Both men were entertained at how funny that had to be to watch go down. Nothing made her happier than jacking with the gossiping tech team.
Whitefox was feeling better knowing that she was fine without him. There was nothing to worry about. “Tell her I love her, and kiss the baby belly for me.”
Blackhawk would for his brother. “I miss you, Cal.”
“I miss you too, Ethan. Get me that sketch artist before I have world war three here, and I end up the casualty.”
“Want me to send Elizabeth up to kick all their asses?” Blackhawk teased. “She’ll have it all settled in minutes.”
“Yeah, then we’d have a crime scene. You keep her far away from here. I don’t want her anywhere near Duffy. His brother was a few short of a deck, and I don’t want our woman near that crazy train as it pulls into the station. Who knows what’ll get off the caboose.”
Blackhawk snickered at the visual. “Call us tonight. We’ll have dinner together via video conference.”
“I will,” he said, pulling into the sheriff’s station. “Love you both,” he replied, before hanging up and hopping out of the Denali. Now he had to deal with the other part of the miserable situation- Sheriff Duffy and his staff of grudge bearing assholes.
This assignment ranked right up there with a non-anesthetized lobotomy. It was giving him a killer headache.
All Whitefox could hope was there’d be a new bunch of employees and none of the prior ones would still be working there. Once inside the door, he knew he was batting zero today. It was official; he had the worst luck ever in Red River.
Sitting at the first desk was the meanest, nastiest pit bull secretary he’d hoped to never see again.
“Hello Ms. Court. Is Sheriff Duffy in his office?” inquired Callen, remembering the wickedly vicious woman from round one a year ago. This day was just getting better and better.
The bleached blonde glanced up and the look on her face said it all. “Yeah, what do you need?” Automatically, she crossed her arms and stared at him like he was public enemy number one.
“I need to make an appointment with the witness, regarding the poaching and get her to sit with a sketch artist.”
Sheila Court despised the man. She didn’t like him the first time he showed up with the gothic looking ME, and now it was no different. The FBI agents came into their town, stirring it up once before. When they left, so many lives had been ruined. Poor Jimmy barely overcame losing his brother to that black-haired, gun toting bitch. “I’ll buzz the boss.”
Whitefox waited patiently looking around. Behind him there were two deputies watching him cautiously. Apparently, his reputation preceded them.
Duffy exited his office still looking irritated. “Come on in, Agent.”
Callen didn’t correct him and tell him it was actually director. What was the point? “I have a sketch artist arriving tomorrow morning. Can you have the witness come in and sit with her?”
It was best he said very little. “I can.”
The tension was obviously there. “Sheriff Duffy, are you going to be able to work with me? I sense there’s a great deal of underlying hostility between us.”
The man just stared at him open mouthed. “Underlying? I can’t stand the FBI and for that matter you, Agent. The last time you came to Red River, I lost my brother and nearly my job. I was sucker punched in the face, and knocked into a snow bank by that crazy pregnant woman.”
“Director Blackhawk,” he corrected, calmly. “She has a name, use it. I believe it was your disrespect that landed you on your ass and toothless that night.”
Duffy sat back in his chair, trying to stare the man down. He wasn’t going to be baited into another fight over a woman that wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “I’ll see you here tomorrow with the sketch artist, Agent.” The man dismissed him.
Whitefox stood up and headed to the doorway. “Oh and Sheriff Duffy?”
“Yeah?”
“If you can’t find a way to be civil and work with me, there is one other option,” Callen added.
The sheriff stared up at the Native man in the doorway. “What’s that?” He’d rather work with a viper than this man.
“I can easily call in for a replacement to negotiate.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I do believe Elizabeth and Ethan Blackhawk were both willing to drop in for a visit and have a little chat with you- especially my brother. He missed seeing you put your hands on his wife last time.”
James Duffy said nothing, wondering if he’d just been threatened.
Whitefox closed the door a little louder than he intended, having Sheila jump at the sound.
