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

by Kelley, Morgan

  They both laughed.

  “Have you seen our wife? She’s gorgeous,” Callen stated. “We’re the lucky ones.”

  “So did I do okay? I’m not used to this arm candy thing,” she stated. “It wasn’t easy. I have to play two roles. I’m the Deputy Director’s wife, and now I’m the wife of a bestselling smut peddler.”

  Callen wiggled his eyebrows. “I need more material. Help me make some up later.”

  “That I can do,” she offered.

  Ethan knew this was just as nerve wracking for her as it was for Callen. He was accustomed to being in the spotlight. He dealt with politicians, parties, dinners with drinks, and public places like this.

  For them, it was a bit different.

  They loathed the media breathing down their neck.

  “You play the part of sexy wife very well, Elizabeth. Don’t doubt that,” Ethan said. “In fact, you’ve redefined it. All the men will be jealous they aren’t us tonight.”

  God!

  She hoped so.

  “Mommy, I need you?” Cat called, rubbing her eyes as she stood on the stairs.

  Everyone looked over.

  Elizabeth headed her way, picked her child up, and held her to her body. “What’s wrong, Kitty Cat?” she asked.

  “I got scared.”

  She rocked and soothed her child.

  Both men watched.

  Callen had tears in his eyes as the woman he cherished with his whole heart loved his child.

  No.

  Their child.

  “No one will get you,” she stated. “You’re so safe here, but if you like, I can get one of the doggies to sleep with you.”

  “Will you?” she asked, resting her head on Elizabeth’s shoulder.

  If she wasn’t on a case, she absolutely would. “I have something you can keep until I get home, and then I’ll cuddle with you, Kitty Cat.”

  “What, Mommy?”

  Elizabeth took off the necklace Callen had given her. Today, Wyler gave her a feather, and now she was going to give one to Cat.

  “Daddy gave this to me. It’s magic. It keeps me safe. I’ll be with the Daddies tonight, so I don’t need it. Would you like to wear it?”

  She nodded.

  Elizabeth dropped it over her head. “Doesn’t it look perfect, Daddies?” Elizabeth asked.

  Ethan was smiling. “It looks like it was made for you, Cat.”

  Callen couldn’t breathe. He’d never seen a more beautiful thing in his life. Elizabeth truly loved Catherine with all her heart.

  “It’s gorgeous,” he finally got out. “In fact, I’m going to get one for all my girls.”

  “And boys,” Elizabeth stated. “They need some magic in their lives too.”

  Tomorrow, he’d order one for every kid in their tribe, and a special one for their mother. She’d earned it.

  “How about we go up to bed?” Elizabeth asked, scooping Catherine into her arms.

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll be back,” she said, kicking off her heels to climb back up the stairs. The play was going to have to wait.

  She had something a little more important.

  One of her babies needed her.

  And that would always come first.

  When she was gone, Ethan placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

  Callen wiped his eyes. “She’s the best damn mother in the whole world, and our kids are lucky.”

  He was well aware.

  “We all are, Callen.”

  Yeah, and he was grateful.

  Chapter Eighteen

  It didn’t take long to settle Cat down. She needed some mommy cuddles, and she was fast asleep. As Elizabeth raced downstairs, the men were waiting. They hopped into the Town Car, the entourage of security followed, and they finally got to the theater.

  When the men got out of the vehicle, they each took one of her hands. Her arms went thought theirs, and they headed up the stairs and into the grand building.

  They didn’t stop to answer questions.

  There were really only two and they weren’t in the mood to babysit the media.

  ‘What was it like to be Jackson James?’

  ‘Were they officially coming out as a couple?’

  While she wanted to say something, Elizabeth knew that Callen was having a tough enough time with being outed as Jackson James.

  There would be a time and a place, but this wasn’t it. There would be a showdown, and one day, the shit would hit the fan.

  Inside, Ethan handed someone their tickets, and they were led to a box not far from the stage. They were pretty good seats, and Elizabeth was looking forward to the night.

  She was still working.

  To her, this play was playing into the case, and she needed to study it.

  “Room for two more?” a voice said from the curtain.

  They all turned.

  There was Gabe and Livy.

  “Before you say I’m here to interfere, Elizabeth,” warned her boss, “my wife was pissed she missed out on all the fun because she was updating me while you were out taking down a stalker.”

  Livy smiled. “Sometimes, it’s good to be married to the boss of the FBI. He made a call and scored me seats with you.”

  Yeah, sometimes, it was damn good to be married to the boss.

  “Welcome to the party.”

  Livy was wearing a beautiful green dress that matched her eyes. “I missed you today,” she said, hugging her friend.

  “I missed you too.”

  “How’s your tech and Detective Savage?” Gabe asked. He’d gotten the report, but they needed to have some small talk. Why not discuss work?

  “They’re good. Merry is happy that it’s finally over. She doesn’t have to deal with a stalker anymore.”

