Deep Dark Mire (An FBI Romance Thriller ~ book four)
Page 35
“As a co-worker yes. As a friend, give me a day or so. I don’t generally stay upset long.”
Elizabeth walked back into the ME lab, and sat on the table, waiting for the tech reports. When the three men walked in, she wasn’t paying any attention to them, and there wasn’t going to be eye contact. Again, she was entitled to a little bruised pride.
“How about we focus on work, now that we know I’m not a fucking invalid and a general liability to everyone around me.”
Doctor Leonard flinched at the words, as he pulled the reports. “Here’s the tox report. Cordelia Adare inhaled chlorine and ammonium gas. Most likely someone made the mix, poured it on a rag and then covered her face. It didn’t kill her, but it burned her lungs and esophagus. It did likely knock her out, at which time she drowned. That’s your official COD.”
“So, we have two different modes of killing for two related victims. I’m not the profiler, but a killer rarely switches it up.” She didn’t even ask her husband for his input. “Twenty five years apart and two different means. Awesome. Can we say needle in the haystack?”
“She was indeed pregnant,” he added. “We didn’t find a zygote. The snake must have consumed it and the ovary. Her tested blood had HCG levels conducive of a woman about two months pregnant, or one month if she was carrying multiples.”
Elizabeth sat there and thought about it. “I’m damn sick of dead pregnant women.”
Back on the reservation they had a crazed killer who liked pregnant women, and they all turned out to be his own children. After sorting through baby fetuses, she’d had enough. At least this time she wasn’t pregnant.
“We need to find out who both women were having sex with, because that’s the mitigating factor that ties them together. One may have been killed by her lover, the other because she was pregnant,” added Blackhawk.
“I need to go over those journal entries,” she stated, hopping down. “I’m going to venture that Desdemona is going to want to view tomorrow. Call FBI West and get the skull shipped back. We don’t need a reconstruction. She’ll need to see a full skeleton. Tell the team no one says anything.”
“When are you informing?” asked Chris Leonard.
“I’m going to go tell her now,” stated Whitefox. “I’ll tell Desdemona that she can view them tomorrow after you clear it.”
“Good luck, Director Whitefox. This is going to be a hard one for her to swallow.”
Elizabeth started from the room. Might as well head back and start working through the night. Outside she packed away her shooting glasses and closed the back of the Escalade. Both men were standing there waiting for her to be angry. She could see the twin looks on their faces.
“Let’s go.” That was all she had in her at that moment.
“Elizabeth,” started Whitefox, and he stopped when she shook her head and walked past him.
“Not now Callen. Now’s not the time. I’m too damn angry and hurt.”
His heart sunk. Everything crushed down on him, at the knowledge that he’d pissed her off and hurt her. The only woman who he loved wasn’t speaking to him, or his brother for that matter. When they pulled into the parking lot, Elizabeth jumped out, not saying a single word. Callen watched her walk away, and he didn’t know what to do or say. This was all on him. Even thought it was only to tease her, it ended up throwing her to the doctor wolves.
“We both did this, Cal. It’s on me too.”
“Yeah, but you're at least married to her. Elizabeth won’t toss you aside when you piss her off. I’m just the extra and when I fuck up I’ll be the first to go.” Callen hopped out of the vehicle and strode across the parking lot and into the building. It was time to face Desdemona and do the notify.
Ethan’s heart hurt for his brother, that he felt disposable. No one should go through life feeling like they were going to get pushed out if a screw up happened. God knows, he made a huge mess plenty of times with his wife. He too, hopped out of the Escalade, heading in to talk to his wife and confess that it had been all him. Blackhawk would take this one for the team and his brother’s heart.
Callen knocked on the door to Desdemona’s room and was met by Julian. “I need to talk to her for a few minutes. Stay close please. It won’t take long.”
Julian figured he knew what it was regarding. He’d heard from the techs that the lab reports were in, and that probably meant the victims were identified. If Elizabeth was sending Callen that meant it wasn’t going to be good news. He took his place outside the door and waited.
Whitefox entered the room, unsure of what kind of reception was waiting for him, but he was assuming it would be chilly. Surprisingly, Desdemona was smiling at him. Right then he went on alert. Yeah, that wasn’t what he expected at all.
“Hi Callen,” she said, softly. “How are you?” she asked, smiling gently at him. Her big green eyes followed his every move. Desdemona wasn’t above luring him back with sex. If Elizabeth could lure him away with it, she could use the same techniques. All was fair in love and men!
“I’m fine, and you?” he answered, suspiciously.
“Bored out of my mind, and I actually miss being arm deep in a dead body. How pathetic is that?” she laughed, and then shook her head. Just seeing him hurt.
“I think we need to talk, Desdemona.” Shit, he hated notifying people that they lost one person, now he had two. Why the hell did he say he’d do this?
“I think we need to talk too. About us, Callen. I’m really sorry that I hurt you, and I wish you’d forgive me. You’ve punished me enough, and I learned my lesson. We can go back to where we were and resume our relationship now.”
It caught him off guard. That wasn’t happening. He’d got off that train and was on a whole new one going in a new direction. “Desdemona,” he started and didn’t get to finish.
