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

by Kelley, Morgan

  “I don’t want to. I want to cuddle with one of my handsome little men.”

  “That would be me,” EJ stated, pulling his wild mane of hair back. It was something Ethan did, and apparently, he picked that up from him.

  “Yes, it would be you too.”

  Chris groaned when he was hit with a pillow. “This investigator stuff is for the birds,” he muttered. “At least I can go to my office or sleep on a table.”

  “That’s so wrong, Christopher,” she muttered.

  Ethan didn’t move on the floor. Cat was standing on him. “I’m glad our children think we’re a jungle gym. I didn’t need that kidney, Cat. I have a second one.”

  She giggled when he rolled and caught her before she hit the ground.

  Callen stretched. “Please tell me we don’t have to work today. It’s the weekend, right?”

  They all snorted.

  “We don’t get weekends,” Elizabeth reminded them. “Complain to the boss. He’s a horrible human being.”

  Ethan laughed.

  When Callen’s phone went off, he picked it up off the table to read the text message that had come in. From the chime, he was aware who it was from, and he only prayed it was good news.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked, seeing the look on his face.

  “My book released.”

  They all sat up.

  “And?” Ethan asked, waiting for his brother to give them the news. From the look on his face, it might not be good. Then again, this was Callen.

  “That was Leslie. She was informing me it hit big, and it’s on its way up the charts. We’re in the top ten.”

  That was huge.

  They all began congratulating him, but he didn’t look happy.

  “Why aren’t you celebrating?” Chris asked. “You’re second book is a bestseller. We should be drinking champagne and throwing a party.”

  Since he was part of the family, he opted to let him in on it. “I’m F-I-R-I-N-G Leslie and her team.”

  “You’re farting them?” CJ asked.

  Elizabeth laughed. “I see you spell like your daddy,” she said, pointing at Ethan.

  “Hey!”

  “It spells firing,” Cat stated. “It’s when you get shit-canned for being a dumb ass.”

  “Catherine Naomi Whitefox-Blackhawk!” Callen stated. “Where in the world did you get those words from?”

  They all looked at Elizabeth.

  She shrugged. “Why are you shocked? She’s nosey, and I curse like a sailor. You try yelling at your team over the phone and not letting your kids hear it.”

  Now Ethan was laughing.

  At least they didn’t get that from him—larceny, maybe, but this one was all on Elizabeth.

  “Okay, kids. I hear Granddad in the kitchen. Go have breakfast,” Elizabeth stated, trying to get them out of the room.

  They took off.

  When they were gone, Chris sympathized with Callen. “I know you must feel betrayed about them losing your book.”

  “Yeah, I’m telling them tomorrow. I should do it right now, but I’ll let the team enjoy the meteoric rise.”

  They all heard the sarcasm. It was a shame that this awesome moment had to be tainted for Callen. He deserved so much more for all the hard work.

  “Are you going to keep writing?” Chris asked.

  “I don’t know. I told Leslie and the team that once I ran out of things to write about, I was done. I do this for the love of it, not the money.”

  Chris got it.

  That’s why he was an ME. He didn’t need to do it.

  He simply loved it.

  “I’ll handle it tomorrow. Can we focus on the case? I have to go with Boone in a little bit, and honestly, I don’t want to think about this today.”

  They cut him a break. Callen was getting cranky, and no one wanted to escalate the day for him.

  She pulled out her notepad. She had two good leads, and they could interview them. Out of the six on the list, she and Chris hit the motherlode.

  “How were your four?” she asked.

  Both men gave the thumbs down. When Maeve strolled in, carrying a tray of coffee cups with steaming brew, they all wanted to kiss her.

  “Thank you, Maeve.”

  “You’re welcome, Elizabeth. Do you want breakfast?”

  “We’re having it. We’ll grab a bagel on the way in. How are things with you?” she asked.

  The woman blushed. “Wonderful. Your father is an amazing man,” she offered, before walking away.

  They all reached into their pockets and threw money down on the table.

  Elizabeth had won again.

  Maeve was smiling, Wyler was whistling, and the woman had one hell of a hickey on her neck. The woman hadn’t gone home last night.

  While they wouldn’t bust Wyler’s ass about getting pie on a regular basis, they would bet privately to keep themselves amused.

  Why stir the pot?

  “Thank you all, I’ll buy you a bagel.”

  “Don’t forget mine,” Callen stated.

  She blew him a kiss. “How could I? Now…back to the list. Chris and I each found a good one,” she said.

  “Who?” Ethan asked.

  All night, they had silently worked, trying to find something. While it was grunt work, they knew they had to buckle down and take one for the team. Madden and Seaton had been chained to the desk for days, and they needed some time out for good behavior.

  “I have Irvin Avery. He’s playing the main role in ‘King Lear’,” Chris offered. He was new at this, but excellent at research. He only hoped he did it right.

  “What about the man made him stand out?” Ethan asked.

  “He wasn’t the original king. It seemed that the first leading man had an accident.”

  “What kind?” Ethan asked.

  “He flipped over a railing and fell twenty feet. He’s still in the hospital, and at first, it was touch and go.”