  Livy got it.

  It sucked to be the object of someone’s infatuation.

  The lights lowered twice, signaling that the play was about to begin.

  “What’s this about?” Gabe asked. He’d never been a fan of Shakespeare. Now, the sneaky criminal element, or dealing with some high powered idiots…

  Yeah, that was his thing.

  Callen clued them all in. “It’s one of Shakespeare’s best tragedies. It’s about a king who is going nutty, he has kids and they want the kingdom, and in the end, no one wins. It’s a bloody mess.”

  “I think I might like this one,” Elizabeth stated.

  Callen held her hand as the curtain went up. “Somehow, I thought you’d say that.”

  Hey!

  At least she was predictable.

  Once you lived mayhem and madness all day, why not make it your hobby?

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

  The killer was ready.

  It was now or never.

  Back stage, the next victim was wandering the area, bossing people around. Getting to her was going to be easy.

  As she approached the darkened area of the stage, it was time to move.

  When she wasn’t looking, it was simple enough to knock her out. The house lights were low, the people were focused on their jobs, and no one would notice that she’d gone missing.

  It was time to set the scene.

  It was time for the unveiling.

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

  They watched the play all the way to the fifth act, and that’s when the killing started. Elizabeth had to admit, she wasn’t thinking about work.

  Truth be told, ‘King Lear’ had sucked her in.

  With Callen explaining some of it to her, the whole thing played out like a dramatic soap opera.

  She really liked it.

  Maybe she’d been a little too hasty to skip over something like Shakespeare. The man was actually an evil genius. She’d run into some criminals who would have benefited from reading his works.

  “It’s about to get good,” Callen whispered into her ear. “Here comes the murder spree.”
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  Yippee!

  That she understood.

  “She’s going to die because she was too stubborn to profess her love for her dying father.”

  “Drama,” she muttered, carefully taking it all in with the eyes of a seasoned cop.

  Elizabeth missed nothing.

  When Cordelia was being discussed by one of the actors standing in a spotlight, the rest of the stage went dark. The music played, and when the lights came back on, a body dropped center stage, hanging from the lighting above by a noose.

  The audience clapped.

  And clapped.

  And clapped.

  Until someone screamed.

  “Wait,” Callen said, leaning forward. “In most plays, you don’t see Cordelia hang,” he admitted. “You can see this woman’s face.”

  As the house lights came up, she understood what was happening on the stage.

  Yeah, score one for their nut job.

  “Well, holy shit!”

  “What?” Livy asked.

  “Our killer struck again. That’s Selma Roth. She’s been taken out in a theater full of people, and in front of us.”

  No one thought that was a coincidence.

  Yeah, no.

  This killer was trying to get their attention.

  Well…

  He or she had definitely done it.

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

  One Hour Later

  It was pure pandemonium.

  By the time they got down there, someone had cut Selma Roth down. She was now lying on the stage, her eyes open, a noose around her throat, and all her fellow thespians running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

  There was talking.

  Pointing.

  Crying.

  Panic.

  It was insane.

  Never let it be said that even in reality, actors were incredibly dramatic. They were making it difficult to concentrate, hard to do her job, and irritating as hell.

  It was bad enough she was doing this in a dress, heels, and no badge or gun.

  This was going to suck.

  By the time Christopher Leonard had gotten there, they had it cordoned off, but they knew he wasn’t going to be happy with what he was going to find.

  He was predictable if anything.

  And someone had touched his body.

  This was the worst thing you could do to set him off. He liked his bodies in situ, and this was anything but that.

  Great.

  More chaos.

  This killer certainly knew what he or she was doing. The whole thing was jacked from the start.

  “What the hell?” Chris asked, as he walked across the stage. His voice said it all, as did the angry staccato of his cane hitting the wood floor.

  Elizabeth went into ‘calm down’ mode. She had to keep Chris from freaking out, the men in her life from hovering, and Livy from being so damn excited that people thought she was insane.

  Holy shit!

  Her job was out of control.

  “She was down before I could get to her,” Elizabeth offered. “No one has touched her since. You have my word. I’ve been babysitting her corpse.”

  “Where’s Merry?” he asked.

  “She’s still at the hospital. You’re going to have to use a tech.”

  He saw this coming.

  That was pretty much what he figured was going to happen, so he’d made a call and dug up a standby or two.

  “Tony is on his way in with his wife. They’ll help me maintain the scene and get this done. I’m sure you have interviews to do and can’t play helper—especially in that dress. Your chest will fall out if you bend over.”

  All the male actors around them turned around to check her out.

  “Seriously, Christopher?”

  He winked at her. “I’m just trying to keep Ethan and Callen from freaking out and riding ass. You know what will happen.”

  She did, but still…

  “You’re trying to ditch me, so I don’t bug the hell out of you before you’re ready. I know you. You love breasts.”

