Chris Leonard looked up. “Elizabeth is breathing, but she has a wicked cut on her forehead. Looks like she’s going to need some stitches, and I still can’t get her to wake up. We need to get her to the ER to assess any internal injuries. I need a towel to stop the bleeding.”
Whitefox pulled off his shirt and handed it to the man. “Don’t let anything happen to her,” he said, softly. “Please don’t let her die. We can’t lose her.”
Doctor Leonard glanced up from his patient and met the men’s eyes. “I won’t leave her side, I promise. The ambulance will allow both of us onboard, we’re medical personnel,” he said, pointing at Doctor Adare.
“Go with them,” barked Blackhawk, as he stared at the huge fire. Ambulances tore into the parking lot, followed by fire trucks. Ethan placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Callen, I have to maintain the scene. Follow her,” he whispered into his brother’s ear. “Don’t let her leave us. I can’t live without the mother of my child.”
Whitefox nodded, unable to take his eyes from her. Suddenly, a stupid name didn’t matter. Not when he could lose the woman he loved. He watched as the ambulance crew rushed the women, dropping to their knees. Both doctors took charge of the scene, giving them instructions. They were focused on the women they worked with, doing everything in their power to help them.
An EMT pushed him back from Elizabeth’s prone form. “Sorry sir, you have to step back.”
“I’m riding with her!” he demanded.
“Sorry sir, with the doctor we have no extra room. Follow us to the hospital, you can be with her there.”
Whitefox never stopped staring at Elizabeth. His eyes never once left her face, even as he heard everything around him.
Why did he hurt her?
Oh God, if he could only take back last night.
There were so many things he needed to tell her.
Callen stared at Elizabeth and whispered to his grandfather, where ever he was now. “Please don’t take her, Granddad. We can’t lose her. You don’t need her yet, but we do. Give me time to fix this mistake.”
The crews continued working, even as they lifted the women onto the stretchers.
Whitefox watched as they pulled the dual rings off her limp finger, and they handed them to Chris Leonard. He said something to them, before they rushed the stretcher towards the ambulance to load her into the back bay. Doctor Leonard hastily moved to his side.
“They needed these off in case she starts to swell. Hold onto them for her,” he said, dropping them into the man’s hand. “I have to go; I’ll ride with her and make sure I stay with her until you or Ethan can get to the hospital.”
Callen nodded, as the man who handled their dead ran to the ambulance, jumping in. As the doors closed, he still couldn’t breathe. Glancing over at Ethan, who was on his phone, but still watching his wife being taken away, he didn’t know how he was handling it. There was a touch on his arm that drew his attention down.
“Are you going to be okay?” asked one of the techs.
He didn’t answer, because he didn’t have an answer for him. Then he looked down at his hands and saw the blood. It was all over his jeans too.
“Director Whitefox, what can I do for you?” he asked, waiting for directive.
Pulling out his key from his pocket, he sent the man to his room. “Get me a shirt from my suitcase. I need to get to the hospital.”
“I’ll be right back,” he said, grabbing the key and taking off to the man’s room to grab the garment.
Whitefox moved closer to his brother to tell him he was going to the hospital with Elizabeth, and he could hear him barking orders into the phone. It was evident Ethan Blackhawk was a man on the edge, because rarely did he ever raise his voice. The stress was evident in his words, and with the lines of tension around his mouth.
“I want two bomb techs on the first flight out on the jet, and I want them here in less than four hours, Ginny. Send me some agents too. I don’t care who you stick on that flight but just make it happen! We have an agent that specializes in arson and bombs, get her on the flight! I don’t care if she’s on assignment. Yank her!” Ethan Blackhawk hung up the phone. “Callen, you need to get to the hospital, I can’t be in two places at once. Kiss her for me when she wakes up and tell her I love her.”