“I still love you, and I want you back. I promise to be more accepting of the family and stop resenting Elizabeth. I’d rather have half your heart than none.”
Oh boy, what the hell did he do now?
“I really do love you, Callen.” Now she moved towards him, and stopped inches from his body. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered, looking up into his eyes.
Whitefox stood very still. He didn’t want to crush her, but he wasn’t in love, or lust, with her anymore. When she ran her hands up his torso he held his breath, waiting to see if his body reacted or felt anything at her caress.
Nothing.
Then she pulled him down and kissed him. It was slow, sweet, and very Desdemona like, yet there was no response. His pulse didn’t quicken and his heart didn’t pound in his chest.
When she broke away she looked up into his eyes. “You feel nothing, right? We’re over aren’t we, and for good?”
“Desdemona, I’m sorry. You were right. I’m madly in love with Elizabeth. I always was and trying to fill the hole she made was very unfair to you.”
“I see. So, she owns your heart?”
“Desi, she does. I can’t help but feel what I do inside. Being in a relationship with you wouldn’t be doing either of us justice. You’d always know that I wanted her, needed her, and you deserve a man that looks at you like…”
“Like you look at her,” she said, completing his sentence.
“Yes. You deserve that. I owe you an apology for pushing you into an engagement. Thank you for dragging your heels and not marrying me.”
She laughed at that. Funny had she just married him, everything would have been completely different. “Yeah, and had I married you Callen, then what would have happened?”
He looked at her confused. “Then we’d be married. I wouldn’t have cheated on you with Elizabeth. I never did anything inappropriately with her while you wore that ring. I wish you’d believe that.”
Desdemona said nothing. In her heart she wanted to believe it, but she’d seen them all together.
“I'm going to sell the house when I go back, because I don’t think I can live my life next to Elizabeth.”
Desdemona took the slice to her heart without flinching. “You should go then, Callen. Head back to your girlfriend and brother. We don’t have anything more to discuss. If it’s over for you, then it’s over. I won’t guilt you or pressure you into being with me.”
“I came here because I have news about the bodies we found. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but we’ve ID’d both.”
She was completely numb from him telling her he didn’t love her, but loved Elizabeth. “It’s my sister, isn't it?” Her eyes filled with tears and they began to spill over.
“It is, and I have more bad news. We ID’d the other body. The bones we found had been in the swamp a long time. We found your mother.”
Now Desdemona felt like she was slapped, and she stepped back. “You found my mother?” That was completely unexpected. Now Desdemona started weeping and sat on the bed sobbing.
Whitefox sat beside her, and pulled her against his body and just held her while she wept bitterly.
“I want to see them.” She finally got it out, and looked up at him. “I need to see them.”
“Elizabeth cleared it for tomorrow. You can go over once Doctor Magnus lets you know he’s ready.”
“Why can’t I go tonight?” she questioned.
“Desdemona, we sent your mother’s skull to FBI West to have facial reconstruction, in case the dentals weren’t found. Now we want to get her back fully for you. Nothing more than that. We aren’t trying to keep you away; we’re just trying to make it easier.”
“Is my sister fleshy?” she asked, knowing she wouldn’t be able to handle seeing that.
“No.”
“Okay,” she leaned against him. “Please stay,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be alone. I need you, Callen.”
Whitefox knew that was a bad idea. What she wanted in the ways of comfort wasn’t something he was willing to offer her anymore. Sex meant more now, it was valuable and only shared with a person you loved completely.
Callen got up from the bed and went to the door opening it for the man standing outside. “I can’t Desdemona, and we both know why. It won’t change anything between us, and I don’t cheat on the person I’m with.”
“Of course you won’t. You got the prize you always wanted,” she sobbed, bitterly
Julian patted him on the shoulder and took his place on the bed. “It’s okay I’ll keep you company.”
Callen walked out of the room, closing the door on them and shutting out part of his past. He knew Desdemona wasn’t the right one before, but now he had confirmation. Now he needed to get some air, before going to his room alone. He was pretty sure that Elizabeth wouldn’t want him sleeping anywhere near her.
Damn it, love was a bitch.
* * *
Ethan walked into their shared room and stared at his very pissed wife sitting on the bed. She’d already changed, pulled her hair up on top of her head, and was cross-legged with the papers in her lap. When he entered she didn’t even look up.
“It was all me. I told Callen we should torment you, and he didn’t think it would end the way it did. There’s no way he could have known about the doctor pulling your certification. If you want to be pissed at someone then take it out on me. Not him.”
Elizabeth didn’t look up.
“You want to be angry; I’ll be the target on this one.” When she still ignored him, he went in for the kill. “In the car, he told me that he knew you were going to toss him out of our bed and life, because he screwed up. Right now he can’t handle your anger. I’ll own this one and take it all.”
Elizabeth felt the anger cracking and her compassion leaking through them back into her body for both of them. One big crack was for the man who was wounded and scarred, the other one for the man who would take the responsibility for it and carry it alone.
Blackhawk stared out their window and watched his brother walk around the parking lot.
“Where is he?” she asked, finally looking up.
