Act of Blood (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 16)

by Kelley, Morgan

  “We’re lucky the media can’t see you from here, Director Badass,” teased Ivan, Elizabeth’s personal security. “That kiss would have been on the news too.”

  She laughed.

  Yes, she disliked the principle behind the security, but she genuinely liked Ivan. They had a bond. She liked pissing him off, and he liked making her insane.

  It worked for them.

  She held out her fist as he walked past, and earned herself a fist bump.

  “I feel so cheap,” Callen stated.

  She smacked him on the ass. “Good. I like you cheap and easy. I’m getting too old to have to con sexy men out of their britches. It can be exhausting.”

  Both men checked out her ass as she walked up the steps and into their grand home.

  Then they laughed.

  “Perverts,” she said, not even having to turn around to see what they were up to behind her. She knew her men.

  “DAD! We’re home!” she called.

  Once inside in the kitchen, they found Wyler staring at an open bottle of beer on the counter.

  That was new.

  Their father had given up alcohol years ago when they came back into his life, and he’d sworn it off. As a recovering alcoholic, he NEVER touched the stuff.

  From the clear bottle, they could tell he hadn’t had any of it…yet.

  Still…

  This was a bad sign. The man was locked up with the tribe all day. Something HUGE had to happen for him to be willing to get back on the booze bandwagon.

  “Uh, Dad?” Elizabeth asked, moving to his side to place her hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it? Have our kids finally pushed you over the edge and to drinking before five at night?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Dad?” Ethan asked, touching his father’s other arm.

  When he looked up, the men got it. The look on his face said it all.

  This was all about a woman.

  The demons were close to taking him down. Wyler was practically the most laid back person on the planet. Callen got his easy nature from him. For Wyler to look this stirred up, it had to be really bad.

  “Where’s Maeve?” Elizabeth asked.

  “She left.”

  “What?” Elizabeth asked. “What do you mean she left? As in took the rest of the night off because she needed to escape, or we’re looking for a new housekeeper in the morning?”

  He knew he had to explain.

  “I saw the news.”

  Yeah, well at that point, half the states did. The other half would be seeing it later or tomorrow.

  “Okay, and why did she leave?” Callen asked. For the life of him, he didn’t understand why the media mayhem made the woman run. She was well aware he was Jackson James. They trusted Maeve with their family and their secrets.

  “I pissed her off.”

  “How? You were just all happy and sexed up,” Ethan stated. “Certainly, you couldn’t have had a bump in the road already. It’s day two.”

  “I told her it was best we slow down.”

  Elizabeth took the beer and handed it to Callen. He really needed it more.

  Callen chugged it.

  “Dad, no offense, but it took you weeks to have sex with her. How much slower did you plan on going?” she asked. “I’ve seen turtles beat your speed record.”

  “I didn’t want to see anyone get hurt.”

  They all waited for him to explain. None of this made any sense to them at all.

  “Our family is going to be under the microscope. I didn’t want them pointed at her, Callen, or my past.”

  There.

  He said it.

  “Dad,” Callen began.

  “Son, I wasn’t there for you when you were a child. It’s my fault you were abused and molested, and I can’t let them start to dig. If they see me with a younger woman, they will sensationalize it. That will point them at my dead wife, my past, and how I have two sons with two different women.”

  Elizabeth and Ethan didn’t say a word. This wasn’t about them. They knew who had to drive this bus, and it was the one who’d been damaged by Wyler’s past.

  “Uh, you’re an idiot.”

  Wyler looked up at Callen. “What?”

  “You heard me. This isn’t about you. Did you fuck up as a father? Hell yes. Have you fixed it? Yes. What happened to me wasn’t anymore your fault than it was mine. This was Charlene’s issue. She let that scumbag boyfriend touch me. She pimped me out to him for drugs, and he raped me because he was a sick asshole, not you, Dad.”

  Tears filled Wyler’s eyes.