  Callen wasn’t sure that was enough. “Did anyone see him push the man?”

  “No, but Irvin also has a rap sheet about as tall as Cat. He’s been arrested for fighting and once for cutting his girlfriend’s brakes. It was eventually dismissed because they couldn’t prove it, but that sounds like a killer to me.”

  Chris had hit pay dirt.

  It was a good catch.

  “Yeah, we need to talk to Irvin Avery,” Ethan stated, making notes for his wife.

  “Oh, we’ll get time,” Elizabeth pointed out. “We have that opening to the play tonight.”

  Crap!

  He’d been hoping she’d forget.

  “Oh, and if you pull the ‘I have a late meeting thing’, I’ll be pulling the ‘not tonight, I have a headache’ thing.”

  He’d been warned.

  Truth be told, he’d been planning on bailing. His wife knew him to damn well. Ethan was a smart man. There was no way he was going to risk rolling around with his woman.

  It wasn’t going to happen.

  “Spill it, Cowboy.”

  “I hate those things, Elizabeth,” Ethan stated. “I always feel like they’re studying me. It’s like when Tony is looking at a bug through glass.”

  She smiled. “Well, then I have damn good news for you, love bug.”

  He stared at her. “What?”

  “I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that it’s not you they’re trying to study.”

  “Then who?”

  Elizabeth pointed at Callen.

  “What? Why me?”

  “You’re Jackson James, and by tonight, your book will hit number one. They want the world to see you at their production. Having you there is going to sell tickets. I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s media there who has been warned of your arrival.”

  “I’ll stay home.”

  Ethan laughed. “Hell, no. If I have to do this, so do you. Besides, you like this kind of Shakespeare stuff.”

  “I’ll watch the kids,” Chris offered.

  While h
e’d love to accompany Elizabeth, he knew that this was work. If she genuinely enjoyed it, he’d take her there sometime when they were having a boy/girlfriend night out.

  “Thank you,” Elizabeth offered. She knew Wyler likely wanted to head to bed early with his Irish rose.

  “Great. We’re going,” Callen muttered.

  Yeah, the bad mood was escalating.

  The last thing he wanted was for the world to be treating him as if he was some freak at a show. They’d come out to keep from speculation filling the papers, and now it was worse.

  This sucked.

  Elizabeth continued, knowing that she needed to keep them focused.

  “I have someone who is interesting too,” she stated. “I didn’t find my information in police records, but I think it might be interesting enough,” she offered.

  “What?”

  “Well, I have Hardy Dillion, and he’s one of the extras on the troupe staff. He was supposed to be up for leading man, but he got cut out.”

  Ethan didn’t get it.

  How was he a prime suspect?

  “Yeah, that’s good but then that would mean he’s directing his anger at people he never met. In fact, he killed people who left money to Selma Roth, so it backfired.”

  Callen thought about it. “Can you connect him to anyone?” he asked.

  “Like you think I don’t know how to do my own research,” she stated, rolling her eyes. “I found some fun stuff online. It seems that Hardy Dillion was having a relationship with someone else in the cast.”

  “Who?” Chris asked.

  “Marta Jones.”

  There was her name again.

  “What if she was shacked up with him, then fell in love with Richard Goodwin, and this was some sick way to get back at him. What if Roman was a test run and then he actually enjoyed it so much, that he decided to kill off random people to throw us off?”

  Chris watched her. “You’re suspicious with a side of paranoid.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, I have to be. We have no way of connecting this to anyone else. Selma Roth is the only person this is pointing at.”

  “Well, then why all of this?” Callen asked.

  Elizabeth grinned. “Why don’t you ask me who her assistant is, and who will be filling her spot if she gets shit-canned from the theater?”

  Callen pointed at her. “You’re where Cat got it!”

  She snorted. “I told you. I’m guilty as charged.”

  Ethan would bite. “Okay, who is the person who takes over when Selma gets fired?”

  “Hardy Dillion.”

  “Sabotage?” Ethan asked. Then he thought about it. “It fits. While money is still coming in, a police investigation where she’s a suspect might cause the board of trustees to fire her.”

  “Think about it,” Elizabeth offered. “Who goes to the National Theater productions?”

  “Politicians,” Ethan offered.

  “The rich,” Callen threw in.

  “The President of the United States,” Chris added.

  “Oh, and now the Deputy Director of the FBI. There is no way that the people running things there are going to let some suspect of a serial killing run this circus.”

  She had a point.

  A damn good one.

  “You’re smart,” Chris said, “and devious.”

  “Yeah, I know. Those are two of my best assets.” Then she had to point at Callen when he opened his mouth. There was laughter in his eyes, and lechery in his grin.

  At least he was distracted and his mood was getting better.

  “Don’t do it. I’ll hurt you.”

  “Yippee! Those are three of my favorite words. Hurt me really good, angel.”

  She stared at him with her mouth open. “Really? In front of Christopher?”

  The ME laughed. “Uh, I hate to break it to you, but I know you’re a freak in the bedroom.”