“Out roaming the grounds. I just saw him head into the trees.”
Elizabeth slipped on her sandals and grabbed her room key. “I’ll be back.” She left the building and started looking for the man with a damaged heart. Elizabeth crossed the parking lot, looking up at their window. Her husband pointed in the direction and she followed.
When Elizabeth entered the grove of trees, she wandered until finding Callen skipping rocks across the water of the lily pond. Elizabeth watched him for a while, standing there and observing him. The pain he was feeling was evident.
Callen was miserable as sin. It felt like his heart was crushing, and all he really wanted was to tell her he was sorry. Closing his eyes, it was sent out to the universe. One more chance was all Whitefox wanted.
Callen put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his grandmother’s ring. It rolled between his fingers, and the Native stones caught the moonlight and sparkled. To keep it safe, he put it back in his pocket and stared into the water on the lake.
Then he saw a reflection beside his, and his breath caught in his throat. It was the most beautiful angel in the world, and she was beside him.
Whitefox turned fast, hoping it wasn’t his imagination, but actually her. When Elizabeth didn’t evaporate into the night, his heart started pounding in his chest. “Lyzee.” Just her name stole the breath from his body.
“Callen.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, softly. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t know he was going to make you re-qualify or take your gun. Had I known, I wouldn’t have betrayed you. Please believe me.”
Elizabeth moved close to him and touched his arm. “It’s okay, and I forgive you. No harm done.” She moved even closer to his body, standing inches from him.
It wasn’t lost on him that it was the same thing Desdemona had just done, but Callen didn’t feel what he did now. He couldn’t breathe, his heart was thundering like a drum in his chest, and her scent. God, it made him want to weep.
Elizabeth saw the pain, and it hurt her that she caused it even though he’d made her mad. She hated hurting either of them. “It’s beautiful out here in the moonlight.”
“I’ve seen more beautiful things.” Callen had and there she stood, almost like magic.
Elizabeth stepped closer, until she was up against his body, and urging him to take the next step. When he still didn’t move, she took control. Sliding her hands up his chest and around his neck, it was an invitation to enjoy the kiss that was being offered. Elizabeth set the pace, using everything she had to convince the man that the anger was completely gone.
Callen couldn’t possibly be more surprised. Here the wish was made and now the most distracting angel was kissing him. He pulled her against his body, sealing her to him and returning the kiss and then some. Elizabeth fired everything in his body, and made him rock hard in seconds.
Pulling away, he stared down into the crystal blue pools. “I love you.” What more was there to say? It meant everything, and she meant everything.
“I love you too, Cal.” Elizabeth ran her fingers across his cheek.
He took a deep breath. “I want to give you something, and I hope you accept. It feels right and think granddad would want it this way.”
She was confused. “Granddad would tell you to stop mauling me,” she said, grinning.
Whitefox reached into his pocket, pulling out the ring that he’d been given to share with the woman who would have his heart forever. Five generations of love wore this ring and it felt unforced and perfect, finally.
“I gave this to the wrong woman, and now I’m giving it back to the one that owns my heart. The day you saved mine and Desdemona’s life in Red River, I saw it on your finger and I just knew.”
Elizabeth stared down as he took her hand in his, slipping it on her finger to sit beside Ethan�
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“Please wear it, and when you see it, know that you mean the world to me. It belongs to you, as does my heart.”
She didn’t know what to think. “It’s beautiful, Callen.”
“I already asked Ethan. He told me to do what my gut, instinct, and heart told me to do when it came to the ring and us.”
Elizabeth figured this had her husband’s suaveness all over it. She was going to give him a big wet kiss later to show her appreciation.
“Will you wear it for me for the rest of your life?”
Elizabeth watched it glitter in the moonlight, thinking back to the things Doctor Magnus said about two Native brothers marrying one woman. “I will on one condition.”
His body tensed. “Yes?”
“When we get home you put on the one that matches it too. They’re meant to be a set. Not just a single ring, and I want you to wear it.”
His heart thundered again at what her words meant. True he couldn’t marry her, but he could still have everything but the paper. “I will.”
“Then I’ll wear it for the rest of my life.”
Callen was elated. Kissing her, his hands wandered gently across her bruised and battered body. What he wanted was to take her right there and then. When he deepened the kiss, she didn’t protest. As he reached down, pulling her shirt from her body in the moonlight her pale flesh glowed.
“I want you.”
Elizabeth grinned wickedly, and slid her hands up under his shirt, pulling it from his body. “Then take me,” she finally said, going back into his arms.
Whitefox almost erupted right there. It was at her open willingness to roll around under a tree, by a pond, while on assignment with a very simple man.
He slid her shorts off her body, and they fell to the ground. Elizabeth stepped out of them, never breaking the kiss. Callen pushed further, begging for more and grateful that she was there in his arms. Yeah, nothing felt like this.
Elizabeth flicked open his jeans and pushed them down his hips. When he stepped out of them, she gasped as he scooped her up in his arms and knelt in the soft grass, gently laying her on their clothing to protect her shoulder. Immediately, he placed his body over hers, offering everything he had in his entire being to her.