  Yes, yes, he did, but he also loved living.

  So, he went with what would keep him breathing another day.

  He dug for his tools and had a liver probe out and in his hand. “Yeah, is it obvious?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  He inserted it. “When did she drop?” he asked, pointing at the beams above them.

  “About one hour ago. That was supposed to be Cordelia from King Lear checking out. Our killer is sick. Instead, we have Selma Roth taking her final bow.”

  He lifted her shirt, and there tucked into the band of her pants was the sign they had the same killer.

  There was the handkerchief.

  “The same one?” she asked.

  He nodded, dropping it into an evidence bag for the lab to check.

  Then Chris went back to work.

  While the gauge was doing its job, he did his. “Is that her name?” he asked, filling in his chart.

  “Yep. I’ll sign off on the ID.”

  He checked her liver temperature when it beeped. “One hour ago—that’s exactly when she died.”

  “Was it from that?” Elizabeth asked, pointing at the noose, knowing she was pushing her damn luck, but it was worth it to find this killer.

  “Elizabeth.”

  “Christopher, I need something. You know I don’t push unless I have no choice. Ethan and Callen are wrangling up the staff, but I have to have a freaking clue before I go at them. Just give it a guess.”

  He stared at her.

  “Pretty please?”

  Still nothing.

  “With sugar on top?”

  Still nothing.

  “I won’t tell the husbands that you checked out my breasts when I bent over.”

  Yeah, and he’d checked out her ass too.

  Sue him.

  He was a man.

  He laughed as he ran his hands over the dead woman’s body. As he did his precursory exam, she was breathing down his neck.

  Literally.

  She was inches from him, her hand on his shoulder, and her face beside his as she crouched in her heels.

  “You look beautiful, honey,” he offered.

  “Thanks. Here I was, trying to enjoy a night of killing and lies, and then the killing and lies got in the way. I have such an odd life. No wonder people run from me.”

  He wasn’t listening.

  He stopped when he reached her head.

  “What?”

  “Blunt force trauma,” he said, pulling his fingers away from her hair. “She has a contusion on the back of the head. I feel some shifting. Your victim was hit with something, and then dropped. She was already dead, but I’ll be able to confirm that once I have her in autopsy. For now, that’s all I can give you, unless I open her up here.

  She was grateful.

  “Uh, you better stand up. The actors five feet in front of us are filming your...” He pointed at her breasts.

  She glared at them.

  They scattered, moving back from the body.

  People were sick. Not only were they recording a body, but hers too.

  She hated people.

  Chris was laughing.

  “My hero.”

  “I’ll kick their asses for you, but then you have to explain it to Callen, plus tell Ethan about the paperwork.”

  He had a point.

  Elizabeth leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re my favorite doctor in all of the world.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, I already know. Go do your interviews. I’ll get her bagged and back to the office. If you bring me coffee, I’ll get the autopsy done tonight for you.”

  “A morgue date with a handsome man. It must be my lucky day, Newton.”

  He laughed. “Make it an extra-large coffee, Lyzee. I’m going to need it.”

  She headed away. “You got it, Doc.”

  Chris checked her out again.
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  When he turned, the actors were doing the same damn thing.

  “Seriously? Have some respect!”

  They backed off.

  Chris laughed and got back to work.

  Elizabeth needed to find her team and get to work. As she headed toward the first set of rooms at the back of the stage, she found Livy and Gabe.

  “You can head out. I got this,” she offered.

  Livy stared at her. “Uh, no. I’m your freaking partner, and this is what we do.”

  Elizabeth stared at her as if she was crazy.

  “I mean it.”

  “Uh, take it down a notch, over exuberant partner. I wasn’t actually talking to you. If I’m stuck working all night, so are you. I was talking to the boss man.”

  “My bad,” Livy said.

  “I’m sure Gabe has some meetings to be at tomorrow, and we don’t need him running around in a bad mood. Then he takes it out on the minions.”

  “You always were smart,” he offered, kissing his wife on the cheek. “Try and get some downtime, Olivia, and no storming buildings with her. I saw how she rolls on the news, and it’ll give me a stroke to see you in riot gear.”

  They all knew who ‘HER’ was.

  “See you in the morning, Gabriel. I love you.”

  Elizabeth made gagging noises at the two of them. She was obligated since it was a friend thing.

  Livy hit her.

  “Shit! That hurt!”

  “Watch it. You’re doing two men on a regular basis. You don’t want me going there.”

  She was probably right. God only knew what her friend could come up with for that one.

  “What do we have?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Well, Callen and Ethan are handling the interviews of all the actors who were behind the set. You and I, we have the special ones,” Livy stated.

  “Who?”

  “In room number one, we have Irvin Avery. He was the man playing King Lear.”

  Yeah, she recalled the name.

  Chris had done the research on him. He was the douchebag with the arrest record and the attempt at killing his ex when he jacked with her brakes.