Devil Hath Come (an FBI/Romance Thriller ~book 7) (79 page)

Peeking through a crack, he could tell that it wasn’t the
standard sized grave, but it was big enough that he hoped he could still dig his way out.

When he slid the box in, it fell with a thud
and jostled Ethan around. The way his body was hurting from the torture, he almost passed out from the pain. Once more, he fought to stay awake as he prayed that he was strong enough to win over the need to hide from the pain.

There was sick laughter
from outside the makeshift box. “Oops, sorry about that, Director Blackhawk. I hope that didn't kill you. It takes the fun out of burying someone alive, if you screw up and murder them beforehand.”

“You’re a dick,” he hissed, rolling over from his chest.
The vicious slashes and cuts on his stomach began bleeding again as his vision wavered.

He had to stay awake.

Ethan fought with all he had in him.

‘
Please don’t go under’
, he prayed. If he passed out, he was officially dead.

There were shovelfuls of dirt
being dropped onto the top of the makeshift coffin. Some of it fell through the tiny cracks.

Ethan felt the need to panic rise up, but he forced himself to be calm and take slow even breaths. Once the dirt covered the box, he’d have an hour to break through the pine and start digging his way to the top.

Getting onto his knees, he began using his back to lift up, hoping to crack some boards or release some nails while there wasn’t too much weight on the wood. Hopefully, the dirt hitting the box would cover his intentions. If Ethan could just loosen it up, he could then break through and displace enough dirt to climb his way up.

As he pushed, the pain overwhelmed him
and the wood slightly gave way. It must have released a little bit as the box was dropped into the hole.

His mistake would be Ethan’s victory
.

All
that he could hope now was that he was strong enough for that one last effort to save his life.

He really didn't want to die.

Callen stared at the five dots on the map while the rest of the team was running any information they could on Patrick Parrish. The man had a home, but it was a refurbished condo in the center of the town. They now understood why he was using other locations. You couldn’t really have a ritual sacrifice in the middle of the
parking lot, unless your goal was to freak the entire neighborhood out.

That meant
that they had to look for him somewhere else. To Callen, those dots meant something, and he wasn’t going to give up quite yet. They knew they were running out of time, but he didn't care. That map had to matter.

His gut told him so.

It was a huge gamble.

“What if it’s a shape?” he said, talking to himself. Maybe
, it all connected into a square or possibly a circle. Running his fingers over it, he knew neither would work.

Then he heard it. It was the soft tinkle of wind chimes. He turned to stare at Elizabeth, who was working on the bed. She obviously didn't even register it.

Glancing over to Cyra and Chris, they too didn't move a muscle.

Then he looked at Rex, just as it happened again, and this time his ears moved, trying to locate the sound.

The wind chimes had to be a sign from their grandfather. Then he thought back to his dream and the parting words from the old man.

Look for the star and the truth will be the center.

Callen grabbed the nearest marker and did just that. “I know
how he’s picked his locations!” he yelled, getting everyone’s attention. “It’s a pentagram! He picked the crime scenes according to each point of the star and Ethan’s going to be in the center. That’s where his final showdown is meant to be with you, Lyzee.”

Cyra came over along with Chris and Elizabeth.

“How do you figure that out, Callen?” Cyra asked.

Callen
went in for broke on his answer, and didn't hold back any of the truth. “My grandfather came to me in a dream the other night. I asked him how to find the killer, and he told me.”

“We’re going by a dream?” Cyra asked. “Really? What if it’s wrong?
We have one shot at this.”

Callen glanced over at the woman he loved. “I’m not wrong. Please, you have to trust me on this. It feels right in my gut.
I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, other than us.”

Elizabeth was torn. They were running out of time, and they didn't have anything else to go on. “We trust Cal’s gut and we get that location. Pull up the map and start giving me what’s dead center
.”

It was
official. Cyra now believed that her boss was insane. They were going to base Ethan’s survival off a dream and a marker drawn star.  “Okay,” she said, pulling the map up. When you zoon into that area, you have some highways.”

“No, he’ll need privacy. He’ll want a place to build an altar and keep Ethan held until he can deal with me.”

She kept looking. “There is a lot of state game lands there.”

Again, she didn't think he’d pick that first. “What else do we have?”

“There is one rest stop that the state lost funding for, and it’s closed down. It’s right off the highway. Other than that, you’re looking at acres of hunting lands.”

“That has to be it. It’s going to be secluded and there’s land behind it. He’ll have it mapped and ready for his needs.”

“When do we move?” Callen asked.

Elizabeth looked at her watch. “We have three hours until he plans on making the sacrifice. I don’t think
that he’s going to release Ethan, so we need to go in early as we can and search.”

“Want us to take in back up?” Cyra asked, pretty sure
that she already knew the answer to that one.

“No. In fact, Chris and Cyra
, you stay here. Callen and I will go in,” she said, pulling clothes out of her suitcase. She would need dark colors as she headed out to stalk a killer.

“
That’s not going to happen,” Chris stated. “Ethan may need medical help. I’m going to be the only one that can offer him that if he’s hurt. Until we can transport him to a hospital, I might be all that stands between him and dying.”