“Good day, Ms. Court,” he stated, nodding as he dropped his sunglasses on his face and headed out the door.
So much for keeping everyone calm, including himself.
Shit.
He hated this damn town.
Two days later
Tuesday Mid-morning
Callen sat at the reservation police department, doing his paperwork. The assignment was officially going nowhere. The Natives were given the sketch of the perpetrator, and they denied having any input on the identity.
James Duffy had nearly gone nuclear in frustration at the road block. His fuse was lit, and all it would take is for one more thing to go wrong and the man would be going over the edge in a cataclysmic explosion.
Neither side was willing to budge or come to a compromise, and that meant that he was sitting there wasting tax payer’s money. It was bad news for the sheriff and the reservation chief, but it was good news for him.
Callen was going home.
Now it was a matter of filling out the papers, going out to his ride, and heading off into the sunset. He might be able to appear at the office just as Elizabeth and Ethan were cutting out for the day. Nothing made him happier than the prospect of getting the hell out of there and back to his family. As soon as he arrived at home, he was going to grab his woman, carry her upstairs and make love to her for a good hour or maybe two.
Then maybe he’d have his brother join them and they’d stay in bed all night cuddling with CJ and the unborn baby in Elizabeth’s womb.
It was simply a matter of finishing one final form and then getting the hell out of dodge. He was so close to freedom, he could taste it.
Whitefox jumped and went for his gun as two people rushed into the building like they were on fire. It took a brief moment for recognition to dawn.
“Julian? Are you and Tori alright?” Callen asked. He’d intended to swing by and visit them before heading home. Elizabeth was making it a point to check on Tori regularly, checking on how her therapy was progressing. Soon the woman would be returning to her job.
“Callen! I’m glad to see you. You have to come with us fast!” demanded Julian. Then he dropped his voice as low as possible. “We found bodies in the forest, and we need you to see them.”
Hell. This put a big wrench in his plans. He’d been so close; he could almost taste Elizabeth’s lips against his. This had to be one hell of a prank.
“Are you sure?” he whispered back. “Are you screwing with me?”
Tori touched his arm. “Callen, please come.”
He immediately closed his tablet and grabbed his things. “I’ll follow you.” If there were bodies, then the FBI was about to have some incoming work. On the Rez, they had their own police force, but multiple victims fell under FBI jurisdiction.
All three hustled out of the building. Julian jumped into Tori’s SUV and Callen followed in the Denali. They drove relatively quickly through the roads to get to Julian’s cabin. Once there, they ran to the back of the house and Julian mounted Weeko. He reached down and pulled Tori up behind him.
“Horseback?” Callen said, incredulously.
“Do you ride?”
Fortunately for Whitefox he did, but he was already trying to figure out the schematics of getting a tech team into the woods and to a crime scene. “Yeah, how far back is it
?”
“Five minutes by horseback.”
Shit, this was going to be a nightmare. If there was a higher power, his brother was going to call in another agent to head this one up. “You’re one hundred percent sure it’s bodies?”
Tori spoke up. “Callen, the smell alone gave it away. We found it accidentally. Come on!”
Julian snapped the reigns and they took off. Tori pressed her body against his back, her arms wrapping securely around his waist as she held on to him. She glanced back, watching Callen mount Wakanda and follow. If she was worried about him handling the mare, her fears were unfounded. Callen obviously rode before and caught up to them easily.
The ride was quick and once to the downed tree, they tied up the horses, making the rest of the trek on foot.
Once in the clearing, Whitefox could indeed smell the death. “Okay, I take it back. I thought this was some elaborate prank Elizabeth had set up to torment me, but something’s definitely here.”
Julian still didn’t smell it. He was either defective or coming down with a cold. “Over here,” he pointed, leading the director to the area where they located the bodies. He handed him a flashlight he had grabbed from home. “Here you go. I’ll cover you out here.”