  It was so hard to hear his son say those words. The mere idea that any of his kids, or grandkids, had been hurt like that killed a part of him.

  He wished he could go back, kill the man who violated his son and change Callen’s past.

  Wyler would give his life to have that wish.

  “My sexual abuse for those years wasn’t about you either. It was about me, so don’t you think you should let me be the one who worries if your actions are going to bring it back up?”

  Ethan and Elizabeth were so damn proud of him.

  Therapy had helped.

  Yeah, therapy with Callista Gaines.

  Shit.

  Elizabeth knew she was going to have to bury the hatchet. There was no other way. While Callista had broken the girlfriend code, she’d healed both her husbands. A year ago, Callen wouldn’t be able to say the ‘R’ word, let alone use it in reference to himself.

  Yeah, she had to be the bigger woman and forgive Callista for driving a wedge between them.

  It was going to be time to eat crow.

  “Callen.”

  “No, Dad, I need you to listen to me. I need you to hear what I’m saying, and really let it sink in. What he did to me was vile, disgusting, and so perverse that it still gives me nightmares. That’s not on you, Dad. It’s not your fault. He’s burning wherever he is, and he’s paying the price. I won’t pay for it anymore. I have a beautiful wife, five amazing children, I’m married to two perfect spouses, and I have you in my life. Don’t let this bury you. Maeve loves you.”

  The words made his mouth drop open.

  “What?”

  Elizabeth took this one. “She stares at you like I stare at Ethan and Callen. She came into work on her days off, and it certainly wasn’t to see our tribe of lunatics. She came here to be with you, Dad. You get her all hot and bothered. It’s those sexy Blackhawk genes.”

  “I'm old enough to be her father.”

  Here came more truth.

  That was part of what had Wyler all stirred up. It wasn’t only about the past, but it was about the future.

  “How many years do I have left? Is that fair to her? If she’s in love with me, she deserves fifty more years of happiness—not, at the most, twenty.”

  She slapped him.

  “Hey!”

  “Don’t be a fool. Love is love. Only a closeminded idiot would be freaked out by an age thing. You’re still sexy, she’s interested, and let’s face it…Blackhawk men don’t do well if they’re not paired up. You were ready to drink. You’re trying to worry about everything. If Maeve doesn’t mind quality over quantity, you shouldn’t either. Let her decide and stop being bossy. That’s Ethan’s job!”

  “Really?” Blackhawk said. “I’m right here.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  They all did.

  She had a point.

  “You need to apologize to Maeve. I don’t think she’s the type that sleeps around,” Elizabeth offered. “If she did the deed, it was with the intention of it going somewhere.”

  “I don’t want to hurt her.”

  Ethan laughed. “Yeah, here’s women one-oh-one, Dad. Screwing the babe and dumping her…it does more than hurt them. It makes them want to collect your junk and make jewelry out of it. You only owe one person an apology. Her.”

  They all agreed.

  “I don’t want to get remarried.
I meant what I said about Catherine, boys. She was my Elizabeth.”

  “Have you told her that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then she knows and she still wants to be with you. If you don’t want to get hitched, Dad, then don’t, but don’t lose someone who values you because you’re being stubborn.”

  He stood.

  “I love you three.”

  He hugged each one of them, lingering on Callen longer than the other two. “Be proud of who you are, son. I am.”

  He kissed his father on the face. “Dad, I’m proud of you too. Now go fix this and be happy. Life is too short to not have that special person in your life.”

  Both Ethan and Elizabeth took one of his free hands.

  “You’re right. My father did a good job of raising you,” Wyler admitted. “If he was here, he’d be the proudest man in the world. I’m right behind him on this.”

  They couldn’t argue there.

  “Take security,” Ethan said, as his father headed out. “We have a horde of reporters on the gate.”

  “I will. Thank you. I love you all.”

  When he was gone, Elizabeth glanced over at her husband. “If he can’t get her back, we have one hell of a huge problem.”

