“Well, it looks like I was right,” Elizabeth said, pointing at the reporters waiting for them.
“Yeah, well I’m ready for them,” Blackhawk replied. “How’s my tie?” he asked, pulling into the parking lot.
“You look very spiffy, Mr. Blackhawk. In fact, it turns me right on.”
He wiggled his eyebrows lecherously.
“Oh, brother,” muttered Callen. “Even I can wear a tie,” he stated, teasing them both.
Elizabeth looked back at him in challenge. “Then do it,” she stated.
“One day, I’m going to surprise you both and pull an Ethan. I’m going to go full on stuffy attire for days, and you’re not going to know what to do with me.”
She ran the tip of her tongue across her lower lip, just to watch him react. “I’ll know what to do with you, Callen.”
All the saliva dried up in his mouth.
Before he could reply, Elizabeth focused on the reporters. “Can you handle them, while I sneak in and deal with the mayor?” she asked.
“Run for cover,” he said, as the smile slowly disappeared, and he prepared to be the Fed running the show.
“I’ll stay with Ethan,” Callen stated, knowing that they both tended to intimidate when they stood side by side. Together, they were a wall of Native mystery. Plus, he didn't want to leave his brother alone, just in case he needed back up.
Elizabeth waited until the two men headed out into the fray. As soon as they were surrounded by the question mongers, she made a break for it. Effortlessly, she slipped past the crowd and up the walkway to the station. At the door, she turned and blew the men a kiss. Ethan nodded, acknowledging her token of thanks and Callen simply grinned.
Once inside, it was just as chaotic.
Martha was fielding calls. The one female deputy was trying to book in a drunk, and failing miserably.
Elizabeth debated on assisting her or letting her work it out, until the man pushed back, knocking the deputy on her ass. In seconds, Elizabeth was on him, bending his thumb into a submissive hold, until the deputy could get up.
“You need to always make sure to have your detainee in control,” she said. “I’ve seen drunks seriously hurt people, even while in handcuffs.”
The woman thanked her and resumed the walk to the holding area.
Scanning the bullpen, she found a few of her team wandering around or working at borrowed desks. Immediately, Chris Santana found her.
“We can talk in Tony’s office,” he said, leading the way. “No one will tell me what’s going on, so I’m guessing you have them scared shitless.”
Elizabeth didn't have to use fear as a motivating factor. The people who worked there, like Martha and Tyrell, simply respected her and that made all the difference in the world.
Inside the office, where she assumed that he would take the seat behind the desk, in a sign of power, he didn't. Instead, he sat on the couch off to the side and waited for her to join him.
“Okay, what happened? Just give it to me straight, so I can begin to do damage control and save all of our asses.”
This was a first. Here was a politician not tossing the Feds to the media beast as a sacrificial offering.
Elizabeth began at the beginning. “I was home minding my own business when my agent called. She and a few techs had stopped in for happy hour at the bar. They were sitting off to the back, having a beer, when Tony strolled on in. Once he took a seat, the shit-fest began.”
Chris rubbed his eyes, already knowing where this was heading. “Okay, please continue.”
“According to my team, Tony started pounding shots of whiskey. You and I both know from working with him, that the one booze that Tony can’t handle, is that crap. Before long, his brain stopped working, but his lips kept going. He was actually telling people that we have a cannibal.”
He stared at her incredulously. “Are you shitting me?”
All formality was gone, and the man before her was back to being one of them. He was a cop and knew what this all meant. Someone who was privy to the details couldn’t be spreading them all over town. It was counterproductive and risked the assignment, the legal case, and most importantly, lives.
He couldn’t believe that Tony had just undermined the case and the FBI. He had to be certifiable.
“Do we have proof?” he asked, hoping that there had been some mistake. It wasn’t like he doubted it. He had seen Tony hopped up on whiskey before. Like right after he found out Elizabeth ran off to marry Ethan Blackhawk. Right after that case had been closed, the man went on a two week downward spiral.
That had been a colossal bender of epic proportions.
“I was called, and when I arrived, I walked in to see him surrounded by fellow revelers, and he was indeed telling them the tales of the killer cannibal. Worse was, he was telling people that Doc had been someone’s snack.”
“Oh boy.”
“Yeah, we may joke around about a lot of things, but you know yourself that sensitivity is key. We don’t know if someone there is friends with a missing person’s family. Sure, we haven’t conclusively proved that the bones are theirs, but you don’t go sharing speculation all over town, like sticks of gum.”
Chris leaned back and closed his eyes.
“It gets worse.”
She had his attention.
“I can’t see it getting any crappier, Elizabeth.”
“That’s just the tip of the Tony clusterfuck iceberg. Who appointed him?”
“I did.”
She shook her head. “Then, you better hold onto your britches, Chris, because you’re about to go for one hell of a public opinion joyride.”
“Why? What happened?”
She told him about the possible domestic dispute between Jefferson Harris and his wife, and the man genuinely looked surprised. Elizabeth believed that he had no inkling of what was happening around his sheriff’s office and town.