Elizabeth wasn’t willing to risk
his life. “Okay, but you need your sidearm and to be in Kevlar. I’m not taking any chances.”

“Okay.”

“Cyra, I’m going to assume you’re going to want to come too,” Elizabeth stated.

“I’m coming and
so is Rex. We may have to search the woods, and he can track if you give me a shirt that Ethan has worn.”

The dog barked at his name.

Elizabeth was all for that. She moved to her husband’s suitcase and pulled out one of his favorite tailored ones. Running her fingers over the collar, Elizabeth swore that she would never complain about him only wearing black again if she just got him back. “Here,” she said, handing it to Cyra.

They rushed out of the room to go get ready.

Callen hugged her, knowing what was going on in her mind. “Shhhhh angel, we’re bringing him home. The hard part is over. Now, we just go in and collect our family.”

She nodded, holding onto a man that had been her surrogate strength while
Ethan was gone. “Thank you, Callen, for holding up and for never once giving up. Your brother is going to be so proud of you.”

He kissed her gently
and was glad that he could give her what she needed while they were missing their partner. Releasing her, he reached into his back pocket to hand her the magazine to her gun. “I took it just in case.”

She understood
why he did it. “I don’t blame you. I would have done the same.”

“
Are you ready to do this, Angel?”

She
offered him a fist bump and began stripping. “Yeah, I am, Cal. Let’s finish this here and now.”

Ethan had been working at it for a while. There was enough give that he could feel the hundreds of pounds of dirt shifting and making the wood creek. Now it was a matter of making a small hole in the wood and packing the dirt down beneath him
as it fell inside. It was going to be tedious, but this was the part that counted the most. He would have to displace as much soil in one area, and then use the weakness to burrow his way out.

Using his feet
, he pushed on the one pine board and it shifted enough that he could get his fingers in the one crack. Pulling down, he felt it start to give. Finally, it cracked and soil began falling into the makeshift coffin. Quickly, he began shoveling the dirt behind him, hoping to fill the space and then start his climb to freedom.

Oh, wouldn’t Patrick Parrish be surprised when he came for him and took his life.

Ethan patted down the dirt and tried to keep his breathing even and calm. He knew that once he started to get tired, that meant it was time to dig up and get free.

The clock was running out
and so would be his air.

He had to make it.

Ethan thought about his dream and what he said to his mother and grandfather.

“I’m not going to die. I deserve a second chance!”

They pulled off the highway onto the road that led to the blocked off rest stop. Getting out, they moved silently to the sign that blocked the roadway. With her flashlight, she pointed it at the ground to reveal the gouges in the pavement.

Someone had definitely been here a few times, moving the sign to get to the abandoned structure.

Turning, she addressed her team as she put the earpiece in her ear. “No matter what happens, I need you to find Ethan. I’ll be fine. This is what I do. Get him and call for help.”

Callen didn't want to let her go, but he knew that she could take care of herself. Right then, he needed to find their missing third and reunite the family.

“Be safe, Lyzee,” Chris said, holding Rex’s leash.

“The only way he can hurt me is through Ethan. That’s why you three, I mean four,” she said, pointing at Rex, “have to find him as fast as possible.
Once you have him, then I’ll take care of business.”

They watched her walk away
with her gun drawn, and her sole focus on the man who had tried to hurt her family.

“Is she going to be okay alone
?” Cyra asked, pulling Ethan’s shirt from the bag for Rex.

They both
laughed.

“Feel bad for Patrick Parrish. He’s the one about to live his final moments
. The last person you want tracking you is Elizabeth,” Callen insisted. “Okay, let’s find my brother. I plan on busting his ass for the rest of his life that I’m not the only man in this family that had gotten himself abducted by the conductor of the crazy train.”

Cyra held the shirt for Rex, who sniffed it and even licked at it.

Callen dropped down and spoke to the dog, “If you find Ethan, I swear that you will get steak for the rest of your life. I’ll even hunt you up your own entire deer.”

Rex whined to
signal that he was ready to do some work.

Touching the top of his head, Cyra gave the command. “Rex, seek!”

With that, Chris let the leash go, and they were off, chasing a dog in the dark as he searched for their boss. It was a good thing they had attached a light to his collar to track him. Apparently, he had the scent.

Rex was on a mission.

They hoped it worked, if not, this was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The dog was Ethan’s only chance.

It didn't take Elizabeth long to find Patrick Parrish in the woods. He was talking to himself and acting all crazy. Not to mention
, he had built the mother of all fires and was walking around it praying to the devil in some nonsensical language.

The man was certifiable.

Walking into the opening, she dropped her arm to her side to hide her weapon behind her hip. She wasn’t holstering it and taking any chances. Who knew what the sicko was capable of doing? Muting her com, she stood there, waiting for him to realize that she had arrived.

It didn't take long for him to see her off in the distance watching him.

“He said you’d come!”

Elizabeth needed to get him to talk. “Who? Ethan?”

“No! I buried him. He’s gone. My master said you’d show up if I did it exactly like he asked, and I did. You’re my reward!”

She was sickened by this words. Flicking on the com, she hoped one of them was listening. “You buried Ethan? Is he dead?”

He started laughing. “No
t when I put him in the ground, but that was over an hour ago. He should be just about out of air.”