  “Yeah, there goes our child care and Dad’s help. He’s going to be forced to hold down the fort.”

  “Worse,” Elizabeth stated. “We’re going to have to start the interview process all over again. Did anyone have fun doing that?” she asked.

  They didn’t.

  In fact, it sucked.

  All three of them crossed their fingers and prayed for some good luck.

  Wyler drove to Maeve’s place. She lived on the other side of DC. It was a simple home in a middleclass part of town. Outside there were fun Halloween decorations and jack-o-lanterns on the porch, waiting for trick or treaters.

  He liked the one night he’d spent there.

  Don’t get him wrong—his sons and daughter had provided an awesome home for all of them, but sometimes he missed the quiet.

  Coming to Maeve’s home was cathartic. He could sit back, kick off his shoes, and fall asleep on her big comfortable couch. It was warm, inviting, and he was at peace.

  Well, he was pretty sure that boat had sailed. After what went down, inviting was going to be the last thing her place was going to be, and he knew it.

  Still, Wyler had to apologize.

  As he walked up the steps to the front door, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He wanted to run. Wyler wanted to chicken out.

  Only he couldn’t.

  He’d done this, so he had to fix it. His kids were right. Plus, if he didn’t, it was only going to be awkward tomorrow when she showed up for work.

  Wyler meant what he’d said. When he’d married Ethan’s mother, she was his soul mate. To this day, he really believed she’d be waiting for him in the Happy Hunting Grounds. There was no doubt in his mind that he’d atoned for his sins here, and his reward would be his one true love later.

  While he was here, he knew Catherine would forgive him for his needs. He was only human, and his heart would forever be hers. He wasn’t lying when he told them that she had been his Elizabeth.

  It was the truth.

  And he missed her every single day.

  Knocking, he waited for Maeve to answer so he could do the right thing.

  When she came to the door, she was already in pajamas, her face was naked, and she had red tear filled eyes.

  Shit!

  He’d really hurt her.

  That hadn’t been his intention.

  While he’d never be able to love her like Catherine, he still had feelings for her. Maeve was a beautiful woman inside and out, and he loved spending time with her.

  “What do you want, Wyler? Have more things to say to me to really break my heart?”

  “Yes. I actually do. Can I come in?”

  “No, you may not.”

  Yeah, she was pissed.

  “Okay, then here it is. When I was young, I met and fell in love with a woman named Catherine. She gave me the best thing in my life—Ethan. Then I cheated on her. The woman I picked gave me the other greatest thing in my life—Callen.”

  Maeve listened, her arms crossed and her lips sealed.

  “When I found out she was pregnant, I told Catherine. I don’t like to hurt or lie to people. I like to be honest. Catherine flipped out. She was beyond pissed that I betrayed her, and she was right. I did a horrible thing. Right after the truth was out, she divorced me and I rarely saw Ethan.”

  “I see.”

  “No, you don’t. When I tried to get Callen from his mother, she used him as a way to manipulate me. She took me for every penny I had. I still fought—until one day, I realized she wasn’t ever planning to give him to me. Maybe he was better off with her since I was a waste in life. I’d screwed so much up, and I wanted to give up.”

  “I’m glad you finally got him. You’re very happy with them.”

  “I just got him back.”

  He was about to trust her with something huge. He hoped his kids were right about her.

  “Callen’s mother was a drug addict. Her boyfriend, in exchange for heroin, used Callen for sex. He molested him for years. The scars on his arm are from burn marks. The man held him down after raping him and burned him for fun.”

  Maeve gasped. “Oh, poor Callen. That’s horrible.”

  The ice began melting in her eyes.

  “That was my fault. He says it’s not, but as a father, it’s my job to protect them. I failed. Today, I saw him being raked over the coals over his other career. I know they’ll make his life hell if the truth ever comes out.”

  “What does that have to do with us?”