“If I had known, Jefferson would have likely been kicked off the council. We don’t allow shit like that to go on here. I’m trying to run this town cleanly.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, well, I get that in law enforcement you can file a report or not, but we all know, when it comes to domestic issues, you always file. At some point, it’s going to come back up again, and someone is going to question why it wasn’t on record before, like a lawyer, judge, or the ME.”
Chris got it. “Okay, so he buried a record. That will get him a little unpaid vacation.”
When he went to stand, she put her hand on his arm. “Yeah, it gets worse still. That wasn’t the most heinous of Tony’s mistakes.”
Now, he stared at her incredulously. “Seriously? He’s done something worse? Did he try to sell his mother’s soul to Satan?”
Yeah, that wouldn’t be nearly as bad.
Elizabeth broke down the day after the domestic dispute occurred. “Tony was in his office. Mrs. Harris showed up, they went behind closed doors and when she came out, her hair was askew and her shirt was buttoned the wrong way.”
The implications were huge.
“Oh my God,” he muttered. “Not only am I screwed over this, but this whole department is now, too.”
She didn't say anything. What could she possibly add to it? Right about then, she wanted to say, ‘I’m sorry that the sheriff you picked decided to go out and bone anything with breasts’. Because the man in front of her was playing fair with them, and was a friend, she kept it to herself.
This was a mess all the way around.
“Someone must have called the media last night to tell them that we had Tony in handcuffs and in the back of a cruiser, because I know it wasn’t Callen, Ethan or myself. What’s happening now is going to play out in the court of public opinion.”
Because of Tony’s careless choices, they were all big losers in this one.
“I don’t know if I should be pissed off or just downright shocked,” Chris said, staring at her. “What are you going to do?” When it came down to it, this landed
in his lap, but ultimately she had control. As the FBI, she could bury the details of Tony’s little sex for no reports, or she could blow it wide open.
“For now, I’m going to ask that you relieve him of duty. If you want to tell council and trust them, so be it. As far as we’re concerned, we’re going to say he tried to assault a Fed in a drunken state, and that’s why he was relieved of duty.”
Chris relaxed. “Okay.”
“Do you trust my judgment, Chris? I mean, we worked together for a year, but you worked under my dad. He’s part of who I am. Do you believe I know what I’m doing?”
He was a little shocked that she even had to ask him that. “You know I do. When you rolled into town, I handed you this entire case. I told the council that you would handle it, and stood behind you.”
“Then, I need you to do one more thing for me, despite what the council says. I know you can stand up to them, and that you probably have a few that will side with you on this.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“I want you to promote Tyrell as interim sheriff. We both know that he can do the job, and I need you to stick up for him. He’s been here for years, is a family man and for God’s sake, he goes to church every Sunday with his family.”
He thought about it.
“I know this is the Deep South, and bigotry is supposed to be dead, but you and I are smart enough to know that’s a load of bullshit. We are both aware why the council didn't put him through as sheriff. Now, we need to do something about it.”
He knew she was right, but then again, it always was hard to pull one over on Elizabeth.
“Come on, Chris. Grow a big ol’ set and help me assure that when I go back home, the place I grew up loving is in good hands.”
He offered her his hand. “Deal. I’ll run interference, and use Tony as the reason. I can swing this to make it look like the people who pushed against Tyrell now look like assholes.”
Elizabeth grinned. “That’s a big shiny set. They almost look bronze from here.”
Chris laughed and stood. “How about we go face Tony together?”
She was more than willing to do that. “On one condition, Chris,” she said.
He looked over at her. “What?”
“If you open that cage door, and Ethan magically appears, you need to quick slam it and toss the keys in with Tony.”
He looked confused. “Why?”
She stared at him, dead serious. “Because if you don’t, we’re going to have one more murder on our hands, and this one won’t belong to the serial killer cannibal.”
“Oh boy,” he said, shaking his head.
“Yeah, tell me about it. My Native love bug is on the warpath.”
* * *
Ethan Blackhawk had his groove back.
Since being abducted, he dreaded facing the media. In the back of his mind, he was afraid that if they asked about his kidnapping, he wouldn’t be able to get through it.
Well, now he knew the truth.
He absolutely could, and without batting an eyelash.
When the questions started flying, personal ones were peppered in there. Even though the abduction had happened across the country, they had made the evening news.
There had been talk of a damaged director and comments on how his hair had suspiciously been cut right after he was found. People had fun speculating, and in all honestly, he didn't blame them.
If he was in their place, he would wonder too.
For all those weeks, he hid from it all, allowing his wife, and even his brother, to handle the media. Without a second thought, they both stood up to cover for him, and he appreciated that more than anything in the world. Ethan knew that Callen was scared shitless of public speaking, but still he stood and took one for their team and family.
He owed the people he loved so much, and he knew that he wouldn’t ever be able to repay it. Not in one lifetime.
But, that didn't matter for now. He was well aware that they wouldn’t want payback, they just wanted him. At that moment, he could safely say that the old Ethan was ready to own his life and be the man he once was.