He nodded numbly, watching the tech running towards him with his shirt. There was also someone he didn’t expect to see. The sheriff, and he didn’t look happy. The shirt went on fast, as he moved to step between his brother and the sheriff in case there was going to be an eruption.
“Still think we don’t have someone killing people, Sheriff Denton? I just had two hurt due to this explosion, and we sure as hell didn’t stage this ourselves.”
“What can my people do for you, Director?” he asked, trying to be as helpful as possible.
“I have people on their way in right now. I want this scene completely blocked off. We had one of our vehicles tampered with by this stalker before, and again this looks like the same thing. I need people to help me preserve it until back up flies in later.”
“Okay, done.”
“I need Director Whitefox transported to the hospital. I don’t want to start any of our vehicles until the bomb techs can check the cars. I don’t need anyone else going down today.”
“Who was injured?” he asked, looking over at the blazing mess. From the looks of the fire, that mess was not survivable.
“My head lab tech and my wife are on their way to the hospital now, condition unknown.” Saying those words about his Elizabeth were hard to get out, and they practically stuck in his throat, choking him.
“I’m sorry, Director,” he said, patting him on his shoulder and turning to the other man. “Director, let me drive you there.”
“Thank you,” mumbled Whitefox, following the man to his squad card. Going to his brother, he hugged him. “I’ll get to her side and update you by text.”
Blackhawk hugged him back. “Hold onto her for me. Tell her I’d be there if I could, but I have to be the boss and manage this. I’ll get to her as soon as I can get the sheriff’s men in place.”
They broke apart and Whitefox ran after the sheriff, hopping into the front seat of the car as the man sped off.
The entire way there he remained silent, as the previous evening kept replaying over and over in his mind. The choices he made, the stubbornness he held onto, and what it potentially cost him. For months his brother had tried to tell him a name was just a name. In his pig-headedness, he held firm that it mattered more than anything, but now it didn’t. When it came down to a name or love, it was uncontestable. Love mattered more than anything, but would it matter if Callen couldn’t fix this. He began praying for a miracle.
Just one more chance to rectify what was done in error. Callen kept seeing her face that morning and it broke him.
Please.
* * *
He watched from the trees not far from the bed and breakfast, and was supremely happy at the outcome. It was delightful to see that he took out two agents in one shot.
It would have been far worse if the bomb went off when it was supposed to, but he must have accidentally attached it to the wrong wire.
Oh well. It’s not like he was a professional bomber and did this for a living. At least it still exploded and the FBI woman was one of the casualties.
Now he needed to go get rid of all the wires and evidence and pretend to be just as appalled as everyone else. There was one place no one would ever look. Into the swamp he’d head, finding just the perfect spot to sink it all.
Then off to work where he could be seen.
Who knew sin could be so gratifying.
* * *
Callen Whitefox flashed his badge at the front desk, demanding to see the women who were brought in from the scene. He was told that one of them was in the burn unit getting care and, she wasn’t going to be able to be seen for a while; the other was being worked on in the ER.
The nu
rse led him back, and Callen could hear the commotion and his heart started beating again. Elizabeth was holding a towel to her forehead and giving the young ER attending doctor a very hard time.
“I don’t need anesthetic, just stitch my God dammed head closed, and I’ll be on my merry fucking way!”
“Ma’am, you have a concussion! You need to lay still and remain sitting. Don’t make me get security in here to hold you down.”
“Then you better get a taser and put me out, because I want this handled now. If by security you mean that eighty year old man at the door, I think I can take him, even with a damn concussion. So by all means, send him on in!” Elizabeth growled menacingly. “Give me the needle and I’ll do it myself!”
“Ma’am, I mean it; I’ll have to get someone to restrain you if you don’t comply.”
Callen watched the entire thing unfold, and he almost laughed. “I’ll hold her down for you,” he offered, walking towards her and rejoicing that his heart was beating once more.