  “If they see me, an old man, with a beautiful younger woman, they’ll talk. You’re going to be a gold digger. You’re going to be followed around, and worse, they might dig into my past and Callen’s horrors might come out.”

  Her face softened.

  She understood why he did what he did.

  “You were protecting us.”

  “In my own screwed up way, yes, I was. I don’t want him to be chased any more by this. He’s been through therapy. He’s suffered with nightmares and a rough life. I don’t want that coming out. I also don’t want you being followed by the media and crucified because I’m old.”

  As if to prove a point, he pointed to the van that had followed him to her house.

  “Even coming here, I’ve sucked you into it. When we made love, you were the first in a very long time. Yes, I’ve slept with women, but it was simply sex. I didn’t really believe that I was worthy of anyone the last five years. I slept with you because I wanted you. I wasn’t using you and moving on. I’m just afraid of what they’ll say and do. I don’t want you looking at me as if I’m an old man. I don’t want them calling you names. I just want us to have peace. In my past, I’ve been the burden on my family.”

  “I love you, Wyler.”

  He closed his eyes. This was his fear. He’d never said those words to anyone but Catherine, and he knew he never would. How did he break this woman’s heart?

  Did he lie and pretend?

  Wouldn’t that be just as horrible?

  “I know you’re not there, and you may never be, but you can’t hide in that shell you’ve built. I know you’re older. I know that we’re almost twenty years apart and that your sons and I are practically the same age.”

  “That’s the shit the media loves.”

  “So? If it doesn’t bother me, why is it bothering you? If what you said is true, shouldn’t it be my choice and Callen’s? What did he tell you to do?”

  “Basically grow a set and man up.”

  She laughed. “I love your children, and I love your grandchildren. If this doesn’t work with us, that’s fine, but don’t toss me away because you’re afraid. Then you’re letting them win.”

  “So you don’t mind being with an old man?”

  S
he touched his cheek. “You’re hardly old. You are chasing around six kids all day. I come home and am exhausted. I wonder how the hell you do it. You’re probably younger than me on the inside.”

  He listened to her.

  “You can spend the next three decades alone, or you can spend them happy. I might not be that person for you, Wyler, but I want you to live. This is all you’re going to get. The last forty years sucked. Why would you want to repeat that?”

  He didn’t.

  God!

  He really didn’t.

  “If they call me a gold digger, we know it’s not true. Callen’s wealth and Ethan’s money are not yours.”

  Yeah, about that.

  He had a confession.

  “I actually have a good deal of money. My carvings are in museums. I don’t need my children’s money.”

  “Then why are you worried. I don’t need your money, Wyler. I have been taking care of myself a long time. Your sons pay me well. I’m content. I would rather have love than a bank account with zeros. I would rather be with a man who is in his sixties and is kind, sweet, and gentle, than a man who is my age and abuses me.”

  “I’d never hurt you intentionally, Maeve. I married my one true love so many years ago. I don’t want to hurt you with that, but I can’t lie either.”

  She understood.

  “It is what it is, Wyler.”

  She moved closer to him and ran her finger down the ebony braid.

  “I do have feelings for you. Buried beneath all the guilt, self-hate, and pain, it’s there. I need you to know that it wasn’t just sex and that’s it. For me, it mattered. I want to build something.”

  “Then shouldn’t you try? Don’t you owe it to yourself to be happy? Look at your children, Wyler. From what I’ve learned about your family, Ethan’s mum died young and so did Elizabeth’s. They’ve both had loss, and they still find happiness with each other. Then there is your sweet son, Callen. He’s withstood so much, Wyler, but he still loves his wife with everything he has. He’s a fighter. He got that from somewhere. Don’t tell me it was from that skank mother of his.”

  She was right.

  “I need you to know I’ll make horrible mistakes, I’ll probably exasperate you, and I will make you angry. I’m not good at relationships.”

  “Maybe, darlin’, that the third is a charm?”