  Now she stared at him. “Christopher!”

  Ethan wrangled it in. They needed to focus for that night. “What’s the plan?”

  “We’ll go to work, finalize everything we can, and do more research. Tonight, when we’re at this fun fest of ‘King Lear’, we’ll watch the potential suspects. After, there is a wine meet and greet for the important people in DC.”

  She pointed at the two of them.

  “Great,” muttered Callen.

  “Hey! I have to be freaking arm candy. You have to wear a tux and smile. I’m the one getting the short end of the stick here,” she stated. “They think I’m only with you for my career and money.”

  Their wife had a point.

  That had to be shitty to be judged like that.

  “Callen, get Boone, head to his place, keep your eyes open, and if you see our agents, tell them make it snappy. They don’t have all day to play hide and seek with Merry’s ex. By the time you get to her place, they should have knocked out a few of the local businesses where he might had bought more supplies.”

  “On it,” Callen said, heading toward his wife. When he dropped a kiss on her lips, she patted his cheek.

  “I’ll see you at the office.”

  “I love you, angel.”

  Oh, she loved him too.

  More than words would ever convey.

  “Bye, sexy.”

  When he was gone, Ethan helped her up. “Let’s check on the kids and then shower before we head in. I need more coffee. It’s going to be a long ass day.”

  She agreed.

  Chris watched them leave.

  He was happy he could help them work on the case, instead of only being locked in the morgue. It made him feel included, and he needed that in his life.

  Then again, he figured they knew that.

  When she turned around, he was staring blankly after them. “Christopher, are you coming to see the kids and get a refill?” she asked.

  He jumped up and followed her.

  When he reached her side, she dropped her arm around his waist.

  Yeah, he was definitely healing.

  Chris didn’t think he’d ever be able to leave.

  He was home, and finally, at peace.

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

  Across Town

  Merry and Boone’s

  Brownstone

  He was waiting.

  Eventually, that bitch would show up. When she did, he’d end her life. Derek was done playing around. He wanted to finish the cop, take her life for lying about his child, and then move on.

  It was time to erase her from his memory.

  He would use his brother’s ID, start a life across the country, and no one would be any the wiser if he couldn’t end his own life.

  He had choices.

  None included her. If he worked odd jobs, or under the table for a few years, then he’d be able to disappear in plain sight. No one would ever know the truth.

  See?

  He was really smart.

  Know who wasn’t smart?

  That would be the man rolling around with Merry. He was some hippie-loving tree huger, and he’d never work a day in his life.

  His new identity was set.

  All he needed was to finish this off.

  It was time.

  So as he bunked down in the house, diagonal to hers, he ignored the dead old woman who had bled to death in her home when he slit her throat.

  He’d ignored the cat he’d cut into pieces when it kept hissing at him.

  Now he’d keep his head low until she showed, and then…he’d end them both.

  Once they were dead, he could move on.

  He needed to find a new girlfriend to make his wife.

  This time, it would be different.

  He’d have better control of his slut.

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

  Boone and Callen rode toward the house. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there was very little frost on the ground.

  It was a warm fall, and in a few short days
, it was Halloween. Elizabeth was going to be so excited when she found out that he and Ethan had costumes for all of them when they took the kids out for candy.

  The details had been finalized, and after they finished at Merry’s, he would swing by and pick them up.

  He was excited too.

  “You’re smiling,” Boone said, as they pulled into the neighborhood.

  “Yeah, I’m thinking about Halloween. I have a surprise for Elizabeth.”

  “Can people actually surprise her?” he asked. “I’d imagine it’s hard to do that.”

  He laughed. “It’s not easy. Trust me when I say that. I’ve had to work hard at it the last few years to perfect it. Before, we had to tag team her.”

  He tried to smile.

  “You look worried.”

  “I have a bad feeling. Last night, I saw blood in the smoke.”

  “Is that code for something?” Callen asked.

  Yeah, someone was dying.

  “Can you do me a favor?”

  “Sure,” Callen said, pulling into a parking spot. “What do you need?”

  “If something happens to me, can you make sure she gets this?” Boone said, pulling a note in a plain envelope out of his pocket.”

  “Merry?”

  “Yes.”

  Callen took it and placed it in the pocket of his blazer jacket. “I’m sure nothing will happen, but I get it. I’ll take care of it,” he stated, making sure to pat the man on the arm. “I think you’re worried about nothing, but I have your back.”

  “Thank you, my brother.”

  He paused.

  “I’m quitting my job today. When I head in, I’m giving my notice. I don’t know if I can do this up here. I thought one cop job would be the same as the next, but I was wrong. The North and South are polar opposites.”

  He understood. “Do you want me to see if Elizabeth can get you…?”

  Boone stopped him. “I appreciate it, Callen, but no. Once I left New Orleans, my love for the job died. I don’t feel the same about it as I used to,” he admitted.

  Then he laughed.

  “Uh, are you okay?”

  “Damn! That felt good to get off my chest,” he said. “I’ve been carrying that for two weeks. I didn’t want to say it to Merry, simply because she loves working for the FBI and Elizabeth.”