Elizabeth glanced over at the voice and stopped yelling at the doctor. The tone of his voice held humor, but it held something more buried under the words. Knowing him as well as she did, she knew the sound of pain and anguish. He was exactly like his brother.
“Callen, will you please tell this doctor that I’m not hurt, and that I can take five damn stitches to the scalp without it being numb! I have a job to do!”
His eyes filled with tears, as he moved forward towards her. Time had stood still and the last thirty minutes had been complete hell for him and his brother.
Elizabeth needed to offer him reassurance and comfort. As she tried to move towards him, the young doctor tried to talk her out of standing with a concussion. He was promptly ignored for more important things.
Whitefox grabbed her and picked her up in his arms, cradling her against his body and burying his face in her neck. “Oh God, angel,” he whispered softly, as he held on to her like she was all that could save him in the flood of emotions.
She hugged him with her free arm. “I’m okay Cal, how’s Christina?” That was her primary concern and had been since she came to in the ambulance.
“Right now she’s in the burn unit. She isn't doing too well.” He swore he wasn’t ever going to let her go again.
It wasn’t lost on the doctor that the large Native man seemed to be able to calm her down, and he decided to go with it. The man seemed able to sooth the savage beast. “Sir, can you hold her on your lap while I get her prepped to start the stitches?”
Whitefox nodded, sitting on the ER gurney and holding her against his body. Gently he cradled her head back so the doctor could start poking at her forehead.
“Is Ethan okay?” she asked, eyes filling with tears at the mention of his name. “I left my phone in the room, I wanted to call you both, but he wouldn’t let me.”
“Yeah sweetheart, Ethan told me to kiss you for him, and he’s coming as soon as he can. Right now he’s preserving the scene until a bomb unit gets there.” He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her slow and deep. When he broke away, Callen smiled. “That one’s for Ethan, and this one is from me.” Again he kissed her, and everything around them stopped. It was slow and warm, and it made him feel better just holding her in his arms.
Then someone cleared their throat, warning them that they had company
Whitefox glanced up at Doctor Leonard standing in the doorway, and he was watching them curiously.
While the woman was subdued, the doctor threw in the first stitch and she didn’t even flinch. Apparently, the man was a miracle worker. The bossy patient wasn’t being loud or boisterous any longer, and now the stitches could be finished.
“Doctor Leonard, update me on Christina,” Elizabeth said, not moving in Whitefox’s’ arms. She didn’t give a rat’s ass what the man thought when he saw them kissing. It was too late, the jig was officially up and the cat was way out of the bag.
“Christina’s alive, but she got quite a few burns across her shoulders and arms. What the hell happened?” he asked her, sitting at the foot of the gurney. “We heard the explosion in our room.”
Elizabeth let the doctor do the next stitch, and she tried to hold still. “I was going down to get the drug report you ran for me on Cordelia’s hair, and Christina needed the specimen containers. I forgot my room key on the buffet, and I handed her my car keys. She went out ahead of me, but not by much. Maybe fifteen seconds before me.”
Whitefox was sick to his stomach. She could have been closer to the blast and been killed. Goosebumps slid across his flesh, at the thought of how close they came to losing her.
“I heard the noise the car makes when you disengage the locks, and then it blew. I saw Christina go down, and the force threw me to the ground. I think I hit my head.”
“You have a concussion,” said the doctor, doing the stitches.
“I don’t have a damn concussion; just finish stitching me up and stop bothering the hell out of me.”
The doctor looked up. “One of the main symptoms of concussion is irritability.”
Both men laughed at that, knowing the truth.
“I’m irritable because someone tried to blow me up, not because I hit my head. Now zip it and stitch me up or my ME is going to be doing your damn autopsy.”
Callen kissed her lightly on her scowling mouth. “I can attest that she’s generally this cranky when someone is trying to kill her.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “You better hope I get my badge, gun and wedding rings back, or I’ll be having more of a conniption than a concussion.”