Callen walked towards the opening, flicking on the light. He pulled his Glock from his hip in case there was anything in the cave waiting for him. Entering he prepared to be assaulted by the pungent smell. Once in the opening, the stench nearly overwhelmed him. Yeah, there was more than one dead body. From the smell of it, a herd of dead corpses were hanging out in the small fissure.
“Holy shit,” he muttered, scanning the area, his eyes watering as he took in one badly bloated and decayed corpse that was missing its skin and another one by its side. Both stared blankly at him with dead, half consumed eyes.
It was a good thing Elizabeth wasn’t here. This would freak her right out.
Moving closer, he was truly horrified. The victims sat there posed in place, one arm over the other’s shoulder like buddies. Someone had a really sick sense of humor.
Yeah, it looked like his time there was going to be extended. Pulling his shirt collar over his nose, he scanned the little space again, only to find some dead animals too.
Backing out of the cave, he finally stood upright.
“Well?” inquired Tori. Julian didn’t tell her exactly what was in the cave, only that there were bodies.
Whitefox pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call in the Calvary. We have two completely skinned males, various bones, and a bunch of dead animals.”
Julian pulled Tori closer to his body and scanned the area, searching for trouble.
Waiting for his family to answer the call, Callen wasn’t thrilled at the prospects of what was coming. It looked like Red River had a bigger issue than someone poaching sheep.
Someone was stealing life.
~ Chapter Two ~
Tuesday
FBI West
Sitting in her office, working on her employee reviews that were due at the end of the week, Elizabeth Blackhawk was getting antsy. There was nothing she liked better than yearly evaluations, since it made her day to have the team stress it a week in advance. It was the little things in life that usually made her smile, but for the last four days the joy of tormenting them eluded her.
Deep down, she knew she shouldn’t take it out on the team because she was cranky, but damn she missed Callen in the worst way. One of the downfalls of being a director at FBI West was the potential of traveling. Whenever Ethan or Callen had to leave, it was as if a part of her went with them. Now Elizabeth was left feeling less than whole.
The knock on the door drew her attention. In the doorway stood one of the sexiest men in the universe, grinning wickedly at her. Ethan Blackhawk was leaning against the doorframe in his very pricy suit. His raven black hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck, and his midnight blue eyes sparkled with laughter.
Okay, suddenly she was distracted.
Damn baby hormones. They fired whenever one of the men in her life were near. Although they were completely opposite, the reaction was incessantly the same. It didn't matter to her libido if it was ‘Mr. Suit and Tie’ or ‘Mr. Worn Jeans and Polo’. Ethan Blackhawk and Callen Whitefox had the same effect on her. Now she was all hot and bothered.
“I brought you an apple,” he said, tossing it to her as he entered Elizabeth’s office. “You need to eat something. The doctor warned you about your blood sugar.”
Blackhawk dropped a kiss to the top of her head, before heading for her couch. Every day at the same time, he brought her a snack, especially while Callen was away. Although the baby she was carrying wasn’t his, but his brother’s, he was feeling very protective of her nonetheless. The last few months had been brutal, running her through the pregnancy ringer. While carrying CJ, Elizabeth cruised through the months, but with EJ, she was struggling and both men were feeling helpless.
This baby was making her work for it.
Elizabeth appreciated his attentiveness. The men in her life were constantly hovering over her, trying to make this rocky pregnancy less vicious. All she could say was after the shit she’d been through with child number two, the birth better be one giant baby slip and slide. Between the sickness, pain, torment and general malaise, Elizabeth believed she earned it.
“Thanks Cowboy,” she replied around a mouthful of apple. Although, come to think of it, being pregnant in general wasn’t a bad gig. Literally food came right to her. That probably had something to do with the bossy tendencies both men had, and their need to feed her non-stop. At least while Callen was away, she could get a breather from eating. “I was just thinking about a snack.”
Blackhawk grinned at his wife. “Yeah, coffee and cookies I’m sure.”
