Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) (75 page)

“Maybe it’s someone helping Arlen James. He’s
still in lockup,” stated Chris. “It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s had a partner in crime or in his case a fellow follower.”

Cyra shrugged. “It could be. We don’t have anything to say it’s not. The powder matched the one found there and Harmony was having fun as their offering.”

Callen thought about it. “We also have that Wiccan who went to the circle with Elizabeth. I believe his name was Finn Williams. He didn't look all that happy to have her go with them, and he would know how to set up an altar and circle.

Chris shook his head. “Shit
, this is complicated.”

Callen ran his hands though his hair in frustration. “Damn it
! What are we missing?” he demanded as he started to pace.

Both of them stared at him.

He took a deep breath, refusing to let the fear take control. “Cyra, please get on that map. Chris, you need to keep watching those videos. They had one victim and we need to work every piece of evidence we have. It has to be here. We’re just not seeing it yet.”

The both agreed and got down to work.

Callen stared down at his watch. One more hour had just ticked away. As of right then, he was one step closer to losing his brother, and in the process, the woman he loved.

                                *   *   *

God, he was so cold and so sore, and his whole body ached. Ethan was beginning to believe that he was going to die of hypothermia or shock first. The survival instinct was kicking in, and he really wanted something to get him warm.

It was mind over matter, and he talked himself through the discomfort. He had to survive.

The ache in his head was intensifying, and he assumed it was from the blood loss and the
knocks he took to the skull. Ethan wasn’t sure how long he’d been gone, but he was positive he was alone. There were the telltale signs of light coming from the windows, and he could see a little better.

It looked like the nutjob had left him for the day. If he was going to escape, it had to be
now. Ethan stared down his body to examine the wounds he had further received. There were big gashes across his abdomen and chest. They were raw and angry.

If he didn't thin
k he was going to die, he’d be concerned about the infection that would be settling in soon.

Staring up at his wrists, his hands were tied to the pipe and wrapped with duct tape. If he could just pull his body up, he’d try and gnaw through the ta
pe with his teeth. Trying to lift his weight, he couldn’t move. At first, Blackhawk couldn’t figure out why, but then as he tried to lift his legs, he could feel them tethered to the base of one of the stalls.

He was trapped.
The psycho had considered it all

God damn it!

His eyes filled with tears as the hopelessness and exhaustion began to overwhelm him. Relaxing his body to ease the pain, he closed his eyes and let the sorrow fill him.

He wasn’t going to get home.

Unfortunately, this was going to be his end.

Monday Mid-morning

The silence of working was broken by a horrific crash from the other room. All three expected the worst, as they rushed towards the closed door. They each assumed that they would find Elizabeth still lost in depression and mourning. When they opened the door, they found something entirely different.

The three stood, staring in surprise
.

Standing on the bed,
Elizabeth grabbed the one painting by the frame and ripped it from the wall and tossed it across the room. She’d done the same with the one that had once been above the bed.

No one spoke through the
shocked silence, as she pulled out a black sharpie marker and began writing all over the white walls. It was frenetic and crazed.

They
glanced back and forth between each other, wondering if they should step in. Apparently, this was it. Elizabeth had finally gone off the deep end.

None of them moved, as she began filling in lines and squares like a woman on fire.

Callen was ready to intervene, when Chris put his hand on his arm. “It’s the profile. She’s recreating it here,” he whispered, keeping his voice low to not disturb her.

All three
of them watched in awe, as she reconstructed it from memory. It was almost verbatim of Ethan’s files. It was as if something took over, and now had control of her. It was forcing her from the misery and into the here and now.

Cooler heads were prevailing as the agent had beat back the grieving wife in an epic battle of wills.

Callen began to feel some relief.

If Elizabeth was back,
then they had a chance. He allowed the pressure to leave him for a second, as tears filled his own eyes. He could now take a moment to mourn, since once more there was hope.

Elizabeth stared at that damn blank wall for twelve hours and had enough. It was time to take back her life and kill the man
who dared to touch her family.

It was as if a
light switch went on, and she became her old self once more. As she was lying there, she thought about when she’d been abducted. Ethan mourned a little and then tried to find her.

She was going to give him the exact same thing, with the same outcome.
Plus, she remembered the vow that they made. The other person would spend the rest of their lives searching for the other if they became lost.

Well, he was lost and the time was now.

Elizabeth wanted her damn husband back, more than she wanted the self-inflicted pity party. She had children who needed Ethan back and in one piece, and that meant taking control.

The more she s
tared at the blank wall, the more she thought about using it to her benefit. She was well aware she was trapped in there, but she wasn’t going to let that get her down. This was about what was right and just, and she was going to make the best of it.

The profile came
rushing back, along with every single thing that she knew about the case. It torrentially gushed from her and filled almost an entire wall. Yeah, the hotel was going to be pissed, but screw it. Her husband was hurt and going to die. She’d pay them whatever they wanted. Hell, she’d paint the damn wall herself if that’s what it took.

Moving off the bed, she pulled a chair over and stood on
it, balancing until she could reach up high enough. Filling in everything about the victims, she jumped down and backed up.

