away.
“What?” she asked.
He laughed sardonically.
“You always could read me.”
“We’ve been a team for a long time. We woke together, fought the bad guys together, and played together. Remember that trip we took where you got us a yacht and we simply floated for a full week?”
He would never forget it.
“Uh, there was a lot more than just floating going on. You were insatiable—even though we had a case to work on.”
She laughed.
Yes, yes, she had been.
“Uh, you had a thing for topless sunbathing.”
It made him smile.
Then it disappeared.
“Yeah, I remember those days like they were yesterday. I wish they were yesterday,” he added.
Elizabeth cupped his cheek with her palm. “They were some of the best times in my life. You are one of my greatest memories. We were damn good together.”
And then he ruined it.
Tears filled his eyes.
“Anyway, there’s no cure for HIV, Elizabeth. I don’t think what I eat really matters at this point,” he said, sipping his soup.
She wiped his chin.
“No, but your immune system is what we have to focus on for now. If it’s strong, you’re strong.”
He continued eating, even though it burned his already wrecked stomach.
Vodka was not his friend.
“Are you okay?” she asked, as he closed his eyes for a second to regroup. He wanted to weep.
“Yeah, but I have a hangover,” he said, staring at her.
She made a bottle of water and aspirin appear out of the pockets on his hoodie she was borrowing.
“Thank you.”
“You need to stay hydrated, and from here on out, we eat better. Kiss coffee goodbye.”
He laughed.
Then he realized she was serious.
“What? Come on! I run on caffeine. It’s all I really have left in life.”
“WE run on it, and you still have me,” she offered. “That’s something, right?” Elizabeth asked.
“That’s everything.”
She gave him a kiss on the lips. “Yeah, garlicky.”
He laughed.
“Well, you’re not a vampire. For the record, are you giving up coffee too?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He stared at her.
“You’ll die without coffee.”
“I’ll die without you. Coffee can kiss my Southern ass. It’s an addiction. I’ll live.”
“Elizabeth.”
She stopped him.
All of this was too much for her. Watching him, seeing how battered and broken he was, and knowing how close they came to the end.
It was killing her.
“Would you have done it, Christopher?” she asked. “Would you have left me?”
Tears filled her eyes.
He put his spoon down and thought about it.
“I thought I could do it, but I couldn’t. I loaded the gun, I carried it into the bathroom and sat in the shower, so the water would wash away the blood. I didn’t want you to see that.”
“I would have seen it.”
He was aware.
“Maybe that’s why I couldn’t do it. I pictured you finding me, and then I pictured what it would do to you. I love you too much to punish you like that.”
She wiped her eyes.
“I would have pictured it forever. I need you to promise me, Christopher, that no matter how bad it gets, you won’t do it. That you’ll stay and fight until you physically can’t hold on anymore.”
Chris wanted to give her that, but he wouldn’t lie to her. He loved her too damn much.
“I’ve lost everything. I have nothing left.”
She stood.
“STOP!”
He jumped.
“This isn’t all about you. Fuck you, Christopher Leonard. I’ve been patient, I’ve been trying to understand this, but I can’t! You were going to leave me! Why would you do that to me? What have I ever done to you that you would hate me that much that you’d bail and leave me!”
Did she really think that was it?
“Sweetheart.”
“NO! What did I do? You could have stolen good years from us—not only from me but our family. You almost took away so much!”
He let her rage.
With Elizabeth, he’d seen this before.
It was the storm after the calm. She worked in reverse. Being a Fed, she could get through any situation with controlled calm, but after…she’d lose it.
“I was going to do it so you didn’t have to carry me. I’m a doctor, sweetheart. I know what the end will look like for someone with my prognosis.”
“So, you’d take the next thirty years from me? From Bethe? From your friends?”
“I lost everything. My job is gone.”
“Again, fuck you.”
She began pacing.
“I am so damn mad at you. I want to shake the stupid out of you,” she drawled. “For a smart man, you are the biggest, meanest idiot I’ve ever met!”
He let her vent.
Chris knew it would come to a head at some point, and he deserved this. The choice he’d nearly made was selfish, mean, and stupid.
“I read your letter, and I have never been disappointed by you until today. Have you that little faith in me? I would carry you battered and bleeding up thirty mountains until I couldn’t carry you anymore. THEN we’d fight more. I’d find the strength and I’d push us both on!”
He moved his tray and climbed out of bed.
He was wobbly, but he would manage.
“I’m not you.”
She pointed at him.
“THIS IS NOT YOU! You’re smarter than this, Christopher!”
He was just as frustrated.
; Rarely, in their relationship did they fight, but a few times, they’d go at it like this.
It was calming in a way.
No matter the battle, they’d both stay and work it out.
“I am so disappointed in you!”
Truth be told, he felt the same way, and that only pissed him off even more.
“And do you fucking see why I can’t ask you to do that? Do you see how much I love you that I would die alone with you hating me than to see you suffer for ten or twenty years as you had to deal with this every day?”
She faced him down.
“I will fight until we both go down. I will fight until I can’t fight anymore.”
“I lost my job.”
“I quit mine.”
That caught him totally off guard.
He stared at her.
There was no way she’d just said that. Her job was her life, too, and she’d quit?
“What?”
“Gabe got the duplicate health report. I found out, and I turned in my badge and gun.”
He stared at her like she was crazy.
“Why?”
“Because you matter to me. Callen quit, too, and Ethan laid down the law. We have your back. Gabe will not let all of us go. You WILL not lose your job.”
He was staggered.
That made all the difference. If he had his work, he could focus on that and not have to think about this death sentence every single day.
“I don’t know what to say to that.”
Oh, she did.
“We will not let you lose it. If you do, we have your back. We are a family, Christopher. Over the last year, have you learned nothing? I will raise Bethe if you go, but I will never forgive you. You will destroy what we had if you end your life.”
She drew the line.
Chris was scared.
“I don’t want to die alone, Elizabeth. I’m so afraid to end up in a hospice bed alone.”
The storm calmed.
That she completely understood, and it cooled her anger over the situation.
“You won’t. You have me. I don’t lie.”
He believed her.
“I will fight with you if you let me make that choice. This isn’t about giving up, Christopher. This is about giving this hideous disease hell. We own it, we kick its ass, and we keep you alive for as long we can.”
He moved toward her, and she held him. She held him tight, so he’d know he wasn’t fighting this alone.
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