In fact, he loved every second of it. To him, this was nothing more than a game. It was a carefully orchestrated dance where they tried to get information, and he evaded like a pro. Part of him missed this, and for now, he would revel in its return.
He almost wanted to grin like a madman.
When Callen placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled at him, he knew that his brother could sense his peace and inner balance returning.
Yeah, this was a pretty awesome present to discover on Valentine’s Day.
The shout of questions drew his attention.
“Why was the sheriff incarcerated?” yelled some woman, holding a microphone.
It was time for damage control.
“Sheriff Tony Morell wasn’t arrested last night. Unfortunately, he drank a little too much and had an altercation with another person.”
“We hear some woman kicked the crap out of him,” shouted another man.
Oh, how he would love to say something to bury Tony for even daring to touch his woman, but he knew karma was a big bitch, and they had suffered enough the past few months. He wasn’t screwing with fate.
“I’m sorry, but since I wasn’t at the scene, I can’t confirm or deny that. Since there is no report, because he isn’t under arrest, your guess is as good as mine.”
That was the best that he could do.
“How are you doing, Director?” someone shouted, getting everyone’s attention.
Yeah, here came the questions that were going to be aimed right at him.
Instead of panic building, the calm remained as he planned out in his mind how to handle and react. With his dark blue black eyes, he located the reporter asking the question. As he stared at the man, he prepared to give them just enough to be satiated, but not enough to infringe on their privacy.
“I’m doing really well, but I guess that is all depending on whether or not my wife likes her Valentine’s Day present.”
There was laughter from the men in the crowd, since they all knew what he meant. Even some of the women snickered in response to his evasion.
Where he hoped the questions would then stop, they didn't.
“Is it true that ‘The Black Magick’ killer cut off all of your hair while you were abducted?” someone shouted.
It still bothered him a little, how could it not? Someone violated his personal self by loping off his identity. Now, it was a matter of facing it down and giving an answer.
“As a matter of fact, during my captivity, he wasn’t in love with it like I was, and cut it. I don’t see why, because I think it was pretty darn spectacular. Since he was the abductor and I was merely the detainee, I didn't get to voice my opinion.”
Again, there was more laughter.
Ethan could feel Callen move closer in support.
“Is that why your wife and brother cut theirs?” the same reporter shouted.
Although it wasn’t terrifying him, it was getting old. This would be the last thing he said about it.
Ever!
“I think when my wife and brother saw how good I looked,” he said, running his fingers through his hair, “they were damn jealous.”
Callen grinned and nodded. Not at the answer, but how his big brother had won this one. At first, he feared the cracks in the carefully constructed veneer would show, but his brother was tough and held up under the scrutiny.
Ethan Blackhawk was bad ass.
“Now, if you don’t mind, we have an investigation to work on,” he said, ending their round of questions.
With that, both men headed for the station, ignoring the shouts and calls of more personal inquiries.
“I’m proud of you, Ethan,” Callen stated, knowing that he didn't need to say anymore.
He grinned, because so was he.
~ Chapter Thirteen ~
Elizabeth and Mayor Chris Santana passed the confere
nce room where the Feds were already starting to work. Her team was assembling, but before she could deal with that, she needed to handle the Tony situation.
Once inside the jail part of the station, they saw him sitting in what they called ‘the tank’. It wasn’t the typical jail cell, because it had padding, benches, and no way for the man to harm himself. They mostly used it for town drunks, since it easily hosed out if there were copious amounts of vomit or other bodily fluids.
When she unlocked the door, she only had one thought in her mind. Please, oh please, don’t let Tony puke on her boots. They were her favorite ones.
Where she had sympathy for the man, Elizabeth was damn tired of cleaning up his mess. The last time, he had slept with a victim and hid it. If it weren’t for Ethan, he wouldn’t have had a job. Now in hindsight, maybe they should have let him take the fall and earned his knocks. If he didn't learn last time, he shouldn’t have his position with the sheriff’s department.
Sometimes, tough love worked best.
“Time to wake up, Tony,” she said, loudly.
When he moaned, rolled to his side, and covered his ears, she grinned. Yeah, payback was a bitch. Stepping inside, she spoke in the echoing room. “How are you feeling today?”
“Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Elizabeth wasn’t going to even entertain his request. This stop in there was a colossal waste of her day. “It’s time to get up, Tony. You’ve had quite the bender, and playtime is officially over for you.”
When he sat up, Chris entered the room. “Tony, I’m relieving you of duty.”
That snapped him out of it pretty damn fast.
“Why? What did I do?”
Elizabeth crouched down to eye level. “You don’t remember physically attacking me, calling me every name in the book, and telling a bar full of people that we had a cannibal eating people in town?”
He stared at her, horrified. She had to be screwing with him. Tony glanced over at his boss, praying someone would start laughing and let him in on the joke.
Consumed by Wrath: An FBI/Romance Thriller (An FBI/Romance Thriller ~ Book 8) Page 32