“Welcome back, Elizabeth,” Chr
is said grinning, as he finally broke the silence. “What’s up first on the agenda?” he asked.

She turned, speaking for the first time.
Her eyes were cold and dead and held none of the life they generally had in them. Her voice was calm and emotionless, even though she was talking to people who knew her well. This wasn’t the old Elizabeth.

This was a woman who had retribution to hand out.

“First up on my agenda is to find and rescue my Ethan. Then,” she paused, capping the marker in her hand, “I find this fucking asshole and end his life.”

Ethan drifted aimlessly in a restless sleep. The angles of his arms and the pain in his torso kept him from
finding ease. Suddenly, the pain disappeared and trees and grass appeared around him. Turning, he was completely free and dressed.

“Hello
, my boy.”

The voice brought back so many memories
. Turning around, he found his grandfather standing there.

“Granddad?”

The man nodded and moved towards him. “I’ve missed you Ethan.”

Blackhawk
lifted his shirt and stared down at his body. It was all healed and free from injury. His hand went to his hair, only to find it loose and still there.

He was whole again
, and now he knew it was nothing more than a dream.

“Why don’t we take a walk?” Timothy asked, holding out his hand.

Ethan went to him and grinned when skin touched skin. There was the scent of pipe tobacco and herbs in the air. “So this is what Elizabeth, Callen and dad experienced?”

Timothy nodded. “I was waiting for you.”

“Are you going to tell me how to escape?” he asked, thinking about his wife and kids.

“No my boy.
I’m here because it’s time. I’ve waited to cross into the spirit world to bring you home. I’ve known this was coming since the day I passed over. I chose to stay and make the journey with you.”

Ethan shook free his hand and began backing away. “No! I’m not going
!”

Timothy sighed and shook his head. “Ethan, when it’s time, it’s time. I didn't want you to
make this journey alone. That’s why your visit was saved for last.”

Alongside his
grandfather, appeared a woman he had never thought that he would see again. “Mom?”

She moved towards
Ethan and opened her arms for him.

Blackhawk
stared at her and forced his mind back into his now fading memories to recall what she looked like when he was a kid. It was the same, only cancer hadn’t ravaged her body. Catherine Blackhawk was whole again too.

“I missed you, Ethan.”

He tentatively crossed to her and went into her arms. The familiarity and feelings were all there.

“You’re going to be okay, I promise,” she vowed. “We’re going to cross and the pain will
all be all over. I’m proud of you, honey. You fought valiantly and have earned this passage. It’s time.”

He let go of her
as he shook his head. “I can’t go. Don’t you see? I have three children, Elizabeth and Callen. If I go, the pain is just beginning. I won’t leave them, Mom, not even to have you both back.”

Hi
s grandfather stepped forward. “You don’t get a choice, Ethan. When it’s your time, it’s up.”

He didn’t believe that. He was master of his own destiny.

Stepping back further, he refused to leave. “This is only a dream. I still have a choice. I’m a prisoner, but I still have some control. I choose to take the physical pain in order to have my family back.”

“Ethan, come with us,” his mother said, holding out her hand.

“No! I’m going to see my sons marry. I’m going to walk Catherine down the aisle with Callen. Elizabeth promised me more children, and eventually I’m going to watch grandchildren fill my home. I am
NOT
going to walk away from any of that if there’s a chance.” Ethan remembered asking his wife to fight if she was taken, and he’d do the same. He wouldn’t quit, and he would give her every opportunity to find him.

Blackhawk
had faith and believed that fate didn't bring them together only to end it like this. In that moment, he chose to believe in his wife.

They stepped towards him.

“No! If there’s a slight chance I can survive, then I’m staying. I’ve dedicated my life to the dead and the defiled. I’ve walked through blood and lived in the minds of the insane. I deserve a second chance. I won’t go out this way!” he raged, spinning in a circle. “Do you hear me? I choose the pain! I won’t quit now and give up if there’s even a miniscule chance that I can survive!”

He faced his grandfather. “Help me, Granddad! If you loved me even a little, you’ll help me
get back to them! On your death bed, you told me to protect Callen. You made me swear that I wouldn’t ever let him fall prey to the pain waiting for him in the world, now I’m keeping that promise. If I die, he and Elizabeth will crumble. If I quit, the two people that own my heart will be forced to wander life half complete!”

The man’s eyes filled with tears, as he
helplessly watched the boy he raised suffer emotionally and physically.

“Damn it! It’s not my time!
I have a life to live and people that need me!”

“You know how I feel about you, Ethan. It’s just out of my power to do anything.”

Ethan wouldn’t accept that in the least. “Bullshit! I put my faith in my family. My soul mates will find me! Elizabeth!” he screamed until he was almost hoarse.

“ELIZABETH!”

She wasn’t giving up.
Something deep down was compelling her to move forward. For now, she had no choice but to find her husband. “We’ve looked at this every single way possible. I know we’re missing something,” she said, staring at the wall. “We can explain everything, except the things that don’t make sense. He began altering the kills, and I’m going to bet my badge that if we dig deep enough into that, we’ll find out why.”

Callen hoped she was right.