“I’ll get you your gun and badge,” said Doctor Leonard laughing. There was no doubt it would be an epic conniption at that too.
“Lyzee, I have your rings. They’re in my pocket, angel.”
She relaxed at hearing that. “Okay, Cal. As long as they're safe and secure. I didn’t want to lose them.”
The young doctor finished stitching up her forehead. “You're going to have a small scar, but no one will notice.”
“I’m not worried. Indians dig scars, don’t they?” Elizabeth winked at him, accepting his kiss despite the two men watching them.
“I certainly dig them on you, beautiful.”
A familiar voice drew their attention, as they both heard Ethan Blackhawk talking on the phone, as he strode down the hall.
“I’ll update you when I find out, Gabe. I swear,” he promised, coming to a complete stop when he saw his wife. “I have to go,” he said, hanging up and practically racing across the room to his wife.
“God! Baby, are you okay?” Ethan swung her up in his arms and proceeded to kiss her like he hadn’t seen her in years.
The doctor just stared in complete confusion from one man to the other. “But I thought,” he said, staring at the first man. “Weren’t you just kissing her just like that?”
“We’re a very close family,” answered Whitefox, laughing. “Incredibly close.”
Blackhawk placed his wife back into his brother’s arms. “I have to check on Christina. Stay right here. Doctor Leonard, feel like joining me and updating me on what’s going on?”
“Certainly, Director,” Chris Leonard said, following his boss out into the hall.
Elizabeth cuddled against Whitefox and nuzzled his throat with her lips. The man was completely tense and needed reassurance.
“I think I’ll leave you alone.” The doctor still looked confused over the situation.
“Thanks for the stitches, Doctor. Don’t over think it,” Elizabeth said, seeing the curious look on his face. “Natives are like chips, you can’t just have one.”
Whitefox started laughing, because it proved she was perfectly fine if she was tormenting the medical personnel.
The doctor didn’t know what to say at her comment and took the time to escape as fast as possible.
“Are you okay, Cal?” It wasn’t hard to see the man was an emotional wreck and it was breaking her heart.
“Elizabeth, I l
ove you. I can’t apologize enough about last night. I’m so damn sorry that I didn’t sleep beside you. I wasn’t thinking about anyone but myself. Please forgive me for being selfish.”
Elizabeth touched his cheek. “What did I do to make you so upset?” she asked, genuinely unsure what the issue was between them.
He shook his head. “It wasn’t you, angel. I was upset about getting you pregnant and the baby not having my name. It was selfish and insane, and then today I almost lost you, and it doesn’t seem important anymore.”
“That was all about a name?”
“I’m not a Blackhawk and you are.”
Elizabeth touched his cheeks with the palms of her hands. “If we were to have kids, what matters is they’d have a family. Any child of ours would have a mother and father that loved and cherished them. Not to mention an additional back up parent. That’s a pretty lucky kid to have two dads to take him fishing, two fathers to help build his own canoe, and teach him the Blackhawk grin. I know you’re wounded over the name thing, but you were abandoned by your father. You wouldn’t ever do that. So why do you think the name even matters?”
Whitefox just listened to what she was saying.
“I don’t think the name is your issue. I think the underlying issue that you need to work on is how you’re afraid you’ll be like Wyler. You want a name to make it permanent, but look how Ethan grew up. Your father still abandoned him too, and the name didn’t mean anything. You both had Timothy, and his name wasn’t the same as yours, but he stuck and raised you. Was he less a father to you because of a different last name?”
He swallowed and stared into her eyes. Callen never thought of it that way.
“You aren’t him, Callen. You get to define fatherhood by your own standards. Follow in your brother’s footsteps and be the father that you want to be, not the one you fear you’ll be. The name isn't going to make you a good father. Stop hiding behind it, pretending that’s the reason you can’t be happy. Just forget the hang up and start living life.”
Deep Dark Mire (An FBI Romance Thriller ~ book four) Page 43