She leaned back in her chair. “Hey, talk to EJ. He likes cookies. Come to think of it, who doesn’t? Who can blame him?”
Ethan loved his wife. Although struggling with the last three months, she still kept her sense of humor. Eating had been tricky, since meat and certain foods turned her stomach. At the last doctor appointment, the baby was healthy, and momma was almost back to her starting weight.
Give or take eight pounds.
Both men worried for a while, as the weight started dropping off her already lithe frame. Elizabeth was rail thin with a pronounced baby bump. Thus the reason Callen began feeding her like clockwork. Blackhawk found it entertaining, especially when he would roll over in the middle of the night and offer her a snack. The first time Elizabeth laughed, the second she grinned, by the fourth night, she threatened to rip off his appendages and eat them if he woke her again.
“Actually, I was thinking about peanut butter.”
Blackhawk stood. “Want me to get you some?” He’d move heaven and earth for his wife and the baby she was growing.
She laughed, sliding open her desk drawer and pulling out a jar and a spoon. “What?” she asked, looking around when he started laughing. “Yes, I have peanut butter in my desk. I told Callen that I wanted some, and he bought me four different kinds.”
He grinned. “He’s going to drive you bat shit insane.”
“Probably,” she answered, smearing peanut butter on her apple. “But, I’m used to over protective, over bearing, bossy men. Fortunately, it’s a turn on.”
“You don’t say,” he said, strolling towards her desk, lifting her chin with his fingertips and kissing her. When he pulled away, he simply stared into her face feeling overwhelmed. The love he felt for his wife was staggering. Her icy blue eyes were what drew him in, followed by the crazy curls that cascaded down her back. “I adore you, Lyzee my love.”
She ran her fingers down his sharp angular jaw. “I love you, Cowboy.” Elizabeth was about to remind him no kissy-face in the office, when her phone began ringing. Staring down at the display, she grinned.
“Oh look, the other love of my life.”
Blackhawk winked. “He has the worst timing in the entire univer
se.”
Snickering, she answered the phone. “Hey handsome, how are you?” she questioned, glad the other man in her life was with them in the moment.
Sort of.
“Put me on speaker if my brother’s there,” Callen demanded, his voice fraught with so much emotion.
Elizabeth was caught off guard by the tension. Generally when he called it was for sexy talk and to check on his bun in her oven. “Oh, okay,” she replied, doing as he requested.
Blackhawk noticed the tone in his wife’s voice, immediately going on alert. “Cal, is everything okay?” he inquired, taking his Elizabeth’s hand in his.
“I have a problem.”
Instantly, Elizabeth began to worry. Callen Whitefox was a new agent and a little green still. Her big fear was him alone in the field.
“Spill it, Darlin’,” she stated, sitting back down and running her hand over her baby bump, lovingly.
“I ran into Julian and Tori here, or should I say they ran into me.”
“Okay.”
“They were out riding today and stumbled onto the problem. They found two corpses and what looks like bones from other possible remains. What do I do?” Callen waited for them to reply.
The boss in Ethan stepped in, covering for his brother. “You secure the scene and call in for the tech team if it’s on Native land. If you’re on Duffy’s territory pass it off until he calls for help.”
“It’s smack- ass- dab in the middle of the Rez.”
Elizabeth started grinning and her husband instantly shook his head, knowing where her mind was wandering. “Tell me about the bodies.”
“I saw two males with complete removal of their skin, and there’s bones lying beside them. You’ll need Tony Magnus to check them out.”
Blackhawk stared at his wife and shook his head again and this time he pointed. He recognized the look on her face. It was the ‘I want to go out in the field look’ and it always meant trouble.
“The problem is going to be getting the tech team all the way back here. We had to come in on horseback.” Callen kept his voice low, in case the killer was lurking in the woods.
Darkness Of Truth (An FBI/Romance Thriller~ Book 6) Page 4